Flip flops and no helmet (Harley, ride, driver, bike)
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A friend of mine gets on the Harley with her husband and always wears short shorts, a tank top, flip flops and no helmet. This includes a lot of interstate and busy road travel. The worst part is she thinks it's OK.
In the sport bike crowd, they're called SQUIDS. Those 20-something-year-old people riding a GSX-R, wearing shorts, a t-shirt, and sandals, with no helmet. These are usually the same people doing wheelies and going 120+ mph. They're the ones who give bikes a bad rep.
Personally, I ride ATGATT -- All the gear, all the time. I won't ride unless I've got helmet, jacket, padded pants, boots... I've skipped on the gloves before, if I'm honest, but I usually wear them too.
As snofarmer said, freedom of choice. These people usually say something along the lines of "Well, I'm a safe rider, so I'll be fine". But, when the Lexus driver on their cell phone comes into your lane, and clips you, even the safest rider will fall -- and I like my skin.
I'm not an ATGATT'er, but I'm close to it. I won't go out without a jacket, jeans, full faced helmet, gloves, and boots. I have about 4 jackets, two with CE armor, and two without. All gloves have a minimum of leather palms, all boots are riding specific with good ankle protection, and all gloves have at least a leather palm, or are all leather construction and double stitched...What i'm really missing is a good pair of riding jeans, which is why i say i'm not truly an "ATGATTer".
To the OP, i wouldn't worry about what the other riders are wearing. If they gave you grief for wearing proper gear, i'd explain my case to them but let them wear what they wish...What I dislike however is that a complacent attitude towards proper safety gear will breed more of the same. Normally when I see a passenger who's properly suited up in protective gear (sportbike or cruiser) the rider is wearing gear or equivalent protection...And at the same time, when you see the Squid on the sportbike or cruiser, their passenger ALMOST ALWAYS is wearing some sad excuse for riding gear too...at bike night last week a group of squids rolled up in their shorts and t-shirts...their girlfriends were wearing tank tops, short shorts, high heals, and one was wearing jeggins (had me convinced they were jeans till you saw how they fit around her bottom region)...despite how appealing the outfit was, it had no business on a motorcycle....can't imagine explaining to her parents why she's so scarred up after a 30 mph getoff...then you'll hear the "motorcycles are wicked dangerous" arguments all over again...plus all the excuses from those who'll never ride again, and how lucky he was to be alive, and is no longer going to ride at all, plus he's suddenly become smarter than everyone else who still rides, even though he was the idiot without proper gear in the first place.
At 40 mph:
- Skin will be gone instantly.
- T-shirt / shorts will be gone in about 10 feet.
- Jeans / thicker **** will be gone in about 20 feet.
- Padded pants / padded jacket will last a few hundred.
- Leather gear will last you a few hundred more.
That's enough to convince me to wear gear. Actually, the one time I've "gone down" was in a parking lot, going about 5 mph. Someone backed out of a space without looking, and I low-sided. This was before I decided to be an ATGATT rider. I was wearing thick jeans and strong boots (hiking boots -- good ankle support, but not exactly "bike boots"), as well as a full-face helmet, but no gloves and no jacket. I slid about 5-10 feet, with my forearm and palm against the ground. Even at those low speeds, I was still bleeding, with a decent amount of road rash. Now, I'm a bit smarter before I go out*.
*Granted, I couldn't bring a bike with when I moved out west, so I haven't ridden since last summer.
A good buddy of mine went down at about 45 mph in the rain wearing a t-shirt, jeans, half helmet, and mechanic gloves...he came out remarkably well considering the limited gear. Had some road rash on his arms, little bit where his jeans ripped, but the worst of it was on his palms...naturally your arms go out to try to prevent the core from touching the ground...the crappy mechanic gloves sheered into pieces leaving nothing between him and the ground but his skin...lots of stitches on the palms of his hands which looked rather painful...made up the decision on good gloves...
The decision on boots came when I almost dropped a bike over at a stop. My crappy jungle boots didn't do much to save the weight of the bike coming down towards my ankle...hurt a ton, then i thought of what could have happened in an actual get off...riding boots became a quick requirement as well.
I hear people complain about the cost of a full set of gear all the time. The way I see it, the gear is the "price" you're putting on that body part. If you won't spend $150 on a sturdy pair of boots, then obviously your feet / ankles aren't worth $150 to you. If you don't buy a $25 pair of sturdy gloves (or splurge and buy the $50 pair), then your hands aren't worth $25 / $50 to you. When you start thinking of gear prices in terms of the body parts they're protecting, suddenly all gear prices are a bargain!
I had a friend who went down doing 80 mph, wearing a hoodie and jeans. BAD road rash. He slid almost entirely on his back, too. Luckily, no broken bones. After that, he bought full gear, and wears all of it to this day.
I find a lot of people don't understand what injuries people get during motorcycle accidents. Like my friend's example above, people remark on how it must've been a miracle that he didn't break a bone. News flash: you break bones when you hit something. Crash your bike into a car, and you'll break a bone. When you take a fall at speed, you'll more than likely slide. Sliding almost never breaks bones, but it tears stuff to bits. Get good gear, and you can lay down at 80, and likely walk away (assuming you don't hit anything while sliding).
I ride in tall hiking boots, full helmet, gloves, jacket and jeans. Even when its 90 outside. Ive ridden to the gas station in shorts and a shirt and was hyperalert the entire time and didn't like it at all. I'd rather sweat than bleed.
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