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Why I stopped wearing motorcycle body armor?
- Thread starter klaviator
- Start date
NotadenBennettii
Do Big Things!
I think people need to get over themselves, lighten up and try to get their lost senses of humour back again.
The very first sentence in that video mentions it was an April Fool's joke, and that's how I saw it.
I don't believe his goal was to inform in this instance, nor was it to give balanced arguments or struggle with his ethics.
And wow, looking at the comments under the video, in this thread and probably everywhere else it's mentioned on the internet, I'm starting to believe many people no longer have a sense of humour.
Or of they do it's been that watered down by political correctness and other snowflake shit that they can no longer tell what's supposed to be humour and what's not.
I get the impression that instead of seeing the video as amusing humour and an April Fool's joke as myself and quite a few others did, it's used as a reason carry on about all sorts of crap that those of us that do still have a sense of humour ignore, and in this instance see the video as an amusing April Fool's joke.
Pretty sad really if that's what the world is coming to...
NotadenBennettii
Do Big Things!
I thought it was directed at me insinuating I'm a fanboy.
Forums are at times difficult to grasp the intended meaning of a post, but anyway, sticks and stones etc. etc.
EDIT: Yeah, discuss we shall
Sure.
I saw that as more a throwaway line used to transition into the rest of the video. To me, taken as a whole, the video doesn't come off as an attempt at humor at all. F9 has a long history of all sorts of uses of humor - this wasn't one. What he said about it being a joke didn't appear to be in a humorous vein as with a typical April Fool's joke.
Do you think he really wasn't serious about removing armor inserts from his gear?
I'm not sure how it could be seen as anything else but an attempt to inform.
He sure cited a lot of research for an April Fool's joke, and he didn't appear to be joking by the end of the video. After several days, I haven't seen a word from Ryan about it being an attempt at humor, either. People tend to get serious about safety discussions, especially if someone twists their research to support opinions that negatively impact safety. Again, not very funny, especially for the researchers that have refuted some of the conclusions Ryan made in the video.
I agree, he wasn't providing a balanced argument, he only pretended to give one. My critique about his ethics wasn't due to direct quotes from the video.
Ryan's belief is that armor is "useless" because it mainly provides the perception of safety instead of a true improvement in safety - in short, armor is an ironic joke. I believe that was the theme of the video.
I don't know about all that. I didn't see the video as an attempt at humor. How that factors into my sense of humor and "snowflake shit" is beyond me.
Could be! He may be shiny, but he isn't shy.
It's easy for written words exchanged between strangers to fail us. No big deal.Forums are at times difficult to grasp the intended meaning of a post, but anyway, sticks and stones etc. etc.
EDIT: Yeah, discuss we shall
Now that made me laugh 😂
NotadenBennettii , I got no beef with you. My perception of Ryan is based solely on his actions. No amount of anyone going to bat for him and "he may have meant" will change that perception. Ryan speaks for himself and he said what he said. If I say something dumb it's on me. If Ryan says something dumb it's on him.
Ok, you're not a Ryan fanboy, so why do you feel compelled to clear his name?
Same here.
The best thing about the video is that it has gotten thousands of riders to think more about protective gear. I may be wrong, but don't think anyone can object to that.
NotadenBennettii
Do Big Things!
Different people see things differently I guess, after the hearing the first line I took it with a grain of salt.
Perhaps he's just having a dig at the manufacturers and required standards they have to adhere to.
Whether he was serious about removing it or not I have no idea, I don't know him, but he did say he takes it out of his own jacket.
NotadenBennettii
Do Big Things!
Nor I with you, or anyone else here.
As is tipical on the internet, there seems to be a lot of unnecessary drama stemming from his video and a lot of words being put in his mouth.
I don't feel at all compelled to clear his name though, I just call it as I see it, I don't believe he has anything to clear his name from.
Soggy Biscuit
Well-known member
FLrider
Well-known member
^
Since I started this thread, here's my view on this. Ryan is not an expert on this subject. He knows enough about it to be able to make this video and sound like he knows what he is talking about but he just ended up sounding stupid. If he understood motorcycle gear or statistics he wouldn't have posted this unless he just wanted to be controversial in order to get more views for his video. I guess he's just like a lot of other journalists out there.
Having said this, he did bring up an interesting topic. When a bunch of government bureaucrats working with manufacturers make regulations, you have to wonder about those regulations. As for the armor found in riding gear, there is certainly room for improvement. I have in some cases pulled the armor out of my gear and replaced it. Knee armor is often a problem for me in that it often isn't in the right position and/or is shaped that it isn't likely to stay in position. In many cases I end up wearing strap on knee pads which will be in the right place if I were to crash.
The good thing about this video is that it got people discussing this topic. The bad thing is that some people may be stupid enough to just remove the armor from their gear. The other thing is that Ryan's reputation will take a hit from this.
Having said this, he did bring up an interesting topic. When a bunch of government bureaucrats working with manufacturers make regulations, you have to wonder about those regulations. As for the armor found in riding gear, there is certainly room for improvement. I have in some cases pulled the armor out of my gear and replaced it. Knee armor is often a problem for me in that it often isn't in the right position and/or is shaped that it isn't likely to stay in position. In many cases I end up wearing strap on knee pads which will be in the right place if I were to crash.
The good thing about this video is that it got people discussing this topic. The bad thing is that some people may be stupid enough to just remove the armor from their gear. The other thing is that Ryan's reputation will take a hit from this.
One thing that Ryan brought up was the CE certification of armor. I wonder if CE certification has improved the armor pads or is it a step backwards? I recently bought a couple pairs of pants that were on closout. I bought them because they were inexpensive and they came in tall sizes. One was a pair of Kevlar reinforced jeans and the other mesh pants. Here's a pic of the knee armor that came in them:
Not too long ago most knee armor had a hard shell. These don't. The yellow pads are poorly shaped and too small. I have no confidence that they would be in the right position in a crash so I removed them. The blue pads on the top are a good size and shape and fit perfectly. On the other hand they are fairly thin and I doubt they would work as well as some of the older hard shell pads in some of my older pants. Regardless, they are certainly much better than no pads at all. I put them back in the pants.
Not too long ago most knee armor had a hard shell. These don't. The yellow pads are poorly shaped and too small. I have no confidence that they would be in the right position in a crash so I removed them. The blue pads on the top are a good size and shape and fit perfectly. On the other hand they are fairly thin and I doubt they would work as well as some of the older hard shell pads in some of my older pants. Regardless, they are certainly much better than no pads at all. I put them back in the pants.
It's just clickbait, he has zero creds to backup motorcycle safety gear advise. Is it irresponsible, not really in today's world, it's the norm. People want to be told what to think and often eat that kind of stuff up.Wow, LOL, upset you didn't he?
If you believe his videos are really that bad why do you even watch them?
Did you notice the first and last things he said in that video?
The first few seconds.
The last 20 or so seconds.
Just for the record I'm not one of his fanboys, I'm not even subscribed to his channel.
Why can't people be left to make up their own minds on a subject without someone always wanting to call the creators out as 'fucking irresponsible' just because that someone doesn't like what the creator says?
He's just another YT content creator trying to get clicks. Kinda sad since those types usually start out with worthwhile content but when they start making a living off YT the push to get clicks eventually characterizes their content which is exactly what this video is. I watch some of his other stuff and while I like the guys personality and he's entertaining I wouldn't rely on his opinion when determining anything to do with my safety.
Soggy Biscuit
Well-known member
In all seriousness, I think F9 put that video out as an April Fool's joke knowing full well it would attract quite a bit of heat, like Muhammad Hassan did in the mid-00s. I, too, am not a fan of the knee padding. It never seems to sit in the right place. I have thought about strapping on my Easton hockey leg guards a few times. Same goes for some of my other Easton hockey gear. The elbow guards can withstand a slap shot. They've been tried and tested in that respect a couple of times.
Yup. The problem is that he draped that video with studies that provide the perception of credibility. In a time when many rely on YT and TikTok for all sorts of information, Ryan comes off as Walter Cronkite.
I find him entertaining and I appreciate seeing something new or thought provoking, but I put Ryan with the Top Gear Trio when it comes to taking his advice as gospel.
I don't follow Ryan's You Tube channel. I sometimes watch his video's if they are posted on one of the forums I am on. In this case there was a discussion of this video on another forum and I read a bunch of posts and finally decided to watch the video before responding to the thread. Ryan does a good job of making his videos interesting and entertaining but in this video it was obvious he was looking for views more than anything else. However, he did accomplish his goal of getting a lot of views as his video is getting a LOT of discussion.
FLrider
Well-known member
I think the word is infotainment in this case. It can’t be taken seriously but has provoked a lively discussion about how most people perceive safety in riding gear. Noobs would be advised not to take Ryan’s word as gospel and do some serious research in what gear actually is going to be the best for them.
When most of us started out riding we didn’t always get the top of the line gear and maybe some of us still don’t…
But over time as the miles pile on, most of us have gotten wiser and got better or the “best” equipment.
As to what is the best depends largely upon how much money one is willing or able to spend. Some think a $100 lid is fine whereas others buy an $800 lid. Same goes for everything else. One thing I have learned on a personal level that getting the best pays off in comfort and longevity. The comfort factor also adds in safety as you’re not fiddling with an uncomfortable piece of gear while riding… YMMV
When most of us started out riding we didn’t always get the top of the line gear and maybe some of us still don’t…
But over time as the miles pile on, most of us have gotten wiser and got better or the “best” equipment.
As to what is the best depends largely upon how much money one is willing or able to spend. Some think a $100 lid is fine whereas others buy an $800 lid. Same goes for everything else. One thing I have learned on a personal level that getting the best pays off in comfort and longevity. The comfort factor also adds in safety as you’re not fiddling with an uncomfortable piece of gear while riding… YMMV
I hear you. The questions in the titles or thumbnails are so cheesy. It makes me not want to watch for sure.
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