Well fellas, I hear y'all... and am astonished. So?
I first crashed bike maybe 1962, over the years a few more, with some lingering injuries. Totaled an Oldsmobile with a 650BSA, stuff. Briefly I bought into the propaganda and the helmet stuff, until a wasp flew in and I discovered that pounding on the beanie at 80 MPH eventually killed the insect, albeit with a high speed wobble. When? 1973? After that I did some calculations and discovered that what mattered was luck, and paying attention, experience, judgement, and reasonable prudence. Sobriety seemed almost irrelevant. Then Bell and the corrupt Pols made the law here...I have seen a picture of them "high-5 ing" when degubner signed their profitable bill into law. Calculation suggests a very light beanie and some eye protection is about the best compromise. Snoopy hat, more or less. Never mind goggles, they make you 1/2 blind. Use proper eyewear with good side vision. The mass of the beanie reduces your ability and increases your liability after about 6 MPH. I calculate (using the tables for hanging drops) and I conclude it's a wash...and a bit of a racket - the beanie business, like business generally, is about the money, not about you. But by all means, indulge in the belief... Religion is a great comfort, they tell me. "spensive hat is like a Papal Indulgence in my book. The more the hat costs and the better it feels the safer you will imagine yourself to be... And you will probably survive. In other - I often wish I had worn a 1/2 shell on knee back in '76...hit a patch of freshly spill'd gaso in hairpin switchback...nice bang, pretty fire! FU'd ankle and torn internal "cables", pretty bone. The ankle'd a been fine 'cept for the heavy boot. Shoulda worn sneakers. But the real danger was the time a particular fella bombed the bike shop...killed a 16 year old kid. Maybe if he's been wearing a helmet..naw...blown to bits. (the desperado perp is down for life. When the crime was solved the jerk was already down, in da joint.) Motorcycles are actually pretty safe. Otherwise I'd be dead. FWIW my kid, (he's 50!) tells me that at his university town I would get arrested or ticketed pretty quickly. I cannot imagine why he lives there... kids!