I'm driving around the southern Illinois area and all I see around me is people wearing t-shirts, shorts, and no helmet! Crazy!!

Yeah, I went back home to Delaware (no helmet law) for a week after living in California for 5 years, and there were a lot of people with no helmets, wearing tshirts and shorts. 

I am always amazed at all the people that ride around without gear.  In NJ we have a helmet law so people always have atleast some kind of helmet on.  But i have crossed the border into PA on a few occasions and have seen bikers pull over to the side of the road to stop and take off their helmet cause their is no helmet law in PA.

I am a big fan of the Harley riders that wear a leather vest and consider that to be worthy of gear. 

I ride with a lot of stunters that where little to no gear.  Kind of funny seeing them doing crazy stuff with just a helmet (required in MD) while I'm in full gear.  I choose to wear a helmet when I'm back home in Pennsylvania even though it is not required.  It's a personal choice though which is the beauty of living in a "free" society.  They can where as little gear as they want as long as it meets the minimum requirement for the state they are in.  Their body, their life, their choice   

-Jessie

Guy at the supermarket. Helmet - check. Leather jacket - kinda check as it was a going out type of jacket not a riding jacket and looked so shiny it was almost like vinyl. Legs... shorts. Feet... flipflops!  I s'pose half protected it better than none. Funny sight, though.

Michael

I'm guilty.  I ride around half the time with sun glasses ("Eye protection" is required in AZ, not helmets.)  T-shirt and shorts. Today I was riding in a "sports mesh wife beater."  I ALWAYS wear some kind of shoes though.. Usually my Dr. Marten leather boots.  I don't even understand the guys riding around in sandals or flips.  It's hard to put on ATGATT when it's 110F... Any time I ride double with my wife on the back we wear our helmets and jackets. 
The one time I crashed a street bike I was wearing long pants, long sleeves, and sun glasses.. I slid across about 10 lanes worth of intersection.  Kept my head up and used my forearms for skid pads.. minor road rash healed in a weak.   I've been hurt worse on a 49cc "Pocket bike." I went over the handle bars when the front wheel came off.. twice.. (had to get home somehow!) Both times - tucked and landed on my shoulder and rolled.  Keep your head up! 
When I used to have and ride my ATV a lot I always got hurt worse when I was wearing a helmet because I would do "more dangerous" things. 
This is just my $.02.  This is not advice.. and certainly not a good idea or anything anyone with a brain in their head should do.  But, thankfully, I live in a 'free' society and it's my choice if I want my brains splattered IF I get in a crash that bad.

I still was amazed to see how many people, on all different types of bikes, ride without gear. I mean just put a helmet on, at the very least, and your chances of not sustaining major injury increases dramatically. Just say'n   

I've always, and will always, wear a helmet. I didn't wear a jacket for the longest time for the past summers and falls. At least not when it was too hot. All I had was a heavy leather jacket w/ a liner that didn't zip out.

Now I have the Joe Rocket Atomic jacket, and I'll wear that 'til it falls off my back. It's so comfy, and SUPER cool with all the venting it has. Also has a removable heavy liner, that will be great for fall/winter.

I was talking to a guy at work that has about 700 miles on his Ninja 650. He has been down once already. Doesn't wear any gear accept helmet and gloves. Sent him some links to some reasonable gear last week, but he hasn't had a chance to look at it. He was saying today that he was going to get a louder muffler so cars would hear him coming and that would make him safer. I was thinking that perhaps taking a MSF class, getting his license, slowing down, and getting some gear would be a better use of resources, but to each his own. I kept my opinions to myself. We live in a free country protected by the Constitution!   

I guess my thoughts on the manner are. If you ride with out gear you should be required by law to carry enough insurance to cover a catastrophic event. It should not be the taxpayers burden to pay for your dumb a$$.

In Florida we kinda have that law. If you want to ride without a helmet you are supposed to carry $25000 of medical insurance. But, it is never enforced and you don't have to carry insurance on the bike at all.

I'm def an ATGATT person. It was 97 with 98% humidity but the jacket still goes on. A shower will get the sweat off. Road rash not so much.

Mary

I'm too important to ride without gear. 
Hel! wants me too much.   

I always wear full leathers, pants and jacket, even in the midst of our Australian summer where it regularly hovers around or above 40C. I just wear a cooling vest underneath and avoid traffic lights as much as possible It's only when you stop that the heat gets to you.

Riding gear is also (apart from the protection) purpose made. It won't flap annoyingly in the wind, the legs won't pull up and make you look like a twerp, and you'll be protected from bugs. It's ventilated in the right places and will not hinder movement or tangle in the brake lever.
Riding up to an intersection, coming to a stop and discovering that your shoelaces has tied your foot to the bike when your already starting to lean the bike isn't all that fun (at the time ). This I know from experience..

Good leathers also support the body when riding, making it less of an effort.

The only drawback is a tendency for the seat to stretch to a kind of hillbilly-style.

I live in Philadelphia and always have gloves/jacket/helmet on for short distance riding (mile down the road to work, or 10 miles to my parents house).  When I get off of work and go cruising/spirited rides I put on my pants and racing boots... gear just makes you look cooler if anything.

Also if anyone is around Philly/S. Jersey, hit me up!

When I ride to work, I have lace-up steel-capped work boots. Laces ALWAYS tucked in. Jacket, mesh with winter and rain lining. So in Summer I can ride in the 80% humidity without keeling over. Even then, sometimes I have to drench my top underneath so I have a somewhat cooling effect while riding. Cause at a certain temp, the flowing air stops being Cooling by itself and it like having a heater on you. This way the water evaporates and helps cool while still being protected. Mesh kevlar and padded gloves for Summer, leather (deer skin) for winter.

Michael

At the VERY MINIMUM, you should protect your brain!  Unless you plan on not using it the rest of your life, or if you don't mind having someone change your diapers for the next 30 years.  (Some of you might enjoy that.)

I have a mesh jacket with armor, gloves, and a pair of motorcycle boots.  I do wear jeans, which is probably my weak spot.

I always see the schools of squid on the local highways with shorts and t-shirts and sunglasses.  I saw one with fresh road rash down his entire right side (arms, legs, torso) at the bike shop, getting his bike fixed.  OUCH!

Regarding people who ride without gear ( I love the shorts and flip flop people)...we can only hope they haven't procreated so they don't pass on the stupid genes    That being said I don't agree with laws that force you to wear even a helmet. I live int he free state of New Hampshire...no helmet laws...no seat belt law....only one in the country with that.

I've always been of the opinion that common sense will prevail, but sadly sometimes it just doesn't. When I see a supersport ripping down the highway at 120+mph and the rider is wearing shorts and a shirt (which the wind is whipping up his back) I do shake my head.  He could be the best rider around but man ... if something happened ... get out the spatula.  To each his own. 

I don't particulary like being told what to do (even if its for my own benefit) ie: I went in my car a few years back to the corner store, its literally .5 km from my house, and I got a no seatbelt ticket, 110 bucks.   

Stupidity is incurable. Legislating does not cure it.

I'm pretty solidly AGATT after an educational experience about what jeans are not (acceptable riding gear) which made it difficult to sit down for weeks. Within recent memory I did ride somewhere in "normal" boots and pants once, and felt half-naked doing so. I don't ride in boots with laces. I also run a very strict no alcohol when riding policy - I want all my brain on-line and up to speed when riding. Within a few years I extended that to driving as well, kissing the drink-an-hour "rule" goodbye and good riddance.

Still, my own research into the helmet law issue (Never ride without, never wanted to) was enlightening - evidently stupid people wearing a helmet, t-shirt, shorts and flip flops feel more invincible than stupid people wearing a t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops, and actually get hurt more per mile ridden. The major effect of helmet laws is to drastically reduce miles ridden, which slightly reduces total number of injuries. They also slightly reduce head injuries relative to other injuries. Factoid - helmet is mostly good for a fall from riding height to the pavement. Hit a solid object at 20 mph or so, helmet or not does not matter much, you're usually dead either way.

As for me, I'd love to take some of these gearless types out for a nice highway ride in June-bug season. When one of those impacts the helmet or (heavily leathered or Aerostiched) chest at 50 mph, it's a solid hit. I wouldn't care to take one in the face rather than the helmet.

Love my Tanker Boots:
http://www.uscav.com/productinfo.aspx?productid=5713
I've had them re-soled twice in the past 11 years. 

They're just squishy in the heavy rain. 
Maybe a pair of Sidi On-Road's soon. 

Or something in stingray leather:
http://motorcowboy.zoovy.com/category/motorcycle_boots/
It's gazillion times tougher.
Ever tried to stab a stingray?  I have - it's pretty hard.