Taz3
Junior Member
I agree that mohawks are a bit out there, but unlike Dave, I don't think it's right to judge someone for wearing one.
For example, I partook in a charity ride for a fallen safety advocate (a car crossed into her lane, smashed through the 2 vehicles in front of her before killing her) and her organisation of choice was WROAR, which raised money for women's shelters in Ontario. They sell mohawks, usually pink unless you custom order one, at rallys and events to raise money for their cause. They are held on the helmet with suction cups. I bought one and sported it after the event, and it was neat to recognise riders from all over who also wore them in support.
At the end of last summer (after riding with the mohawk for the season) I was in a charity poker run, surrounding by cruisers, the majority of them Harley's. A cop split into the group to single me out and pull me over to give me hell about the mohawk and threatened he could give me a ticket. His reasoning was that if it comes into contact with the road, it will change how the helmet reacts, ie it will catch and snap my neck rather than sliding. I showed him it was only suction cups, and not the idotic metal spikes that people drill into their lids, but he said it didn't matter.
2 motorcycle shows later and countless cops questioned, I've determined that it is up to the discretion of the officer, but if you take it to court, you can only be charged if you've altered the structural integrity of the helmet (ie the spikes drilled into the helmet). The suction cups are fine, and I bet the 3M tape would be as well, especially with rubber or fuzzy mohawks.
Also, off topic, but I live in the country and often come across red lights that won't trigger to change for bikes (too little weight or too weak a magnetic field). I go to work at 5am, so I can't really stick around and wait for another car to show up to trigger the light change. If you are reasonably sure you are at such a light, you can approach the red light as a stop sign. In other words, come to a complete stop, look both ways, and proceed. Some people tried to tell me to make a right turn, u turn, right turn, but the cops I spoke with say that's more dangerous.
Oh, and a fun fact: in Canada, red light cameras are only triggered if you hit the line to enter the intersection, at least going 20kph. So if you come to a complete stop, as in the scenario above, you won't even trigger the cameras.
For example, I partook in a charity ride for a fallen safety advocate (a car crossed into her lane, smashed through the 2 vehicles in front of her before killing her) and her organisation of choice was WROAR, which raised money for women's shelters in Ontario. They sell mohawks, usually pink unless you custom order one, at rallys and events to raise money for their cause. They are held on the helmet with suction cups. I bought one and sported it after the event, and it was neat to recognise riders from all over who also wore them in support.
At the end of last summer (after riding with the mohawk for the season) I was in a charity poker run, surrounding by cruisers, the majority of them Harley's. A cop split into the group to single me out and pull me over to give me hell about the mohawk and threatened he could give me a ticket. His reasoning was that if it comes into contact with the road, it will change how the helmet reacts, ie it will catch and snap my neck rather than sliding. I showed him it was only suction cups, and not the idotic metal spikes that people drill into their lids, but he said it didn't matter.
2 motorcycle shows later and countless cops questioned, I've determined that it is up to the discretion of the officer, but if you take it to court, you can only be charged if you've altered the structural integrity of the helmet (ie the spikes drilled into the helmet). The suction cups are fine, and I bet the 3M tape would be as well, especially with rubber or fuzzy mohawks.
Also, off topic, but I live in the country and often come across red lights that won't trigger to change for bikes (too little weight or too weak a magnetic field). I go to work at 5am, so I can't really stick around and wait for another car to show up to trigger the light change. If you are reasonably sure you are at such a light, you can approach the red light as a stop sign. In other words, come to a complete stop, look both ways, and proceed. Some people tried to tell me to make a right turn, u turn, right turn, but the cops I spoke with say that's more dangerous.
Oh, and a fun fact: in Canada, red light cameras are only triggered if you hit the line to enter the intersection, at least going 20kph. So if you come to a complete stop, as in the scenario above, you won't even trigger the cameras.
