Right,
Well, there are some situations that no amount of protection will save ya from.
Ya pays your money and ya takes your chances.

Hope you didn’t suffer any lasting injuries.

-nicker-

nicker, I always look both ways when entering an intersection and never just “blow through” them.

The last time I was hit in an intersection by a lightrunner was in ’97. It was late at night and I had the green arrow to make a left. All traffic was stopped in all three lanes coming toward me.

The guy that hit me was a 25-year-old crackhead (on probation with no license, insurance or registration) driving a flat black Jetta with black grille, black bumpers and black tinted windows and NO LIGHTS ON of any kind.

He was coming up behind the rest of the stopped traffic but apparently felt he shouldn’t have to wait for a light, so just as I was entering the intersection, he swerved around the stopped traffic into his left turn lane to go straight and run the light. He was doing around 40 mph according to witnesses.

He hit me head-on, spun around and then took off. He left his entire grille, left headlight bucket and most of his windshield & driver’s window in the intersection.

Because his car was totally black with no lights on and it was dark out, there’s no way you, I or anyone else could have seen him coming or predicted his actions.

One thing I’ve learned in 41 years of riding is that no matter how careful or experienced you are, some things are simply out of your control.

RE:
“…. I was simply wondering aloud why Harley only sells short boots these days….”

Presumably, that’s what sells. It’s a business thing.

“….. if you plan to ride further than to the bar and back… think I’ve inadvertently stumbled upon the reason”

And my point simply that i doubt that riding distance has not a lot to do with lower leg injuries.

RE:
“…So riding defensively will protect you from someone who runs a light intentionally?…”

You-bet..!!!!
Have saved me own ass several times by over the last 50-years, slowing down and looking real lose at intersection cross traffic.

Only a fool (make the REAL FOOL) blows through a intersection just cause they have the Green Light on their side.

Bottom line (IMHO), regardless of who ya are or how much ya ride, the best protection is a good riding strategy, good riding skills, and a healthy dose of paranoia…..

-nicker-

This Chippewa is 11″ but you can find higher ones if you search.
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/engineer-boots-by-chippewa.aspx?a=486675

Wear bedroom slippers if you want, your legs and what happens to them is of no concern to me, I was simply wondering aloud why Harley only sells short boots these days.

Back when motorcycling wasn’t for wimps, every Harley catalog – for many decades – featured tall boots. For people who actually rode.

A tall leather boot can and often does make the difference between having your foot pinched off at the ankle or just having it broken.

So riding defensively will protect you from someone who runs a light intentionally? Perhaps the term you’re thinking of is “riding psychically.”

And the name’s Todd8080, not “Tod”.

I drove by just after a car t-boned Pittsberg Angelo in the middle of Danville CA.
As i recall his leg, laying in the middle of the road, all by itself, still had a Boot on it.

Now, i’ll certainly concede that a full length boot will keep ya from burning the piss out of your leg on a 42FL rear exhaust pipe…..

But if your trying to tell me that a regular boot is gonna protect ya from a pickup truck, i wanna know what type of boot your talking about……. Hell i doubt my Fiberglass MX boots would protect me from an F100.

Bottom line, ya get enough mass between your leg and any hard-spot, the leg is gonna get the short end of the stick, boot or not.

Perhaps a better strategy would be worrying less about boots and more about riding defensively…. ya think….???

See, the real worrysome thing about this dialog is it may well instigate some bed-wetting-liberal sniveler to instigate foot ware legislation…. and no one wants that

-nicker-

“OK, i give up….. Why have i been doing wrong….???”

You’d know all too well if you’d had your foot, ankle & leg crushed between a Harley and an F150 as I did.

Ask anyone who’s ever been whacked by a lightrunner (I have twice), your legs always get injured.

Sorry, no Beatle boots for me.

Begin the z.z as a drawn-out groove, from the cap and around. Use a dual-accent ring-lines. Make the “tread” radius (rubber) and the (pit) zig as part of the sidewall. [Not a dirt-holder if the z-z design edges are chamfered].
The z.z transitions above to the the high-density cushion outsole, then to the leather/Gortex® upper.
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Considering the Tin Primary and Cam Cover “wear-patterns” on my (n.o.s.) Sierra V-Lites®; I’d suggest putting the old-style (high top tennis shoe) “outside” ankle area “ball” patch on the “inside” ankles of the Mid, because that round-area of both ankles gets heat and oil contact.
I don’t think a left (or right) foot shifter boot pad is necessary, unless you can use them as leather support structure-webbing, and keep the wt. to no more than 15.5 oz. per Mid.

http://www.amazon.com/Hi-Tec-V-Lite-Skamania-Hiking-Russett/dp/B001D9IZ4A/ref=cm_cr-mr-img

Changing the bottom zig-zag outline of the lug sole, to a radial tread based on the 60′s. Speed-Grip. This will make the HD Mid like the Ska, but you can leave off some of the toe-piece wrap and any other non-utility appurtenance.
Make it HD®’s own (but go easy on the tread density – with only a hint of the Speed-Grip tread pattern would be necessary, to establish a trademark recognized “look” (like J. Purcell’s) tennis shoe – and better than going “over-the-top” with the tire tread making the boot look more like a tire-tread huarache.

RE:
“…just ankle-high, which is a bad height for boots, at least it is if you plan to ride further than to the bar and back…”

Well, have only use full length for dirt bike riding.
But put in over 30 years of (60 miles a day) commuting.
Put 4500 miles to/from Sturgis this year…..all with ankle highs.

OK, i give up….. Why have i been doing wrong….???

-nicker-

The first thing to look for in any slash-cut mid is the hardware.
If it’s metal (with a Hi-Tec® boot) then the boot is going to weigh more like 18.80 oz. per boot, because to go with that “metal hardware”, the boot will ALWAYS have a Hard Carbon, heavy, LOUD to walk in, dirt retaining lug sole. All of the other Hi-Tech boots are for mountaineering and have a hard, heavy hard carbon lug sole. Worthless for the “floorboard-feel” response m/c riders need for safe forward controls operation or street walking.
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The slash-cut is very conducive to rocker clutch jockey shifting. Your ankle never feels bound, yet you have the lateral protection if you step-wrong off a bar-stool. A Mid could prevent an ankle sprain.
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The featherweight Mid is my suggestion for the Harley market. Stick to basic structure. We want to PAY for comfort quality not logo-bling.

Don’t add an ounce to a size 9, 13.5 lb. Mid.

Pick your colors. Make the style sell the Mid (like people will buy Jack Purcell® tennis shoes just because they like the under-laminate blue toe stripe.
Put the H-D logo on the back like Keds® used to do. No eagles or skulls.
Blend earth colors or subtle orange & black. The gore-tex/ leather combos dry fast, if they get wet.

They’ve been resoled eight times and are due again, but the last guy to resole them said there’s not enough material left to do it a ninth time.

They offer very good ankle & calf protection and block icy winds well. So why did Harley quit selling them?

The tallest boot they sell now is just ankle-high, which is a bad height for boots; at least it is if you plan to ride further than to the bar and back.

Oh, wait, I think I’ve inadvertently stumbled upon the reason.

http://www.amazon.com/Hi-Tec-V-Lite-Skamania-Hiking-Russett/dp/B001D9IZ4A/ref=cm_cr-mr-img

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The sku for the Rainbow®, black, single, arch is: 301ABRLK-BLAK
This model is all black. Military spec. sewn nylon straps. Harley-Davidson durability in a flip-flop you can trust. Rainbow® flips won’t flop around on your feet. The soles will compress to match your footprint. Durable. I buy (3) pair at a time [one to thrash, and one pair for dress, one for back-up.]
Ask them to job shoes for H-D® They’ll put the bar and shield logo where their Rainbow® label is now.
http://www.rainbowsandals.com/Classic301.aspx
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Yea Nicker, I have a half-dollar size burn scar on my right calf, from standing astride the hot and running Pan looking in my pockets for a quarter. I didn’t have any quarters and I burned my leg and yes, I flinched.

RE:
“…flop and I wear mine regularly – riding both Knuckle and Pans with (FX shifter cam) jockey shifts…”

Hell, burned the piss out-a my right leg just wearing shorts down to the gas station (stock 42 FL.).

That rear pipe is way too close for comfort (when on the side stand)…..

-nicker-

• The mid-boot that’s obsolete and waiting to be resurrected.

• And the (Harley-Davidson®) quality flip-flop from the surfing/skate community.
Tony Hawk is from our county. You don’t want any other flip-flop with good reason. The inventors use aircraft materials and surfing inspired neoprene that has an engineered compaction (you feet find a home), but the strap stays tight. The flip doesn’t flop and I wear mine regularly – riding both Knuckle and Pans with (FX shifter cam) jockey shifts.
Never a problem. Drives people nuts, especially boxer bikes. For some reason Boxer Beemer riders are especially irked by seeing flip-flop rocker clutch action. Great fun to blow minds most bitterly, without making noise.

And no, H-D prison creepers are not in our future.

dont worrrrrry about it , some guy in china will knock them off

i iike em , i like most skaters shoes, you should make some furrrrry house slippers with handle bars on them for all the ole geezers on here so they can stop whinning

Todd

on a brand new Street Glide wearing shorts and flip-flops.

yeah u see the bros doing that in laughlin; 39k bike 10 k paint with matching helmets and .98cent fip flops, biker fred flinstones trying to stop

TODD, this must be the guy’s brother that you saw!!

http://www.videovat.com/videos/2070/harley-davidson-crash.aspx

We all don’t want to, or will we ever, purchase a new Harley-Davidson® machine. But, most all of us will buy the HD® clothing, if it’s not restricted to the “black leather look”.

We who live in California know that State & Federal prisons have ALWAYS dictated true men’s clothing style. Period. Most especially from the Latino’s. That’s a fact. Go with it or lose out. Style just takes time to “trickle-down” to swap meet “attendees” (since that’s where the new styles are always walking around).

Again, the old Bad Ass (loud exhaust) Attitude is dead & stinking.

People have deep worries and problems out there driving around today. If you come up beside the wrong person, lane splitting on your “loud-&-I’ve-got-an-attitude-Harley” (or clone), and there’s people in LA (for sure) that will light your ass up or force you off the road and into a tree.
If H-D®’s “selling” bad attitude, then you’re pushing angst factor.

If people want to be Bad Ass….go over and fight in the hills of Afghanistan against the Iran-iban.

2. “The other day I saw a guy going down the road here in Fort Lauderdale on a brand new Street Glide wearing shorts and flip-flops.”

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Thanks for responding Hobie.

1. Imo, the new Harley riders of 2010 are not really wearing bluckle-stomper boots anymore.
In part because the word “Attitude” means a person with an “attitude” is lame.
I think H-D® owes it to their stock holders to listen to me. Give me 5 minutes of someone’s time at “Garage Collection” to show them my (7) conservative – classic designs.
We’ll see if “Garage Collection” out sells the leather goods department’s studded stompers they’re stuck with.

2. This fellow has seen the new riding style. Anything goes on a Harley-Davidson today.
If they can’t arrest you for riding in flip-flops, then people will build on that. Being outrageous in today’s world is important. Anything to show individualism, that is just-short of getting a permanent tattoo.
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The reality of the clothing business (and everything commercial) is that there are hard layers of corporate hardshell. There is no way to crack the layers for an outsider. It’s all under hard contract to committees of designers. No one person can make any decisions in a corporate design outfit, and that’s the problem. Too many cooks adding their ingredients.
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3. “Wow, not alot of happy campers (bikers).”

Well, I tried to give you some reasons. Harley-Davidson® clothes don’t excite anyone anymore.