Passed my test in '65 so had the option, sometimes wore a helmet sometimes I didn't. I do miss the wind in my hair and flies in my teeth but still get that feeling when a passenger on a trike where there is no helmet law (Yet).

we go helmet free on holiday.... greek island.. 36 degree heat...deserted roads.. hired moped about 20 mph two up..... wear helmets in the town tho..

its ok... prefer to wear helmet really but feels really casual without one

I rode without a helmet in Italy a few years ago - because I could (at that time it was only a requirement to wear a lid on motorways IIRC).

It was great to get wind in your hair - and there was an extra element of cool due to the "naughtiness" of it all.

But I simply couldn't ride without gloves

All this business about wind in your hair reminds me of the time that I had hair...

Like a lot of people here, I started when you didn't need one, but always did.
I only ever went out once without, by mistake, and without thinking.
Frightened the life out of me - I thought the exhaust had gone!

i recall when the helmet law was introduced, bit of bother over the seiks( apologies if i haven't spelt it right) the ones that wore Turbans anyway. They claimed there turbans were as good as helmets, and got exemption. I wore a flat cap,but had to admit a helmet was a lot better, only open face helmets then, thats why we needed goggles. A lot of the roads in the north were still cobbled, absolutely lethal when wet.Although some bikes could "do the Ton" as 100mph was called the brakes,mostly drum brakes, weren't very good at stopping you. oh yes Petrol was about 3/6d a gallon(5litres) about 17p in todays money.

when I used to go to malta, I used to hire a bike, or use my mates, got hit in the forehead by a bumble bee, at around 40mph, shit it hurt, that was around the mid 80's, the next time I went back, the helmet law has come in, and everyone was wearing cheapo "chips" lookalike helmets, there must have been only one helmet dealer on the island because they were all the same.