The Spyder doesn't 'go down' like 2-wheelers do all the time.
Sure, but because you're not enclosed &/or strapped into said enclosure like you are in a cage, if for any reason you ever part company with your machine (which btw, is a statistically significant likelihood!

) you
REALLY want to be wearing something that'll act as a friction reducing layer between you & the scenery/road surface - preferably something that's not going to shred in 0.3 seconds or less when you start sliding down the road too!! The 'armour' bits of ATGATT motorcycle gear are just added protection to reduce the incidence of bone breaking impacts when you hit the deck - impacts that tend to become increasingly more risky as most of us age! :lecturef_smilie:
However, it's the protective coverage that's most critical, cos
your skin is one of the largest and most important 'organs' of your body - lose or damage too much of it, and you die! Shred or grind road surface into too much of it, and if you don't die from leaking too much of the all important 'claret' out, it's almost impossible to avoid ending up with massive & life threatening infections which can mean you die! Hit any surface hard enough after parting company with your machine and without even considering the likelihood of breaking bones &/or tearing unprotected limbs completely off, the '
bag keeping all the important bits inside' which is
your skin, will almost certainly rupture somewhere, letting those important '
meant to stay inside' bits out, if not actually splattering them all over the road way, and you..... well, you should get the picture by now!
Those with any imagination will realise that wearing appropriate gear to minimise the risk of these ^^ sorts of occurrences is probably a reasonable thing to consider, given that you
ARE more likely to end up 'becoming one' with the scenery &/or road surface when riding on the
OUTSIDE a Spyder or Ryker than you are when travelling
INSIDE a cage. Sure, these particular 3 wheeled machines are a little less likely to unceremoniously dump you or toss you onto the road surface than a 2 wheeler may be, and the Nanny is really pretty good at keeping the machine itself shiny side up, but
you are still travelling on the
OUTSIDE of the machine, and there is a reasonably high chance that at some stage of your ryding life, you will end up parting company with said machine and so risking these injuries &/or the consequences. If you choose to do that with little actually between you and the surface you will likely end up sliding along, ie, with little actually protecting you besides your skin, then that
is your choice, but don't bag others for being a little more concerned about keeping their own skin intact & taking steps to minimise the chances of losing too much of it, no matter how small or comprehensive those steps may be! :lecturef_smilie:
There's an old saying about brains - $5 brain, $5 bucket - a saying that implies if anyone thinks their brain is only worth $5, then they don't need anything more expensive than a $5 bucket to keep it in, safe & contained where it belongs. :yikes: . The same can be said to apply to our skin, but we
are all adults here (aren't we??) so we get to make an informed choice and are allowed to decide which risks we feel are worthwhile taking. Me, I wear a helmet that cost more than $5 and I almost always cover as much of my skin as possible while ryding; and I generally chose garments made of a material that won't shred into nothingness in 0.3 seconds if I end up sliding down the road at 20mph.... or worse, that might grind/burn into my skin in the statistically significantly likely event that I ever end up sliding along the road surface! But then, I've survived playing tag on a 2-way rifle range and a bunch of other really high-risk activities largely thru training, practice, and having/using the right gear, with a fair seasoning of good luck thrown in; so I don't
ever ignore the benefits of choosing my gear wisely & not leaving it off or behind if I'm likely to need it... but maybe I'm just risk averse?!? :dontknow: