Diabel1969 -
Please don't take offense, this is just a counterpoint...
You may never wear a seat belt and you may never wear a helmet while riding your bike - you feel that is your right. I agree with you - I don't like people telling me what to do.
But please don't get too mad if you get a few tickets or you are denied insurance coverage if someone texting on their phone hits you. No one believes it will happen to them, but actuarials are very real.
In Florida, if you ride a motorcycle without a helmet, you must carry $10,000 minimum coverage and since you go to bike week I bet you already know this. Plus, the insurance company has the right to put you in the highest risk category and jack the heck out of your premiums - which they do.
Now take any form of car racing. Could you imagine how many drivers would be killed if NASCAR, NHRA, Indy, F1, Outlaw didn't use seatbelts? It would probably be on the order of 10x. It is exactly the same as a passenger car, just amplifies the effect with much higher inertia.
Anyway, TAG is speaking from the heart. Not a bad person to listen to.
P.S. I don't know what part of Upstate NY you are from, but I used to race the car in my sig below at ESTA Safety Park in Cicero, NY.