High Gear The bike-helmet battle

On Sundays along beautiful Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles, it is not unusual to spot, among the lesser folk and the Hell's Angels, such celebrated motorcycle devotees as Sylvester Stallone, Lorenzo Lamas, Mickey Rourke and Gary Busey. Few wear helmets, since California is one of 28 states that do not require them for adults. Last week fate dealt Busey, 44, a blow that tragically called into question his vocal opposition to mandatory-helmet laws and renewed debate on the issue.

; The actor, a 1978 Oscar nominee (The Buddy Holly Story), had just got his Harley-Davidson out of a repair shop in Culver City, Calif., and was heading down busy Washington Boulevard, when he failed to negotiate a right turn. He skidded and was thrown from his bike, his head slamming against a sidewalk. After nearly two hours of brain surgery, he was given a guardedly optimistic prognosis.

Busey's accident prompted California legislators to reintroduce a bill requiring all motorcycle riders to wear helmets. Twelve years ago, 47 states had such laws (though not California). Most were passed in response to federal rules cutting U.S. highway funds to states without such provisions. But bike lobbies persuaded Congress in 1976 to erase the financial sanction, and more than half the states revoked or weakened their helmet laws. Over the next three years, motorcycle fatalities leaped more than 40%, according to federal figures.

Many cyclists insist the decision to wear a helmet is a matter of personal freedom. "A motorcyclist should be able to feel the wind through his hair if that's what he wants," says Wayne Thomas of the California Motorcyclists Association. But the price of such freedom can be high not only for the individual cyclist but for society at large. A study of 105 bike-accident victims hospitalized in Seattle during 1985 found that of the $2.7 million they incurred in medical bills, 63% was paid for out of public funds. Says John Cook of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety: "This is a social issue. When you have a seriously brain-injured person, all of us pay."