My wife and I just bought our first pieces of protective apparel today in preparation for what we hope to be many years of happy motorcycle ownership and enjoyable riding. I bought myself a helmet and gloves, and she just got gloves (she, not having the same instant gratification disease I do, found a helmet she liked, but decided to order it online for less money).
We’re both new to riding, and we intend to buy what we believe is a full set of gear (along with gloves and helmets, we’re planning on protective jackets, pants and boots). But I see a lot of riders out there who don’t bother with some (or any :eek: ) of this protection. My questions to you are as follows:
What protective gear do you don when you ride?
If there is some gear you regularly don’t wear, what is your reasoning?
Based on what I’ve described of our own purchases and intended purchases, do you have any recommendations or advice for us?
ATGATT -All the gear, all the time. Given that encounters with cars at intersections make up a huge chunk of accident statistics, the shorter the ride, the more likely you are to need the gear.
I live where we can ride 12 months of the year, but the weather conditions vary a lot. This pretty much means I need two sets of gear or I will be too hot or too cold for half the year.
As for on-line ordering: If I try it on at the store, and if they stock the size and color I want, then I consider it a point of honor NOT to crap-weasle them. OTOH, I require a tall in everything, so they seldom meet the “my size” requirement.
No matter where I go, even down to the store, I always wear a full-face helmet, jacket, long pants, and over-the-ankle shoes. The jacket might be denim for this, but there’s always one of some sort.
If I’m going anywhere that involves a freeway or a longer distance in town, it’s the same as above but the jacket becomes a mesh or leather riding jacket (armored, not just a denim jean jacket) and the footwear becomes boots.
If I’m going for any decent distance, all of the above plus some sort of riding pants (either mesh overpants on warmer days or leather riding pants on cooler ones).
I would never go without the helmet or gloves, and would feel uncomfortable without at least long pants and long-sleeved shirt under any circumstances.
One piece of gear I often skip is the protective pants, figuring my jeans will probably do me fine (even though I know it would be smarter to wear the more protective ones).
Whatever your personal habits may be (and I somehow doubt they’re all that bad based on the other threads you’ve posted in), your years of experience on the road mean that you have valuable observations to put forth, so I’d still appreciate your input.
Well, okay. I wear a full face helmet, and a mesh riding jacket with hard armour in the elbows and shoulders. I usually wear gloves, but rarely motorcycling gloves. In warm weather I tend to wear nomex flight gloves, and in cold weather I use North Face Steep Tech ski gloves. I normally wear long trousers or jeans, but I’ve been known to ride in shorts. I rarely wear boots. I’ve been thinking about getting some mesh pants with hard bits in them.
I have to say that I ride much more conservatively unattired as I am, than I would if I wore a full racing suit.
Spiny Norman is much more sensible than I, wearing leathers and boots every time I see him on a bike. You should be as sensible as he, and get the protective gear and wear it.
Asi’s wife here with a slight hijack. I agree with you 100% on this. If they spent the time at the store talking with me and helping me make a decision, I need to fork out the extra money because I’m paying them not just for the gear, but for their expertise. Asi didn’t know this at time, but I wanted to try on more styles of helmet before I decided. Right now, I’m looking at this, but there’s no rush for me to buy.
I only ride as a passenger, but I wear a full face helmet (which looks pretty cool, too), a protective jacket, and gloves. If I bought a bike and was going to ride it, I would wear boots (might get them anyway) and overpants. Always.
My fiance always wears a full face helmet, jacket, and gloves. When he commutes to work he usually just wears jeans, but when it’s colder he wears overpants. He has special rain gear too.
When he goes out on the weekends or to the track he wears a full body leather suit in addition to the boots, gloves, and helmet. You can’t be too protected.
My advice to you is get every piece of protective gear you can. Boots, pants, jacket, gloves, helmet. Wear it all, all the time. Road rash is no fun, and that would probably be the least of your problems if you crash.
I have brand preferences, but not sure that’s appropriate for this thread.
I also have pictures of us in our gear on my blog, I think…not sure how far back though.
I’ll let my husband respond to the protective gear issue, but I just wanted to recommend one piece of equipment I’d never ride without again; an intercom! If your wife will be your passenger, you can get a wired one, and if she’ll be riding her own bike, they make wireless ones, as well. It makes an enormous difference in the overall enjoyment level of your ride when you can actually talk to one another.
I didn’t start this thread with that in mind, but now that you bring it up, I’d love to hear suggestions from other folks and know what they’re happy with. So lay it on me!
I was just looking at a Joe Rocket mesh jacket with body armor yesterday. The store had it for only $99, but they didn’t have it in my size or I might have bought it. Glad to know that experienced riders use it.
We’re planning to have different bikes for the two of us. We have a good friend who rides who was also talking about wanting to make use of an intercom. Sounds like fun to me, once we’ve gotten some riding experience under our belts. I don’t really like the idea of being distracted just yet.
Thanks for all of the great responses so far, by the way. If you have specific brand gear recommendations, let me know. As for me, I bought a Vega Altura helmet and First Gear riding gloves yesterday. As I mentioned, I’m considering Joe Rocket for a mesh jacket and possibly riding pants. I have no clue about boots yet. I don’t really want to spend a ton of money right now because I don’t know how committed I’ll be to riding regularly. Time will tell.
Before I even bought my first motorcycle, which I must admit was only a few weeks ago, I had my full gear for six months or so in preperation. A Velmar(italian) helmet, and Icon Daytona full competition grade leather jacket,draggin jeans, boots, and leather gloves. My dad, who has been riding all his life doesn’t wear as much, but I’ve been very mcuh into the value of saftey layers, this probably won’t save me in the face of a truely dangerous crash but it does feel really good to ride around.
We don’t ride anymore, but the main thing that drives me nuts is people who ride in shorts and sandals. WT everlovin’ F. Why don’t you just climb into a rock tumbler and have at it?
Leather, leather, leather. That’s all I gotta say on the subject.
With the exception of two times I was out west I always wear a full face helmet. Those two times did nothing for me, but at least I know I’m not missing anything.
I always wear gloves, I have a few different types, most of them full leather. When I was first learning to ride I read to always wear gloves because even if the accident is minor your hands can feel the brunt of it. I once slid at around 5mph and cut up my hands because of the dumb gloves.
Over the ankle boots. I have two pair of Sidi boots that I like, well over the ankle and up the calf. One is for basic back and forth riding since they are so old. The newer ones are for distance trips.
Always some sort of jacket, usually leather. I have a jacket with peferations for the summer, and though it can get hot, it’s still not that bad.
When I go for any other kind of riding except to work I’m usually wearing my Aerostitch riding suit. I can fit more clothes under it if it gets cold, and it doesn’t get very hot.
I will admit that unless I’m wearing the suit I only wear jeans. I know it’s not the best idea, but I have made my choice.
I don’t understand why people would ride around in much less. I’ve had so many odd things happen to me that I know I need to wear the gear.
I race motorcycles, so obviously I’m big on good riding gear. It’s saved my ass many times. Full leather suit w/ hard armor in the joints, back protector, racing boots, racing gloves and a full faced, Snell/DOT approved helmet. I typically wear all of this on “spirited” back road rides as well.
Obviously, wearing all of that gear is not practical for my daily commutes to work, so I compromise a little. I still wear the jacket, boots, helmet and gloves, but dith the back protector and the leather pants.
My rule of thumb for gear:
Don’t skimp money-wise. When it comes to motorcycle gear, you do get what you pay for. You don’t have to spend $500 on an Arai helmet, but don’t cheap out on the $90 DOT only bare bones helmet either. Helmet should be full faced and DOT/Snell2000 rated at the very least. From that point, more $$ = lighter and more comfortable, but not any safer.
While textile gear has come a long way, leather is still much better. Protects you better, holds up to the elements better, looks better and wears better. Ideally you should have a full two-piece leather suit, a jacket and pants with a connecting zipper that goes all the way around your waist. At least get a good quality leather jacket. it should be a thick durable real motorcycle jacket, not a fashion leather. It should have extra padding in the shoulder, elbows and back. Soft padding is OK, hard armor is better. If you don’t wear leather pants, at least wear thick jeans. With no armor they won’t protect you from broken bones or sprains in the event you go down, but a good thick quality jean will hold up briefly and help protect you from road rash. There is a company called Draggin’ Jean that makes riding jeans w/ thicker denim and a Kevlar lining that holds up pretty well to abrasion.
Gloves, don’t cheap out here. you should spend at least $120 on gloves, they should be leather, completely cover your wrist and have extra leather in the palms and hard armor over the knuckles.
Boots should be leather, cover your ankles and not allow you to bend your ankles to the left or the right.
The only appropriate response to that is: Boww chikka boww - chikka boww-boww
WRT to “I’m just going two miles to get some milk” and not gearing up - I used to work with a guy who said that until he got clobbered two blocks from his home. His hand now looks like he tried to stop a running garbage disposal with it.
**Kalhoun ** - there’s a lot of young guys around here who obviously think they’re invincible riding on the freeways like that. They just don’t grasp the idea that if they go down at 75 MPH dressed in a tank top, shorts and sandals that the EMTs will be taking them to the morgue in a sponge.
I’ve noticed around here the squids, if they have any protective gear at all, will be wearing top-shelf racing gloves. That’s it: tee-shirt, shorts, sandals, and leather and carbon gauntlet-style Spidi gloves. If they have a helmet, it’s invariably an $800 Arai, hanging off the helmet lock. I also wonder, from a practical standpoint, doesn’t it hurt to upshift if you’re wearing sandals?
Anyway, I commute daily on the bike, rain or shine, year-round in Central Florida. I always wear a FF helmet, perforated leather jacket (Joe Rocket Blaster 2.0), and leather riding gloves. I also will only ride if I wear long pants. If I’m going to be riding a long distance or in a “spirited” manner, I’ll also add overpants (Firstgear HT Air) and motorcycle boots. If it rains, I have a rainsuit (Teknic Cyclone) that I pull on over my regular gear.
No, all that gear isn’t too hot, not even in the Florida Summer. The secret is that the leather is perforated, and the pants are mesh, which both allow the air to pass right through. So as long as I keep moving, I stay comfortable. On cold days I wear a windbreaker under the jacket, and the pants have a liner that zips in. I find that’s enough to keep me comfortable down into the upper-30’s (and it never gets colder than that where I live).
Even in SoCal it can get a little chilly for a few weeks. A regular-size bandana will do, but try to find a larger one. Fold it in half to make a triangle. Tie it on bandit-style (over your nose or not) before putting on your helmet. Tuck the loose end into your zipped-up jacket. It really helps.
Last winter my wife got me one of these buffs, like the kind they wear on Survivor, though mine is just a generic pattern. It’s basically a tube of stretchy material and it’s real handy on cold days. I wear it around my neck with the bottom tucked into my jacket and the top either over my chin or nose, bandit-style, or pulled over my head balaclava-style. I also have some glove liners but with the handguards I have on the bike it’s almost never cold enough to need them.
Sensible, bah! If I was sensible I wouldn’t commute through the 101-110 intersection in anything less than an APC…
Be that as it may, I’ve just gotten into the habit of slipping into the entire kit whenever I go riding. Two-piece leathers, boots, spine protector, gloves. Helmet goes w/o saying. If I miss part of the kit, it just feels weird. Murphy’s law being what it is, I know that the day I’m not geared up is the day I go down.
One thing not covered: Sunglasses, so I can lift the visor w/o having to expose my eyes to flying gravel. I like them to not be too dark, to avoid excitement in tunnels and such - a friend of mine had to remove a nice pair of very dark Ray-Ban Wayfarers really fast in an Alpine tunnel. (They’re still there.) If you’re going to buy sunglasses specifically for riding, bring your helmet when trying them on.
As for intercoms, they can be a distraction, of course, in particular if they need fiddling with - then again, attempting to communicate “I think we should have turned back there” or “I think I see a police cruiser behind that sign” with hand signals can be distracting, too. I come down in favor of intercoms, but to each their own.