I’ll be graduating pharmacy school this June and I’ve decided to finally take the plunge after I get licensed and get a motorcycle. I’m very likely going to get a small bike like the Kawasaki Ninja 250R as my first bike since I’m told it makes for a fantastic beginner’s bike.
Here’s the thing: I don’t know what gear I actually really NEED. Obviously, I need a helmet. But what else?
And for those of you who know the Columbus area, is there any place I can go other than Iron Pony for most of my gear-shopping needs (the commercials for said establishment make me want to smack the crap out of everyone involved in creating those commercials).
Any other tips for new cycling beginners (besides taking the riding course offered by the BMV)?
Well, the helmet is required by law in most states and throughout Canada. Boots, a leather jacket, leather gloves and a pair of leather pants are not required, but I recommend them highly. The boots will keep your left toes from hurting after a lot of gear changing in the city. The jacket, gloves and pants are unnecessary until you go down at 50 km/h, at which point they represent the difference between skin or no skin.
Rain gear is handy, but not necessary.
You can get by with a backpack or a milk crate bungee’d to the pillion, but you may wish to consider saddle bags or a tank bag for carrying stuff. Bungee cords are really handy.
Lots of community colleges (in Canada, anyway) offer safety courses - they’re a great way to learn to ride, and there are ‘advanced’ courses you can take after having ridden for a few years that aim to eliminate bad habits. Just getting you thinking about your own safety is worth the price.
There’s all kinds of other gear out there to fulfill functions you’d never have dreamed existed, but I’d start out with the helmet and the leathers. They can be real life savers.
It’s nice to have the option of a helmet with a face shield. I prefer open helmets, but big rain drops at 55 mph is like showering under a pressure washer.
Good to know. I was planning on the leathers anyways. Any preferences between one and two-piece suits, especially if I’m gonna be riding this bike to my job where I have to wear a shirt/tie?
I always had two-pieces, and liked that arrangement very much. You can also get chaps that just go over your regular pants. All of this makes it much easier to get at your wallet, keys etc. There’s nothing like going to pay for your gas and discovering you have to reach in and dance around to find the pockets where you’ve actually got everything. From James Dean to Jerry Lewis faster than you can do zero to sixty.
Colour is also a consideration - if your personal aesthetic can extend to wearing flashy colours, it is considered safer. Black is cool, but it reduces your visibility at night. (Not your ability to see, your ability to be seen.) I had racing gear that was blue, purple, white and pink in a pattern that looked like it had been squeezed out of a tube of toothpaste.
A friend of mine used to wear black helmet and leathers on a black bike, until the night he was stopped at a red light about 4 vehicles back. He was right at the mouth of an alley, and he heard the car ripping along. He just guessed from the sound that the car wasn’t going to stop, so he gunned it forward and to the left into the open oncoming lane. Sure enough, the car just whipped across the street and continued down the alley through the next block. A week later, he had some gear that looked like Jimi Hendrix had lost a paint fight…
Purely a personal viewpoint, but I’d skip the bluetooth. You can always pull over if you need to call someone, and there’s more than enough happening on the road to keep your mind occupied.
If you will be riding your bike to a job requiring you be dressed up, you might want to consider Aerostich Riderwarehouse’s Roadcrafter textile suit, either one or two piece. They provide at least as much abrasion protection as race grade leather and fit over your clothes comfortably, so all you undo is three zippers and you are ready for work.
Note, that is not a misspelling…they do spell Aerostich without the second ‘t’.
cite: Roadcrafter
The rule on the range is, “No skin below the chin.” Since you’re wearing a helmet, this basically means to cover everything. I always wear my boots, long pants, jacket, gloves, and helmet. It’s kind of silly not to (if not boots, at least over-the-ankle shoes, but you’ll appreciate the leather on your ankle bones when you go down).
Check out craigslist for gear, but don’t buy a used helmet.
Modular helmets are pretty awesome, and are definitely the way to go on a sportbike, IMHO.
2 piece leather suit.
Fullface helmet
Back protector (not the foam build-in jacket type)
Leather gloves (gauntlet type, reinforced over knuckles)
Boots (race style, ankle, adjustable sole etc)
Earplugs
I do trackdays where the above is pretty much mandatory and it was my motivation for getting the back protector as it was required, but I ride with everything on the street too.
I ride like that to work too. I change at the office where I have spare clothes and shoes.
The reason I have a two-piece is that when stopped I can take off the jacket and just walk around in the pants. Great for hot days where you meet up with others to kick some tires etc.
Btw. I only ride with boxers and a t-shirt under the leather, except in cold weather where I wear long underpants and a long sleeved shirt.
I’ll second the Aerostich line of stuff. I have the Darien style jacket and love it. When getting caught in the rain I’m the only one of my friends that’s 100% dry.
It took forever to break in. The sleeves were stiff as hell at first. All the more reason to wear it and ride more!
I took the MSF course a couple of years ago, got my license, but then decided not to continue riding. Gloves were required for the course, so I bought some and haven’t worn them since.
