I believe I said in an earlier post that riding is about minimizing the risks and then accepting those that are left. (Or something like that.) Protective gear is a way to minimize the risks.
If you want to start a major debate, mention the subject of helmets to a group of riders. There are opinions that range from a helmet being a "must" to those who think they are a greater danger than riding without one. I worked as a paramedic for 26 years and saw my share of motorcycle accidents. I wear a helmet. Now, as to which type, there's an even greater range of ideas. A fullface is the best protection. It's also the hottest. A 3/4 covers your head but leaves your face exposed and is only slightly cooler to wear than a full. A 1/2 protects everything above ears/eyebrows and is the coolest to wear. Most have a zip-out neck liner that can be used in cold weather. I use one of these. Mine is a Scorpion EXO 100 and incorporates a face shield that retracts into the helmet and can be dropped down when needed. Price is around $130.
Someone mentioned a leather jacket. I have an old leather flight jacket that is wonderful for winter wear. Even so, I have moved to a cordura jacket with a zip-out liner. The outer shell is water resistant and the neck and sleeves have velcro closures to let me seal out rain as much as possible. My old leather jacket will soak up rain like a sponge. There are other jackets that incorporate protective hard points over the spine and elbows. I've never worn one so I won't give an opinion. I have to admit that I leave the jacket at home during the summer. When I leave to go home this afternoon the temperature outside will be around 103 and I'll be riding in slow traffic. One of these days I'm going to spring for one of the jackets with mesh and protective hard points.
If you ever do go down on your bike I can almost guarantee that you will stick your arm out to break your fall. Your hand will probably be the first part of you to contact the pavement. Wear good riders gloves. I wear gloves no matter how hot it is.
Long pants are an absolute must in my mind. Jeans are better than bare skin. My wife wears a visible scar on her leg from coming in contact with a hot muffler for a split second while wearing shorts. Specialty riders jeans with extra material in high risk places are better. Leathers or chaps are better yet but are way hot in the summer. You have probably noticed by now that there is always a trade-off between level of protection and summertime comfort.
Footgear needs to fulfill two needs, protection and traction. I'll come right out and say that I wear nothing but lace-up boots that come above my ankles by a good bit. They have a vibram lug sole. Leather soled anything is bad news. It is at the very least embarassing to stop at a signal, put your foot down, and have it slide out from under you causing you to drop the bike. Leather soles and a small amount of oil/grease/water on the pavement will do this to you. I also think that the traditional engineer type boot (or any other pull-on boot or shoe) is less than ideal. I've seen such boots flung off the wearers foot in an accident too many times to trust them. A boot will come off with exactly the same ease as it goes on. If it's not on your foot it is no protection at all. I leave the engineer boots to those who want to look like bad bikers.
I guess the only other thing I can think of is eye protection. If you wear a full-face helmet you have pretty well taken care of that. I mentioned that my half helmet has a drop-down face shield. I still wear sunglasses during the day but rely on the combination of the windshield on my bike and the shield on the helmet at night. Whatever you use, be sure it is impact resistant and always wear something. A small bug in the eye at 70 mph can be bad. A pebble thrown up by the vehicle ahead of you can be a lot worse.
I hope this helps,
John