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Safety Gear

Bianca

New Member
Sorry guys, i'm starting to make my name a bit . . . . .

I saw in my safety topic, that some of you mention safety gear etc. Please could you go into it a bit more for me.

What kind of Safety Gear should i be looking at? What kinds of helmets etc? As well as why you would suggest something like that?

There's so much on the market, that i'm not too sure what to look at etc. . . .
 
Anytime you ride, you should ride with safety gear. Safey gear is how I dress anytime I ride. A good DOT helmet around $100.00. Don't go cheap on your helmet. Your head is an important thing. A good leather jacket. Again you get what you pay for. Boots. Something to protect your feet but allows you to shift o.k. I wear half gloves in the summer. Better feel on the grips. Now if you ride the freeway everday, go good pair of chaps will make the ride more enjoyable. Just think, IF I GO DOWN, what's going to hurt.
 
I would recomend that the glasses you wear be ANSI rated to withstand impact from small objects becaues you never know whats going to be kicked up in your path.
 
Hello and welcome!

You could be a nerd like me and wear a fullface helmet.:D That is all I have ever worn and am just used to them. They are not as cool, but it sure makes you feel good when a rock/bug/big bug, whatever whacks you in the faceshield and you just keep on riding. I have an Arai helmet and they make several models to fit different shaped heads, so you can really get a good fit. They are pricey, but like the old Bell helmet ad said, "If you have a $10 head, wear a $10 helmet".

Just a thought.

Ride Safe!
 
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
 
The best full-face helmet money can buy. Arai and Shoei are consistently rated most comfortable. They are also the most expensive. (worth it in my opinion)
Boots.
Gloves.
Jacket.
And, don't forget earplugs.
Most "Harley-style" jackets don't have armor. But, there are a few out there if you are so inclined.
Most important safety gear: get your mind right. Pay attention and ride like you're invisible.
 
To put it in a nutshell, always remember to dress for the crash, not the weather. It's often tempting to leave the gloves off and just ride in a t shirt when it's hot but just think for a moment about what that leaves exposed, even in a low speed pavement encounter. The ONLY time I ride like that is if I'm staying in the local neighborhood, and I still realize I'm accepting some risk. If there's any chance of exceeding about 40 MPH, all the gear goes on.
 
A the many posts reported, a DOT approved helmet is a must, even if your state doesn't require it. Good, leather gloves are also important, the idea being if you do fall off the bike, more than likely, your hands will be one of the first things that hits the pavement. I see a lot of guys and gals riding with cut off shorts and Docksiders. I always wear jeans and a good pair of leather boots that go above the ankle. Years ago, I often rode with a leather vest in the summer months. For the last few years I have been wearing a leather jacket all year long. Of course, here in NJ, the weather isn't like Palm Beach, so I can get away with that. I wear prescription eyegalsses and a pair of over the glasses sun glasses. Eye protection is very important.
 
Helmet Iuse a flip-up.
Leather jacket
Leather trousers (you could use chaps)
Good leather boots.

Leather I've been told, appart from that it's better to wear the leather out than your skin, is rough enoug to cause the friction to slow you down when you come of and slide along the tarmac, but not so much that you start tumbling.

Wear protection and buy the best you can afford not the fanciest.
 
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
I can't add more to this. It was excellent advice.
 
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