Gearing Up. How much is too much and how much is not enough

[Kersley]

Hi Guys,

wanted to know your ideas on Gears, how much is too much.
At the moment I have my Open Face Helmet, Plus a FaceMask (bit like bane in batman), I also use Polarized Ssunglasses but switched to BIG Sort of Snow Google (which i find very good no wind in your eyes etc. Plus Gloves and a Leather Jacket. I ride like 50km per day total to work. Wear high heel Shoes (Formal boots). Would you think of this as Over Geared or not enough when riding 25kms journey on a 250cc, or maybe not enough. To be noted that i might be doing 100kmh or faster at times. Great if i could get your feedback on gears to wear on a 25km trip.

[CROSSBOLT]

Lose the high heels or better change shoes at work. A riding suit these days have strategic armor plate. Leather is good but armor is better. Full face helmet to protect not only the cranium but your face as well. Some say modular not as good but it is better than open 3/4. Armored gloves, too! Then you are just right.

[john grinsel]

Dress for the crash, not the ride.

[Iahawk]

you'll probably get a lot of different opinions on what gear to wear...similar to asking what kind of oil to use!

Personally I wear a full face helmet (some studies show the jaw is one of the likeliest areas to hit in an accident), armored jacket, gloves and motorcycle boots or shoes plus kevlar lined jeans on the scoot and full armored riding pants on my motorcycle.

For your daily commute I would consider that the minimum (full face helmet, armored jacket, gloves and boots - all motorcycle specific). Adding in armored riding pants would be smart, too. You cover a lot of km's and hit pretty high speeds.

Mesh jackets and riding pants are more comfortable in hot weather. You still get protection but you don't sweat as much.

I'll also suggest riding with ear plugs. They will protect your hearing while still allowing you to hear all the traffic sounds.

[Kansas kymco]

Dress for the crash, not the ride.

I always heard  (Dress for the slide not the ride)  for years. It's amazing the amount of people who wear tank top, shorts and flip flops to ride of a summer time with no protective gear.

I wear an armor jacket (mesh) armor gloves and hiking  boots and a 3/4 helmet. I know a full face is better along with armor jeans but feel comfortable with my choice.

[Neil955i]

Late to the party on this. I’d echo what others have already said, for a commute of that length, it’s got to be as much kit as you can afford.

You want to protect your head & face/chin, shoulders, elbows, back, hands, hips, knees and ankles. For your climate, fabric plus armour is undoubtedly the best way to go!


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[Kersley]

Thinking about getting an armored jacket soon. Costs for these are quite expensive down here. So its a real longterm investment. My wife was also advising me about the jacket this morning. So definitely would look into this. Also i really am not a fan of a full face helmet. Maybe a flip up would be good but again its quite bulky. But yes a ride quite a long way so investment will come. Plus another factor is that international trade were dead for 2 month so even before we were in lockdown here there was not a lot of stuff in the bikes shop. So will have to wait for new stock. Probably more expensive

[Neil955i]

"international trade were dead for 2 month so even before we were in lockdown here there was not a lot of stuff in the bikes shop. So will have to wait for new stock. Probably more expensive"

Just a thought, but is mail order an option for you there?  If yes, you may find stock and / or good deals?

[Kansas kymco]

"international trade were dead for 2 month so even before we were in lockdown here there was not a lot of stuff in the bikes shop. So will have to wait for new stock. Probably more expensive"

Just a thought, but is mail order an option for you there?  If yes, you may find stock and / or good deals?

This is what I was going to suggest as well.  I have purchased leather and mesh Joe Rocket jackets for a good deal on ebay for a substantial savings.

[Iahawk]

if you love your current leather jacket and it's roomy enough...you can always buy an armored base layer to wear under your jacket. I have a mesh one from Bohn Armor (a US company). It's a good way to armor something that didn't originally come with armor or to keep the armor in the right place, as many jackets let the armor flop around a little too much.

[rdhood]

Full face helmet, Armored jacket (textile winter, mesh summer)  , textile armored overpants winter, armored/covec-lined  jeans (Bull-it) summer, over the ankle hiking boots, gloves.

I tell people all the time:  I come from bicycles.  TWICE , on bicycless, I went down on newly wet pavement in a curve and scraped the skin off from knee to butt cheek.  It oozed for almost a month, took about two months to completely heal.   All at a mere 20mph or less. I simply can not imagine what happens at 60mph.  As John said:  dress for the crash.

[Kersley]

Thanks a lot guys. I think somewhere i wrote high heels boots. Lol. I meant high ankle boots. Got confused. Thanks for your advise, i will surely be getting a full face helmet plus add on body armor as i already have a jean jacket

[john grinsel]

Real motorcycle boots are better than hiking boots!!  I find Aerostich Combat Lite very good---right kind of sole---minus not waterproof for multi day trips---Hiking boots not for real riders and usually have lug soles that allow you to track mud into just about everyplace you walk.....and these lugs can catch on foot pegs or even edge of scooter foot boards.

[randyo]

I dress for MY comfort. A comfortable rider is more alert,  Safety gear does not prevent accidents. Avoid the accident, avoids injury.  The only safety gear that helps prevent accidents, is Hi-Vis. even a hi-vis t-shirt

yesterday, 90°+, I used my K-Pipe to run an errand, wearin Vibram 5 fingers, shorts and a blaze orange t-shirt. If it was 40°, I woulda been wearing full gear

[Iahawk]

  Safety gear does not prevent accidents. Avoid the accident, avoids injury.

I don't think anyone is saying safety gear prevents accidents. I think we can all agree that our hobby is statistically more dangerous than most...and that if we do get in an accident our likelihood of serious injury is also higher than most...and wearing the proper gear will help reduce our likelihood or severity of injury.

I recommend that everyone wear all the gear, all the time, but in the end everyone has to make their own, personal decision. I would never tell anyone not to wear gear.