Question about gear

[NWA_VFR700F]

OK, so i've never been one to wear riding gear, but figure I'm at the point in my life where i should start being a bit more cautious. Normally I ride in either shorts or jeans, and either a t-shirt or button up shirt, and always ride in open toe slip-on sandals I know...I'm freakin nuts.

Well, I ordered a leather replica Repsol Red/white/blue coat with removable pads and liner and a set of blue and black Pilot gloves that will match the coat nicely, and I have a really nice new matte black rubberized helmet that my woman got me for Christmas last year that was supposed to be for my dirt track racing but was too nice to waste so I kept it put up and will now be using it with the bike.

My question is this...What kind of pants and footwear should I get? I need something on the cheaper price end, but nothing that's low quality. Should I get a pair of lined jeans, or more of a racing style pant? And riding boots, or just a good pair of tennis shoes? And since I ride thru the winters here in Arkansas, I definitely want something that will help slow the freezing process lol

[Pliskin]

This question recently came up in another thread. It was entertaining, to say the least. Bottom line is its your choice on what you decide to wear, but a fair share of folks on this forum are in favor of gear. Its your ass, as the saying goes.

I've personally had a lot of luck with New Enough Motorcycle Apparel sells motorcycle jackets, pants and suits, boots, gloves, helmets, etc :: New Enough, LTD for my gear.

They have a "closeout" section, as I'm sure most places do. I was just looking through it earlier today. They give excellent descriptions of all their products.

You might want to consider a mesh overpants (wear them over your shorts or long pants when the weather gets cold). Many of these have removable linings that will cut down significantly on the wind, which can make you "feel" a lot warmer on those cold days.

Same deal with jackets. You can get a mesh jacket, or a tex-mesh (textile and mesh) combination. These usually have removable liners as well.

I'll at least recommend that if you can get pants and a jacket from the same manufacturer, they will zip together, which is important.

Boots - Personal preference on your style. I think the TCX X-Cube is a nice causal boot. Not too warm, but not meant for really cold weather. Water resistant, not water proof. Its fine for a normal rain, but you'll get wet feet in a downpour. At least get yourself some over the ankle leather work boots if price is an issue. Please stop wearing sandals??? lol

Gloves: Like all other gear, these run the gamete in price, style and protection.

Shop around, and feel free to ask questions.

[drewl]

A decent(Rocky, Danner, HiTec) pair of tactical type boots should be just right for you. I have ridden with this type of boot for 2 years. They are good for all day wear.
I also have a pair of armored jeans. They are thicker denim, lined with kevlar fabric, and have CE armor in the knees.

If you are an aggressive rider I strongly recommend leather and actual moto boots. I am a trauma nurse by trade and have seen what road rash can do to a person's long term health and well being.

Ride safe.

[RVFR]

Yes yes yes by all means wear as much protective gear as your pocket book and you can stand, this is one area that the more is better. any gear is better than none but do get it. Whats best for you depends on you, of coarse leather is the best, from there there is a lot of fabric material that's not so bad. Cycle Gear has a lot of stuff to get a good idea whats what, so do a lot of shops, but I would go check this and that, try stuff on and get a feel for what you like, then hit up New enough for some great prices, big trick here is to be in the know and that takes trying stuff on, boots though where you take a particular size, need to be tried on, they are not all the same, and some are measured in a euro number, after that, then go through the inter-net. I hate not to support the local dealers, but my god the price difference makes it worth the trouble, though that said you need to know what you're buying, if that doesn't work for you then by all means by local and what you try on, thing here is to get yourself protected LOL it only takes once..

[jaimev34]

Flip flops should be good for footwear, since they allow for very good breathability. You'll probably be fine with a hooded sweatshirt; much more abrasion protection than a t-shirt and not as heavy as a motorcycle jacket. Instead of shorts, you should look into long johns (aka thermal underwear). These will provide more abrasion protection than shorts, are not as bulky as jeans, and they look cool. For gloves, go to home depot and buy some textile gardening gloves. They are lightweight and serve more than one purpose, in case you feel like using them for gardening. Or, don't wear gloves at all, since they may make your hands sweat. Good helmets are sold everywhere. Pep Boys carries some great helmets that cover the top of your head and don't cover your entire face, which would prevent you from listening to all the sounds and feeling the cool air hit your face.

[reg71]

he's (jaime) kidding of course... Everyone knows it's much safer to just ride naked because that will attract more attention and you won't wreck from cars hitting you...

[NWA_VFR700F]

Flip flops should be good for footwear, since they allow for very good breathability. You'll probably be fine with a hooded sweatshirt; much more abrasion protection than a t-shirt and not as heavy as a motorcycle jacket. Instead of shorts, you should look into long johns (aka thermal underwear). These will provide more abrasion protection than shorts, are not as bulky as jeans, and they look cool. For gloves, go to home depot and buy some textile gardening gloves. They are lightweight and serve more than one purpose, in case you feel like using them for gardening. Or, don't wear gloves at all, since they may make your hands sweat. Good helmets are sold everywhere. Pep Boys carries some great helmets that cover the top of your head and don't cover your entire face, which would prevent you from listening to all the sounds and feeling the cool air hit your face.

Thanks, that's the best advice yet

Seriously, tho, Thanks for the input guys. I'm tryin to do it right now instead of being stupid like i've always been before. I never used to worry about gear until I watched a friend of mine get torn up when riding right after a storm. We were riding down the road going around a corner, and there laid a tree across the road. He hit it full force at 70, I barely got stopped. He ended up going to the hospital with 2 right toes, 3 left toes missing, broken bones all over and tons of rash down his arms, legs, face, back....And now we call him Roadrash

Anyways, like I said, I have a NICE red, white, blue and black repsol leather coat coming that has the removable back, elbow, and shoulder pads and removable liner, new helmet, and a nice pair of matching blue and black Pilot gloves, so that's a good start. Now just gotta figure the right pants out (may try the matching leather over-pants) and go try some boots out.

Thanks again

[jaimev34]

Thanks, that's the best advice yet

Seriously, tho, Thanks for the input guys. I'm tryin to do it right now instead of being stupid like i've always been before. I never used to worry about gear until I watched a friend of mine get torn up when riding right after a storm. We were riding down the road going around a corner, and there laid a tree across the road. He hit it full force at 70, I barely got stopped. He ended up going to the hospital with 2 right toes, 3 left toes missing, broken bones all over and tons of rash down his arms, legs, face, back....And now we call him Roadrash

Anyways, like I said, I have a NICE red, white, blue and black repsol leather coat coming that has the removable back, elbow, and shoulder pads and removable liner, new helmet, and a nice pair of matching blue and black Pilot gloves, so that's a good start. Now just gotta figure the right pants out (may try the matching leather over-pants) and go try some boots out.

Thanks again

I have some textile riding pants from Joe Rocket. Cost about $130. Can't go wrong with leather, though. Anything's better than jeans. Get some riding boots. They don't have to be race boots. Frank Thomas makes some good boots with toe and ankle protection. You've already purchased the most expensive stuff, the pants and boots you can get for around $250. Check newenough.com, as mentioned earlier. Also, check cyclegear.com if you don't have a Cycle Gear store locally. They frequently have sales in their stores and online.

Glad you have a sense of humor!

[steven113]

I am in much of the same boat as you. I decided not to ride with out propor protection over the last 5 years or so. My buget atire is as follows:Feildshear mesh/leather armored jacket $130(4 years ago)Shoei RF 1000 $370(3 years ago, expensive but well worth the money)Feild shear leather renforced gloves $40, Shift kevlar renforced jeans $85, Icon feild armor leg $$65(knee/shin)and Icon feild armor chucka boots $100. Although it is not the best gear you can get the quality of all these products I am very satisfied with and all are comfortable enough to step off your bike and walk around in. I know the total sounds like alot but compared to other setups I found it a bargin!

[havcar]

Just happy to hear you're getting serious about protection. As they say gear is always cheaper than a surgery...of any type!

Whatever you decide to go with on pants you should certainly be thinking knee protection and hopefully shin protection, especially if you going to be using a more run of the mill boot.

[ewryly]

You can find some good bargains on New Enough and the service is excellent.

[NWA_VFR700F]

ok, so I ordered some more gear thanks to all the suggestions...But, since it is coming upon Christmas, and I have a 4yo girl to worry about, I went cheap on price....The quality looks really good, tho, and I was quite impressed with what I got.

Got textile pants with mesh liner, zippered air slots, removable shin/knee pads and sliders, padded hips, zippered cuffs, adjustable waist, etc.....

Also ordered a set of Merge "Vega" boots with rubber soles, rubber shifter pad, vented, etc...

Soooo, with these, my ensemble is finished Rubbered black helmet, leather Red/White/Blue/Black Repsol coat with elbow, shoulder, and back pads, Blue/Black Pilot Gloves with Carbon Fiber knuckle guards, Black textile pants, and black Merge boots lol....A little more black than I had hoped for, but I guess beggars can't be choosers, eh?

Now maybe I can get lucky and get a set of sportbike saddle bags and a mini-radio kit for Christmas. Then i'll be safe, have storage, and be able to jam out riding lol

[Pliskin]

Good job gearing up, NWA. Kinda brings a tear to my eye...

[Lgn001]

A lot of the pants are now made with a zipper across the lower back, and they supply the mating fabric piece with the zipper already attached. The intent is to attach the pants to the jacket, so in the event of a tumble, your jacket doesn't get pulled up and your pants don't get pulled down. It's worth doing.

I think we would all agree that we never want to find out if our protective gear actually works. But if you're going to wear it, it makes sense to keep it positioned where it is designed to protect.

[wcsjr1]

NWA, Buy good, well fitting gear from the start otherwise you can spend a lot of money upgrading. I bought a very good mostly black Joe Rocket textile jacket the day I bought my bike. Then I bought an inexpensive grey mesh jacket from Competition Accessories for the hotter days. Now that I have had a chance to shop around I see that my dealer had a relatively limited selection and the inexpensive jacket in the wrong color was a waste of money.

During my first year and several thousand miles of riding I decided being seen by others on the road might come in handy. So now I have purchased two bright yellow jackets so I have all four seasons covered. As it turns out the Olympia AST jacket although very easy to see is not all that good for cold weather so a little more research would have been helpful. My First Gear Mesh Tech jacket on sale was twice what the other mesh jacket was but is well worth it. I now have four riding jackets and only use two of them. I occasionally still will look at other jackets to replace the Olympia but just can’t justify replacing a $300 jacket that is a year old. I just wear lots of layers underneath it. I’m hoping the Gerbings heated liner will make the AST a cold weather jacket.

As you can see I have spent a lot of money trying to find the right gear. But the best you can afford from the start. There are several threads on this site that you should find helpful. A lot of members have many miles and years of experience that newbies like me can learn from. I wish I had found VFR World before I had purchased my bike last year. I would have been better prepared for all the accessories that go with owning a bike. Best of luck and good choice to wear protective gear.

[NWA_VFR700F]

A lot of the pants are now made with a zipper across the lower back, and they supply the mating fabric piece with the zipper already attached. The intent is to attach the pants to the jacket, so in the event of a tumble, your jacket doesn't get pulled up and your pants don't get pulled down. It's worth doing.

This is actually one of the reasons that I picked the pants that I did..comes equipped with the "kidney belt" as they called it to zip to the jacket.

[mark123]

ok, so I ordered some more gear thanks to all the suggestions...But, since it is coming upon Christmas, and I have a 4yo girl to worry about, I went cheap on price....The quality looks really good, tho, and I was quite impressed with what I got.

Got textile pants with mesh liner, zippered air slots, removable shin/knee pads and sliders, padded hips, zippered cuffs, adjustable waist, etc.....

Also ordered a set of Merge "Vega" boots with rubber soles, rubber shifter pad, vented, etc...

Soooo, with these, my ensemble is finished Rubbered black helmet, leather Red/White/Blue/Black Repsol coat with elbow, shoulder, and back pads, Blue/Black Pilot Gloves with Carbon Fiber knuckle guards, Black textile pants, and black Merge boots lol....A little more black than I had hoped for, but I guess beggars can't be choosers, eh?

Now maybe I can get lucky and get a set of sportbike saddle bags and a mini-radio kit for Christmas. Then i'll be safe, have storage, and be able to jam out riding lol

Way better than shorts and whatever you said you were wearing on your feet!!

[Knife]

Good on the gear! Now just don't go out and "test" it.