Motorcycle safety gear thread

[g6civcx]

I'm starting to pile up gear again for this season. Experienced riders feel free to give pointers. New riders feel free to ask questions. With many "help me pick a bike" thread popping up, I feel that this may help some.

I do mostly street riding with limited track time. To me though, I don't see a difference between the safety gear required for street and track. If you fall, you fall. If anything, binning it on the street is more dangerous than the track because the track is designed for biker safety whereas the street is not.

Some may consider what I use overkill for street, but when you've been through my wrecks and my friends' wrecks, you wouldn't blame me.

This is what I currently use, in order of importance to me:

helmet - Shoei X-11. I also had an Arai RX-7 Corsair. Between the two, I like the Arai for ventilation but I like the Shoei more for the ability to change shields quickly. The Arai is not difficult, but it's less intuitive. I do all kinds of riding and I like the ability to quickly change shields for day/night or when a shield gets dirty. With the Shoei I can change shields without taking the helmet off and it's easy to do even with gloves on.

gloves - Held Ninja. This was the top of the line gloves 2 years ago. I really like the protection it has over anything else. Right now though it looks like the Phantom is their top of the line gloves so I will probably switch to the Phantom.

boots - Sidi Vertigo Corsa. I really have no problems with these, but I'm probably going to switch out for a Vertigo Air Corsa because I do mostly summer riding.

suit - Vanson Volante 1-piece with aero hump. This was an off the rack suit since my sizes line up well with their stock sizes. Sadly to say though, I'm starting to have trouble fitting :) I'm probably going to take a week and go to the Vanson factory and have them custom make a suit for me there.


Some other misc. stuff:

shield sak - for carrying a spare shield under your suit/jacket

Sidi coolmax calf socks - I really like these because they don't slack and roll down unlike other calf socks. Keep your feet from chaffing against the boots and suit/pants

Icon vest - I wear this mostly at night because of the reflective stripes. It's also nice to have a pocket since my suit doesn't.


Gear is expensive but still a lot cheaper than lost wages and medical bills.

Constructive comments and well-deserved ridicule welcome. :love:

[HIM]

good thread starter.
Motorcyle safety is a must. My grandpa rode dirtbikes professionally for all his life and told me he rode street for 5 months, and never been in so many life/death situations.

+1 pos rep

plus for all those people in Monterey park/alhambra/san gabriel riding bikes now. I pray for you.

[g6civcx]

Motorcyle safety is a must. My grandpa rode dirtbikes professionally for all his life and told me he rode street for 5 months, and never been in so many life/death situations.

Street riding is really really dangerous, especially around heavily populated metropolitan areas with drivers not being used to spot bikers. Most new riders don't understand the risk associated with street riding. When you're in a car it's different.

But being a biker helps you develop a suspicious instinct for driving in general. Like yesterday, this red RSX cut me off and was driving really erratically and slowly while playing with his phone. I could have passed him but I decided to hang back since my exit was coming up. Sure enough, he takes my exit and ends up rear ending a van.

That could have been me but I trusted my instinct and leave crazy/distracted drivers alone.

plus for all those people in Monterey park/alhambra/san gabriel riding bikes now. I pray for you.

What's wrong with that area, or are you just praying in general? If it's the latter, then I pray with you. :angel:

[HIM]

If you live near monterey park, you know how bad it is.

[theicecreamdan]

Shoei rf-1000 helmet, not sure the name of the design on it.
Alpine stars air-flo jacket. Getting replaced with leather soon.
Teknic pants. Going for leather soon.
Alpine stars gloves. Getting gauntlet gloves.
Sidi vertigo Boots. I'll be keeping these for a while, but I'd like to find some white boots in my size. Unfortunately I have large feet and it seems that sidi only makes black boots in 48.

I've been happy with my gear so far, maybe it doesnt offer the best protection out there, but its comfortable enough to wear all the time for me, even when I ended up riding down in the desert with 115 degree temps. I'm stepping up to a much faster bike than my 250 though so I'll be spending extra on my safety as well.

Does anybody here use a chatterbox? I have one and its very uncomfortable to have the little speakers jammed up against my ears, I'm wondering if different brand helmets fit a little more comfortable with a chatterbox.

[airsoft]

Joe Rocket Speedmaster 4.0 jacket
Arai - Profile
Icon - Mainframe helmet
Icon Knee / Shin guards - (squeeze those mofos under anything)
Oxtar - Replicas
Alpine gloves - not sure model but they are hefty

[cdlong]

Some may consider what I use overkill for street, but when you've been through my wrecks and my friends' wrecks, you wouldn't blame me.

suit - Vanson Volante 1-piece with aero hump. This was an off the rack suit since my sizes line up well with their stock sizes. Sadly to say though, I'm starting to have trouble fitting :) I'm probably going to take a week and go to the Vanson factory and have them custom make a suit for me there.

you wear a one piect suit on the street? i understand what you're saying about it not being overkill and i agree with you, but i'd think some separate pieces would be more practical for off the bike. i.e., you could take off the jacket if you stop at a restraunt for dinner. just my opinion, you obviously have this more nailed down than me, as you will see below.

i have some gear, but no bike at the moment. i'm looking to get a bike and add to the gear at some point, but it's not a high priority. i've only ridden a little and haven't done much research so i'm not sure what all the good stuff avaliable is. i'd really appreciate some input on the gear i have and what i'm looking at.

jacket - i have a Cortech GX Air (http://www.tourmaster.com/xcart/product.php?productid=10&cat=25). i like it because it's mesh (learned to ride in Texas) but has the elbow, shoulder, and spine protectors with leather. it also has a removable rain liner and insulated liner so it's very versatile. the thought put into the construction is impressive. the snap and loop on the liners are color coded so you don't get the sleves twisted or miss anything. small stuff but little details like that make me think they know what they're doing (since i don't).

gloves - Joe Rocket Phoenix 3.0 gloves (http://www.joerocket.com/productJR.cfm?products_id=1048). i don't think i ever wore them before i moved to Korea.

pants - whatever jeans i have on. i'd like to get some pants to match the Cortech jacket but they don't make anything specifically to match. any suggestions would be appreciated.

boots - desert tan combat boots that i thought i'd never wear again (to work). probably not the case now so i'll have to clean off the big mark from the shifter. boots may be in the distant future.

helmet - i currently wear a 3/4 scorpion i bought for autocross but i'll pick up a full face one as soon as i get my own bike. i'm looking at this Scorpion EXO-700 (http://shopping.scorpionusa.com/C55D9C025BA44D11A3713BF0D546303C.asp?cat_id=FBF05A C4DB8843C1B0FF76893F5540D5&pcs_key=681CD98C664B4690A1286928BD2EDFDA&retpage=%2FF4BD78EED51D4762989F1184B1165B96%2Easp&nm=Black+Dahlia&spath=Home+%3E+Equipment+%3E+Street+Helmets&path=Home+%3E+Equipment+%3E+Street+Helmets&sc_id=6EBEB7EF86C1463CA3F0B0E7A56956BC)

[TheWolf]

They now make a half tinted shield for the shoei and arai helmets that has about a 1.5" tint across the top and the rest is clear. Keeps you from swaping shields between night and day.. really gets that sunset light out of your face but you can then see 30 mins later when it's dark..

[BOOSTLOVER]

Just picked up a Vanson Mark 2 Cobra jacket with all the pads and a pair of Shift Bullet gloves. I'm still looking for a helmet and a bike but I'm not having much luck finding a used S4R monster or 748 in my area. I did find a 996 I'm thinkin about lookin at. I also need to find a good pair of riding boot-shoes.

[EDacIouSX]

you want to know about some safety gear for riding a bike??


how about full plate




http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2265/2388561486_af85965069.jpg


you vs car? Who's gonna win? I vote full plate will win... lol

[xblack240x]

Helmet: Shoei RF-1000 Picotte 3 Tc-5
Jacket: Icon Hooligan Battlecry Mesh (90+ daily temps)
Gloves: Alpinestars SPS

Just started riding the beginning of this year. Had a old alpinestar leather jacket but got to hot so I sold it and got the one I have now. Street riding is very dangerous and you really have to be mentally prepared to ride. +1 to OP good thread idea! Wow though full suit daily? Thats safe indeed, but do you just change everywhere you go?

[g6civcx]

My comments to your responses in the order presented.

If you live near monterey park, you know how bad it is.

I don't. Care to let the rest of us know what's going on in that area?

Shoei rf-1000 helmet

That's a good helmet. It doesnt' have as much ventilation as the X-11 but also doesn't require earplugs.

Alpine stars air-flo jacket. Getting replaced with leather soon.
Teknic pants. Going for leather soon.

Good idea. I really dislike textile because I've seen what they can do to your body when that stuff is ground into your skin.

Alpine stars gloves. Getting gauntlet gloves.

My problems with A*:

1) Their sizes run too small. I'm a L everywhere else and easily an XXL for A*.
2) They tend to rip at the seam when you go down.
3) Even their top-line racing gloves are uncomfortable due to lack of padding in the liner.

Sidi vertigo Boots. I'll be keeping these for a while, but I'd like to find some white boots in my size. Unfortunately I have large feet and it seems that sidi only makes black boots in 48.

Try the Vertigo Corsa. I'm a 9.5W, which means a normal 9.5 would be too tight and a 10 would be too loose. I wear a 43 Vertigo Corsa which has built in calf and ankle adjustments to snug up to your feet.

I don't know about 48 though. That's some majorly big feet :)

I've been happy with my gear so far, maybe it doesnt offer the best protection out there, but its comfortable enough to wear all the time for me, even when I ended up riding down in the desert with 115 degree temps. I'm stepping up to a much faster bike than my 250 though so I'll be spending extra on my safety as well.

Some gear is better than none. And just because you have a 250 doesn't mean the ground gets any softer on the landing :)

Does anybody here use a chatterbox? I have one and its very uncomfortable to have the little speakers jammed up against my ears, I'm wondering if different brand helmets fit a little more comfortable with a chatterbox.

Some helmets have built-in headset or can accommodate a chatterbox. I don't chat so I haven't looked into it.

you wear a one piect suit on the street? i understand what you're saying about it not being overkill and i agree with you, but i'd think some separate pieces would be more practical for off the bike. i.e., you could take off the jacket if you stop at a restraunt for dinner. just my opinion, you obviously have this more nailed down than me, as you will see below.

Yessir, I do. My Volante has a dual-zipper design so it's quite easy to get out of. Plus I don't do much social riding, but if I do have to stop I can slide off the top half.

To be honest, the biggest problem with a 1-piece is pee-pee time, but it's doable if you work at it :)

i have some gear, but no bike at the moment. i'm looking to get a bike and add to the gear at some point, but it's not a high priority. i've only ridden a little and haven't done much research so i'm not sure what all the good stuff avaliable is. i'd really appreciate some input on the gear i have and what i'm looking at.

It's better to have gear and no bike then bike and no gear :)

jacket - i have a Cortech GX Air (http://www.tourmaster.com/xcart/product.php?productid=10&cat=25). i like it because it's mesh (learned to ride in Texas) but has the elbow, shoulder, and spine protectors with leather. it also has a removable rain liner and insulated liner so it's very versatile. the thought put into the construction is impressive. the snap and loop on the liners are color coded so you don't get the sleves twisted or miss anything. small stuff but little details like that make me think they know what they're doing (since i don't).

That's not bad. Tour Master usually make good stuff. I think they're one of the few brands that will pass tech even though they're not full competition-grade leather.

gloves - Joe Rocket Phoenix 3.0 gloves (http://www.joerocket.com/productJR.cfm?products_id=1048). i don't think i ever wore them before i moved to Korea.

JR stuff is barely acceptable to me, but it's better than nothing. I really dislike riding without gloves.

pants - whatever jeans i have on. i'd like to get some pants to match the Cortech jacket but they don't make anything specifically to match. any suggestions would be appreciated.

Just get any kind of riding pants. It would be nice if the pants zip into the jacket, but any leather pants would be better than jeans.

boots - desert tan combat boots that i thought i'd never wear again (to work). probably not the case now so i'll have to clean off the big mark from the shifter. boots may be in the distant future.

These tend to have really thick padding and hefty ankle support. My only concern is if you were ever to slide on these, the skin of the boots would grind on pavement and pitch/twist your feet over = broken ankle.

helmet - i currently wear a 3/4 scorpion i bought for autocross but i'll pick up a full face one as soon as i get my own bike. i'm looking at this Scorpion EXO-700 (http://shopping.scorpionusa.com/C55D9C025BA44D11A3713BF0D546303C.asp?cat_id=FBF05A C4DB8843C1B0FF76893F5540D5&pcs_key=681CD98C664B4690A1286928BD2EDFDA&retpage=%2FF4BD78EED51D4762989F1184B1165B96%2Easp&nm=Black+Dahlia&spath=Home+%3E+Equipment+%3E+Street+Helmets&path=Home+%3E+Equipment+%3E+Street+Helmets&sc_id=6EBEB7EF86C1463CA3F0B0E7A56956BC)

Helmet is a matter of preference, but I recommend a full-face and DOT/Snell stamping at the very least. It all depends on the shape of your head and how much money you want to spend for ventilation. All helmets will protect your head about the same.

They now make a half tinted shield for the shoei and arai helmets that has about a 1.5" tint across the top and the rest is clear. Keeps you from swaping shields between night and day.. really gets that sunset light out of your face but you can then see 30 mins later when it's dark..

I haven't had a chance to try these on in real situations, but my thinking is that they won't be dark enough for sunlight and light enough for darkness. I would much prefer to have one of each, but I will give them a shot. Thanks for the recommendation.

you vs car? Who's gonna win? I vote full plate will win... lol

I know this was a joke, but gear isn't about saving you in a collision. Nothing will. Even car vs. car = fatality. Gear saves you mostly from wind/debris and pavement.

Jacket: Icon Hooligan Battlecry Mesh (90+ daily temps)

My Vanson perforated leather suit with cool liner doesn't make me hot at all. Perforated leather = best deal for summer.

Just started riding the beginning of this year. Had a old alpinestar leather jacket but got to hot so I sold it and got the one I have now. Street riding is very dangerous and you really have to be mentally prepared to ride. +1 to OP good thread idea! Wow though full suit daily? Thats safe indeed, but do you just change everywhere you go?

I don't go anywhere. I take riding seriously, and even if people, and even other bikers, point and laugh, I don't really care.

When you ride with hardcore bikers like BMWs and all-weather cruiser people, they really pile on the gear. They don't really care what people say either.

I honestly don't put much stock into people's opinions who have less than say 20-30k miles under their belt. You don't really appreciate what's going on until you've been through the tick of it.


Good thread. Let's keep it going.

[xblack240x]

No no, I wasnt making fun of the fact that you wear a full suit daily, a friend that I ride with every now and the does as well. I was just wondering if you do what he does and changes everywhere we go. Its not like it takes too much longer for him to get the suit off and put it in his bag, just wanted to see what you do.

Also thanks for the perforated leather idea. I'm gonna look into it.

Indeed a great thread.

[g6civcx]

No no, I wasnt making fun of the fact that you wear a full suit daily, a friend that I ride with every now and the does as well. I was just wondering if you do what he does and changes everywhere we go. Its not like it takes too much longer for him to get the suit off and put it in his bag, just wanted to see what you do.

Also thanks for the perforated leather idea. I'm gonna look into it.

Indeed a great thread.

I know. I wasn't saying anything towards you.

You can get the same level of protection with a 2-piece, but the only problem with a 2-piece is that with a high speed get off, the pants and jacket can come off each other, leaving your rear end exposed :) especially if you don't zip the pants and jacket together.

But for most normal sane speeds, a 2-piece would be fine and would be preferred over just a jacket and pants combo.

[yokotas13]

I personally use:
Alpine* boots (cant remember which ones, they were like 350.00 though)
Alpine* GP gloves (the expensive ones, i got tired of the 125.00 gloves fucking up all the time, so i just bit the bulet)
Fieldsheer leathers 2 piece, wear them everywhere(went down once, and held like a champ)
dont laugh....IIcon Mainframe helmet. Shoei and Arai just dont fit me right. IIcon is the only thing, even after swapping cheek pads and everything else to fit right.

[g6civcx]

Fieldsheer leathers 2 piece, wear them everywhere(went down once, and held like a champ)

I crashed on Fieldshier before. Barely a scratch. Thick stuff.

dont laugh....IIcon Mainframe helmet. Shoei and Arai just dont fit me right. IIcon is the only thing, even after swapping cheek pads and everything else to fit right.

I'm going to go ahead and laugh at you :p

But seriously, the cheek pads wear in after a while. The important thing is head fitment.

[yokotas13]

i mean, i would have bought an arai, and shoei...i wen ta few weeks to try them on again, but i just dont liek em at all.

[TheWolf]

I haven't had a chance to try these on in real situations, but my thinking is that they won't be dark enough for sunlight and light enough for darkness. I would much prefer to have one of each, but I will give them a shot. Thanks for the recommendation.


http://media7.big7.net/shoei-europe/img/de/halbgetoentes_visier.gif

http://piloot.smugmug.com/photos/169724208-M.jpg

only for the RF 1000 and newer.. rf800 coming soon

[Jung918]

RF-1000 caster helmet
A* RC-1 Jacket
A* full gauntlet gloves
T-Pro back protector
T-Pro knee/shin guard
T-Pro compression shorts
Shift - Riding Jeans
Oxtar boots

Also have A* track pants

Plan on getting RS Taichi gear soon as the quality is much better then A* stuff.

[slider2828]

I use for racing:

Dainese K Suit 1 Piece - 1500 (Crashed about 5 times in this, got helimot to repair it no problems, awesome awesome service, love the suit...)
Spidi Carbo Race Gloves - 230
Sidi Race Vertebra Carbon - Ridiculous
I have about 4 helmets:
Arai Rx7RR4 - 2
OGK FF3 Helmet - Best Helmet I think around! But won't pass spec, as BSB only.
Icon - Use for Drifting hahaha....

For street:
I have a Joe Rocket Summer Jacket.... Never crashed in it
Cheap something full jacket from place in San Jose, worked pretty good in my high side....