When I was hit by a car at 30mph, I swear that if I hadn't been wearing decent boots, I'd have lost a foot, as my foot had got caught in the back wheel.

There is no excuse for not wearing full saftey gear, I'd also say wearing a back protector is a worthwhile thing to do.

Quote from danowat :

When I was hit by a car at 30mph, I swear that if I hadn't been wearing decent boots, I'd have lost a foot, as my foot had got caught in the back wheel.

There is no excuse for not wearing full saftey gear, I'd also say wearing a back protector is a worthwhile thing to do.

Yep. The minimum I'll wear is proper boots, summer gloves, back protector, textile jacket, armoured kevlar jeans and of course the lid. Start taking chances with the gear and sooner or later you might wish you hadn't.

Gear doesn't have to be mega expensive. Much of it is overpriced. Price does not guarantee quality and there are often better alternatives to the more obvious "high-end" choices if you are spending a large amount.

This thread is very relevant to my interests. If you don't mind, I'd hijack a little and ask: What protective gear do you recommend for choppers and touring bikes, as sports bikes aren't my cup of tea (as you british guys put it ).

Quote from breadfan :

This thread is very relevant to my interests. If you don't mind, I'd hijack a little and ask: What protective gear do you recommend for choppers and touring bikes, as sports bikes aren't my cup of tea (as you british guys put it ).

Makes no difference (IMO) what you are riding, crashing is the same if its a sports bike, tourer or cruiser.

Quote from danowat :

Makes no difference (IMO) what you are riding, crashing is the same if its a sports bike, tourer or cruiser.

From the protection point of view, you are absolutely right. I just can't imagine Arnold riding that Harley Davidson in a racing overall, but then again, he is the terminator I was asking because of the "image" thing, not the "safety" thing. What is some good looking protective gear for that kind of motorcycles? Having a bike-ride with friends while wearing a racing suit and a full helmet seems a bit odd.

Cordura / armoured textile gear would fit the bill for all styles of bike IMO

...I Don't understand bikers who aren't wearing gloves!

My point for wearing them is that if you crash and slide your hands over the tarmac surface and end up in a hospital - at least you'll be able to wipe your arse by yourself!

Quote from breadfan :

From the protection point of view, you are absolutely right. I just can't imagine Arnold riding that Harley Davidson in a racing overall, but then again, he is the terminator I was asking because of the "image" thing, not the "safety" thing. What is some good looking protective gear for that kind of motorcycles? Having a bike-ride with friends while wearing a racing suit and a full helmet seems a bit odd.

Arrrr, matey, ye be wantin thar best from thar Motor Company. pirate:



Race leathers do come in all black, or you can get something like an Aerostitch.

My experiences with textile gear... I have a friend who crashed at 20mph wearing a good quality textile jacket and pants, and the pants ripped where he slid, and the jacket ripped and the armour was shifted out of the way. He got quite a bit of road rash on his arm, but his leg was ok. This was 20mph. Even good quality textile can have possibly very little abrasion resistance if you slide rather than roll. I think a lot of people fall off and roll and everything is fine, but a good slide can get through textile very quickly.

I wear a 2-piece zip together leather suit, and I hit some oil doing about 80km/h in a turn, and you can barely see the marks on the leather where I went down. And the armour worked well too, had one bruise on my arm and that was it.

Get the best you can afford, and if you can't afford leathers, look for used, something inexpensive online, or previous year suits going cheap. I managed to get a $700 2-piece suit for $250 as they were clearing out the old stuff