Don't think you're safe because it's only a quick ride around the neighborhood. I once decided not to put on my gear, since i just had 1 mile to drive to go for lunch... There was a little spot of sand on the parking lot of the restaurant... i lost the rear and crashed at maybe 10 mph, was enough to put a nice hole into my jeans and **** up my knee slightly.
A friend of mine has a knee cap implant these days because he crashed at 45 mph wearing jeans.
I'm all for protection, but 300 dollars for gloves?! My bike cost me 1700 (granted it was a freaking sweet deal) and it seems obnoxious to be paying 300 for gloves. At what price point can I get fairly decent gloves? I'm not going to be racing my bike or something, so I don't need like these racing gloves or anything. Just some motorcycle gear.
Do you expect me to do your research for you? I gave you some links. Look around on those. Look up reviews for the stuff you find in your price range.
I told you what I use, and I also told you that what I use is very expensive. There is plenty of gear out there that is cheaper. I just put it out there as an option.
Gear is a lot cheaper than medical bills pretty much regardless of what you spend on gear. Think of it as an alternative form of medical insurance.
I really want a motorcycle for the great mileage and everything but I also don't want to die. Assuming I would learn to ride as well as I drive, how dangerous is motorcycle riding honestly?
Also the people in my city are scared of driving/overly courteous and therefore unpredictable and unsafe (compared to San Francisco) so that turns me off.
The way my motorcycle instructor explained to us about motorcycle safety is this: If you are going to ride a motorcycle, you need to accept risk. However, everything you do has risk. The thing it comes down to is how you balance your risk with consequences. A good bike rider is the one who always tries to minimize risk.
Basically, riding a bike will never be as safe as driving a car. However, if you are a good rider, you can minimize the risk present to yourself. It's very possible to have fun on a bike without being an idiot.
All I'd say is get all/most of the gear and don't twist your right hand on the roads, keep it on the track.
I think it was somewhere on Wiki that it is more dangerous than driving a car, but less than horseback riding. I'll edit this post if I can find it.
E: from the article of "Motorcycling"
"Motorcycling is a more dangerous means of transport than other road alternatives: the relative risk of a motorcycle rider being killed or seriously injured per kilometre travelled was around 54 times higher in Great Britain in 2006 than for car drivers. However, motorcycling is less dangerous than many other popular outdoor recreational activities, including horseback riding."
Riding a bike to save money is the wrong way to go about it. For one, unless you get something super cheap and it's your only vehicle, it's a losing proposition. You spend so much money up front for a second vehicle that requires far more frequent maintenance (valve adjustments every 20K miles, oil change every 2K miles, tires ever 8K miles) and all of the necessary riding gear that you may never recoup the cost, even with double or even triple the fuel efficiency.
If it is your only vehicle, you also lose out on a lot of comfort in poor weather and utility. To get some of that comfort back, you need to spend even more on gear. Granted, some people do get around the lack of utility by being creative (see riders in Vietnam).
Ride because you love riding. There's absolutely nothing logical about it.
Buying a used helmet is a horrible idea. I hope that is not how you got yours. It is the most vital item you wear and is easily damaged from mistreatment, rendering it useless.
Buying used for other riding gear is fine, although you may find it a bit smelly/dirty, both internally and externally. Also be aware of any weakened spots and/or holes from crashing.
It's a decent rule of thumb but it's not entirely true. The safety factor of a full-face SNELL 2010 or ECE certified helmet is fairly constant across the board, AFAIK. Most (maybe all) of what you you pay for on more expensive helmets are features and comfort. As long as you buy new.
Well the helmet is used, but he's never crashed with it on and it's never fallen or anything. I inspected it and there weren't any scratches or dents and it's DOT and Snell approved. It's also only like a couple years old. It was too good a deal to pass up.
Nice, how are you liking it? Looks like the avatar I made for ya is going to be out of date now, haha :P Don't think we can easily fit 3 bikes in such a small space