Gear for learning

[Rocket]

Hi all,

I'm sitting my learners in Sydney in June, (4 month wait here now FYI).

Decided I better start getting safety gear before I get a bike after the test.
Its all pretty dam pricey innit.

But here's what I'm after. Since I'm learning, you can take it as granted ill only be riding when the weather is nice. eg no rain at the start, I'll be riding on weekends and perhaps the odd evening to start off.

You can also believe im not made of money at the moment so I wont be able to to afford top of the line and will be looking to eBay where I can.

Now what do I need to equip myself with? Looking for brand and model recommendations on

Helmet
Leather Jacket
Pants
gloves
Boots required?

im 31 , 6 foot, 79 KGs and will be more then likely looking at getting a 95 zx2r or a cbr250 rr 90ish.

thanks alot for any input. I know there's always the search key but I do prefer to discuss it. hopefully it will put my excitment at bay for a while at least.

[YellowDog]

eBay's no good as you get screwed on the shipping. There's lots of good secondhand gear on Trademe.

I'd shy away from a secondhand helmet though, unless you know it's not been used no more than a couple of times and not been dropped (eBay's good for helmets).

Good luck.

[Rocket]

trademe no good im based in sydney.

wont be buying a second hand lid but still need recomendations on brands please.

[Rocket]

Guess ill just go ask in a retail store, thanks for your help heh.

[Camshaft]

i hear shark are pretty good as mid range helmets, good deals on these at cycle treds. as far as everythng alse go's u would be best to just go into bike stores, try stuff on and see whats available at what cost and thn try to find tht gear second hand if u can. i got myself a very nice set of 2 piece leathers for 400 in all but perfect condition ( 2 yrs old) that are worth 1700 from a bike shop

lucky uve gt 4 months to scope out whats good and whats not and keep an eye on deals

[CookMySock]

Brands are not important. What you need is something with strong elbow, knee, and skin protection.

The other advantage of using good safety gear, is you get to concentrate on the job at hand, rather than overtly focus on preventing the loss of skin, which is often counterproductive.

[Rocket]

hmm local shop has a sale on those AGV Helmets they seem to be rated rather good on that SHARP helmet uk site? 4/5 Might go try a few on. here's the sale link fyi (http://www.picturemerollin.com.au/index.php?main_page=specials&page=3)

[steve_t]

Qmoto 2 piece zip-together leathers $595 IIRC. Triple stitched seams. A grade leather. Check out www.qmoto.co.nz :niceone:

[Rocket]

can't see the two piece suit for $595, only $1495 but i see the jackets, nice price specially from AU dollar point of view. thanks for the link.

[darkone]

You will need to buy your helmet locally for it to be legal on Australian roads but with the strong aussie dollar I'd be looking at buying the rest from the US/EU.

There are some great bargains on Shift gear at the moment as the brand is being wound up after losing a legal battle over the name (Fox motorsport who own Shift will continue to provide warranty support etc).
I've picked up a couple of pieces myself for about 1/2 the aussie price.

http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/StoreFront.bok

http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/Categories.bok?category=Shift+Street+Apparel+Sale

For your helmet, I'd highly recommend going to these guys ... http://www.mcas.com.au/pw/
The blokes in both the city and auburn stores are very helpful and really know their stuff. The auburn store also has some good deals on clearance items.
While you're buying a helmet you can try on the rest of the gear to get sizing sorted :innocent:
One word of warning though .... don't let the guys at mcas try and talk you into Rjays gear. The textile jacket and leather gloves I bought from them both had serious problems with the stitching (the gloves split a seam between the fingers after about 2 weeks and the jacket had loose stitching on one of the shoulders).
Absolutely no dramas returning both items though, hence my recommendation.

[Rocket]

What shift gear did you get? i like the look of the jeans, and looking at getting the Shift Airborne Jacket for starters..

[Rocket]

ended up getting a shift jacket jeans and gloves for $226 US on sale and delivered. cheers for the heads up.