Life of motorbike gear

[McFatty1000]

Hello again

General question: how long do you find your gear lasts for? (Either kms travelled or actual time - of gear that hasn't hit the road...) Helmets, jackets, gloves, boots and pants etc, as well as, how do you store it?

Coming up to a year with my gear and no idea of how long it normally or should last.

[98tls]

Unless your fashion concious it will last for many years fella,as for storing it i get off the bike and hang it up in the shed,have done for decades.

[sootie]

Unless your fashion concious it will last for many years fella,as for storing it i get off the bike and hang it up in the shed,have done for decades.

My dri-rider fabric jacket has faded from bright sunlight exposure over 3 o4 years, but is still OK.
How fussy are you?

[McFatty1000]

Not fussy, just wanting to get an impression of when people usually have to start replacing stuff - and how long people consider reasonable life for gear.

[Gremlin]

When waterproof gear is no longer stopping the water get in. Took 4-5 years for my old RJays jacket, although truth be told it probably gave up sooner than that... Must get rid of it... New commuter jacket stops water, so no more wet Gremlin. :2thumbsup

Otherwise I cycle gear out if the new shiny is a great price which I can't resist.

ie, no specific mileage or time, just when it's no longer serving it's purpose.

[GrayWolf]

Hello again

General question: how long do you find your gear lasts for? (Either kms travelled or actual time - of gear that hasn't hit the road...) Helmets, jackets, gloves, boots and pants etc, as well as, how do you store it?

Coming up to a year with my gear and no idea of how long it normally or should last.

The general opinion by manufacturers for helmets is replace after 5 yrs (UV damage etc).. maybe as low as 3-4 yrs in the NZ sun?
Gear? I have a leather jacket almost 30yrs old... well oiled etc.. still excellent condition
Cordura gear? I guess I'd treat the same as a helmet, replace after 5 yrs max (most of mine doesnt last 5 yrs as I ride every day). Either the main zip goes (jacket) or the lining wears through in the pants.

[The Baron]

I spray my gear with waterproof spray every summer.

Sometimes more often if needed.

[Maha]

My gear usually gets replaced when I find/see something that I really want.
I give away the (soon to be replaced) stuff.

[Stirts]

when people usually have to start replacing stuff.

When they have too many pies.

[oneofsix]

When they have too many pies.

That sounds like me :whistle: or when the gear has been in rough contact with the road :rolleyes:

[p.dath]

Hello again

General question: how long do you find your gear lasts for? (Either kms travelled or actual time - of gear that hasn't hit the road...) Helmets, jackets, gloves, boots and pants etc, as well as, how do you store it?

Coming up to a year with my gear and no idea of how long it normally or should last.

I am assuming this is for normal road riding, and that they are used at least weekly, and in all weather.

Helmet: 3 to 5 years.
Jackets, Gloves, Pants: If leather, and you condition them every year, maybe 20 years. I have had a lot of variability out of textiles. So for textiles say maybe 3 to 10 years.
Boots: 3 to 7 years.

I store mine in a dry garage.

[skippa1]

Hello again

General question: how long do you find your gear lasts for? (Either kms travelled or actual time - of gear that hasn't hit the road...) Helmets, jackets, gloves, boots and pants etc, as well as, how do you store it?

Coming up to a year with my gear and no idea of how long it normally or should last.

How often do you replace your clothes?

When they are worn out
When they dont do what they are designed to do
When they are outdated and you feel stupid wearing them
When you wreck them doing something careless or stupid

There isnt a rule (except for the expiry on helmets)
Common sense should prevail so Im not sure why you even asked the question on KB

[Jantar]

My current leathers are 10 years old and have travelled over 200,000 km. Repairs so far are:
New front zips in jacket.
New zip in trousers right leg.
Stitching in crotch of trousers, under arm of jacket and, collar of jacket.
They are not as waterproof as they once were, and I figure maybe only another 1 or 2 years before I replace them.

My Cordura Jacket is 5 years old and has travelled around 10,000 km. It is not very waterproof, but is cooler in summer for adventure riding. No repairs required yet, but it hasn't really had much use.

[Banditbandit]

Hello again

General question: how long do you find your gear lasts for? (Either kms travelled or actual time - of gear that hasn't hit the road...)

My leathers are way more than 10 years old ... I've never worn out leathers - only changed them when they do not fit any more - the leather jacket I had before the current one went down the road four times and I was still using it .. (I got too big) ... the current one has hit road twice ...

My Gortex jacket is much newer .. I wore out the old one in about two years ... Zip went .. other things .. and it never hit the road .. I wear Gortex to commute - which is most days ...

I have worn out a pair of boots - but only twice in 40 years of riding ... and they were older leather-only ones - I currently have two pair - of leather/plastic combination ... bought 2006 and 2009 - hardly any wear visible apart from on the toe sliders ..


Helmets, jackets, gloves, boots and pants etc, as well as, how do you store it?

Jackets hang in the garage by the bikes - helmet and gloves on the shelf beside that ... leather pants hang in the wardrobe with boots underneath ... (Stuff I put on when I get dressed is in the wardrobe, stuff I don't need to put on until I get to the bike is in the garage)


Coming up to a year with my gear and no idea of how long it normally or should last.

I use a beeswax leather cream on my leathers - with black shooe polish finish ... I have no idea how long it wil last because, as I said, I've never worn out any leathers ... I use the same on my leather gloves - I have worn out pairs of them, or ripped them up on the road ... (I know I need new gloves when it takes three washed to get the stains off my hands from inside my gloves ...)

[McFatty1000]

How often do you replace your clothes?

When they are worn out
When they dont do what they are designed to do
When they are outdated and you feel stupid wearing them
When you wreck them doing something careless or stupid

There isnt a rule (except for the expiry on helmets)
Common sense should prevail so Im not sure why you even asked the question on KB

Aha, yeah, I know they're the obvious things that would void gear, I just wasn't sure on the expected life of things, for example, I have a textile jacket which is about 9 months old which has a little wear (Still fine as far as I can tell, just looks a little naf on the shoulders) over about 5000km, while a friend has a similar aged/priced jacket in which parts are failing (Zip) but is in better condition than mine overall material wise (He actually hangs his up consistently/doesn't ride in the wet as much etc) so the question was based off this and what others usually found their gear to last for.

Also, I didn't want to be in the situation where there was a 'time limit' of stitching/ leather going 'off' around a general age etc or something like that that I wasn't aware of making the gear less protective if I ever did need it to do its designed purpose.

[Banditbandit]

There isnt a rule (except for the expiry on helmets)


Yeah ???? They say two years but I've fallen off in helmets older than that ...

Mine fell off the seat (again) the other day .. it didn't go "crack" like it usually does .. it went more of a dull "kthunk" .. I think I need a new one ...

[skippa1]

Yeah ???? They say two years but I've fallen off in helmets older than that ...

Mine fell off the seat (again) the other day .. it didn't go "crack" like it usually does .. it went more of a dull "kthunk" .. I think I need a new one ...

a little bit of duct tape and it will be as good as gold :yes:

[GrayWolf]

Yeah ???? They say two years but I've fallen off in helmets older than that ...

Mine fell off the seat (again) the other day .. it didn't go "crack" like it usually does .. it went more of a dull "kthunk" .. I think I need a new one ...

the recommended replacement age for a lid with NO crash damage IS 5 yrs.
So if you've fallen off in ones older than that?? guess the 'off' was the best thing to happen to them,,, (taking it that you destroyed them after the off)

"Like most major helmet manufacturers, Arai subscribes to the Snell Memorial Foundation benchmark of five years as the suggested usable lifespan of a motorcycle helmet."

http://www.araiamericas.com/support.asp?page=support/warranty.asp

[SPman]

Leather jacket - 40 yrs - it still gets an airing occasionally. New from Laurie Summers in Oct 1972!

Boots - one pair 8 yrs so far (and 2 major "events"), the other 6 yrs....
Leathers - 10 yrs with 1 rebuild so far - ther's a couple of inches left yet.......
Helmets...hmmmmm - 1 9yrs, 1 6 yrs - looking for a new one atm - others look OK though...
Gloves - depends - Alpinestars - 3mths! Sidi's - 2 yrs, current Technics - 2 yrs so far and looking good for another couple.