on our little soapboxes.

[Gixxer 4 ever]

Heres an idea for ya folks--waaaaay off base.
I've got like shit loads of room at my place for bike gear.
Howsabout either donating your old gear or perhaps hanging a price on it.
Leave the gloves/jackets and stuff and the newbee riders can come and get decent but a bit old gear at prices they can afford.
Ive got an old pair of glove for example -just gathering dust--now thats gotta be better than no gloves.
One kindly KBer donated a pair of size 9? boots which aint flash but still all there -just an idea mind you

Hmmmm good idea we could call it ummmmmm lets seeeeee............. Trademe or somthin.
Sorry Frosty mate just bord. Think I will go and do somthin else for a while. Good Idea mate.

[FROSTY:Me]

That sounds like an awesome idea!

I have an XS helmet, thats only been worn about 10 times at the most, never been dropped, never been in an accident, blue in colour, clear visor, not an expensive brand, got it as part of a "starter pack" when I brought my first bike...

Helmets are one area that kinda scare me.Yours being in pristine condition may be fine but anything else and its scarey.
I see it that a lid is compulsary and lets face it a decent HJC in yesterdays color scheme will only cost ya $120-$150

[spudchucka]

Na you just give out tickets to fill your quota. The real hardcore speedsters seldom get caught.

HMMMM, yellow 2000 Suzuki SV650.........

[FROSTY:Me]

Hmmmm good idea we could call it ummmmmm lets seeeeee............. Trademe or somthin.
Sorry Frosty mate just bord. Think I will go and do somthin else for a while. Good Idea mate.

GWAN go crawl into ya corner you gixxer rider you.
nahhh seriously dude Im talking a KB deal -not for profit or anything just to improve the lot of fellow KBers

[placidfemme]

Helmets are one area that kinda scare me.Yours being in pristine condition may be fine but anything else and its scarey.
I see it that a lid is compulsary and lets face it a decent HJC in yesterdays color scheme will only cost ya $120-$150

Yeah I can appreciate helmets, exspecially second hands ones being kind of dodgy and personally I rarely recommend anyone buying/using one for the safety reasons alone...

But I can seriously say this helmet is perfect. I brought myself a new helmet sortly after I got that one because it was slightly too big for me when I shook my head it would literally almost twirl around...

*thinks all helmet makers should make the sizes the same... an XS in a Shoei is WAY too small for me... where a XS in CMS is perfect*

[Ixion]

GWAN go crawl into ya corner you gixxer rider you.
nahhh seriously dude Im talking a KB deal -not for profit or anything just to improve the lot of fellow KBers

I think that it is a very good idea (bear with me here whilst I drivel, there is the germ of a thought at the end of it)

Anything that makes it easier for new riders to get kitted out must, I suggest, be good not only for the rider in question , but for motorcycling as a whole. We need those new riders to replace us old farts as we are eventually gathered into our Maker.

And the cost of what is nowdays considered a necessary minimum of gear, on top of the cost of a bike, must deter many youngsters (In contrast, when I started it cost me £17.10.0 for a BSA Bantam - yeah I know I was ripped off. No-one wore helmets then let alone anything else).

Unfortunately, much as I would like to , I have nothing in the way of usable gear to contribute. Mine is worn so long, through so many repairs and cobbled patch upon cobbled patch, that eventually Mrs Ixion executes a coup de main and filches them away by night to be burned. Thus forcing me to commit gross indignity upon my piggy bank and go and buy some more.

BUT ----- I do have a suggestion to extend the original idea.

As someone has noted below there is often gear for sale quite cheaply on Trademe. As always the bargains only come along once in a while but they are there (leather pants for $1, boots $15 etc).

So why do new riders not simply buy their gear second hand off Trademe? Well, it's not as simple as it seems. For one thing they don't know what they need - leather ? Cordura? (What's that ?). Armour ? Hard ? Soft? . And, cheap gear may be cheap becasue it is scruffy but still sound and usable. Or it may be cheap because its damaged and potentially dangerous. The newbie has not the experience to determine which. And, like as not , even if there is something cheap, it will not be his size. And he does not want to wait patiently . He wants to ride NOW.

So he goes to the one place where he can get advice as well, the motorcycle shop. Finds the prices, falls over in horror, and goes away to save his pennies . In the meantime managing without.

So : (yeah I'm getting to it, patience) my suggestion : Who would be willing to join me in putting up , say, $50 each , to prime the pump for a fund for Kiwibiker (through some experienced sucker uh correction, saintly person willing to volunteer) to snap up any suitable bargains on Tradme and add them to Mr Frosty's collection.

Once the fund is primed it should hopefully be able to continue , being replenished by donations from those who are supplied with gear . If some can't afford to donate, or won't , well, so be it. At least they will be equipped, and we can always pass the hat around again if necessary. There will always be a few who take advantage of anything like this, that's no reason not to do it.

Anyone else willing to chip in ?

[Jackrat]

SOOO TRUE!
I try to get through to people with no gloves.
If they dont have enough money, ill try to discount them as much as i can so they get some etc.
But some you just cant get through to.
But at least we can say we tried.

If they's real cheap,like me.
Tell them to go to "protector safty"
$15 for a pair of black leather thinsulate lined riggers gloves.
I've been down wearing mine an they worked darn side better that bare skin would have,like no damage at all to my hands,which I can't say for the bike gloves they replaced. Ouch!!
The latest pair have been going strong for the last five years.

[FROSTY:Me]

Jackk--yep that place is a posibility I guess

[sAsLEX]

Tell them to go to "protector safty"
$15 for a pair of black leather thinsulate lined riggers gloves.

had a look on their website and couldn't find them, will have to go in to a real store and have a look, need some for when i take the xr back out, race rep gloves would look a bit dumb on the farm bike!

[FROSTY:Me]

I might be able to help--gimme a yell

[Lou Girardin]

Car only - you tight-arsed pricks don't pay enough taxes for the Gov't to spring for a patrol-bike

What? 1.3 bill in speed taxes isn't enough for a patrol bike for you?

[FROSTY:Me]

that goes to pay for fancy loo paper in the beehive doncha know3