Dilemma..

[Mr. Peanut]

I have a spare XS helmet, nothing fancy but its sound and looks cool =D
I could leave it on a park bench somewhere?

[Colapop]

You'll do well to spend your money on as good gear as you can get. Shop around (Quasimoto is good gear at a good price) I have Quasimoto 2 piece leathers, Quasi Gloves, a Shark RSFiR2 helmet (look for sales!) and at the moment 'off the shelf' boots. As and when I can afford it they'll be next (along with new chain, sprockets, screen, pack, rear suspension kit, track day bike...) I may have to sit on Santa's knee again this year!

[sels1]

I may have to sit on Santa's knee again this year!

Now there's a mental picture I didnt want.......

I have the cordura 2 piece suit and Draggin jeans for summer urban use. Works fine. I figured the all weather durability of the cordura suit gave me better all round value as I only do the occasional track day and it wasnt worth getting leathers for the amount I would use them.

[jrandom]

Ok, I have a bit of a dilemma...

The helmet is key. Buy a good helmet that fits. If you're unlucky like me (what with you being a delicate wee girly, probably not), nothing but Shoei XLs fit. If you're lucky, other, cheaper brands fit well, too.

In the end, though, it's worth spending half of that $1,000 on a helmet, and buying the rest of the gear second-hand (although Quasi's stuff appears to be pretty good value). Shoei and Arai are The Brands (tm). Shoeis are shaped for Lurch (you rang?), Arais are shaped for Montgomery Burns. Take your pick. Based on your photo in the "Am I Hot Or Not" thread, you're probably an Arai type. Sharks and Nolans are fine, too. AGVs are shit, and anyone who tries to tell you different has never sawed one in half.

And never, ever ride without gloves. Ever. Skinned hands are pure agony, and they're almost always the first thing to touch down in a bin. It only takes 40kph on coarse chipseal to leave you with bleeding stumps.

Also, don't discount the right pair of abrasion- and impact-resistant trousers. Knees are what touches down after hands. Ruining a good pair of jeans and bleeding down your shin for the rest of the day is just... pants. Doesn't hurt as bad as hands, though.

Knee armour is worth it, mind you; too many hard impacts on kneecaps will root anybody's sporting potential for life. In fact, in any crash under 60kph, I'd go with gloves and armoured pants in preference to a jacket. If I had to choose.

[Rosie]

Rider gear (Miro street, attached to Trikeworks) and Darryl August in Taupo were both really helpful when I was buying my gear. Darryl August don't generally have much road gear in stock, but they were happy to order in anything I was interested in, which some bike shops are reluctant to do.

I've got cordura gear, since I'm just starting out I didn't want to spend huge amounts on gear, and wanted something fairly versatile, it's waterproof, and you can wear it for a track day (although if you are planning on going hard and perhaps falling off, then leather would be a more sensible choice). The trousers get a bit hot for nipping around town in summer, so I think I might get some kevlar jeans in the coming months.

[MikeyG]

I know it's hard if you are on a limited budget but buy for fit rather than low price. I went for cheap stuff and am finding that the armour moves around and gets uncomfortable and the pants dig into my beer gut.

[Meekey_Mouse]

I know it's hard if you are on a limited budget but buy for fit rather than low price. I went for cheap stuff and am finding that the armour moves around and gets uncomfortable and the pants dig into my beer gut.

Thanks Rosie and MikeyG

[Rashika]

Buy the best helmet you can afford, best fitting gloves and boots you can afford, then everything else after that. You can always beg/borrow gear for the maybe once or twice a year trackday. At least thats what happens down here a lot
I lived with a $100 jacket from a leather sale for about 10 years, and patchwork leather trousers I made for myself till I spend some money on some bib overalls.... but the helmet was the best i could buy. Leather gloves can be got pretty cheaply, and good fitting boots are important as well.
Dont spend money on 2 piece leathers till you know you REALLY want them...your head is much more important to protect. And until you have been riding for awhile (and you have yet to get a bike yet?) then you wont know what will be right for your situation.
I bought my first 2 piece leathers a week ago...after 15 years of riding, and only cos I am racing regularly now and need more protection. Bought my first cordura/waterproof jacket last winter as well. Take your time to get stuff that suits you.
Trademe is pretty good, check it out for gear.
And good luck

[KLOWN]

I wrote a big long spiel but my computer crashed and lost it all and i can't be bothered re writing it cause i've started drinking and smoking and you just loose all motivation, so the short version is.... I had cordura were good, protected me very well in my crash but were ruined after one spill and it looked like I was wearing a red and black sack. Leathers look good will handle more than one spill but not so waterproof, but can be treated to help that. Any helmet for sale at a store has passed nz safty standards or they couldn't sell them. Buy from quasi, good prices and good products. I was wearing his boots when I came off and they were great. My two peice leathers from quasi arrived today and gloves. They look and feel awesome and as other people have said they have been crash tested and passed with flying colours. you may need to up your budget to $1200 to get helmet, boots, gloves, pants and jacket but since I have had a crash on the open road after a car hit me good gear is worth its weight in gold!!!!
my helmet was only $200 but it did a good job, heres what it looked like after

[Coyote]

Totally possible, HJC make really good helmets. I've seen them rated above SHOEI etc for fit, and they meet the same impact standards.

My CS-10 (Their basicest model) has survived 3 hard knocks

And I can still type legibly so it did work

[klingon]

Come to Auckland for a day and ask MackTheKnife to take you shopping! That man is a super-shopper bargain hunter, he knows his gear, and he's honest about telling you what suits you and what doesn't!

Here's what I have so far....
HJC helmet (Motomail Ponsonby) $150
gloves (Motomail Outlet store in Kingsland) $60
Dririder cordura jacket (Motomail Outlet) $150*
Dririder cordura pants (Cycletreads) $120

*Actually my jacket cost much less than this but I don't want to build up your expectations. It's an outlet store so sometimes you get lucky and they have it in your size, sometimes not.

I don't have decent boots yet, but so far I've spent less than $500, so I'd have plenty of change left out of $1000 to get some boots.

The irony for me is that I'm still saving up for a bike. I decided to prioritise and get all the safety gear first

[Mr. Peanut]

Don't knock the HJC. They are very well made ^_^
Best value for money/protection available.

[MikeyG]

Also if you want to do a trackday or two check what the local track allows. Some will allow cordura but others insist on leather.