Why is motobike gear all black?

[Dodger]

Black - It hides the dirt.
In fact my gear is getting blacker by the day

[GaZBur]

All my gear is black. I wear black for several reasons and none of it is to look cool or menacing.

• Most second hand leathers are black
• Black leather is easy to nuggat over the scrapes when you come off (again)
• Bright coloured leathers apparently make you look like a power ranger (whatever that is)
• Black is a colour that doesn't go out of fashion
• Black is a colour that doesn't show oil or blood stains
• Black doesn't make my ass look big (after all it's important to consider what people see when you pass them)

When I actually wanted to buy a blue helmet to match the colour of my bike - it did'nt fit with my glasses on. But they had a black one that did!!

[Swoop]

• Bright coloured leathers apparently make you look like a power ranger (whatever that is)

Or like a toothpaste tube...

[Blue Velvet]

Black is a very flattering, slimming (absence of) colour.

[Pwalo]

It's usually the cheapest option for decent gear, especially helmets. Not that I'm cheap now.

[The Pastor]

i were black because im a bad ass.

my bike dosent have usd forks so im only 2/3rds bad ass.

[Nagash]

Just get a fluro vest? I think I saw them at the $2 shop. Sorted.

All my leathers are black, makes me look tough on my bright yellow bike.

I reckon that your own body is so small compared to everything else on the road that colour of leathers really don't make a difference, atleast not a difference that equals the added expense of coloured leathers.

[slimjim]

well my dad's hand me down jacket while he was riding was his dad's bomber jacket, that was standard issuse to him while in the airforce, and when i started riding back in the early seventies ,my dad passed it on to me,and fuck it weighed a ton, yup i too now have upgaded and still wear black , as i feel that if the sun is ever too low behind me ,while i'm riding i'll prefer to cast a black spot and hope it cause's a cager to take a double look ,at a black object, rather than take a flash of colour, as a eye flash and ingore and pull out ' yup even handed dad back his father's jacket, still without road damage ,

[Atlas]

The advantage of black or any dark colours is that with bugs, road grime and scrapes, bright leathers look crappy very quickly. Nothing wrong with flouro vests or lights on, not that they really help, car drivers need to first be looking to see you and from my experience (hit by 3 cars in 25 years of riding) they rarely do.
If you spend much time riding, dark colours are the go. If looking for gear I'm more interested in the body armour, keeping warm and dry and for summer ventilation. A high vis vest will do the rest and is easy to get washed. Function over style is the key, will it help save your ass when your down the road?

[McJim]

I've taken some of the advice on this thread and have dressed accordingly for my ride this evening.

Will I be safe now? My legs and feet are so white they can be seen from outer space!

[hXc]

I've taken some of the advice on this thread and have dressed accordingly for my ride this evening.

Will I be safe now? My legs and feet are so white they can be seen from outer space!

Just got to get the Samoan safety shoes and you'll be fine. Oh, and a hi-vis vest.

[McJim]

Just got to get the Samoan safety shoes and you'll be fine. Oh, and a hi-vis vest.

I'm so hard I don't even need Jandals.

[Aero165]

So here's an obvious question that needs asking - why is all our gear the same colour as the road? Why spend hunreds, or even thousands, buying expensive motorcycle gear with the sole purpose of trying to be safe - but ironically, all this same gear is black in colour, making is near invisible in certain conditions.

Why isn't there more gear available that's fashionable and brightly coloured? I saw this video a little while ago (http://youtube.com/watch?v=kh2U2O6_m50), which made me wonder why this type of gear isn't more widely available. I'd love to own motorcycle clothing like this, but simply cannot find it. Is it purely a cultural thing, that morocyclists refuse to wear stuff that isn't black?

Here's a pic of my new gear! Not so much black as it is black an white!!

[madandy]

So I can conclude from this thread that this motorcycle community doesn't think we should be doing everything possible to make ourselves seen? Well, case closed I guess - that would be why I cant get decent coloured gear. But I hope I never see another post from a motorcyclist having a whinge about how a car didn't see them - even though they were wearing black clothes, on a dark coloured bike (which has a tiny profile compared with other vehicles), and probably had no headlight on. Dang stinkin' motorists.

I ride a big(ish) sport bike - The light is always on, sometimes full beam. Its bright red & white. My helmet is similarly coloured. My Bright Blue & White jacket & pant make me no more or less frequently unseen than when I wore mostly black.
I've seen people pull out in front of my old mans big red Volvo stock truck too... splat

Don't mean to e rude but seeing as you're on a SR250 are you new to riding? If so you'll soon learn most KBer & probably all of the above KBers really do value safety but you'll also learn even a big bright flashing light on your noggin aint gonna stop the odd plonker from forcing you to pratice emergency manouvers.

ride safe
Andy

[madandy]

McJim, your smile alone should ensure your safety