Your thoughts on riding gear??

**James Deuce** · 29th April 2007, 21:39

Originally Posted by quallman1234

Agreed Jeans are useless.

Especially your raggedy-arse ones.

**Mr Merde** · 29th April 2007, 22:10

I have had a few accidents in my time.

Early on I wore very little for protection, not even a helmet. I have lots of scars to show for it.

Moved up to leathers a long while ago.

First jacket was a cheap version and resulted in skin and flesh ground off my fore arm.

Now wear a good quality jacket. Binned at 80kph and came down on my right shoulder. Jacket scuffed but no damage to flesh or skin.

Always wear boots now. Sopport for ankle.

I wear jeans and trou a lot but always feel alot safer in leather trou.

Gloves are a must for me. Easy to damage fingers and hands.

Ear plugs. Save the hearing. Noise in a cheaper full face can hit 110+ decibels.

All I can offer is that you buy the best gear you can afford. Bikes can be repaired or replaced. Body parts never.

**Chaos83** · 30th April 2007, 00:34

Listening to everyone's posts... it makes it even harder to ignore the facts. Especially when there is a single message: save $$$ now and pay later in skin, or pay $$$ now and save later in skin.

Someone, after viewing this thread, has generously offered a pair of their old boots. They need a tad bit of repairing but are pretty much my size. I picked them up today. It's what I need until I can afford my own (could be a while!)thanks to the generous RTCL

.

__________________

**dogsnbikes** · 30th April 2007, 01:05

Like eveybody has said you need protection and well done to the member that has offered you boots ......

I have a scar on my knee from my younger days and spent 6 months popping stones out of my knee........

when a I had a crash with leather on it wasnt apparent that I had a broken arm and dislocated knee until my leathers came off at the hospital that was 17 years ago

and last week I just brought a new set of leathers they speak for themselfs and saftey gear on a bike is all we have for protection

**ynot slow** · 30th April 2007, 22:12

i allways wear my gloves,if just shooting out i'll wear jeans,slipon boots,to work all the gear on,including proper boots.i got mine from franklin imports,about $179.00,not to flash but weatherproof with velcro and zips,comfy to wear at work(on feet mostly).when i bought my gear at anza palmy great guys,no probs with helmet,pants had couple of try ons,also found perfect pair length wise and was told help yourself to a bike similar to see if they are comfy whilst sitting(good idea),jacket was same make as pants coinsidence,but gloves i tried several types,ignoring price as much as possible and chose spidi pair,were about $135 before discount,end of the day i figured hands need best protection so went with comfort,fit,style(not bulky)then price,could've bought cheaper but as i didn't think any fitted as well left em there.

**BarBender** · 30th April 2007, 23:14

Originally Posted by Chaos83

I have been riding for 4 years now. Since I started, I have never gone out without my: full faced helmet; leather jacket (TZ1); leather gloves; a pair of jeans (nothing special); and some closed footwear, but sometimes it is only a pair of sneakers.

__________________

Its going to get cold soon.
Thermals will keep you warm whilst allowing you to wear what you already have.

Not sure what your current coin situation but if you're ok then you best get some quality two piece rain gear. Otherwise if you're living in the red then buy a one piece rain suit. Easy to carry around and will keep you relatively dry. Waterproof gloves or/and woolly gloves to wear under your leather ones are a wise investment also.

As with the others - get some protection for your legs and feet.
Believe us - you dont want to go through the experience of not having had the right gear to have realised that your should have.

**sAsLEX** · 1st May 2007, 04:12

Originally Posted by BarBender

Its going to get cold soon.
Thermals will keep you warm whilst allowing you to wear what you already have.

Not sure what your current coin situation but if you're ok then you best get some quality two piece rain gear. Otherwise if you're living in the red then buy a one piece rain suit. Easy to carry around and will keep you relatively dry. Waterproof gloves or/and woolly gloves to wear under your leather ones are a wise investment also.

As with the others - get some protection for your legs and feet.
Believe us - you dont want to go through the experience of not having had the right gear to have realised that your should have.

pfft waste of money http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/at...9&d=1160428373

custom jacket over the seat there, water and wind proof and less than a dollar and scrunches up to fit under the seat.

And a pair of surgical gloves under normal gloves keeps your hands warm and dry.

**BarBender** · 1st May 2007, 08:34

Nice.

Surprised you're using surgical gloves.
You could have continued the theme with custom fitting Gladwrap mittens.

**beyond** · 1st May 2007, 10:42

When I was a teenager

I had plenty of nasty accidents. Suprisingly I survived with some injuries but not to bad considering that I rode with a car racing helmet, plastic Line Seven jacket, gloves and motorcycle boots. However, the boots did save my feet in two accidents.

Now, in this modern day and age, there is all sorts of gear and no excuse not to have decent protection to fit most budgets. I have learnt that you get what you pay for and it's best to buy the best you can afford cos you only have one life.

Jeans?

Sneakers?

Around 60-70% of accidents happen within five kilometres of home. Thats a trip to the burger bar, the corner diary, lotto shop and that's when you are likely NOT to put all your clobber on.

Some cold hard facts. Every second you slide down the road you lose 5mm of skin muscle and tissue. If you haven't got 5mm of meat such as on your knees, ankles etc, you start losing bone.

If you hit something solid without armour, it's the kneecaps, the ankle bones and shins that get munched. Why be a cripple for life if most times you can prevent it?

Recently I came off my bike at around 100kmh, didn't hit anything solid thankfully but slid along way. My leather suit is good to go again, not a mark on me. Twisted my wrist and broke my ankle. Had real good boots but the weight of the bike coming down hard on my ankle broke it. Without boots.....?

I will NOT ride anywhere without all my gear on, even down the road. Good quality boots a MUST! I swear by leather for full proterction to the soft bod.

DO NOT JUST WEAR JEANS! Get draggins or kevlar pants of some type if you do not want to wear leather and wear armour add ons. Try running along the road even in Kevlar jeans, jump up in the air and come down on your kneecaps. If you can walk after that congrats but I bet you willbe out of action for 6-8 weeks. You hit the ground a hell of a lot harder when you come of your bike and without armour, the crunchies can get quite bad.

**Chaos83** · 2nd May 2007, 23:05

Originally Posted by beyond

When I was a teenager

I had plenty of nasty accidents. Suprisingly I survived with some injuries but not to bad considering that I rode with a car racing helmet, plastic Line Seven jacket, gloves and motorcycle boots. However, the boots did save my feet in two accidents.

Now, in this modern day and age, there is all sorts of gear and no excuse not to have decent protection to fit most budgets. I have learnt that you get what you pay for and it's best to buy the best you can afford cos you only have one life.

Jeans?

Sneakers?

Around 60-70% of accidents happen within five kilometres of home. Thats a trip to the burger bar, the corner diary, lotto shop and that's when you are likely NOT to put all your clobber on.

Some cold hard facts. Every second you slide down the road you lose 5mm of skin muscle and tissue. If you haven't got 5mm of meat such as on your knees, ankles etc, you start losing bone.

If you hit something solid without armour, it's the kneecaps, the ankle bones and shins that get munched. Why be a cripple for life if most times you can prevent it?

Recently I came off my bike at around 100kmh, didn't hit anything solid thankfully but slid along way. My leather suit is good to go again, not a mark on me. Twisted my wrist and broke my ankle. Had real good boots but the weight of the bike coming down hard on my ankle broke it. Without boots.....?

I will NOT ride anywhere without all my gear on, even down the road. Good quality boots a MUST! I swear by leather for full proterction to the soft bod.

DO NOT JUST WEAR JEANS! Get draggins or kevlar pants of some type if you do not want to wear leather and wear armour add ons. Try running along the road even in Kevlar jeans, jump up in the air and come down on your kneecaps. If you can walk after that congrats but I bet you willbe out of action for 6-8 weeks. You hit the ground a hell of a lot harder when you come of your bike and without armour, the crunchies can get quite bad.

Thank you for shock-horror nudge. I'll be making sure I get better protection within the next couple of pays. Damn... I really wanna keep my knee caps for a long time. I really wanna keep my skin and bones on/in my body.. not scraped along a cold road.

**beyond** · 3rd May 2007, 10:41

Good on ya mate

Sorry about the shock treatment but sometimes we all need to consider the cold hard facts or we can get a little complacent.

It's tough enough out there with all the cagers trying to take us out and the gravel on corners, potholes, diesel and oil spills, wet paint markings, greasy tar..........

You can be the best rider in the world but have no control over others. Always be prepared for the worst without being morbid and obsessed by it.

Dress for the slide, not the ride

**avgas** · 3rd May 2007, 10:57

While riding into uni, i had a small incident (i was doing 30ks) where a car hit me.
I was wearing a cheap $150 jacket with armour, My Shoei, my favourite jeans, some nike's.
My shin was the weakest point in the whole thing (everything got hit atleast once), and due to that i got my tibia (shinbone) blasted.
32 fractures/4 complete breaks in the area smaller than most palms.
at the end of the day it was my fault for not wearing at least boots/better pants.
While it would have stopped the break it would have minimised it.
Either ride perfectly or wear the right gear. Smart people do both

**sunhuntin** · 5th May 2007, 16:31

ive only had one major off. i was wearing:

open faced lid [the brand escapes me] sunglasses. singlet top, jeans, cowboy boots.

i hit the front bumper of the car that pulled out, sailed in the air and rolled a few times, hit ground and rolled some more. got up and walked to the side of the road.
i dont think i hit my head, as i had no headache or recollection of such. my upper body received two small knicks in my thumb. my lower body was worse. my jeans were shredded over the lower left leg. that area is now numb. my right knee is stuffed. both knees cause pain when crunched up for too long [ie, kneeling]

i still have the jeans [mum sewed up the rips] and have replaced the helmet. still got the boots. have lost the glasses [which were fine. pop the lens back in and good as new!]

considering the damage to the bike, i got lucky. the tank had a dent in it the shape of my knee. bars were bent, indicators broken, mirrors broken, front fender was jammed into the tyre. like the frame was shot as well.

even after that, when the weathers nice, i still ride like that... only its often in sneakers. i enjoy the feeling. when i get the money, ill be getting one of those half helmets recently introduced here.