DO CHAPS REALLY HELP THAT MUCH?

[Flyerman]

FIRST POST!

got back from a weekend of drinking, smoking, and cavorting. i saw a lot of bikers out - great weather - and a lot of them had the full leathers on; jeans, black leather chaps, leather jackets, leather boots, gloves, and helmets. it was about 75-80 degrees out, so i'm just guessing that they had to be hotter than hell underneath. doesn't all that leather make you sweat up a storm? i've never even been on a bike before, but i intend to. do you really need chaps, or is it just a costume? don't mean any offense or disrespect by all this, just curious.

KEEP RIDIN'!!

[jmillheiser]

about all chaps will do is keep your knees from getting road rash, does nothing to protect your butt from road rash and they have no impact protection.

chaps are pretty good at keeping your legs warm, and are popular with the cruiser crowd.

there are a number of ways to protect your legs when riding. definately check out the stickys and the new rider forum.

I use kevlar reinforced jeans myself, they are jeans with a layer of kevlar reinforced nylon sewn in around the knees and in the seat.

oh and welcome to the site

[ejshotgun]

I like "old school" cruiser look. So I wear chaps. They keep the wind chill down and offer some protection. I wear them most of the year round and they're not "that" hot.
Besides I don't like the looks of the new style jeans and other riding accessories. But you know "different strokes for different folks".
Oh, and if you are traveling up a wet/clay incline and a hidden rock kicks the rear end out from under you it keeps the mud off of your jeans.

[JustJames]

You don't need chaps but you will need something to protect yourself. Helmet (is a must), Riding Jacket (leather or textile), Gloves, Pant (if available), riding boots. Yes it will be hot in the summer but protect betten than not. This is what is say "all the gears all the time".

I only wear chap when I know I'm gonna be riding in cold weather. It gives some kind of protection better than plain jeans but not the best. I do have leather jacket with removable liner for summer.

[Z (fka Sweet Tooth)]

My husband mostly wears them when it's chilly out side. He also likes the look of them but isn't gonna wear them in 80 degree weather just to look cool!

[Aggroton]

i only where chaps in the bedroom...

[J.R. Bob Dobbs]

I wear full leather motorcycle pants in the winter, mainly for crash protection and secondarily they keep me warm and dry. In the summer I wear mesh/textile pants ($$), would prefer the leather for greater protection but when it's hot and humid, mesh can't be beat. I also have a perforated leather one-piece race suit for in-between weather.

I rarely ever wear just jeans, they offer virtually no crash protection whatsoever, though they do keep grit and bugs off your legs and protect from exhaust burns. I really like my skin and have seen some gruesome photos of road-rash by denim-wearers, the denim supposedly can make the injury even worse than bare skin.

I consider chaps to be a compromise between the no-protection of jeans and good-protection of full leather. They are popular these days with folks going for the trendy "biker look", though some of those folks seem more concerned with fashion and looking "bad-a$$" than motorcycling.

As a previous poster said, "different strokes".... do some research and make your own decisions, above all get out and ride, you'll probably love it.

[J.R. Bob Dobbs]

Also, you'd be surprised what a 60mph+ wind chill will do to keep you cool. I wore my full mesh outfit yesterday with longjohns underneath, in 75 degree weather, and was literally shivering up on the mountain passes where the temp was prolly in the 60's.

Edit: and I meant no offense to chap wearers in my last post, as long as you're a real biker especially if you're truely a bad-a$$