Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Aside from just covering you ankle to prevent abrasion, a good motorcycle boot will provide protection beyond that to help keep you ankle from getting smashed. Some have actual armor, some have thick padding - either will make your feet safer.

Motorcycle boots tend to have either no heel or a low profile heal - so your foot doesn't get snagged if you drag it along a crack. Which is why big lug Viram type soles aren't the best for riding.

I'd say, first buy your helmets. THEN take the class, but spend some time shopping and trying on gear at your nearest mc shop.

You should be fine for the MSF in sturdy over the ankle work boots, etc.

Ask the instructors what they prefer for wear in Ohio. Chances are they've probably got spring/fall gear and summer gear. Don't fret over it, though.

Olympia is another EXCELLENT gear manufacturer in the mid-range for price. They have a good assortment of multi-season stuff. And I like that their women's gear is actually "woman shaped" instead of just being smaller guy stuff.

Shopping for gloves, make sure that they fasten securely (cannot be pulled off) and are full fingered. It doesn't take much pavement contact to wreak havoc on the tiny bones and tendons in a hand.

P

Lion_Lady wrote:I'd say, first buy your helmets. THEN take the class, but spend some time shopping and trying on gear at your nearest mc shop.

I vote to take the class first and buy helmets afterwards. You might take the class and discover you don't want to ride. When I took the course, 25% of the people dropped out.

Why buy helmets if you end up changing your mind and not being riders?

I think we're going to get helmets before the class, mostly because the course says they have limited helmet availability and I'm not crazy about sticking my head in someone else's sweaty helmet

I don't have any over the ankle boots at all, so it may be best to just buy motorcycle boots to begin with, unless I can find some cheap sturdy work boots.

Unrelated question... It occurs to me that after the MSF course, I'll need a fair bit of practice in a traffic free area before I'll want to venture out on the road, am I correct in this assumption? If so, how exactly will I be getting a bike I purchase home? I'm still debating new vs used (leaning towards a ninja 250 currently and they are hard to come by used around here). If I buy used, I'm sure I could kick some cash at the previous owner to ride it over to my house, but if I buy new from a dealer, do they deliver? I don't know anyone else who rides, so I can't ask someone else to get it home for me.

Yep, you'll still need to do some practicing. I'm sure almost all dealerships will deliver. If you're considering this option, make sure it's included in the OTD price negotiations. If the dealership doesn't deliver or it costs too much, you could rent/borrow a trailer or pickup truck.

I rode mine home but, I only lived 5 miles from the dealership and the route was all secondary paved roads. I also timed it so that the traffic would be light.

It has been my experience that most private sellers are happy to ride a bike to the new owner's home (within reason, of course). You probably won't even have to pay anything extra, just offer to give them a ride back home again.

In essence, the MSF teaches you all the basic skills you'll need to ride around in circles in a parking lot. It really is up to you to take what you've learned and the skills and become comfortable (and competent) on the street.

Some folks just start right in commuting to work, for instance, but many others spend time practicing before venturing out.

P

Well it's been a busy week

I should now be fully outfitted and I'm picking up a bike on tuesday (well, he's riding it over at least)

Gear wise for the wife and I, I picked up:

Tour Master Advanded Sport Textile jackets ($59 each at new enough - amazing price)

Alpinestars AST-1 Pants ($50 at dennis kirk - really amazing price but I need to buy knee armor for them, still cheap)

Stanley work boots, with steel toe and steel reinforced shank. Not ideal but they'll do for now.

Z1R Strike Helmet - $89 at local store. This is a secondary passenger helmet and for my wife to use for MSF.

Scorpion exo-400 helmet - $144 at local store. I LOVE this helmet. Pricier than the cheap ones but the quality is fantastic and it looks great. My wife and I have the same size head (really, we measured, exact same) so we'll share this as a primary helmet.

Teknic enforcer gloves - $18.99 at local store. Closeout at the store, great price, even if the glove turns out to suck. They look great and have a padded heel and carbon fiber knuckle guards.

Teknic SMT gloves - $14.99 at local store. Another closeout. Not thrilled with them, but they were cheap and seem to have decent protection. I'll probably replace them later but for now they'll do and have more protection than a plain leather glove.

Teknic Supervent glove - $12.99 closeout at local store. Super cheap, very low protection, I only got them because they were so cheap and I may use them when it's really really hot.

Should keep me safe for a while I have no idea how the pants and jacket will do in the heat. The jacket is supposed to be well vented and the pants have a few mesh vents, so I figure I can handle it for this year. Eventually I want to get us perforated leather jackets but for now I can't beat the prices I paid for this stuff.

And my new bike, which I probably paid too much for, is a 1996 GS500e. I paid $1700 for it, which is high I know, but I've been watching the adds and talking to people who already sold theirs and it's not out of line. One guy got $1400 for a 92 GS500 that had a rebuilt title. I could probably get one much cheaper in the fall as demand is high now, but I'm happy with it. It's super clean and only has 3,600 miles on it. Now I just need to figure out what kind of maintanence it will need seeing as it's only had 3,600 miles put on it in 11 years and has likely sat for quite a while.

CONGRATS on the great buys and the new ride! Don't forget to post some pics when you get some!

Unrelated question... It occurs to me that after the MSF course, I'll need a fair bit of practice in a traffic free area before I'll want to venture out on the road, am I correct in this assumption?

Your mileage may vary, but when I started riding - and everytime I get a new bike - I've spent a good deal of time getting to know it on light-traffic or traffic-free roads.

I tend to take the "add one hazard at a time" approach:

> I get to know my bike in the garage first and make sure I know where all its bits are. I don't want to be looking for the horn as that idiot in the SUV is merging into me...

> Take the out on a quiet (read: empty) street and learn how it handles (and, in your case, how to ride in general). I'd hate to learn I need longer to stop than I expected as that light ahead of me turns yellow/red... When I'm comfy with that:

> Take it out in light traffic on relatively straight, low speed-limit roads to get used to THAT.

> Increase speed... increase traffic... ride on windy days... ride on rainy days... increase curviness of roads, etc.

This was a longish process (maybe 2 weeks - I'm very cautious and I started on too big a bike) when I first started riding, but takes only a day - maybe two - now. Doing this ensures that I'm never operating outside of my comfort zone and, as a result, am never panicked when something unexpected happens.

Hope this helps out some. Can't wait to see pics of the bike!