superdan wrote:Thanks Red! I really appreciate the advice. Can you help out with helmet, jacket/gear advice?
Suomy vs Shoei vs HJC vs Scorpion?
Bright vs Dark --> Bright makes more sense, but black is way smoother!
Jackets --> Hot climate and noob with 600 sportbike?...hopefully the F4i
Leg --> Underarmor & jeans vs leathers?
Are boots really that important?
Don't know if you read one of my previous posts (you can check my posts in my profile) but I left one commenting on helmets.
I've got a Scorpion and an HJC helmet. It is no contest between the two. I'd go Scorpion anyday, maybe even before an Arai or Shoei, unless either of those two dropped a few hundred dollars off their price.
Aside from the price (got mine for $160), comfort, and awesome styles/colors of Scorpion helmets, they blow the competition out the water with two of their patent-pending features. The ever-clear fog-free faceshield is out of this world. I've tried, my girlfriend's tried, and even my 10-year old cousin has tried to fog that thing up by breathing hard on it. NOTHING. Not even a tiny bit of haze. Its the coolest thing. Needless to say, I have no problems riding ever. While the HJC is a great helmet and very comfortable, it does get quite annoying when the temperature drops a few degrees and now I have to regulate my breathing in order to prevent fogging. The other feature is the speedshift shield changing system. Don't know how no other company has yet to think of this, but Scorpion has a system that according to them allows you to change the face-shield in 10-seconds. My fastest is 18 seconds, but anyone who has tried changing other helmet shields knows that doing this in under a minute is a miracle. Check out their website and take a look at the features for yourself.
http://scorpionusa.com/ (I should really be getting paid for this free advertising)
In terms of colors, bright vs. dark, I ignored the safety reasons, and went with red/black to match my bike and gear. Then chose a dark smoke visor which I wear 75% of the time because it just maximes bad-a$$ status.
But when riding at night I usually throw on the clear visor (in under 20 seconds)
Jackets are up to you. My advice. Go try a bunch on, figure out your exact size and go from there. I tried tons on, found a Joe Rocket design I liked and ended up ordering it offline and saving like $60. Make sure to try and stick with leather as opposed to textile as leather will hold up better in the event of a crash. I'm desperately trying to get one of those Team Jordan jackets but they are backordered through July. I did get this awesome racing jacket from Europe but if you go with an overseas jacket, realize their sizes run super small. I wear a size 54 or 3XL here in the States, which converts to a European size of 64 or 5XL. Geesh, talk about lowering your self-esteem.
I've yet to get pants or boots. I've been wearing jeans and Timberland boots anytime I ride. Good idea with the UnderArmour, I never thought of that. I hear you can get jeans that actually look pretty decent and normal with Kevlar lining in them. Just a thought. I do plan on getting a good pair of boots but after the bike, registration taxes, insurance, gear, and GAS, I've got to fix these holes in my pockets before buying more bike stuff.
Hope this helps. Let me know if/when you grab that F4.
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