Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hi,
First off I'd like to say I've been reading this board for a while and its provided a ton of great information. I plan on getting a bike soon and would like to ask experienced riders their opinions/suggestions on gear. (I know there is a gear section, but its kind of slow)

I'm looking for a leather + armour (elbows, shoulders, forearms, and back, the more the better) jacket. I'm from San Diego where its pretty sunny and warm so ventilation is important. I'd also like gloves with armour on the knuckles but that also have a nice grip. As for boots I'm looking for something not too bulky, something you could wear on a normal basis. And lastly for helmet advice, could the differences between HJC and Shoei mean your life?


I've tried doing research but often the descriptions between gear vary very little and its hard to know whats good without personal experience. I know thats a lot of questions and I appreciate any and all help! Hopefully this will help a lot of others in the same situation.

You really need to go into a store and look at gear in-person to get the answer to most of your questions. Anything we tell you on a website isn't going to be as infomative as actually wearing the stuff and feeling it on your own body. That being said...

Site with fantastic information on different types of motorcycle safety gear like proper jackets and gloves and helmets and things like that:
http://www.best-motorcycle-gear.com
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com

Great brick-and-mortar stores to actually buy gear:
http://www.cyclegear.com
http://www.cycletrends.com

A few of the top makers of motorcycle gear are listed here:
http://www.aerostich.com
http://www.alpinestars.com
http://www.dainese.com
http://www.vansonleathers.com
http://www.joerocket.com
http://www.frank-thomas.co.uk

Some top brands of helmets:
http://www.shoei-helmets.com
http://www.kbchelmet.com
http://www.araiamericas.com
http://www.hjchelmets.com

First of all, you have to ask yourself what type of jacket you want, leather or textile. Leather will be more expensive but last longer and withstand more than a crash, Textile on the other hand, reasonable price, lightweight, more comfort but will only worth only one crash.

Glove, is it for cruiser style or sport bike style. There are plenty of gloves with armour and gel available.

Boot, this I can't recommend much since I only have one (Icon Heavy Duty), These are kind of fashion boot which I can wear as regular boot, but give a bit of protection with steel toe and harder plastic sole.

Helmet, The test show that some of cheapo one may give more protection than expensive one like Shoei or Arai with snell approve. I remembered reading test result not long ago. Shoei is nice but expensive, HJC is not the best but resonable price. I suggest you to try all brands and check which one fit you better no regarding of brand.

My gears,
Jacket, Cortech Coaster Air (Leather), not bad for hot weather with liner off, can stand up to 50 degree or 40 with liner on. So this is all season jacket for me but not in the rain.

Gloves, Tour master TS Gel, Tour master Gripper. nice comfort and okay in warm weather, but not a lot of protection.

Boot, Icon heavy duty boot.

Helmet, HJC Symax Full with Flip face, HJC CL14 half helmet. fit me better than Shoei since I have pretty long egg shape head.

Pretty much anything you find in a REAL bike shop will be high quality. The key is find stuff that fits you well. So go try on everything you can. At a licensed dealership, you will find something you like I promise.

And you don't even need to buy it there

JamSD wrote:Hi,
I'm looking for a leather + armour (elbows, shoulders, forearms, and back, the more the better) jacket. I'm from San Diego where its pretty sunny and warm so ventilation is important. I'd also like gloves with armour on the knuckles but that also have a nice grip. As for boots I'm looking for something not too bulky, something you could wear on a normal basis. And lastly for helmet advice, could the differences between HJC and Shoei mean your life?

I would also suggest going into a store and trying a few things on as what looks good in a picture may feel terrible when you are wearing it.
I believe that you get what you pay for regarding riding gear, so I am of the opinion that the cheap gear is not an option when it comes to my hide.
Most good leather jackets come with armour so they are easy enough to find. Ventilation can be rather hit and miss in leather jackets. I have an Alpinestars TZ-1 jacket that has a small amount of ventilation that works quite well but I could just as easily live without it, and Australia gets quite hot and I have never had a problem with overheating whilst riding.

A good thing to look out for with gloves is some good abrasive resistant material on the palms such as kevlar. Avoid metal studs as they will scratch your paintwork and in the event of a crash they can catch on the bitumen and tear the glove open. I recommend the armoured knuckles as I recently found out firsthand how effective they are in a crash. Most gloves have leather in the palm and webbing between forefinger and thumb but lack of grip is not a concern.

There are a multitude of different boots available but if you want a pair that are fairly comfortable to wear off the bike as well as on I would suggest a touring boot such as the Sidi GT Sympatex http://www.washingtoncycleworks.com/ima ... mpatex.jpg or the Alpinestars Effex http://us.st11.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com ... 82_9192308 They offer a lot of protection, are waterproof and will last forever.

All helmets that are DOT etc approved will offer the same amount of protection but they vary in price due to venting, style, comfort and how quiet they are. It is best to try a bunch of different brands and styles on as each manufacturer tends to make a slightly different shape, so it is best to find one that fits you well.

Don't overlook the value of riding pants too. Draggin jeans are very popular if you do not wish to go for the all leather look and they provide a lot of extra protection due to the kevlar inserts.

As a newbie just went through the same ordeal. Ended up with

rev'it hurricane gloves
cortech coaster air leather jacket
shoei helmet (like they say, got try as many as possible). I wear glasses and the shoei seemed to work the best.

Boots check the local cycle shops for closeouts.

Still looking for pants

Got the jacket from newenough.com. Had some really good prices on cortech/tourmaster. decent shipping cost also

Knowing you live in Sunny San Diego, don't go leather.

You can pick up a good textile/mesh/breathable jacket for around $150 with armor. The First Gear jacket I have was 130 and it even comes with a zipout inner liner for those cold days.

Gloves, get leather with some perforation in it. Make sure it has good padding on the knuckle area and heavy leather on the palm.

Pants, get some overpants. I have Joe Rocket overpants that are perforated and breath excellent, with armor in the knees and extra thickness in the hindquarters. You can wear heavy jeans under them in the cold, or shorts/slacks under them in the heat. The side zippers are great in that you can get in/out of them with your shoes on.

Boots, make sure they have good tread for those oily roads.

Helmet, dont spend an arm and a leg unless you have money to burn. A good 150-200 helmet is going to be just fine, make sure its comfortable...try several on, different brands may fit different sizes on your head. Get a full-faced with a visor that can be removed and buy both a clear and tinted visor...you'll be thankful for a tinted visor in sunny Cali. Not just for your eyes, but you'll get a nice racoon looking sunburn if you're out too long. Front-flip helmets like the HLC(?) I've heard break off under heavy impact, get a solid one. I wouldnt worry about venting too much, because I have vents in mine but dont notice much difference either way. More expensive ones may have better ventilation systems, dunno. DOT approved, Snell a plus, buy new from a good shop (not ebay or resellers or wholesale).

Anyway thats my recommendations.

In that helmet article that some ppl above are referring to they mention the Z1R helmets as tops when it comes to safety. they are really cheap too even with a decent paint job. picked my Z1R up for 70 on ebay

The biggest issue with helmets is making sure they fit correctly. There have been a lot of complaints about some of the hats because they don't fit the shape of your head. Put one on that wear it around for about 15-20 minutes. Make sure it doesn't leave any red spots on your face. Those will get to you after a while, while riding. When you have it on, grab the back of the helmet and try to pull it off over the top of your head. And make sure your ears are not smushed. Arai is high $$$ but they make the widest variety of helmet sizes and shapes. It's the shape that you're looking for. It HAS to fit the shape of your head, or it'll get uncomfortable really fast.

And just my opinion... Don't get one thats used or from a seller that you don't know. Helmets are only good for 1 drop. A hat that you don't know the history of might have been bounced a time or 2, you just never know.

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