I used to think I'd wear non-armored, non-MX boots when on the street. I don't. I've had some potentially nasty wrecks where I didn't get hurt, simply because I had on the correct protective equipment.

Now, I don't wear shin-guards and full armor (which includes lower back and neck support) on a road ride, but, if there is ANY chance I'm going off-road, I wear it all. Where we go, we crash. Not often, but, I just can't take the chance not to be fully protected.

I DO ride around with shorts and a t-shirt and tennis shoes, but, only if I'm riding around the neighborhood or less than 35 mph. Then, I have gloves and a helmet on. See, I ride road bicycles faster than 35 mph with similar protection, and have wrecked at those speeds in races. As long as you have good gloves and a good helmet, and aren't being run over by a car or truck, it's sufficient protection at that slow of a speed....if you know how to crash. Of course, there are always exceptions that can kill you...no matter how experienced you are.

Just dress for the potential crash, which includes full-height MX-type boots. Lower leg and ankle breaks are very, very common in motorcycle wrecks.

 

I don't wear any boots at any time. My regular street shoe's is all I use. When I use to race motocross back in 1995, I tried boots, spent alot of money and used them like 2 times. Way to big and clumpsy and dumped the bike both times I used them. So, I went back to wearing my street shoe's, which was frowned on but was ok. However, when I did wear the boots it really protected me from flying objects from the other bikes. Since I'm past the racing stage I'm able to just wear shoes which is the most comfortable for me.

 

On an above thread, TNC posted of having his ankle pinned at Moab. While I was in Moab this year, I stopped in a slightly awkward location for a moment to wait for guys behind. When starting back up, I lost my balance, tipped over, and the foot peg landed straight on lower leg a little above the mid point with much of the weight of the bike. I felt the pressure of the peg digging into the boot, but got away without injury (except to the ego). Without the MX boots (inexpensive Answer brand in this case for about $75 on clearance), this would have been a very bad deal. It could have badly bruised or broke my leg, and those sharp IMS pegs would likely have shredded things up. Combat boots offer some protection, but they wouldn't have done much here.

 

I agree with what your saying. However, here in lower wisconsin there are no trails to ride, so about 98% of my miles are on the highway. My other 2% is when I truck my bike back home to michigan where I'm able to get off road. In no way was I suggesting someone use their street shoes. It's just what I like and I'll take my chances. Someday it may come back to bite me in the ***. Most people around here that ride harleys like to ride in flip flops!

 

Thanks. I will most likely save up for those AlpineStars. Those look like the perfect mix of comfort but good enough protection. And I think I may be able to wear those. I have a foot issue that prevents me from wearing all the full MX boots I tried as they are too tight on the top portion of my foot (not to mention I only have about 3/4 flexibility in my left foot compared to the average person, making those nearly impossible to get on).

I will say, no price is too much for safety! I totalled my Harley last year on a slow 15mph corner when the bike got loose on gravel. 1st wreck ever in 15 years of riding! Broke a collar bone and two ribs and got a nice row of stitches in the head. Only was wearing jeans and t-shirt and basic Harley leather boots. Here is the kicker. I lost the top part of my foot, hence the skin grafts on my foot with synthetic skin below that to fill in where nothing was left but bone. I get to see this injury every day, so it reminds me of my careless ways and that safety is most important now!

I can't wear a full moto-x boot since those would wear through my skin graft and are too tight and inflexible. And how did skin grafts on a foot happen at 15mph? The bikes back tires spun out on my left foot ripping through the leather boot and took everything off the top right to the bone. I am lucky to be walking, much less riding again.

Hence, safety is paramount to me now. I will come up with the extra $100 to get the AlpineStars if I can get them on and off without much trouble. I'll search around to see if someone has them in stock near me so I can give it a try.

Thanks ya'll once again. I love this Forum. We should start some kind of regional meet and greets based around riding and camping if enough interest is out there!

 

TexasFlyer, I'm happy to hear that you are still able to ride. Good luck with the boot hunting.

 

Tex --
Sorry to hear about the accident and the lasting affects, but thanks for sharing. It's stories like this that help remind us to be diligent with our safety gear.

 

OUCH! I should send them a picture of my foot that cost $355k in medical bills to repair between surgeries, hospital stay, rehab, helicopter ride, etc. And that was when wearing leather boots!

If the picture was not too gross I would post on here, but I don't want to make anyone sick. And I hope sneaker guy never has an injury like me. I would not wish the pain and suffering of that life changing event on anyone.

Okay, back on track. Time to research some accessory shops around Phoenix that may have a boot dual sport boot selection that work for me!

 

I'm a policeman here in Texas and we are seeing a growing number of severe and fatal crashes, both low and high speed and involving no car and with car. Yes, part of the growth involves increased numbers of bikes. However, most of it involves SELFISH, distracted car and truck drivers, who are surfing the web, working on their taxes, texting, picking up dropped objects, watching TV in the car(true!!!), and are not watching for others. Running stop signs and redlights is now out of control. If you ride on the street, sooner or later you'll be in some knd of incident involving a car or truck. Just wearing a pair of leather gloves will greatly reduce your injuries when you're thrown from a bicycle or motorcycle and you land on your palms.

 

Well, let me tell how these injuries can occur...and I'm almost embarrassed to admit it. That '08 "crash" I mentioned in Colorado on my KLR wasn't really quite a crash. It was a bit like IDRIDR's incident. After about 10 days of riding all manner of gnarly terrain, I'd just gone over the off road section of Stony Pass outside of Silverton. I had to take a leak and just pulled over to the edge of the 2-track which was slightly off camber. As IDRIDR can confirm, I carry a small pack on the tail rack of my bikes. It's handy for some gear, but it makes you really have to swing your leg high over the pack to get off the bike. My leg hung up on the pack which then caused the bike to start tipping over toward the kickstand. The bike's stand is down, so this makes the bike really lift up quite high and start going to the ground on the kickstand side...with me tangled up with the bike. I'm not sure to this day if it was the IMS peg or the Acerbis bark buster that nailed my left ankle/shin area in the foobar that followed, but it nearly broke my leg. When I took my boot off at camp, it swelled up like an elephant's leg. Scared the crap out of me.

I know that we all realize that we can't always be dressed up like the Michelin Man or Iron Man for ultimate protection, but when you can, at least you're ready for those predictable crash moments and those stupid moments that can result in the same injury. This pic shows how much blood pooled into my foot after the swelling went down a bit.

Hey IDRIDR...remember my parked KLX tipover at the Kane Creek overlook? Same thing that happened on my KLR but with much better results...LOL!