Well instead of making a new post I thought I would just add to my old one. I was just wondering what type of gear is out there? I’ve been watching videos on this site, and see these people get into huge crashes; get up shrug there shoulders and walk away. To be honest its kind of mind boggling… is the gear out there really that good? Safety is a concern of mine. I guess there are probably deferent levels of suits to wear, so what kind of suit would you recommend for a beginner? Keep in mind I’m only 20, and I still do stupid things….

 

Unfortunately most people don't just get up and walk away. Check E-bay for gear..decent gear a lil cheaper. Leather is the best option for gear IMO...however I do not have leathers at this time. But I did have my helmet and jacket before I had my bike. BUT I was stupid enough to ride without my jacket on the second day I had my bike...because it was like 110 degrees outside....and HUMID....and I laid my bike down....hence 6 months later I'm still digging pavement chips out of my right elbow.Flip-flops a tank top and shorts is a very bad idea.

 

Any ideas other then e-bay where I can get a good cheap leather jacket?

 

Check out your local Craigslist... (google Craigslist and where you live, or if you're in a rural area, the nearest large city) for good deals on gear. I'm not an authoritative expert on this sort of information, but having already had my dump, denims, gloves, and boots saved my rear. I don't even have scars when I probably should have (being inexperienced, I slid underneath a heavy cruiser for a good stretch of pavement). Right now I have a pair of kevlar knuckled gloves and an armored sportsjacket. Anything with armor/extra-padding is a capital idea, and there are jackets out there that 'vent' and breathe if you have to do hot-weather riding. Anytime I backseat with someone (I'm finally getting my bike tommorow, YAY) I wear my own gear, plus a full face helmet. Always a helmet, and I think half-shells are kinda ok, but full face is the safest. You can find these super cheap at Wal-Mart, even, but they're very plain, and not all of them are DOT certified, which you definitely want to look out for.

Rain gear can be a lot of things, as simple as cheap coverall stuff from, again, Wal-Mart, or any sporting goods store. I even joked with my sir about wearing a haz-mat suit as raingear, hehe. Since you mentioned wanting to pick up chicks, when you're experienced enough to take on a back-seater, definitely get a second set of rain-gear and second helmet so your back-seater is safe, too. (If you go the cheap route, this won't set you back more than about $50.) You can get specialized boots, but any over-the-ankle flat-heeled boot should work fine, or super-thick over the ankle sneakers if you're more 'casual'. Make sure the sleeves of whatever jacket you get go above the wrist, overlapping a bit over your gloves so that you don't f'up your wrists if/when you dump. I have not aquired my pants yet as far as gear goes, but I usually layer up with tights and heavy denim jeans. You don't want to be wearing flimsy fabric. (Or worse, shorts. <shudder&gt

Good luck, and safe travels!
[align=right]~Leena
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Disclaimer: Like you I am still looking for a bike and have not yet purchased my riding gear, but after scouring the net and hanging out here at KF this is my general knowledge. Anyone who knows better feel free to correct me.

You will find people everywhere who swear by each peice of gear individually saying they would have died or lost something vital, feet fingers arms legs etc. if not for one particular piece of gear, so its always a good idea to wear them all. Head to toe you will need a helmet jacket gloves pants and boots. and to get the good stuff try to set aside 1K to gear up, you will not regret it.

Helmets can be DOT approved or SNELL approved. SNELL is generally tested to higher standards and can be just as inexpensive as DOT helmets, but either onewill save your life as long as you have it on.

Gloves are very important, look for something in leather or kevlar, with palm protectionbecause that is usually the first thing to contact the pavement. Also alot of gloves have knuckle protection, which is a plus.

Jackets and Pants can be either leather textile or mesh, dunno anything about mesh just saw it online so dont ask me. I prefer the look of textile to leather, but you will need to replace textile if you take a spill, leather can handle multiple crashes if you are accident prone and is generally considered a better protector but expect to pay more if black isnt your style. Try to find something with some kind of armour, built in, add in, or removable, just as long as there is something there. Since you are still young I assume you are going to want to test the limits of your machine, so make sure you get a spine protector too, they are built in to many jackets but can also be added in later. Jackets also have many ventilation and insulation options so it should be easy to find something suited to your climate.

Jackets and Pants can be bought as a one piece racing suit, a two peice zip together, or separately, I would recomend at least a zip together, so the jacket doesnt ride up and expose your back in a slide. As for the pants many people like to wear jeans but the samepeople will tell you themselves that jeans offer very little protection. I believe the general statistic is Jeans will protect you for about 4 feet of sliding on pavement (just going off memory, if anyone knows better please correct me) and even watching a best case senario high speed crash on moto gp they slide at least 50 feet, so make sure you dont skimp out on the pants.

Finally boots, make sure to at least get something heafty leather and above your ankles, many people recommend combat boots but riding boots would be best. Remember if you go down but you stay with the bike, you want it to ride on the boot, not your ankles.

Thats all I really know and i would appreciate any additions.

 

wow, this needs to be be added to the gear section. Good stuff/questions.

Check out many versions, but leather is widely known and repaired. Leather will not slide as far once you biff it while textile will slide further. Also, if you ever intended to track, most orgs only recognize leathers as safety gear. Non of them are cheap. I had my set made in 1990, been patched twice, and are not as perty as the new ones out there but they did their job. The initial costs are there, think of it as part of the total cost in a new ride investment.

 

Welcome to KF! For a beginner - the 500 is an excellent bike! I'm not just saying this cause I have one (I'll be going on my third year with mine) - but these bikes tend to build confidence in a new rider. They are reliable, easy to maintain and fun as hell! The handle bars are higher up for comfort - trust me [sm=badbadbad.gif]they corner quite nicely! I've never had mine scraping pegs - but I know it can be done. All in all they're a good bike and the budget that you're trying to stick with would be no problem!

Good luck and keep us posted on how you make out! BTW - post some pics of that Camaro of yours!

 

welcome to KF.