riding gear

[wannarsv]

Hope everyone is enjoying riding season...I know we are. My lovely bride & I are starting to look at safety gear (Jackets & Pants). What safety gear do ya'll wear? We are looking for something that is cool enough to wear in the heat but yet strong enough to protect us if we go down. It seems so confusing.

 

Thanks, Melvin

[etcswjoe]

Hope everyone is enjoying riding season...I know we are. My lovely bride & I are starting to look at safety gear (Jackets & Pants). What safety gear do ya'll wear? We are looking for something that is cool enough to wear in the heat but yet strong enough to protect us if we go down. It seems so confusing.

 

Thanks, Melvin

 

I am bad about about riding gear when it comes to heat, Helmet, t-shirt, jeans, gloves and steel toe boots. I have been shopping for mesh jackets since several on here ride in the summer with them curious to see what eveyone else says.

[Riderduke]

I'm a fan of the Tourmaster Flex 2 series. One jacket takes you through 12 months.

 

http://www.extremesupply.com/product/TMHFLX2JKT.html

[Bummer]

Irene and I wear kevlar lined jeans. I prefer Diamond Gusset Defenders. She has Draggin' Jeans. They are probably a bit warm, but the bottom half of ya' isn't where the serious heat buildup develops. I really don't notice any heat issues.

 

We also wear Draggin' Shirts over t-shirts. The Draggin' Shirts are kevlar mesh. Air flows through them quite nicely. They make armor inserts to protect the wearer's elbows and back, though you don't have to have those (we don't). The nice thing about the shirts is that we can stop occasionally and soak them down with ambient temperature water (cold water is too much of a shock). The t-shirts increase the volume of water they'll hold. As we ride the water evaporates. It's very much like air conditioning. Of course, it dries out after a while, but we just stop and soak down again. When we're going cross-country a bottle of water each at every rest area keeps us quite comfortable.

 

The most important point is that kevlar won't wear through like cotton, so while going down won't be fun, there won't be a lot of road rash to serve as a reminder. The guy who developed Draggin' Jeans had someone drag him 100 feet on pavement, sitting on his butt. He got up, bent over, and while the denim was long gone the kevlar was intact.

[awsmsrv]

Here's what I've got. Expensive, but, no better protection out there.

[XV1100SE]

+1 on the t-shirt/jeans/boots/helmet/shorty gloves when it is hot and going for a short ride. Longer distance I'll wear my Tour Master jacket. I always wear my Swat boots no matter the conditions and riding thru heavy rain they are waterproof.

 

I like the Tour Master since it has a mesh outer shell with "armour". Comes with a liner for rain and a separate thermal liner which I always carry in a saddle bag. That way if the conditions change I have multiple options and they don't take much space.

 

I also carry chaps in my saddle bag for cooler conditions and of course rain pants.

 

Not going to start a helmet battle but I've always worn a full face helmet. Early in my riding heard of people with shorty helmets who had gone down and hit their chin on the pavement. Full helmet at least gives you protection in that area and hopefully if I go down I won't be eating my food thru a straw afterwards !

 

Couple years ago I picked up a textile jacket but found in the heat it doesn't breath. Nice when temps drop but no air movement thru the tight material.

 

Think I've got more jackets than I do pairs of shoes ! 2 leather jackets, textile jacket, and Tour Master.

 

For how far material will slide before wearing thru at 50mph, read this information from Sept 1988 - http://www.trainwreckstudios.net/abrasion/road.html

Denim (new) - 3'

Denim (2yrs old) - 4'

Kevlar - 22'

Competition weight leather - 86'

 

Other good reads :

http://germz.org/motorcycle/first-bike/gear.html

http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/streetsurvival/crashing_motorcycles/index.html

http://www.roadsafety.mccofnsw.org.au/a/88.html

 

Another interesting (and long read) is the "Riding Bible" by James R. Davis on riding. http://members.iinet.net.au/~kelly/ridingBible.pdf

[Snaggletooth]

Man that shakes out the closet! My favorite jacket when I'm out wandering is my Kilimanjaro. It's great from the lows with the liner in and comfortable up to about 80 with the liner out. If I'm out for a short hop I always wear the Scorpion Strike textile. Again with the liner I've worn it down to the teens and without the liner and the vents opened up it's fine to about the mid 70's. But when the heat gets above 80 the First Gear mesh is the jacket of choice. I hate the heat and wearing gear in it, but the mesh allows so much air flow I hardly notice it when I'm moving.

 

I have a pair of Clover Hydro pants I carry with me for the trips that are great for the cold to cooler temps and have the flannel liners and the waterproof liner also. Pretty much all year round gear expect in the 90's. Other wise, it's the jeans for most riding.

 

Mike

[T.J.]

Tour Master for me 4 season jacket.

 

I also have 1st gear rain jacket and pants.

[Jayceesfolly]

Tourmaster mesh jacket with 2 liners (rain and winter). Won't ride without it. It is never warmer than the outside temps, great air flow thru the mesh. Diamond Gusset jeans with Kevlar in them and armour gloves to protect the fingers and knuckles. Over the ankle leather boots. Better safe than sorry.

 

Jim

[Guest Rev'n Ahead]

The wife and I NEVER ride without full face helmets, gloves, leather boots, and our mesh jackets. The jackets do have a liner if needed for rain or cold and they have protective plates in elbows, shoulders and back (we leave them all in).

If we are gonna be riding the freeway (restricted access highways in Canada) we always wear our riding pants which are padded in all the right places.

We want to enjoy our ride, come home safely, and take care of our kids for a while still. We'll do what we can to protect these kid's parents.

 

my 2 cents

[midnightventure]

If I am riding early in the morning and the temp is not going to get over 85 I wear my Aerostich Roadcrafter. Especially if there is a chance of having to ride home in the rain since it is waterproof. When the temp is going to end up in the 90s I wear my Joe Rocket mesh jacket and pants with a nylon winbreaker over it if itis still cool when I leave. Wear an open face on the Venture and a full face on the DR. The windshield on the DR is not real effective. Steel toed Redwings unless I know I am going to see water, then Joe Rocket waterproof boots.