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Upgrade gear

Bcsmith

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So I watched several motorcycle crash videos and after seeing the injuries that riders have incurred I have decided to upgrade my gear. I mostly ride pavement and gravel. I am looking at my lower half. I feel like I would sustain nasty injuries if I were to drop my bike at any speed. I have leather chaps and jacket but I do not like wearing them at all. I usually go with my mesh jacket with armour on hot days but wearing jeans I am not feeling very protected. I was looking at mesh pants but without an under layer I am not sure how they would perform on pavement or gravel in a fall. Not sure if riding jeans might be more appropriate. I mostly do touring not commuting so I need something that is for riding only. What are some of you riders wearing???
 
An aerostitch suit, Shoei RF1200 helmet, Sidi Cobra Gore boots, and weather appropriate gloves. I live in the northwest so I trade complaining in the high summer for not complaining in the deep winter. I guess I could wear my old kit but I don't feel protected in it. Cheap kit is just that.

When riding dirt I wear Forcefield body armor. You may find good results wearing some of their stuff under mesh kit. I have padded shorts for hip and coccyx protection, knee pads, torso, shoulder, and elbow pads. I've taken a couple of good spills in the dirt and didn't get hurt. They claim to exceed CE level 2 ratings.
 
When cold out (below 10 C) I wear leather chaps over blue jeans.
I also have a pair of textile armoured pants that are even warmer, but they are quite bulky.
If I'm going out on the highway in cold weather that's when I wear the textile pants over the jeans.
Anything over 10 C I wear blue jeans.
I have various jackets, ranging from armoured vented mesh for hot summer riding, then textile armoured for colder weather, an unarmored leather jacket, and finally a textile armoured heavier jacket that matches my textile riding pants.
I got the textile armoured gear on amazon.
It's by HWK.
It's ridiculously inexpensive, but is of quite good quality.
Her'e the links:



Boots are Sidi Canyon or Alpinestars SMX-1 vented.
 
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Why thank you for the input. Looks like some great stuff here. I will need to do some research on these to see what may work best for myself. I just got back into riding last summer and threw some stuff together but now I think it’s time to gear up a little better. I took a ride earlier this year and found some shifted pavement. It caught my front tire as I was travelling at about 100 km per hour. I did not grab hard in the handle bars and let the motorcycle dance around a bit and I didn’t go down but it got me to thinking if I had of hit that cold hard pavement I was not going to fair to well with what I was wearing. I should have been paying a lot more attention to exactly where my front wheel was going instead of being so unattentive. A little rusty after the winter off but a wake up call that I need to take my riding up a level including gear.
 
An aerostitch suit, Shoei RF1200 helmet, Sidi Cobra Gore boots, and weather appropriate gloves. ... I guess I could wear my old kit but I don't feel protected in it. Cheap kit is just that.
I think there is stuff that looks protective and there is stuff that is protective.

My lightweight mesh FIrstGear Rush Air jacket does not feel as protective as my KLIM Apex Air jacket. Of course it was 1/3rd the price. My low-cost Bull-it riding pants feel cheap in comparison to my Rev'it mesh touring pants or any of my KLIM pants. I retired my Bull-it pants. Won't even wear them. I wear the RUSH AIR jacket on 85(F) & HUMID days. But only when I can't bear the heavier gear. I think there are several top brands that offer real protective gear.


So I watched several motorcycle crash videos and after seeing the injuries that riders have incurred I have decided to upgrade my gear. I mostly ride pavement and gravel. I am looking at my lower half. I feel like I would sustain nasty injuries if I were to drop my bike at any speed. I have leather chaps and jacket but I do not like wearing them at all. I usually go with my mesh jacket with armour on hot days but wearing jeans I am not feeling very protected. I was looking at mesh pants but without an under layer I am not sure how they would perform on pavement or gravel in a fall. Not sure if riding jeans might be more appropriate. I mostly do touring not commuting so I need something that is for riding only. What are some of you riders wearing???
What type of crashes did you watch? Race crashes strike me as being vert different than street crashes. Race crashes are typically minor impacts or loss of control, either leads to slides but very few hard impacts into immovable objects. Hay bails lining a track are softer than steel guard rails on a bridge. Most street accidents involve riders hitting a solid object. Less common, but all too common, street accidents involve a vehicle turning into our path and we either hit them or they hit us.

Flexible sole touring boots or touring/race boots seem to offer little protection in those situations, but I suppose there are other things to worry about that are more critical than our feet.

Street crashes that involve a slide need abrasion protection, un-seamed leather panels or thick heat dissipating aramid/dyneema fabric, etc are going to offer protection in the slide. Strong mesh panels and/or vents in the non-slide areas. But seams are the weak points, they should be double stitched and not run across a critical impact zone. Larger single pieces of leather or fabric instead of pieces of smaller leather stitched together. Impact protection in the form of armor on the knees and the hips.

My mesh Rev'it Tornado 2 pants seem very protective. They now make an improved Tornado 3 version. I typically wear them without the (so called) weatherproof liner. Certainly other brands of CE certified protective mesh pants on the market.

Lots of companies use CE approved bits and pieces to imply their garment is CE Certified. There is a difference.

 
No the
I think there is stuff that looks protective and there is stuff that is protective.

My lightweight mesh FIrstGear Rush Air jacket does not feel as protective as my KLIM Apex Air jacket. Of course it was 1/3rd the price. My low-cost Bull-it riding pants feel cheap in comparison to my Rev'it mesh touring pants or any of my KLIM pants. I retired my Bull-it pants. Won't even wear them. I wear the RUSH AIR jacket on 85(F) & HUMID days. But only when I can't bear the heavier gear. I think there are several top brands that offer real protective gear.



What type of crashes did you watch? Race crashes strike me as being vert different than street crashes. Race crashes are typically minor impacts or loss of control, either leads to slides but very few hard impacts into immovable objects. Hay bails lining a track are softer than steel guard rails on a bridge. Most street accidents involve riders hitting a solid object. Less common, but all too common, street accidents involve a vehicle turning into our path and we either hit them or they hit us.

Flexible sole touring boots or touring/race boots seem to offer little protection in those situations, but I suppose there are other things to worry about that are more critical than our feet.

Street crashes that involve a slide need abrasion protection, un-seamed leather panels or thick heat dissipating aramid/dyneema fabric, etc are going to offer protection in the slide. Strong mesh panels and/or vents in the non-slide areas. But seams are the weak points, they should be double stitched and not run across a critical impact zone. Larger single pieces of leather or fabric instead of pieces of smaller leather stitched together. Impact protection in the form of armor on the knees and the hips.

My mesh Rev'it Tornado 2 pants seem very protective. They now make an improved Tornado 3 version. I typically wear them without the (so called) weatherproof liner. Certainly other brands of CE certified protective mesh pants on the market.

Lots of companies use CE approved bits and pieces to imply their garment is CE Certified. There is a difference.

The crashes I watched were street crashes. Different degrees of severity. The ones wearing gear faired much better than the ones that were not. A few lane splitting ones that happened so fast there was no time for a reaction. Maybe just a blink of the eyes then bam . A few road slides with some nasty pavement burns and as always the ones where the rider fails to negotiate a turn. Lots of over braking with front brake causing eather lock up or crazy ABS reaction. They involved bikes of every description.
 
Initial costs are just the start of cost-benefit analysis. How often do you ride? If you ride 1,400 miles, you can consider your suit to cost a dollar per mile. Feels a lot better. 1,400 miles isn't very far though. 14,000 miles sounds better. Wow, now it only cost 10¢ a mile! Cheap!

I spent close to $1000 on jackets alone before I got my Aerostitch. None of them come close to the protection of the 'Stich. I won't be buying another jacket or pants for a very long time.

Also I got to choose the colors of my suit, down to the color of the stitching. IMG_20201115_193915.jpg

Very fetching, if I do say so myself!
 
Janus such a good analysis. I just may run that scenario over in my head a few times and then just take the plung. Yes very fetching indeed
 
Having been in the Highway Traffic Safety Business for the last 24 years before retirement, I think one of the things most motorcyclists neglect is visibility. When Hi-Viz came out it was a game changer and life saver. Numerous studies have proven this. ALL highway workers, Leo's at accident scenes etc wear Hi Viz because it will let them be seen and save their life. I know you too have noticed how far away and how long you can see that guy wearing the Hi Viz gear. The most common type of street accident is the Left Turner not seeing the motorcyclist. Preventing an accident in the first place is just as important, if not more so, than the quality of the gear you are wearing. Imo anyone who touts safety gear without endorsing and using Hi Viz gear is only thinking safety half way. Grey or black outfits, helmets, jackets, gloves etc, blend into the background making us hard to see to those turning left, pulling out from a side street, changing lanes, backing out of a driveway etc. White or Hi Viz helmets, and Hi Viz jackets can often let you be spotted, and prevent an accident, before you need that D30 armor or carbon helmet. Doesnt hurt to have those either, but dont neglect the visual aspect of safety for vanities sake.
 
A ‘Stich costs less than my medical insurance deductible.
I did a low speed (20 mph or so) low side, and it really made a difference. No injuries to speak of.
Sister did a high side, flew 21’, no harm to her or the suit.
I’m a believer!
 
Doesnt hurt to have those either, but dont neglect the visual aspect of safety for vanities sake.
I agree with everything you say, but my #1 way of making myself more visible is by augmenting the lighting of any motorcycle I've owned.
LED lighting has been a game changer in the world of hi-viz.
And I don't mean LED lighting as in blinding illegal light bars.
 
I agree with everything you say, but my #1 way of making myself more visible is by augmenting the lighting of any motorcycle I've owned.
LED lighting has been a game changer in the world of hi-viz.
And I don't mean LED lighting as in blinding illegal light bars.
Alot of bikes these days are using those little projector headlights. My sons MT 10 has one. When he is riding behind me I can barely see it in my mirrors.

Studies have shown the 3 lights like the headlight and two small lights mounted to the safety bars, to be the most visible, without having a headlight modulator. Running around on high beam all the time is also a good option.
 
Alot of bikes these days are using those little projector headlights. My sons MT 10 has one. When he is riding behind me I can barely see it in my mirrors.

Studies have shown the 3 lights like the headlight and two small lights mounted to the safety bars, to be the most visible, without having a headlight modulator. Running around on high beam all the time is also a good option.
The problem with the 3 light scheme is a lot of people seem to put on extra narrow focused driving spots. They are visible from straight ahead but not from most other angles. The conspicuity lights need to have a wide beam and aimed high enough so they are visible from various other lanes, the side, etc.

Spot lights work for cars coming straight at you but not most other positions
 
Motoport is definitely worth a look. You asked about pants specifically, so here are their pants:

I have a pair of the Ultra II Air Mesh kevlar pants. They breathe very well (which means they're cold when it's cold out, unless you use the liner). They're intended as overpants, but when it's warm to hot I just wear a Bohn base layer without the armor in it (since I bought Motoport's extra-thick quad armor).

Anyway, it's another option to consider that has an excellent reputation from users who've crashed.
 
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