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OB_Velociraptor

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What do you wear when riding?
1.Leathers
2.Fabric suit such as Aerostich
3.Body protection such a Knox
4.Kevlar jeans
5.Regular clothes
6. Wear?
 
I guess it depends on where i'm going riding. I wear Leathers with body armour when we run US129 in Fontana, NC...318 curves in 11 miles. ( every weekend ). Most of the other times that i'm riding...mostly to work or cruising...i wear Jeans and some type of long sleeve outer wear...usually a sweatshirt. Althouh it's tempting, i don't wear shorts; i've worked a few Bike wrecks as a reserve Sheriff's Deputy and Road Rash on bare legs and arms isn't too cool.
Bo
 
I guess it depends on where i'm going riding. I wear Leathers with body armour when we run US129 in Fontana, NC...318 curves in 11 miles. ( every weekend ). Most of the other times that i'm riding...mostly to work or cruising...i wear Jeans and some type of long sleeve outer wear...usually a sweatshirt. Although it's tempting, i don't wear shorts; i've worked a few Bike wrecks as a reserve Sheriff's Deputy and Road Rash on bare legs and arms isn't too cool.
Bo
 
what kind of crap is that?
you are tempted to wear shorts but don't because you've worked some wrecks...
were you drinking when you wrote that crap?
do you think that you'll be any better off in your jeans and t-shirt
you guys ought to stop worrying about what aftermarket pipes/tires and other goodies to purchase and save up some money to purchase (even used) full protection for riding the fastest bikes on earth. you know... i've noticed that this list has older folks than most other motorcycle lists... because we are supposed to be more mature riders. even suzuki says that this bike is for "experienced riders only"
and... experienced riders don't wear sweatshirts without anything more protective over it...

sorry to preach
but the only way your outfit will help on your way to work... is if you fall off in your driveway getting on the bike in the morning...

check wreck stats
it turns out that your chance of getting into an "altercation" while riding to work will be about 100 times great than on your weekend trips...
i've ridden that ribbon of road you speak of 50 plus times
on every bike from extreme racer to harley and you and i both know that 99 times out of 100, a motorhome is in front of you, limiting your speed to somwhere about 22 !!!

we all know that here

i'll step off the pulpit
let's all wear some better clothing on this fast bike...
i know it's expensive
and if you can't afford it, i'll understand
but don't take money and spend it on aftermarket stuff to make the bike faster if you are riding in less than suitable material

good riding gear costs no more than a full-exhaust system for the bus
if you know where to get it

thanks for listening
greg

i just want to keep the guys and gals on this list alive long enough to fight back against the ZX-12 people next year
 
<<<good riding gear costs no more than a full-exhaust system for the bus if you know where to get it>>>

Greg --

Where do you suggest? I've ordered a suit (it won't be here for six more weeks) for $700 -- just as good, cheaper and sooner would all sound good to me.
 
Yes full dress,long sleeve jacket,pant's/leather,helmet,gloves.I contest to that since I crashed last week,coming in to work.No not on my Hayabusa but on my wife's Harley.New road in our company with new yellow divider lines,new yellow overhead lights,me never seen the yellow lines due to the over head lights washing out the lines Yellow lights and yellow lines 5:20am damp road and yellow lines damp left hand turn into building wam-o down on the left sliding
94 HD Heritage sliding,thank God that my wife made me put on the Crash bars,saved most of the bike and my leg.Anyways jacket saved arms,pants and good boots saved leg,gloves saved left hand and helmet saved head.I'm not the type of person to tell people what to wear but do you want to ride tomorrow or wait until the skin graff heals like in two or more months.Ride safe.
 
The problem is that leathers really stink up a body...I have to meet with people (investors and such) at the office and that just really isn't feasible, IMHO. I am considered a technical guy at the shop, so I guess I could really get away with wearing holy jeans and wrinkled clothes and smelling bad (no offense to technical guys...some of my best friends are), but I wouldn't loan money to a company that had an important guy like that.

I don't wear a helmet in town because it HONESTLY limits my view...at 285lbs, seeing behind me takes almost a full turn around with a helmet on...my peripheral vision catches things with a quick flick of the neck without a helmet...end result is that until they devise a see-thru helmet, I'll ride without one in the city.

I'm a little different situation than a lot of folks, because I live in a small town and I'm also VERY anal...not as many chances for idiots on the road as a big city and I look at every vehicle/intersection/situation as negative automatically because of the anal behavior.

I wear a leather jacket, jeans and riding boots in the city and a helmet when I'm on the highway (shoei ONLY...if you have a $100 head, buy a $100 helmet). I know I'll catch crap from this (especially from Greg <GRIN>), but what do you recommend for riding in city?
 
honesty is the best policy
anal or not, as that horrible talking song on the radio says... we always worry about the things in life we cannot predict.
the thing that's going to change your life is something that's going to "blind-side you on a lazy tuesday afternoon."

what i am saying is that you cannot possibly see the future so that even anal planning cannot forsee all that is out there. be careful
ride safe
wear what you can tolerate and afford

as for the leather and B.O.
i agree with you
especially in florida in the summer
i am a pediatrician i know that my patients don't want their doctor smelling like body odor... it really doesn't instill confidence, if you know what i mean.

i love the aerostich suit
i know that it isn't the same as leather for full protection, but when you add all the other goodies to it... it gets pretty close
and you smell better when you take it off too

2 years ago i was leaving new orleans
in the morning
with my wife on the back
totally sober
in the left lane of a six-lane road
going 10 mph
when a woman turned left
from the middle lane
i was in her blind spot temporarily
i never hit the brakes
went right down
hard cases on my bmw r1100rtl saved my leg, my wife's leg
but i fell on my right hand
didn't have the gloves on yet
because i was about to stop for gas before leaving town...
tore all the skin off my hand

i know...
we all have these stories about ourselves or others we might have known
but...
the point is:
have all the gear on
all the time
i was in the aerostich suit
shoei helmet
gloves in saddle bag

don't make that mistake

take care
ride safe
rubber side down
and all that

greg
 
well
what is good is a matter of opinion
just because it costs more doesn't make it so
and be careful about buying leathers that have famous racers markings on them. it's one thing to purchase a helmet with special logos on it to match the racer of your choice. these helmets often cost $100.00 to $300.00 more. but, special issue leathers can cost $1000.00 more just to have them match someone you saw on speedvision.

as a matter of record, try to buy the best leathers you can find... but an aerostich suit is a wonderful alternative. i don't think you'd want to get off at 180 mph in that suit but anything else would be good. i live in florida and we must use suits like aerostich in the summer and be careful. we use all there protective add-ons etc... the heat index where i live was over 115 for 2 months last year. at that temp you would be dead 30 minutes into a ride with full leathers on unless you had a RUNNING IV !. still, if i were racing, i'd have to have th leathers on.

i know that protective gear is expensive and some of us just can't afford it... of course, if we did spring for the bus we can spring for protective gear. i saw some nice stuff at decent prices at daytona but it comes down to fit... i try on leathers all the time and i find that they have a great degree of variability in the way that they fit. i always get a kick out of reading articles in motorcycle mags about what bike has the right "ergos." that is such a subjective point... as if we all had the same body styles/sizes.

the $700.00 suit for which you are waiting should be something that is comfortable... so much so that you will be willing to put it on every time you get on the bike... NOT JUST FOR RIDES LONGER THAN "AROUND THE CORNER."

always wear the goods
don't find yourself in the "skin replacement" ward of the hospital while your riding suit is hanging in the closet without any scuff marks on it.

i am, again, off my pulpit

greg
 
I've got my Aerostich suit on order as well as some Technics riding boots and a Dainese back protector. Bought some good Technics gloves last week. I have a lot of off road-dualsport gear but it's too bulky or fragile for the Bus. I also adjusted my shift lever about an inch down over the weekend which was a vast improvement as I was having to take my foot off the peg to downshift.
 
well, let's try this again. i ALWAYS wear a helmet. no matter what. mirrors show a good portion of what's behind you. granted, sometimes the view isn't as adequate as we'd like, but hey, odds are, i'll still have eyes when i go down. i ALWAYS wear a leather jacket. (currently have a new vanson hayabusa jacket on order. should be in next week) always wear leather gloves. now, most of the time, i'm in jeans and reebok hightops. if i'm gonna go blitzing around or to the track, i wear my road racing boots and leather racing pants. all armor included. but i don't care how hot it gets, i can always carry water or gatorade to quench my thirst. i've been on long rides exceeding 150 miles in 95+ degree temperatures and will not ride without this protection. even around town. now, i'm a firm believer of "riders choice" even as far as helmet laws are concerned. but i would never ride without. so, just two weeks ago, i learned that my personal decision was the best one. a little blue-haired old lady pulled out of a parking lot right in front of me. i had three lanes of traffic for my direction. she was crossing all of them to go in the opposite direction. now, i PREDICTED that when i hit the horn and started maneuvering toward the left lane, (years of riding experience told me that when she heard the horn and looked, she would immediately hit her breaks and i would be able to go around her with room to spare in the third and left lane. well, she never heard my horn. long story short, t-boned her. 5 grand damage to the busa, bruised up thigh with gash and sprained wrist.
 
Hey Greg, you need to spend more time riding your bike than trying to evaluate everybody and what they wear when riding. As far as experienced riders go...i went expert class in WERA this year, and have run Novice since 93 on 2 gsxr750s
Since you probably are watching at the track instead of riding, don't bore us with your opinions or B.S..
 
sorry, keyboard keeps locking up. just installed the new one. anyway, bruised thigh with gash. not fun. sprained wrist. also not fun. but hey, all skin, no head trama, good day over all. so, my theory and my PERSONAL decision to wear this gear saved my ass. period. so maybe my thigh would still be bruised in leather pants, maybe my wrist would still be sprained. the gash would've been avoided most likely with the leather pants. but i know, KNOW mind you, that as i flew over her car, if i had no helmet, if i had no leather jacket, if i had no leather gloves, (in other words, if i were in shorts, t-shirt, etc) i would have been in some serious pain and damage. the bike got 5 grand in damage. i got a little beat up. the main story is that i was in the city, small city, and i was doing 35 mph. yes, 35 whole mph and did 5 grand in damage to the bike. imagine what could've happened to me. i have 20 years of riding experience and i watched this old woman sitting there, half expecting her to pull out while looking the other way. still, i was unprepared for her to be so blatantly blind. anything can happen, even when your watching. now greg, i'm stepping off my pedestal. everybody enjoy your riding, but no amount of experience can prepare you as well as good gear.
mike
 
I must agree with Greg. Even if I'm just going for a short cruise around the block I put on some form of protective gear. Me personally I went all out on protective gear. I have a 1 piece Dainese safety pro (fully perforated for those hot days) that I use for my hard charging days. For my easy day I have a pair of leather pants and a body armor suit also from Dainese, throw a t shirt over the body armor and I'm ready to go. Can still ride pretty agressively and still be confident that I have a pretty resonalbe amount of protection, even if some non looking person in a cage decides to pull out in front of me just going around the block. It's happened, avoided the accident but sure made me glad I was ready just the same.
Ride fast be safe!
Jim
 
well BO
glad to see you finally contributed
sorry i offended you
i AM impressed with your WERA expert rating
i really am
i'm just trying to put out some words to guys with "more money than common sense"
if you know what i mean
how many folks buy fast bikes because they are the "latest and greatest" and have the money to do so...
buying aftermarket products to make the bike even faster, or more unique
but don't spend any time wondering about or worrying about what they might put on their own bodies to keep them alive long enough to even break in the bike

i'm off the subject for good
but at least i got BO to get pissed off at me

greg
riding 15,000 miles per year
on 3 different bikes
for 15 years
none of them on the track
you're right about that one
but, i still think that my 225,000 miles of riding experience give my thoughts some credence

greg
 
BigDog,

You should at least try one of those Harley type half lids, if you go down in town it would be better than no lid. I understand your problem with the full coverage and limited visions, but those half pots do not obscure your vision. Next time before you hop on your 1300R, check your tires for nails, etc, your chain tension, etc. and while your so close to the ground go ahead and bonk you head on the pavement. Doing this will help you realize how hard a surface you are subjecting your head to without a helmet. The last time I rode around without a helmet on a regular basis was about 15 years ago on the famous campus in College Station, Texas

Ride Safe.
 
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