to ride with or without leathers !

[Topjolly]

I was knocked off my XX in May this year, which was written off, (but, hey I bought a Busa to replace it, so not all bad), anyway, I was only doing 20 - 30mph and some twat u-turned in front of me sending me whizzing down the tarmac. I had only popped out for a few minutes to get petrol (thats Gas to you guys), but had put on Helmet, Gortex Jacket AND gloves. Unfortunatly, I hadnt put on the leather trousers (pants) which I always (well nearly always) wear. Hence, I am now a walking example of why you SHOULD wear protection for your legs/arse/knees etc. If any of you need any further convincing, simply send me an airline ticket (1st class of course) and I'll fly across and show you the evidence.
Incidently, if you can get a decent set of leathers for $300, get em, I paid £600.00 Sterling for mine and I have a set which cost over £1000 Sterling but no longer fit my beer filled belly), my gloves cost £140.00 and I paid £200 for the boots (SIDI). If you can afford $10k for a bike, buy the protection, trust me, jeans fall apart and it FOOKING WELL HURTS when the nurses have to remove the gravel from the open wounds.
Just my humble, yet experienced, opinion.

Andy

 

[blas32]

If I am going to ride hard I have a J.R. Highside that fits great and is very comfy in 80 degrees and below.  I think NewEnough has it for about $450.  Not the best full 1 piece but should do the job if I need it.  If the temp is 80+ I wear J.R. Reactor jacket and J.R.Phoenix pants with Hein Gericke boots and Alpinesrar sp2 gloves.  Traffic and heat makes me ride in the fall and winter more, so it works out perfect for me.  I sure feel more confident when I am wrapped in leather though...makes me push it a little harder!!!

Ho wdo you like the Phoenix Pants?  They seem to be about the best option for daily wear In Tampa...Any thoughts?

WWJD, thats an image I didn't need  

I like the pants. They are safer than jeans and are a lot cooler...not the looks but the temp. Not sure if they would make it through a crash but should hold up enough to protect my skin.

 

[ThunderPants]

I don't understand how people can be wearing a helmet but nothing else to protect them. My personal favorite are the guys who ride around with the helmet hooked to the helmet lock. In the crash I had a couple of weeks ago if I wasn't wearing full gear and jeans I would have been torn to shreds. I was pretty amazed to see that my Icon Ti Max jacket had very little damage to it and none at all in the areas where it is reinforced with titanium threads. My girlfriend would have been jacked up really bad had she not been wearing a helmet, I am almost positive it saved her life. Helmets, jackets, gloves, boots and jeans or better are not proper riding gear they are mandatory gear. Sure scars are cool but it hurts like a biatch to get them.

 

[Revlis]

If I am going to ride hard I have a J.R. Highside that fits great and is very comfy in 80 degrees and below.  I think NewEnough has it for about $450.  Not the best full 1 piece but should do the job if I need it.  If the temp is 80+ I wear J.R. Reactor jacket and J.R.Phoenix pants with Hein Gericke boots and Alpinesrar sp2 gloves.  Traffic and heat makes me ride in the fall and winter more, so it works out perfect for me.  I sure feel more confident when I am wrapped in leather though...makes me push it a little harder!!!

Ho wdo you like the Phoenix Pants?  They seem to be about the best option for daily wear In Tampa...Any thoughts?

WWJD, thats an image I didn't need  

I like the pants.  They are safer than jeans and are a lot cooler...not the looks but the temp.  Not sure if they would make it through a crash but should hold up enough to protect my skin.

Now do you wear them over your clothes or change when you get to work? I was thinking a pair of shorts or maybe over jeans if it is cold...

 

[TINMAN]

I'm yet to see a guy on a litre plus sports bike over here without the full gear on. It's just normal to wear it - even in our summer which nearly got to a 100 degrees one day !

Tinman ( England, Yorkshire )

 

[WWJD]

.... I never claimed my $300 leathers were 'decent'      but they are full covering leather. Here's my cheap yet functional crap by Phoenix Leather:

 

[WWJD]

Less than $300 gets you in:

 

[WWJD]

and pant: $150 ea.

 

[blas32]

Revlis- the pants are big enough to wear jeans or shorts  underneath. I bought size large and I am 6-3, 215, 35 inseam and 34 waist.  I can take them off and roll them up and stick them under the hump.

 

[Revlis]

Revlis- the pants are big enough to wear jeans or shorts  underneath.  I bought size large and I am 6-3, 215, 35 inseam and 34 waist.  I can take them off and roll them up and stick them under the hump.

Cool Thanks for the info Blas, Hope you never have to test them out...

 

[Revlis]

I'm yet to see a guy  on a litre plus sports bike over here without the full gear on. It's just normal to wear it - even in our summer which nearly got to a 100 degrees one day !

Tinman ( England, Yorkshire )

  Man, Thats an attitude we need to adopt over here.  Seriously, regardless of bike or setting, in town or out in the twisties I have yet to see a single rider in a proper one or two piece with all the gear on the road.  Myself included.
 I notice in the British Bike magazines that there is more of an emphasis on proper gear, all the riders allmost all the time.  Except of course for Dave Sonsky but of he's back here now so there you go.
  Which reminds me, I love the British Bike Magazines.  Sportbike, Fast Bikes, and Performance Bikes.  It's the writing style, the honest opinions,  and the fine birds in the middle, good stuff.  Makes me miss the Page 3 girls though...

 

[WWJD]

alrighty then

 

[Pit Bull]

I first read this post while at work on my lunch break(yeah, right!) and later reread it while at home so I could absorb it some more before adding my .02 cents worth. I'm a noobie here on the board, but not to the sport of motorcycling - I'm probably gonna' get some heat from my position. But with this being said, here I go...
While looking at this post I couldn't help but notice that the first thing one sees is that guy riding wheelies down the STREET. Then, you get his story about the bad crash and the pic's. This guy admits to riding at midnight with only shorts and a t-shirt, etc. on and going 100 MPH AS WELL!!!
I'm sorry if I come off as insensitive but this can hardly be classified as an accident in my opinion. At that rate of speed, even in a full Hein Gericke, Shoei, etc,etc, he was bound to get goofed up. Then, as I read some of the replies from the message board of others posting about their crashes a common theme seemed to be FAST SPEED, STUNTS, SHOWING OFF, DRINKING, and plain just NOT PAYING ATTENTION. I sympathize with those who are victims, like that post where the 18yr old hit the group of bikers, but find it hard to feel sorry for someone who "turns arround to look at some girls and rear-ends a car and looses 2 fingers. I rode my Busa to work today and although I rode responsibly(within 5 - 10 mph of the posted speed limit, with one exception), I can't say the same about some others. While riding home after the end of my shift, I came to a 4 way stop, there was a younger guy on a CBR 600 that had the right of way. He went first then it was my turn and I turned in his direction. About 100yds from the intersection, in traffic, this jackass decides that he wants to impress me(I guess?) and stands on the rear pegs of his bike, looks back then proceeds to do a wheelie at about 60 - 70 mph like some BIKERBOYZ retard until he gets right behind a car(ON ONE WHEEL) and sets it down. If that wasn't enough, then, he looks back at me and then passes at least 4 cars in a no passing zone speeding to what I would guess 110 - 120 mph in a 55mph zone before letting off (I was doing 65 or so).
This guy was wearing a tank top, jeans, tennis shoes, and a helmet. Later, after that guy was gone, I was riding about 65 mph or so when this idiot in his new SUV starts riding up on me(the speed limit was 55 mph). I then had an open stretch of road and opened it up to about 80 mph to put some distance between me and him, which I did, and he then comes flying back up on me again. I then slowed to the posted 55 mph and waived for the fool to go arround which he did and the idiot waives at me and smiles like I was being polite or something . I wanted to crack his head for him!!!
With all this being said, if those of us who ride don't use a little common sense, all the safety gear in the world won't save us from OURSELVES, let alone those like that guy in the SUV, or the wanna' be wheelie king on the CBR. I do have leather pants and jacket but don't wear them often - unless I'm going out to run at my local dragstrip(Milan Dragway, Milan MI) and SOMETIMES I do ride on the street with shorts, short sleeved shirt, HELMET,etc but only in town or where the posted speed is 55mph or below but the main thing is I control my urges to crank the Busa up on the street especially when not being properly attired - leathers, boots, gloves, etc..
I can wait until a Wednesday or Friday night, get geared up right and pay my money to the folks at the dragstrip and run as much as I care to and then act like I got some sense when I get back out on the street. I had a guy tell me that there is a road race track not too far from me (Grand Rapids - Gratten Raceway?) that has open track days where you can get some time in after passing tech insp., having the proper safety gear, and paying the entry fee. Although I think wearing all of the safety gear is good, I think wearing it also gives some the feeling that they can clown arround or ride harder(like in Blas32's post) and, I think it's not IDEAL but ok if someone wants to ride with a LITTLE less on - like jeans and t-shirt, or shorts , etc as long as they're not out on the e-way or stunting, etc.Everyone should want to wear a decent helmet though to protect their gourds but even that should be a personal choice. Anyway, with all that being said I think a little COMMON sense and alot of self control is as or more important than just the wearing of all safety equipment.

Pit Bull

 

[WWJD]

naw. you're wrong.

 

[WWJD]

BAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!! Relax, I was totally kidding with that last post. It was VERY WELL put. All opinions are valid and I'm glad we can voice them. People will wear what they want.

 

[Racer 222]

I definitely use a full face helmet and a jacket, but no pants (Leather) just jeans. Does anyone have experience with Draggin Jeans? Let me know. I'm definitely thinking about leathers now!

I have gone down at highway speed in jeans and they will not protect you!  Get leather pants.  That wreck was almost 7 years ago and I can show you the scars.  I wrecked 2 months ago at 110mph and can't show you a thing.

Marc "Howlin Mad"

 

[(silencer)]

The thing that irritates me the most about the number of people who don't protect themselves with good riding equipment and then get hurt, and my insurance rates are high for that simply because he lives in the same zip code as me. I believe this is especially bad in climates like mine because of the heat and humidity.. Sorry, but I wish some insurance companies had a policy option only for those who ride with proper gear, regardless of injury or not in any accident/traffic citation. If they're caught without all their gear, policy is reverted to standard high payments.
Wishful thinking..
si.

 

[Revlis]

Well lets think about it like this, if I had my own personal track and was going out for a casual ride, just to motor around a little I would probably wear a T-shirt and a pair of sunglasses.  I could ride around all day feeling safe and comfortable because I am all alone on the road, no dirty roads, no Drunks, No Soccer Mom SUV's, just me.  Hell I can dream right?  I would be safe because it's just me and my bike and the road, I am in control...  BUT, Welcome to the real world.
  Riding in town in the T-shirt/shorts uniform because your not going over 55 is just fine, accept for all the others out there on the road with you, and all the crap that goes along with it.  This is like when I was growing up my Mom would say we didn't have to buckle up until we were on the Interstate...WTF?  You are far more likely to have an accident running your errands around town than when you are out in the boonies.  More importantly no where on a public road can you control your environment.  Other drivers, chance, and Ma' Nature will take care of that.  You can minimize, you can plan, you work on your positioning on the road but there is allways someone out there more brutally stupid than you are clever.
   If my being safe on the road was a certainty based on my riding ability hell I would never wear anything other than a pair of shades, unfortunately my common sense and riding skills do not seem to hold much sway over those around me and the environment I choose to ride in regardless of how hard I scowl at the dipsh*t that just cut me off...All I can do is remove their Passenger mirror and move on...  
   Some one needs to come up with a lightweight perforated one piece garmet, that breathes, is flexible, affordable, and thin enough to wear UNDER your street gear if you likeand has some hard segmented armor in key places.  Some Kind of High Tech Motorcycle Underoos!!!  (I get the Spiderman ones) The military is working with synthetic spider web for use in numerous applications.  Something like this will be around in 5-10 years prolly and would be ideal for the motorcycle...
   I see the guys riding wheelies and such in shorts with their lil ornamental girlfriend on the back and it makes me kinda sick to my stomach when I get that flash of some hottie hitting the deck in a bikini top....   I think some of this trend has to do with parents making their kids wear helmets and such when they are little, I mean from tri-cycle to college these folks have been wearing protective gear, seems as though this has spawned some evils.  Lets see the X-Games for one, any extreme sport is the result of folks never having really tasted the road.  Hell I was about 6 and realized that asphalt is hard and heads are soft...kids today prolly don't learn that lesson.  Besides with all the safety gear where is the Darwinization so critical to our species survival?
I also think that all the nervous Mom's have gotten their kids so under the helmet thumb that their little rebelious urge is to leave the gear behind.... OK I am going off on a tangent here...
  One thing I have noticed is most of the folks wearing the gear are on sportbikes, the cruiser crowd and it's "Image" Still doesn't allow the use of helmets to be "COOL".  Go figure, They ride bikes that are more dangerous than the sportbikes and they are the ones who still argue against the gear...  

 

[rabtech]

ill take leathers please.

 

[rabtech]

i am just so fat i cant find leather to fit.