[Administrator]

Original Article:
What to Wear When You Ride - and Why

Please discuss the Motorcycle.com article What to Wear When You Ride - and Why in our Motorcycle Forums below. Use the reply button to let others know your comments or feedback on the article. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, along with your thoughts and personal opinions on the bikes and products we have tested.

 

[68835]

I think it's a good article. Short and to the point with good information. I think a lot of people are too worried about looking "cool" rather than saving themselves from injury or death. I have three girls in my life that mean the world to me and you can bet I'll be wearing all the protective gear I can.

 

[longride]

I look cool no matter what I wear, but if I really wanted to do the most I could to save myself from injury or death, I'd drive my car every day. It is much safer than riding a motorcycle and wearing any kind of gear you can think of.

 

[SmokeU]

I like arm chaps with fringes.

 

[pushrod]

A good 101-level course with good use of 'facts' and 'data'.

It all comes down to Risk Management. What risks are you willing to take?

For instance, I always ride in a FF hat, an armored jacket, gloves and boots. However, I seldom wear armored/moto-pants. Why? It's too hot/inconvenient to wear such around town.

My choice, yours will probably be different.

 

[sarnali2]

A good 101-level course with good use of 'facts' and 'data'.

It all comes down to Risk Management. What risks are you willing to take?

For instance, I always ride in a FF hat, an armored jacket, gloves and boots. However, I seldom wear armored/moto-pants. Why? It's too hot/inconvenient to wear such around town.

My choice, yours will probably be different.

Ditto, I wear my Darien pants if it's below 65 or 70 which is most of the year here but above that it's too warm. plus I use my bike for general transport, if I fully geared up everytime I'd never get anywhere. If it's very warm I ride in a sweatshirt or regular shirt, not the best from a safety standpoint but much more comfortable.

To me riding is fun, if I'm sweating my ass off and paranoid every time I ride then whats the point? I always wear a helmet boots and gloves though. My hands, feet and melon need protecting no matter what.

 

[acecycleins]

Remember- if you ride naked you may be a *******.

 

[longride]

"To me riding is fun, if I'm sweating my ass off and paranoid every time I ride then whats the point? "

Pretty much. If someone is THAT worried about gettting injured, then motorcycles probably ain't your thang!

 

[acecycleins]

An eon ago I could care less what I was wearing. Didn't care about the stories- didn't care about the safety. About 10yrs ago I watched a kid riding in my group tip into a turn on Blood Mountain at about 40mph. Suddenly, the bike lowsided from a sand patch. I watched him and his bike slide (@ 40mph) right off the side of the mountain. 72ft down the hill the bike looked like shyt, but the kid had a textile suit on and outside of bruised ribs (from an abrupt stop from a pine tree) he looked great. The next day I bought an air-flow jacket. Occassionally, I will hit the road without proper gear, but for the most part I try my best to make sure I have a jacket on. The skull bucket only gets used when I'm at the track working and need to get from vendor row to the viewing area.
BTW- Anyone going to RD ATL this weekend - I have a customer with a three day pass with all the bells and whistles for sale- I think $100 but I'm sure things are reeeeaaaallly negotiable.

 

[Kenneth_Moore]

A good 101-level course with good use of 'facts' and 'data'.

It was a good "101" article, except for one glaring omission: boxers, briefs, or thong? I realize that climate, type of bike, and general riding style are going to have a lot of bearing on what's right for each rider, but a small chart with some basic "Do's and Don'ts" could have been a big help for those noobs out there.

(Insert skidmarks joke here)

 

[newagetwotone]

Usually a thong....

oh you didn't want an answer did you?

 

[sarnali2]

I prefer boxers myself, gotta' give the boys some room to dangle ya'know....

 

[12er]

Reasons above is why I went with the one piece 'stich, remove my options... That and the 1 piece is only 10 seconds on and off. Due to reflection off the blacktop in the heat my legs are cooler in the stich than not. Also my feet get some nice engine heat so the stich deflects that also. Having had more road rash growing up than I care to ever revisit is what keeps me hopping in the stich every time. That and the ease of use... Ive wore my 3/4 Kilimanjaro only a handfull of times since buying the stich 7 years ago. Just feels wrong, same with hopping in the cage without the belt on after so many years of it being "the law."

 

[68750]

Why you should wear the right gear

Love this article. When I went down last December, I was wearing JR Jacket, Shoei helmet, Aplinestar boots, and Olympic racing gloves. However, I was only wearing jeans which was stupid. Here are the pictures.

 

[68835]

I definitely gotta get me some pants!

 

[68750]

I definitely gotta get me some pants!

Road Rash really is painful because it gets the nerve endings. It took a month for it heal which meant evertime I moved my knees it stung like a burn.

 

[tripleripple]

Love this article. When I went down last December, I was wearing JR Jacket, Shoei helmet, Aplinestar boots, and Olympic racing gloves. However, I was only wearing jeans which was stupid. Here are the pictures.

Oh my god...the yellow Ninja. It just won't die.

 

[68750]

Oh my god...the yellow Ninja. It just won't die.

It's dead i.e. totaled. Some kid stripped it of all fairings and painted the fenders black. But you are right it lives for ever in my memory. Who forgets their first love?

 

[longride]

"It's dead i.e. totaled."

It's not only dead, it's a figment of your imagination. It's funny that we never actually saw you standing next to it in any picture. In fact, we never even saw IT or YOU in any picture. Wonder why that is?

 

[mugwump58]

Boxers unless it's a long way to go and a short time to get there, then its bicycling shorts.