RyderRider15's Beginner guide to motorcycle gear

[RyderRider15]

First off this is the only guide I've made here, and I'm not sure if anyone else has done this but I haven't seen one yet so I thought I'd give it a try.


DISCLAIMER, prices are all subject to change.



This guide is here to offer a quick answer to the people asking "What gear should I get for my first bike?" I won't go into why gear is important because if you're reading this you most likely already know that. The list below are tiered by price, and all sets are enough so that you can be ATGATT. Also worth noting is I will not be simply choosing whatever is cheapest. The gear below is things that I've used or own, or the gear I would deem worthy for keeping and riding.


Notes about myself. I've been riding for around 3-4 years at this point. While I might not have the riding experience that some have, I'm a total gear whore, and have most likely spent more on gear than I have on my motorcycles put together. I own a 125cc Dirtbike, a Ninja 250r and a KLR 650. I also ride year around no matter how hot or cold it is outside.

So lets get to gear. I will be using motorcycle superstore as that is the site I use for all my gear. I will also only be using solid helmet colors, however if you wanted you could find the same model helmet on the side and take a look at the graphic models. You can also find most of this stuff on any site if you wanted to use other vendors for whatever reason.



$524
Scorpion EXO-400 Solid Helmet
Joe Rocket Velocity Jacket
Speed and Strength Moment of Truth SP 2.0 Gloves
Icon Hooligan 2 Mesh Overpants
Joe Rocket Sonic R Boots

This set is based on affordability for people who don't want to spend much over $500 for gear. There are better things out there but this will be better than nothing and will keep you much safer than the cheapest you can find. If you were to upgrade this later on or if you wanted to spend a little more, I would suggest taking the jacket from the next set of gear below.

$865
Scorpion EXO-500 Helmet
Icon Contra Jacket
Icon Justice Leather Gloves
Icon Hooligan 2 Mesh Overpants
Alpinestars S-MX 5 Boots

This is the set I would most likely go with. It offers good protection for the sub $1000 area. Though I didn't really want to put the same gear in twice, I don't know of anything thats better than the hooligan 2 pants for around $200. There's a large price gap in that area and I feel these are more protective due to the extra armor in the hip which I don't think anyone else offers at this price point. This set is also the most realistic to use for the commuter who wants protection in my opinion. If you wanted to spend a little more I would suggest upgrading to these pants. If you wanted to spend less I would get the helmet and/or boots from the list above.

$1,647
Shoei RF-1100 Helmet
Alpinestars GP Plus Perforated Jacket
Alpinestars SP-1 Gloves
Alpinestars A-10 Leather/Textile Pants
Alpinestars SMX Plus Vented Boots

This set is for the rider who wants the most protection they can buy. This set wouldn't be very good for commuting, however it would be what you want for the weekend ride on the mountains. If you wanted to upgrade from here you'd have to go to a suit pretty much, however there still are one or two more tiers of boots, jackets, pants gloves and helmets. I personally do not suggest getting a one piece suit, because after all this is a guide for newer riders, and I feel the ability to only wear the jacket with a pair of jeans if you wanted to go to the movies or to a friends house is key to starting off with the right gear. If you wanted to change something on this list I would actually downgrade the pants to the hooligan 2's. If you wanted to bring the price down more I would use these gloves, and the S-MX 5 boots from the set above this one. This would bring the total to $1,272


A final note about the set of gear above is you pretty much only see leather. Leather while more protective is also hotter, heavier, and less weather resistant. It will take a long time for leather to dry if you ever get stuck in the rain, and it could damage your gear as well. For these reasons I personally suggest textile jackets and pants. Leather gloves however isn't even a question for me, if its not a leather glove its not a protective glove.

[JeffM]

Very good

[7oxSin]

7ox's Poor Mans list,

ok these are the prices i paid for my gear, i know most wont be able to get gear at this price and i did buy it all new.

Power Trip Street Unit jacket Leather with full pads

99$ shipped from http://www.motorcyclegear.com/street...le_jacket.html

Gmax 68s Crusader helmet

this helmet won helmet of the year over Aria, Shoei, and Akuma in 2007 from quite a few sites, it has a ton of vents that open and close, LED panel in the back that has 3 modes (on, slow blink, and fast blink) it came with a clear visor, a tinted visor, red led plate, tented led plate, soft bag for the helmet, and a soft bag for the extra visor. the helmet was 125$ shipped 3-4 years ago from a store on ebay

Gloves are cheap mechanix gloves from Oreiley's

i got them for free from my brother but they range from 12$-25$

Boots, walmart Brahma Composite toe work boots, bought them for my job and they work great for riding!

24$ on clearance from Walmart and my work reimbursed me

Pants i wear jeans

And when it is too hot for leather i have my Icon field armor

it was 100$ shipped

So total for my gear it
$250 for winter and a extra 100$ for the summer vest.

it took me about 2 months to find my gear at those prices, and if your patient you too can get geared up the 7ox way w/o breaking the bank.

[alex.s]

I used to be a fan of alpinestars. Now I only like their boots.

[JeffM]

Why bother with mechanic's gloves. They really offer no protection in a fall. Heck for under $20 you can get these at Cycle Gear. At least they are motorcycle gloves.

http://www.cyclegear.com/eng/product...2?registry_id=

[alex.s]

yeah those mechanix gloves are about as useful to you as a pair of latex gloves (people have done this btw... latex... /facepalm)

[lgk]

the mechanix gloves dont provide any protection to the areas my hand got scrapped in my last accident.

cant recommend them...

the teknic chicanes are a much better glove for only about $60.

[7oxSin]

yeah, i got them for free, and have used them more for cold weather riding then anything else. i want to get some decent gloves semi soon but that comes after i get the 636 :P

[lgk]

wasnt trying to joke your suggestion but my hand is still scarred from that accident.

i would get the gloves first.

[7oxSin]

Originally Posted by lgk

wasnt trying to joke your suggestion but my hand is still scarred from that accident.

i would get the gloves first.

no i know, and have always known they where squid gloves. i got them back when i had my old bikes but there was a 2 year gap between bikes. you are right i do need to get some gloves sooner rather then later.

The Hunt Is ON!

[lgk]

here is what i started with.
i ended up buying two sets of gear since i commute.

(nice/hot weather)
fly racing cool pro mesh jacket$125
hjc cl-16 helmet $130
teknic chicane $50
altama infantry boots$25


(rain/cold weather)
alpinestars messenger jacket$99
sevenzeroseven backlash helmet$149
olympia gloves $55
bilt tornado boots$100
sedici umbria pants$100

my total was $833 for the main parts of my gear.
i got most everything on sale, if i had bought everything at full price it would be easily over a grand.

[RyderRider15]

Originally Posted by lgk

here is what i started with.
i ended up buying two sets of gear since i commute.

(nice/hot weather)
fly racing cool pro mesh jacket$125
hjc cl-16 helmet $130
teknic chicane $50
altama infantry boots$25


(rain/cold weather)
alpinestars messenger jacket$99
sevenzeroseven backlash helmet$149
olympia gloves $55
bilt tornado boots$100
sedici umbria pants$100

my total was $833 for the main parts of my gear.
i got most everything on sale, if i had bought everything at full price it would be easily over a grand.

How do you like the messenger jacket? I'm upgrading my winter set soon and had my eye on that one.

[lgk]

Originally Posted by RyderRider15

How do you like the messenger jacket? I'm upgrading my winter set soon and had my eye on that one.

its not a bad jacket for $99.

the good

with the thermal liner, neck gaiter, insulated pants, and work clothes i rode in 27°F weather comfortably.

the water proofing is inside middle of the jacket and works well.
the only time my body got soaked is when my helmet and gloves got soaked through.

it comes with the shoulder and elbows, i upgraded the back protector.
there are chest pads but i decided against them since the jacket was getting heavy.

looks good, doesn't really look like a motorcycle jacket.
most of my co workers didn't realize it had pads until they picked it up.

has a lot of pockets
not sure if water proof though, i always put everything into my back pack when it rains. the liner has internal pockets as well.

comfortable
have worn this on some long rides and it never bothered me.
the collar is comfortable, and the cuff has enough adjustment to go over and under all my gloves.



the bad

the jacket had a strong plastic smell when i first got it.
it took a couple of months of riding and a weeks worth of rain to get rid of it.

the front zipper can be hard to work with, and a lot of the pulls are not permanent. i ended up losing couple of them while riding.

the plastic logos aren't very durable. a couple of the rubber logos have fallen off.

does not vent well.
the non removable liner and pvc interior does not transfer heat at all.

[RyderRider15]

Originally Posted by alex.s

I used to be a fan of alpinestars. Now I only like their boots.

Pretty much every brand out there is good in my opinion. The only brand I wouldn't wear if BiLT. I've seen their stuff and it seems very cheap, not affordable if that makes any since. I just don't feel their stuff would hold up like the major brands like Icon, Joe rocket, Teknic etc etc.

Originally Posted by 7oxSin

snip.

The Gmax 68s is also a good helmet. Matter of fact that was going to be my first helmet, but I got the EXO400 instead. I Don't remember what pushed me into the EXO400, but I don't think I could of gone wrong either way to be honest. Also if you send me your info I might have a pair of gloves you can have for free. I have a pair of these and these (in blue) if you want them. Their just laying around never to be used again as I have upgraded a few times since I got them

[alex.s]

i like dainese over a*. they cost about the same but dainese is a better fit and nicer design

[7oxSin]

Originally Posted by RyderRider15

Pretty much every brand out there is good in my opinion. The only brand I wouldn't wear if BiLT. I've seen their stuff and it seems very cheap, not affordable if that makes any since. I just don't feel their stuff would hold up like the major brands like Icon, Joe rocket, Teknic etc etc.




The Gmax 68s is also a good helmet. Matter of fact that was going to be my first helmet, but I got the EXO400 instead. I Don't remember what pushed me into the EXO400, but I don't think I could of gone wrong either way to be honest. Also if you send me your info I might have a pair of gloves you can have for free. I have a pair of these and these (in blue) if you want them. Their just laying around never to be used again as I have upgraded a few times since I got them

i just bought new gloves about 2 mins before i saw this post, thats soo nuce of you!! save em for another poor rider, unless you wanna help me get gear up for my little brother who is about to get his first ninja! he has the money saved up im just trying to find him the right one. im soo excited about that, i have rode alone now on and off for 4 years. with my brothers and friends always saying they was going to get bikes, and never doing it.

here are the gloves i bought in black.