Motorcycle Apparel

G'day Fellas,

This weekend I'm about to buy some protective wear for riding the M/cycle,
I'm about to go for a 1500 kms trip up north and thought i'd better buy
something that will protect as well as keep out the elements.(and last for a
few yrs at least)
I already have a heavy leather jacket, Kevlar gloves, and a good full face
helmet, but am looking at buying something like a full set of
Dri-riders,Moto-dry, Rjays or similar, boots and maybe some summer gloves.
Or, are full leathers the better way to go? I need something that's
waterproof/windproof/freezeproof but can be worn without too much discomfort
during the summer months as well as keep me riding through winter.
Am I asking too much here? hehehe
My main emphasis in riding is touring as well as the commute to work.

If you guys were to spend up to $1,000 max on riding clothes, what would you
buy/recommend?

I was even thinking of going the way of a draggin' Jeans jacket and jeans
and then buying a full wet weather gear? is this a good alternative?

Theres just so much available, and some of the places I've been (Sth west
Syd.) either couldn't be bothered explaining which is the better option or
are only interested in flogging me something that they are otherwise unable
to get rid of, now this to a relatively new biker is so bloody confusing
hence my query here.

Thanks in advance

Dave J. (DJ)

 

In aus.motorcycles on Mon, 07 Nov 2005 04:51:59 GMT

Yes.

Depending on your temperature range.

I wear my Tiger Angel element jacket for about 10 months of the year,
but it is too hot and sweaty in Sydney's summer. Work fine I expect in
Melb or Adelaide though.


Nothing with work in all the temperature extremes in Australia.


Some things work better than others.

If you think you will be doing a really wide range of temp, then buy one
of those dri rider rallycross jackets with the mesh body, the warm inner
liner, the outer waterproof cover, and a set of damart thermals.

Zebee

 

Mate, for a long ride, and any time at all, leather is safest unless your
parent was a cow and you have leather for skin.

You can get leather jackets with venting that don't compromise on
protection.

For full summer gear, Dririder (and other brands) do summer mesh jackets
which give reasonable protection (dririder do pants too) but they'll only
protect you once if you come down.

These 2 options you will need to cover with waterproof over gear, which will
be hot and sticky while keeping the rain out.

Otherwise get yourself some all weather gear, cordura jacket and pants. The
more you pay the more venting you'll have for summer and the better thermal
protection for winter, and the better armour it will contain. e.g. dririder
Summit jacket with summit pants or RJays lightning jacket and lightning
pants.

To be protected well on a bike anything you wear will be hot. Bear that in
mind. Also bear in mind though that leather will keep a lot of the heat off
your skin, although black will heat up faster.

Summer gloves same deal. You can get vented leather or mesh gloves, but
they won't be waterproof. RJays do a light weight waterproof glove, but no
armour protection. Any other waterproof glove will be a winter glove.

If you only want to spend a grand, I'd get good quality top of the range
dririder or r-jays cordura.

Draggins gear is great for slide protection, but will not protect you
against impact damage, especially on your top half (spine, elbows,
shoulders). You can get waterproof draggin jeans but the waterproofing will
wear off after about 20 washes (maybe less).

Go visit MCA Parramatta for some good advice and service. The guys/gals in
the clothing section know their stuff. Don't bother with their other
stores, the staff just aren't up to the quality of the Parra store.

 

I have a pair of Draggin jeans but I'm yet to be convinced that they
offer any more real protection than a pair of Levis at half the price.

Nev..
'03 ZX12R

 

Only one real solution. Go to some testing

Dave R6

 

well, I wasn't basing my opinion on nil testing.

Nev..
'03 ZX12R

 

Of all the jackets I've tried I can't go past my Spidi Route Jacket. The
H2Out membrane has all the properties of Gore-Tex using a Japanese
manufactured membrane.

Open up some shoulder vents in Summer and it breathes beautifully. Close
them up and chuck in the thermal liner for winter and it stays warm and dry.

Too bad Spidi are going to look for another importer.

As for pants I use snoseal on leather touring pants and that keeps me dry
and well protected.

justAL

 

I tore the knee out of a pair falling off in the dirt ... the kevlar
held up nicely but skinned my knee. Hard to tell if it helped much,
but at least it kept the rocks and stuff out.

Haven't hit the asphalt wearing a pair. They're pretty comfortable
to ride in anyway. The price has crept up a fair bit over the years
though ... hey, Underweasel! Make us some Kevlar jeans, eh?

-----sharks

 

"Psycho Biker" > wrote:

Go visit MCA Parramatta for some good advice and service. The guys/gals in

You may be sooo right with this statement.........

I just don't know how these guys stay in business, wasn't many in the shop
either, any bloody wonder!!

I went there a couple of weeks ago and tried on some Draggin jeans (selected
, evaluated and hung back up where i got them from myself) No-one came to my
assistance, I was basically ignored and there was a group of staff out near
the front counter "ooohing and aaahhing" over a motorbike video so I just
upped and left. That was the 2nd time I've been there in a month with the
same result.......never again!!

Thanks for your info Psycho, I will definately be taking this on-board with
me when i go searching. Yeah at the moment $1000 is all i can really spend
and even this is stretching the friendship of my other half (did I say
better half?) I will be trying to get the best i can get for the dollar.
I'll be going to the place where i bought the bike (Parramatta Kawasaki) so
far they seem eager to please so I'll give them a chance for my limited
dollar.

Thanks also to Zebee who wrote a reply.

Cheers

DJ

 

You must have heard the phrase,"The point of diminishing returns".This
is never so important as when you are riding a bike.

Never equip yourself with too much,"Armour" that you cannot be
comfortable in the controlling the bike as they may actually lead to
you an accident because of lack of control/reaction.

Good leather gloves,but no so armoured that they stop you feeling the
throttle etc.

I can recommend the cheap,"Akito Storm Gloves"
http://www.bikersport.com/acatalog/Akito_Gloves.html

for one simple and great reason.They are reasonably armoured but not
enough to impede nice throttle usage but their simple and great
nylon,"Storm-cuff" is brilliantly simple in deflecting the wind
getting up your cuffs.Although you are in Oz I know it can still get
relatively cold when the sun goes down.


All gear can be cheaply and properly water-proofed using silicone
water-proofing spray(Like you would get at a camping shop but they
charge too much IMNSHO).

You can get the same stuff from any high-street Car discount Auto shop
way cheaper under the name or similar of,"Back-to-Black" clear
silicone dash-board,"Fascia" spray.This will stop any rain DEAD
soaking into anything you spray it on(Especially new gear as it's
never been treated right IME).


Basic long trip tips.
Check the bike.Obvious I know but check the tyre pressures and
state(Most often overlooked part of a bike and a common cause of
motorcycle death) and all control cables,fluids/battery etc etc.


1:Never set off without some food in your stomach.Porridge/Oats is
great as it has a slow burn release of energy and one bowl could last
you 4 hours plus
2:Never set off cold(As you will never recover)
3:Never set off dirty.Dirt on the body helps drop your core
temperature from your toes to your head.Core temperature is
everything!Get a Balaclava even if you don't wear it unless you have
tver 25% of body heat is lost through the head and many modern
motorcycle helmets do not take this into account even though they help
stop chill-factor.
4:Always keep some chocolate bars with you and eat some
chocolate/suger based food as well as the porridge.The brain uses a
massive amount of sugar when concentrating,which you must do on a
bike.
5:Never ride more that 2 hours without a break no matter how good it
feels.Stop and smell the roses/coffee/dog/horse/cow-shit<grin> and
chat with someone sometime

Above all else.

The Ride,"IS" the destination ;-)
http://www.virtualschool.edu/mon/Quality/PirsigZen/

 

6: Never leave home for more than a couple of hours with just the one pair
of gloves.

Theo

 

Why?

I have sometimes taken a second pair of gloves on longer trips, but all
they do is take up space. I have one pair of gloves that I tend to wear
all year, and a pair of fur-lined gloves that I sometimes take with me
but almost never use.

Moike

 

Huh?

Dirt is a good insulator

http://tinyurl.com/dttek

Moike

 

Not on the body.I checked your link,statments still stand.You must
have noticed yourself that if you have sweaty/dirty socks/toes that
you always get a,"Damp" feeling.Keep the body clean otherwise the dirt
gets into the air pockets on clothing and stops the natural insulation
given by the air in the fibres.This is how insulation works.

 

On the other hand, be careful just after lunch as it's easy to overeat
and get dozy.

Of course, if it snows overnight you have to just lie there and
freeze to death. Sometimes you've just gotta. Polypropylene
thermals help a lot. Never wear cotton next to your skin in the
cold, and it gets damp and soaks all the heat away.

Whatever you say, Swami. Personally I've never worried about it
and prefer to spend the entire Dargo Rally in my stripey, stinky
thermals ... since I can't work out any way to get clean without
getting cold (see rule 2, above).

Silk or very thin synthetic. Not a big wooly one with pompoms on,
even if your gran made it. It won't fit properly under your helmet.
Another option is to get Gran to make you a necksock and a little
skullcap out of thin fleece ... this makes you look less like a
bank robber.

Necksocks rock. I'm going to make myself a summer necksock,
out of mesh, that's how much I like them (guess who caught a
wasp on the way to the Trout Rally ...)

On the other hand, in summer, there's nothing nicer than a wet,
soggy helmet to keep the skull chilled ...

Jelly snakes work for me. Plus you can eat jelly snakes while
wearing a full-face, although it's not entirely elegant and occasionally
one goes up your nose. Also, you tend to ride like a bit of a dork
while doing it, so perhaps we'll leave that one for 'advanced'.

*shrug* get to know what you can and can't do. Take it easy and stop
when it gets tedious. When I was learning, I could barely manage an
hour without a break. These days I tend to go a full tank at a time
and 1100km round-trip (almost all on back roads) for the Trout Rally
on the weekend didn't seem rushed or stressful.

If you're really stuffed, find somewhere to sleep or at least take
a nap. Not as easy as it is in a cage, but at least bike gear is
warm ... an hour of shut-eye will buy you a lot more hours on the bike.

I try and avoid riding at dusk, because the roos are out and I
find it the most tiring time of day.

-----sharks

 

Try riding from Melbourne to Eucla in the rain and you'll know why.
Fortunately the sun came out after I crossed the WA border. Then I met that
bloody emu. Not my best trip.

Theo

 

I keep a packet of barley sugars in the tank-bag. Jelly snakes get messy in
40º heat and you can suck on a barley sugar for half an hour. Don't buy the
cheap brands though, the wrapping sticks to them.

Theo

 

Yep, no fatty foods at lunch stops, fruit is good

I'm with Sharkey here.

Neck socks are great, a balaclava I could never wear, they irritate me too
much. Doesn't matter how thin.

I used to ride however long the tank carried me, travelling with Marie has
made that stop every 2 hours, didnt make any difference to me. One thing I
always do though is have a bit of a walk whenever I stop, to get the blood
circulating properly, this does keep me fresh.

Al

 

I am very happy to take the opportunity of a warm shower and a change of
Jocks when it is available (or a cold shower if that is all that is
available.

Neck socks available at the local Snow Skiing shop, the balaclava never
worked for me either.

Riding between tank fills is the way to go, and a 20 minute break for a
light lunch. if necessary I have been known to take a 20 minute nap under a
tree to brighten up.

Boxer

 

yeah, when I can I fuel up and piss off as rapidly as possible,
and then stop another hour or so down the road for a proper break
at a lookout or park or chippie or something. It doesn't actually
take any longer and you get twice the stretch ...

-----sharks