Preparing before the purchase.

[Mr.6]

Hey guys, within the next few months i plan to be the proud owner of a bike, and i needed some info on a few things as far as apparell.

Im taking the driving class at TNCC and they say i must supply helmet (DOT approved), gloves, jacket, boots, pants. I plan on wearing some timbs and skipping out on buying boots just yet.

As far as helmet, i chose this one
http://www.bikebandit.com/partsbandit/productlist.asp?pd_id=783107&sel_path=3
HJC SY-MAX Modular Touring Street Helmet, and yes i want full face, so i wont get with anything other than full face. Is this a good helmet?

Jacket i went with: http://www.bikebandit.com/partsbandit/productlist.asp?pd_id=782770&sel_path=3
Hard Drive Jacket, just incase i ever end up stuck in the rain.

Gloves: http://www.bikebandit.com/partsbandit/productlist.asp?pd_id=782767&sel_path=3
Tech Road Gore-Tex® Gloves

Pants: http://www.bikebandit.com/partsbandit/productlist.asp?pd_id=782773&sel_path=3
Stage 1 pants

If you all would recommend something different then by all means please say so. Lookin for some experienced answers, and reasons why i should go with one over another, this way i know for a fact why one is better thus gaining knowledge in a field of something i know nothing about. ;)

[Del La Sol 1320]

Well congradulations on pursuing one of the most addictive and fun hobby/sport/life-style out there, and your off to a good start on trying to get good gear... but what kind of bike are you looking at, and what kind of riding do you think you would be doing? that is a very important question when selecing gear

Helmet- I personally would go with a helmet that is both DOT and SNELL approved, but I make more sacrifices in comfort for safety than the average rider... SNELL is an idependent European standard of test, so far no modular helmet(full face that flips up) has gotten the SNELL approval, I haven't read into this but my guess is it is from the fact that it must be tested with the front both open and closed, I'm sure when closed it provides all the protection of a full face, but with the conveinance and comfort of a 3/4 helmet when at the gas pump or stuck in traffic... but I think that would be a fine choice, HJC is a great mid-price helmet, and you can always retire it to a passenger helmet if you want a new one in the future.

Jacket- looks like a good one, also check out the Fieldsheer Monza jacket, very similar but a little less expensive

Gloves: i'm a big fan of alpinestars stuff, i have the GP Pro and GP Plus gloves myself, the Tech Roads look like a good choice

Pants: pants look pretty good and nice price, but again also check out fieldsheer's stuff, might want to look at seperate pants/jackets as well as 2-piece suits which zip together

Boots- unless i plan to ride really hard or am on the track I just wear high top timberland dress boots, they held up awesome in my accident, took alot of abuse from the asphalt that would have been nasty had it been my ankles and feet in a pair of tennis shoes, just make sure they cover your ankles and tie them tight, I've seen more than one pair of shoes fly off in an accident

[Mr.6]

Im still looking at that 2000 Yamaha YZF-R6. There is just something about the YZF body i like to look at :dunno:

And what do you mean what type of riding? I dont ever plan on being on a track for a very long time. Touching my knees to the ground while doing 50+mph sounds a bit intimidating to me.

Thanks for also informing me of what a modulator helmet is (was gonna buy it and had no clue that it flips up). But a question i have for you about helmets comes as a result of what a friend told me about his experiences on bikes (he has had a few accidents himself). He told me not to get a full face, because the chin piece can get caught the the asphault should i fall, and snap my neck. Now logic tells me this is quite possible, but i must wonder how often does something like that happen if DOT approves such a device? Im a noob, so shoot at me easy ;)

[Jesus]

Del you bet me on every post !!! :p

Helment... personally I will go with DOT or British standard helment....I have a Suomy Spec Helment...

Jacket... I have a Vanson Jacket Very heavy thick personally i like it better then any other jacket but thats just me

gloves... Dont know anything I guess alpinestars :dunno:

Pants... I wear jeans all the time so again I :dunno:

Boots... Tims :D

As far as the full face snaping your next i never heard of that at all? But then again all the motorcycle racer were them all the time.

[Jesus]

[QUOTE=Slow_Rolla]

And what do you mean what type of riding? I dont ever plan on being on a track for a very long time. Touching my knees to the ground while doing 50+mph sounds a bit intimidating to me.

QUOTE]

That is what riding is dragging the need baby !!!!!

[Del La Sol 1320]

i mean do you plan to ride all year round, or just spring/summer/fall on nice days, would you purposely ride on a rainy day or have a car for that, if you don't plan to ride in inclement weather i would buy what will be more comfortable 90% of the time you do your riding, and if you get caught in the rain or a cold day deal with it as it comes by throwing on a XL hoodie or something, i'd say the gear your looking at right now might be a little warm come summer, which is when i do the majority of my riding, now if you plan to ride through the winter it would be good... also how hard you plan to ride, thats kind of all hard to determine before you start, but the harder you ride the more you might want to stress safety over comfort, and vice versa if you don't plan on riding aggressively, but its always better to have more than you need

as for the helmet snapping your neck thing, that is 100% wrong, there is not one single aspect in which another helmet would be more safe than a full face, Suomy is a nice choice, we sell them here and its a awesome helmet, all the comfort and quality of an Arai but half the price, and it has like 20 safety different test stickers on the back which it passes

jesus- my last jacket was a vanson, it held up in my accident awesome, anyone that has ever owned one can vouch that they are the nicest jackets made in the entire world, but expensive as hell

[Jesus]

jesus- my last jacket was a vanson, it held up in my accident awesome, anyone that has ever owned one can vouch that they are the nicest jackets made in the entire world, but expensive as hell


I dont want to find out :p One question were is a good place to get some alpinestars GP Pro and GP Plus gloves? Also Can you feel the handles? when you were the gloves?

[Mr.6]

I dont want to find out :p One question were is a good place to get some alpinestars GP Pro and GP Plus gloves? Also Can you feel the handles? when you were the gloves?

Hahaha, just got back from Casey Cycle City in NN. THose gloves are 200 bucks for the pro's out of the catelog, and the other ones were maybe 35 bucks cheaper. I went with SP-1's and they ran me a buck ($100) and had to be ordered cause casey is kinda gay and didnt carry them in the store (bastards). I picked up a Joe Rocket Balistic jacket. Its not the leather one, this way if i get caught in the rain i dont have to worry about the jacket gettin nasty (well not too much anyhow). It reinforced everywhere, and i feel pretty niffty in it. Now all i lack are bike and license. The license i plan on getting within the next 3 weeks, followed soon after by the bike, i hope. Hopefully the bank will finance me on a used one. Im excited though, no backing out at this point :D

Oh yeah, forgot about the helmet, HJC DOT AND SNELL APPROVED CL-14. Im pretty satisfied, so let me know what u all think. I am a beginner, so im not too concerned with top of the line stuff right now.

[Del La Sol 1320]

yea i can feel the handles perfectly, once broken in they feel awesome, and they come pretty close to broken in feeling... the best price i got was from Ron at www.washingtoncycleworks.com (actually in Washington, NJ, not DC, but awesome guys to deal with).

[Del La Sol 1320]

well awesome, your off to a good start... all too many people start, and keep riding for that matter, with no license, a 5 year old helmet, t-shirt, jeans, and mechanix gloves

all the gear you got is good stuff, you can always have better no matter what your wearing, but especially for a beginning rider it sounds like you did good

[Jesus]

good deal dude.... Hey I wore mechanix gloves just becasue the gloves I got I COULDNT FEEL SHIT feel shit.. time to UPGRADE :)

[Alwayslast]

good way to start riding,

here are some good online cycle gear shops

www.newenough.com (awesome place to get gear)
www.parts411.com
www.helmetharbor.com (awesome place to get helmets)
www.ebay.com
and
Cycle Junction in Richmond

[Del La Sol 1320]

yea good job on newenough and helmetharbor, i forgot all about them, thats where i got my helmet they are cheap and awesome people to deal with

[GaRn]

some more nice places..

http://www.brocktoncycle.com
http://www.imotorcyclestore.com/

thats where i got my stuff, the gear you listed seems fine, the differences between 150 and 500 dollars helmets is just weight, graphics, name, etc.. of course both being certified snell and dot.. the $150 HJC helmets have alot of features(removable liners etc) nowadays to making them great values!

[Del La Sol 1320]

brockoncycle is our distrubuter for fieldsheer, VEGA, and Nitro products at work, good people to deal with but as far as i know they specialize mainly in the lower brands, but nothing wrong with affordable stuff some of it is almost as good as the super expensive names, but i'd just research anything you buy first, always a good idea