1986 Yamaha Radian. Always wear pants and shoes and of course helmet. 99% of time wear gloves and jacket. 100% of time if wife is around, lol!! I have rode bikes since I was 5 and never have I wore shorts or sandles!! I just cringe when I see guys out riding in shorts, muscle shirts and sandles, ouch!!

BMW R1100R I am a safety girl, full flip front helmet, rocket gloves ( i am a transcriptionist so have to protect the hands), blue jeans, boots and a body armor jacket. Someone told me once when you get on a bike be prepared for someone in a car to try to run you over and that has proven to be pretty accurate so i figure better safe than sorry.

DH wears safety gear when he rides with me but not all of it when he rides alone.

Amy

I was one of the stupid ones who rode in a t-shirt and jeans with no helmet, until I crashed and lost a whole lot of skin, including half my face (and my friends thought I couldn't get any uglier...).

Now it's a full Aerostitch riding suit, Sidi boots, Held gloves and Arai full-face helmet, even if I only go to town and back. It can be hot when not moving, but put an ice-cold t-shirt on underneath and I'm comfortable even at 110 degrees.

By the way, anyone else read the article in Motorcyclist about Snell-approved helmets being too hard for good protection? Seems they transfer too much of the crash energy to the head, compared to others. The cheap, ABS-shell helmets performed the best in their tests. Has me thinking of getting different helmets, especially for my DW, as the issue is more critical for smaller helmets.

Gizmoto: I like the idea of a flip-up, but I've heard they don't hold up as well as a regular full-face when and if you make contact with the road (as I did in my crash mentioned above). I've been trying to get the folks at Motorcyclist to test them and see what they think, but no luck yet.

I dress for the crash, not the ride.

Matt,
That says it all.

I dress for the crash, not the ride.

Boots, leather jacket and full face helmet, year round. Even when riding in a state that allows one to ride without a helmet, I choose to wear one. But it's also protection from the bugs we have down here. Bugs do not taste very good going down the road at 70 mph.

Michael

Most of the time I wear jeans, t-shirt and boots. When the weather is cold I wear a leather jacket, chaps and my helmet.

I always wear my helment,boots,jeans and a shirt. When the
weather gets colder a jacket and maybe chaps. All depends
on the time of year for certain things.

I'm in NY and it's leather all year round. Occasionally I'll wear jeans rather than armoured leather pants but that's rare. Vanson jacket, Held gloves, Daytona boots & full face Arai. Always.

I crashed once. It wasn't bad as those things go, a Mercedes decided to make a right hand exit from the left lane & I was in their way. I can't remember much until I was getting loaded onto the back board but aside from a very mild concussion and a scuff on my elbow from the lining of the jacket I was fine. The leather and armour (especially the knee armour!) took the abuse. I went down hard & my knee hit first...it would have been crunched for sure if it wasn't for the armour in those pants. The helmet was toast.

There are a few used/closeout leather sites on the web (newenough.com frinstance) and I've had luck on Ebay but I made it a point to buy the best gear that I could.

Crashing aside, crap falls off of trucks, debris gets kicked up & bugs are just plain painful when they hit you.

Nina

I ALWAYS wear over-the-ankle boots, jeans (chaps in cooler weather), a leather motorcycle jacket, gloves, and a half-coverage helmet (even though my state does not require it).

I feel a need to stress 'motorcycle' when referring to the jacket. It is a thicker leather than you find in 'fashion' jackets and it has vents that make it comfortable to wear even when the temperature is above 90 degrees (as long as you are moving - stop and go traffic is miserable).

I have three sets of gloves, depending on the temperature. Warm weather - short and perforated. Cool weather - short standard leather. Cold weather - mildly insulated guantlet-like that prevent any air movement up into the jacket sleeve.

I ride a Harley Fat Boy.

In my youth, I remember one occasion of riding without a shirt. And it started to rain. Rain on bare skin at 60 MPH feels like sand. Not pleasant. And stupid.

Yikes!!! I need to bone up on the proper gear! I have ridden in sandals and shorts here in southern Florida.

I still have my over-the-ankle boots, a pair of jeans, gloves, and full-face helmet that I needed in order to pass the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's training and recommendations, yet I never knew there were things such as "armour" in the clothing, ect. How very interesting and what a good wake-up call as a reminder for me to dress for an accident rather than the weather.

Thanks for saving my hide.
Will

Will If you don't start wearing boots I'm gonna come kick your butt!!! LOL You don't live in Martin County by chance?
Marion

Will, if you buy mesh jacket and pants, the wind pushed throguh the holes in the mesh will accually keep you cooler than just riding in a t-shirt. i sugest www.newenough.com good prices and great people to deal with!

if you want, i can send you some pics of people who have gone down with and without gear. with gear is usualy some bruising and muscle strain recover in about a week. without.... well you just need to see the pics- ever thought about putting your arm or leg against a running belt sander? go to the hospital and watch them scrub-out road rash on someones body and i GUARENTEE you would be buying safety gear on your way home!

ounce of prevention > pound of cure

and i know i admitted to riding in jeans sometimes but honestly they do nothing- if you slide, the jeans will wear through in about 1.5 seconds then its just skin.

Gold Wing. Shoei full-face helmet, decent gloves (I usually lose them or they wear out in a year or so, so I buy fairly cheap ones), and my fave First Gear jacket. It has a snap-out lining with a neck-warmer; nice deep pockets; front, back, and sleeve vents; and it's shaped for riding. I'm comfortable in it up to about 85 degrees.

Motorcycle Consumer News did an article several years ago about jackets. Wearing a "fashion weight" leather jacket actually gave you less protection than denim. And nylon has to have a layer of something between you and the nylon, or it can melt and fuse to your skin as you are sliding down the pavement. Given that, ballistic nylon and motorcycle-jacket-weight leather afforded about the same protection in a given price range.

I've never cared much for boots, so I usually just wear whatever shoes I have on, or hiking boots.

Full leathers or jacket and leather pants, full helmet, ear plugs, armored gloves and boots - I usually add a back protector for on the track.

Anything less than full gear on a bike makes me feel naked.

My philosophy is that if it's too hot to wear leathers, it's too hot to ride.
Having said that, though, I have to admit to riding in full leathers in 100+ degree heat. *grin*

Hello, Marion.

I have the steel toe, over-the-ankle, construction style boots...will wear them. What type of boots do you wear?

Anyway, I live in the southern Palm Beach county area, in Boca Raton. --Right after hurricane Wilma hit, I drove through your wonderful Martin county last year in order to get gas from St. Lucie county, to your north. I am sorry you experienced Wilma too, as I know you were hit because of the long lines at the gas pumps in your area.

On my motorcycle, I have a time, of sorts, keepin' 'er on the road driving along A1A when a sea breeze is blowin'past the high-rise condo's.

Additionally, it is funny how suddenly tired I become after a 2 gallon ride, and the need for me to stop and rest becomes imminently crucial. When I see a police car, I sometimes panic, then think...."Hey!!! --I have a license to ride this thing!!!"...but I don't want them to see me...so tired. It also becomes interesting when I have to back up manually and serpentine the travel of the bike so that the Traffic Light road sensors.....sense me and change the light. You can tell I go out at 3:00 or 4:00 A.M. when no other traffic is around to do this work for me, lol.

There still aren't any gas stations open at this hour, and when I have to flip 'er over to Reserve, I am coming home on the fumes. (Grin)

Slowly learning to be a public rider, a step at a time.

Will

I'm a dumb youngster; I just strap on the modular helmet and go. I'll get a proper jacket with spine protection for the winter, but that's it. I still do this after reading the horror stories, the statistics, the Hurt's study, etc, and knowing that sooner or later, I _will_ have to lay the bike down, or worse.

My rationale: If the motorcycle isn't as convenient as the car, I might as well be in a cage and be out the door 10 minutes sooner. Making a huge production out of it, being uncomfortably hot whenever stationary, looking like a Battlestar Galactica extra... ATTGAT just isn't for me, even though I give lip service to it whenever talking to new/prospective riders (encouraging my own risky riding habits would be just plain irresponsible).

I'm a big improvement on my old man, though: near 40 years on two wheels, and won't wear a helmet for anything shorter than an hour trip (and the only helmet he has is a 15 year-old open-face plastic piece of junk).

Will, I have over the ankle boots by HD. Won't leave home with out them! LOL I rode in shorts once about a mile to a friends house...NEVER AGAIN. The heat from the pipe was enough to make my leg red for a couple of days. No burn, thank goodness.
Are you a gardener as well? There is a great swap coming up in you town of Boca Raton in October. We had one there last February, it was alot of fun and I met lots of great people who I now call friends.
Keep practicing Will, practice makes perfect!
Marion

I have always worn my gear and two weeks ago it paid off. We were on a Ducati Club group ride when one rider suggested we should take a side road which had a great number of twisties and led back to the main road three miles or so away. We were riding in a staggered formation just as we had on the main road when we hit a ninty degree left turn which had no warning sign at thirty five mph. With the staggered formation I knew there was a monster to my inside left and had no where to turn into easily and because he was close by he followed me off the road. A 748 was behind us and he watched us too closely and rode off the road as well.

The 748 rider as well as myself were wearing jeans but had good motorcycle jackets, boots and helmets. Because we went off in an area which had no trees or other hard objects to run into and basically went over the bars our helmets and jackets took the main impact. Had we been wearing T shirts and shorts we would have had a great amount of scrapes and dirt to wash from our forearms and chests. As it was the next day I felt like I had been beat in the chest and kicked in the shin with a steel toed boot but had no outward injuries.

I was wearing a summer Ducati jacket which has a mesh style construction with armored shoulder pads and elbows. Great protection and cool in almost any weather, in fact at 65F it is too cool if you wear a T shirt under it.

Lance

Teriyaki,

I understand your point about conveinience but honestly for me getting the gear on doesn't take much time. I gear up while the bike warms up (mine's a Triumph Speed Triple & it needs a few minutes warm up or it'll complain the whole ride). So while it wakes up I put in the earplugs (forgot about those, I always wear them), helmet & gloves. Jacket, pants & boots are just a part of getting dressed & take no additional time.

But it's taken a few years for me to get to this point. When I first started riding I would do the tank top, high heeled boots, even skirts & stockings (what a mess that would have been!) on the bike. I just got older & more conscious of my vulnerability. Being able to get up & walk away from a potential accident became more important.

BTW- I found that a light colored helmet makes more of a difference with how uncomfortable I get during a stop than what kind of gear I have on. I rode in full leathers during these past few weeks of 90+ degree days & I was fine. The evaporating sweat actually helps to keep you cool.

Lance- OMG! You reminded me of a ride back from Cape Breton where it was dark, rainy & foggy. The road was ceaseless curves with an unbroken drop straight into the ocean along one side. Visibility was so poor that all you could do was follow the leader's tail lights & pray that he didn't ride off of the edge because if he went over, we were going right behind him.

Glad everyone was OK!

Nina

Well Teriyaki, I would hope that there would be other reasons you might want to take the bike over the car, like maybe the fact that it's tons more fun!

Others have made the argument that the bike commute is quicker even with putting on full gear. Motorcycle Consumer News did a study a few years back comparing the overall commute time of a car vs. a bike, including the time to put on full gear. The bike still was quicker to work, even including the dress and undress routine on both ends, because it can acclerate to driving speed so much more quickly. Add on lane splitting where it's legal (Yay California!) and it's a no brainer. Even more interesting, the bike rider seemed more productive than the cager, arriving at work wide awake instead of still in a daze.

I use a full Aerostitch Roadcrafter, which I can get on or off in less than 30 seconds. I don't compromise on helmet and gloves, but my one indulgence in convenience is that I often wear a pair of slip-on, cowboy-style boots by Cruiserworks (which I believe has gone out of business). They still have protection, but I've read they can come off in some crashes.

My point is that we all have to balance what our logical mind demands in the way of safety against the often illogical ego, such as when we know the risk but still take chances. I mean, when's the last time you saw a Harley rider in anything other than black, even though it's well known that bright colors make us more visible to others? Peer pressure is just as bas at 40 as it was at 14.

But it's funny how a trip to the ER gets rid of that ego so well, after years of logic had failed.

Oh, and another topic: "have to lay the bike down" is an oxymoron, unless perhaps you are about to hit a trailer that you could otherwise slide under. Nothing stops you faster than the rubber on the wheel. Keep it upright and on both brakes is always the better choice to laying it down and sliding to a stop (compare the friction coefficient of rubber compared to skin....). Or better yet, use the superior handling and accleration of your bike to keep you out of trouble in the first place!

OK, enough preaching for today. Whatever you have, get out and ride it!

Matt-

Well, it is indeed far more fun, not to mention fuel and space efficient (and on a college campus, FAR easier to park). But when putting on the gear takes longer than the trip, that's no fun, so I just go with the helmet and my civvies.

Ego doesn't figure into it. I'm a dork anyhow, so I went with chrome, safety-cone orange and reflective over white for my helmet scheme. Yeah, that looks REAL sexy. :P

Now consider my typical trip when at school (one more year and I'm done, woo!) 5 blocks or less, nearly all on side streets. That's the major influencing factor on my lack of gear. If I was moving at more that 30mph for more than a block on a daily basis, I might think quite differently.

I'm also flat broke, but that's a whole 'nother issue. I'll earn enough for a proper jacket with back protection for the winter.

If you've got ANY chance to stop or swerve, sure. But I was taught if a bluehair pulls out right in front of you, you're better off letting the bike hit her first without you on it, then sliding yourself into the car. Going over the handlebars, hood and landing on the other side is going to give you a lot less chance of walking away... Or ever again for that matter.

Always gotta ride like all the cagers, pedestrians, deer etc are TRYING to kill you. And even then, they'll sometimes catch you by surprise.

Quote from Teryaki: Most of my trips are five blocks or less, nearly all on side streets. Thats the major influencing factor on my lack of gear, if I was moving at more than 30 mph or going farther I might think differently. Most accidents happen within five miles of home and the person that turns left in front of you or runs a stop sign is not checking to see if you have rode three blocks or twenty miles. And letting go of the mororcycle so that it crashes ensures that you will be in an accident. The vast majority of accidents involving motorcycles and other vehicles are left turns in front of a motorcycle or lane changes which happen on side streets more often than main streets.

"Most accidents happen within five miles of home"

The same is true of cager-cager crashes, because that's where people do the overwhelming amount of their driving.

Ditto what Maryanntx said.

I am a dues paying member of The Over The Bars Club... I rode for YEARS in San Francisco, I have cartwheeled, slid... you name it... seen people with those silly half helmets get turned to jello... I wear armor when I can. Full faced helmets and what all... kevlar in my jacket and etc. Only weekend bikers wear shorts.

I got into riding a M/C by pacing my son while I was riding a Honda 125. I bought the Honda from a top bicycle racer who's dad used to pace him. We would go out to the country roads and I would kick it up to 40mph. He would follow in my slipstream, pass and then drop back in. Most packs average 35 - 40MPH.

At one team practice ride he forgot his riding gloves. They crashed 3 blocks from where we live. The rider went down in front of him. His hand was torn up pretty good. You could look at the palm and see the tendons to his baby finger. 5% disibility, he got off lucky.

Also I have always liked full face DOTs after I overheard doctors talking about the difficult jaw reconstruction of a rider who did not have full face on at the time of his accident. Even a face bar that football kickers use would have helped.

Man made fibers do tend to melt and the pieces are hard to dig out along with the rest of the garbage picked up in road rash. I imagine it would be even more fun crashing at M/C speed.

To be truthfull I find it hard to take the time to put on my chaps in my around town trips.

I am buying a scooter either this fall or next spring. I posted here and got great help in deciding what to buy. The last I rode was a simple scooter over 30 years ago on empty country roads. Now there are scooters that go faster than my truck and go anywhere. Things sure change.

Most of my riding will be around town and I plan to wear a helmet, which is optional in PA. Most riders killed around here weren't wearing helmets, so that picture is easy to see.

I think of riding around town on a scooter is like being on a faster bicycle and feel wearing lots of gear is unnecessary and would look funny. Trips out of town are another story and I am thinking about what will be good for a scooter then.

I don't want to go overboard but I want to be safe. What do you think about in-town riding protection for a scooter? What about out of town--same gear for a motorcycle?

Thanks for your thoughts.
Mike

Always wear gear, regardless of the weather or the distance. I have both what my hubby calls a three-quarter helmet and a full-face helmet, several pairs of HD over the ankle boots, and some darn good leathers. On really hot days I'll wear jeans, boots, helmet (that goes without saying), gloves, and a leather vest. Admittedly I should wear a leather jacket when riding in hot weather but I don't always listen to my brain. I have never ever ridden in shorts and never will.

If it's so hot that the heat takes your breath away when riding, then I don't ride. Been there, done that and it wasn't pleasant.

Mike, in-town riding is the same as out-of-town riding, be protected at all times. I'm not sure if it was on this thread or another one on this forum but someone said that it's always best to dress for the dump and not the ride (or something like that). That is something that my husband has drilled into my head from the very first day I got on the back of a bike with him and now it's just second nature, moreso when I started riding my own bike.

This is an example why and one that I hope never to repeat. Four years ago my husband rode his bike to work. Something happened to him at work and he was rushed to the hospital. Turns out everything was ok but he didn't want to leave his bike at his office. So we went to get it in my car. We live a couple towns over from where his office is and decided to come home thru the adjoining towns instead of the freeway.

Because it was a warm day he decided not to wear his leather jacket (which he always wears, even in 100+ weather) and he tossed it into the car. He did put his chaps on, altho that did surprise me. Anyway, to make a long story longer, I was following him home in the car. As he was about to enter a large intersection on a green light a SUV came from the stopped direction going about 60+ MPH. This vehicle had gone around all the other stopped vehicles to run this red light.

Several things helped keep him from being killed. One was his riding expertise (he's been riding since he was 6 and he's 57 now), his helmet, and the crash guards on his Harley and his chaps. The expertise came into play when he realized that if he hit the SUV broadside that he would die but if he laid the bike down there was a chance that he would miss hitting the vehicle. He was already down when the SUV went by him but he still could have reached out and touched the back panel. If he had swerved the bike instead of laying it down, it most likely would have been worse.

His helmet saved his head and the crash guards saved his leg before he was able to get away from it and his chaps prevented road rash and possibly a broke leg or two. Believe me, it was the most horrifying thing to watch and think that your husband is going to be killed right in front of your eyes. To watch him rolling away from the bike and the bike skidding across the intersection was scary, especially since I at first thought that he had actually hit the SUV. Altho it was a rare thing for him not to wear a leather jacket that day, it did teach him never to be without it. His arms still show the scars but those are nothing compared to what could have happened.

And the SUV? It never even slowed or stopped. Another driver who was in the right hand turn lane going in the same direction as we were chased the SUV and she came back and told the cops that it sped up and she lost it when it hit the nearby freeway entrance going about 100. Amazingly, two off duty paramedics were in a car waiting at the red light as was an off duty CHP officer waiting for the red going in the other direction. We had cops, CHP, and an ambulance there almost within minutes.

I'm sorry this is so long, but I seemed to have almost relived this accident all over again as I was writing. Anyway, Mike, you never know when something might happen, altho we all hope that nothing ever does happen. You could be pulling out of your driveway or pulling into church. You don't know the if's or when's or even that something could happen. Always ride safe.

Here's two more examples of something that can happen that is totally unexpected. A bunch of us were on a ride up to Reno, Nevada, via Lake Tahoe two years ago. In the middle of nowhere a basketball came whizzing across the road. Our friend dumped her bike cuz she thought it was a dog at first. Nothing hurt but her ego. All she could do was lay there on the side of the road, laughing, and saying something to the effect of "you mean a f**king basketball made me lay it down?" A couple months ago my sister and BIL were on a ride with their HOG group up in the mountains and the lead rider got nailed by a deer. He spent almost a month in the hospital and was told that if he hadn't of had his full leathers on and his full face helmet that it would have been alot worse, if he had survived at all. The deer was killed.

Does stuff like this make me apprehensive and not want to ride? Oh h*ll no!!!! But I am more aware.

Ok, again I'm sorry about this being so long...just couldn't stop myself. :))

Jenna

I hear you Jenna--no safety lesson is too long for a new rider. Makes me paranoid but more aware.

Riding around town I always thought about boots, jeans, full helmet in warm weather, more leather in cool weather or on the more open road.

Someone mentioned Kevlar. Is there a substitute for leather--heavy canvas like Carhart--anything cooler that works?

Noticed crash guards today but there isn't anything like that on a scoot as far as I can see.

Thanks for the information from all you experienced riders--I hope I never need it but will try to be prepared.

I would like to hear thoughts about alternate gear.

Mike

Mike,

I ALWAYS wear protective gear, even for a short trip down local roads.

In summer: I wear boots that go over the ankle, currently CruiserWorks, as they are comfortable enough for considerable walking and absolutely waterproof. Also First Gear (FG) HT Air Overpants, without the liner, FG Mesh Jacket, usually without the liner, a full face helmet and various gloves. I'm pretty comfortable up to somewhere in the mid 90's. I've ridden long distances up to and into the 100's, but I don't really like it.

In cooler weather (I continue to take several hundred to several thousand mile trips all year; if it is over 30 degrees and not snowing, I'll ride), I use the same boots, same overpants with the liner, Gerbing electric jacket liner with a thermostat, FG Scout II leather jacket, FG Winter Dakota gloves (these are leather, but waterproof), balaclava under the helmet.

My last two bikes have been a Honda ST1300 and now a Honda GL1800. Both provide plenty of wind protection, although the bottoms of my feet were getting a bit cold on the Goldwing and I've added (Baker?) foot deflectors.

One of the best 'alternative-to-leather' suits is made by Aerostich. Their suits are everything their website touts them to be and more. They are by far the best at fitting a variety of shapes and sizes, warm when it's cold and cool when it's hot as well as easy to get in and out of.

My husband has crash-tested his on numerous occasions and has (thankfully!) never had anything more than bruises to show.

Here is a link that might be useful: Aerostitch

brianh...I am sold on protective gear and after some searching realize there are jackets and all that will look good for most of my 25 mph around town. Definitely boots and jeans--never thought about gloves. Out of town? I'm thinking about what would be good, maybe even if I won't do much. There is no helmet law in PA and I shiver everytime I see someone going 60 without one.

lorraineal--thanks for the link. Another option.

I have some kevlar snakeproof gear that seems awfully tough--stops bullets in vests but is stiff and doesn't breath I guess. Any gear made of that material? Any opinions on steel jeans?

I saw a post here of a huge number of riders going to Mexico--athletic footwear, few helmets, jackets etc. That's the answer to the question posed here about people wearing gear. I'm too old and survived too much bad stuff to give it up for the pleasure of a scooter. I'll always wear and always hope I never need it.

Thanks for getting me straight.

Mike

Protective gear needs to do a number of things.

It's primary focus should be to keep your skin on your body rather than smeared across the tarmac.

It needs to cushion, spread the force and attenuate the impact of the afore mentioned asphalt.

It should help keep you warm when you need warmth and breathe when you need to cool down. Being able to stay dry is an added bonus.

In order to do all these things, it needs to be designed and worn in such a way that it will stay on your body, in the places you need it, if you should ever find yourself blacktop surfing. Fancy boots are cool until they get ripped off your now very exposed tootsies in the event of a crash.

Imagine yourself wearing what you usually wear and ask yourself this -

Would you be willing to stand on a street and simply fall down? How about getting a running start and taking a flying leap onto the road surface?

If you wouldn't feel comfortable and confident in your gear as a pedestrian, you certainly shouldn't be wearing it on a moving vehicle.

Stepping down now - putting soapbox away...