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Gear!

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Tjf

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Hey all,

I'm a new "rider", got my M1 around 3 weeks ago. Have called a few insurance companies and got a decent quote at state farm insurance. Currently looking for a bike (most likely 08-10 Ninja 250r).

I do still have to do the motorcycle safety course, which requires you to come with your own gear.

Helmet
Jacket
Pants
Gloves
Boots

Being a newbie and all...I have absolutely no clue as to what are considered good and reliable brands/types to buy. Gloves and Boots shouldn't be a problem to find, but I don't want to mess around with the helmet, jacket, and pants. I'm sure there are a lot of veterans and pros of bike riding on this forum, so I was wondering whether anyone could recommend me any good types of helmets/jacket/pants to purchase (for the safety course AND to ride after)?

Thanks a bunch in advance,

Tjf
 
Most of the gear you need are here: http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforu...-The-Amazing-Combo-Deal-Offer-on-Mens-Apparel

Its a nice package, lots of savings.

Helmet - depends on your budget. The more expensive helmets tend to be more soundproof/ more features. Arai, shoei, avg, etc.. there are many good brands. If its dot approved, its safe.

Boots- look for a full boot (No sneaker style, or half ankle) Full boots provide protection for your ankle, that the others can not.
 
Tjf said:
Hey all,

I'm a new "rider", got my M1 around 3 weeks ago. Have called a few insurance companies and got a decent quote at state farm insurance. Currently looking for a bike (most likely 08-10 Ninja 250r).

I do still have to do the motorcycle safety course, which requires you to come with your own gear.

Helmet
Jacket
Pants
Gloves
Boots

Being a newbie and all...I have absolutely no clue as to what are considered good and reliable brands/types to buy. Gloves and Boots shouldn't be a problem to find, but I don't want to mess around with the helmet, jacket, and pants. I'm sure there are a lot of veterans and pros of bike riding on this forum, so I was wondering whether anyone could recommend me any good types of helmets/jacket/pants to purchase (for the safety course AND to ride after)?

Thanks a bunch in advance,

Tjf
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It would help a lot more if you could post a budget.
There are different schools of thought on this forum regarding gear - some people might say you should buy the best of the best as its your life. Others might tell you the polar opposite.

As a general blanket rule, the cheaper it is, the quality will suffer.

Dainese gear and Arai/Shoei helmets are generally regarded as being the best. But they are quite pricey.

Here are a few gear/boots brands -
Alpinestars (very good)
Rev It - (very good)
Joe Rocket
Teknic (mixed opinions on these)


Regarding Helmets - don't make the mistake of buying a really good helmet at a really good price that's not an exact fit. It will not do its job. Depending on where you are located - visit GP bikes/Royal Distributing or Rider's Choice
 
KarGo said:
Most of the gear you need are here: http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforu...-The-Amazing-Combo-Deal-Offer-on-Mens-Apparel

Its a nice package, lots of savings.

Helmet - depends on your budget. The more expensive helmets tend to be more soundproof/ more features. Arai, shoei, avg, etc.. there are many good brands. If its dot approved, its safe.

Boots- look for a full boot (No sneaker style, or half ankle) Full boots provide protection for your ankle, that the others can not.
Click to expand...
Thank you! Definitely checking that out!

Dresden said:
It would help a lot more if you could post a budget.
There are different schools of thought on this forum regarding gear - some people might say you should buy the best of the best as its your life. Others might tell you the polar opposite.

As a general blanket rule, the cheaper it is, the quality will suffer.

Dainese gear and Arai/Shoei helmets are generally regarded as being the best. But they are quite pricey.

Here are a few gear/boots brands -
Alpinestars (very good)
Rev It - (very good)
Joe Rocket
Teknic (mixed opinions on these)


Regarding Helmets - don't make the mistake of buying a really good helmet at a really good price that's not an exact fit. It will not do its job. Depending on where you are located - visit GP bikes/Royal Distributing or Rider's Choice
Click to expand...

Good point. At max with my budget, i could handle buying everything for $1,200. I'm located in North York, there is a Daytona sports nearby that I will be checking out. I don't wanna mess around with the helmet and jacket as these are serious areas to protect, so I will go for the best. Thanks !
 
You don't need to own all the gear for M1-exit course. You can rent a helmet from some stores (I think cycleworld rents them; Parker used to, but they closed).

Regarding buying your own helmet. They are all DOT approved - cheap or expensive. Buy the one that fits your head the best - i.e. it fits tight and comfortable. When I went to buy my first helmet, I was going to buy HJC on sale (nothing wrong with HJC). Tried HJC and Shoei, and Shoei fit my head "like a glove" (that Shoei saved my head and face two years later). When I went to buy a replacement helmet, I tried Arai, Suomi, AGV (really wanted AGV) and Shoei. Well, Shoei fit me the best again!

Don't cheap out on gloves. Check out that Velocity deal mentioned above. Jimmy makes great stuff! I have his full gauntlet gloves and those are great. I crashed in shortie gloves - sleeves pull back a bit when you're sliding on the road, so I got a few scratches between gloves and jacket. I have some people getting severe rash when they crashed in shorties. IMHO, Velocity offers great deal - I own his armored jeans and gloves now. Would have bought his jacket too, but my Scorpion jacket is still going strong.
 
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The best gear you can get is the gear you wear. Don't go out and spend a ton of money on a ton of crap that ends up in your closet because you don't wear it. It's summer, and at that course it's hot standing in the sun all day. No different than any other day you'll be riding in the summer. My advice is to start with a mesh jacket, kevlar jeans/cargos, velocity gloves (shorty if you only ride in the city, gauntlets for longer/faster rides), a helmet that fits, and boots are up to you. You can get boots that aren't noticeably moto boots, or full on power ranger boots. Certainly the power ranger boots offer better protection, but again if you don't wear them...I also am a fan of Jimmy's products and prices. As you ride longer you'll probably add to the collection of gear you have to make the different seasons comfortable, but it's summer now, dress for summer.
 
Tjf said:
Thank you! Definitely checking that out!



Good point. At max with my budget, i could handle buying everything for $1,200. I'm located in North York, there is a Daytona sports nearby that I will be checking out. I don't wanna mess around with the helmet and jacket as these are serious areas to protect, so I will go for the best. Thanks !
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1200 will get you some quality stuff.

Alpinestars and Dainese are great. Check out revzilla.com for reviews.
 
Most expensive doesn't mean the best. Dainese is generally good but it is also very steeply priced for what it is. Alpinestars has a more reasonable price range. A cheap leather jacket will generally hold up better than a textile one. I have $100 Power Trip one that I lowsided in and not a rip or tear. You can definitely find a well priced Joe Rocket jacket or a Teknic. Check online, local stores usually have super jacked prices and I don't believe in supporting local when they rip me off. 10-20% more I will pay for convenience but not 100-200% more which is common in GTA.

I like Shark helmets best. Have a good Scorpion as well. HJC is decent for lower pricing (Joe Rockets are made by HJC btw). Generally avoid the supercheap, thermoplastic buckets, they are not the best for absorbing impact and their padding and finish is usually subpar. You can get a fine composite helmet for ~$200 on sale.

Boots, I have these Nexo ones - people piss on Nexo but I'm on my 2nd pair and they are super comfortable and held up well. MSRP is $170 which is cheap for boots. I bought them used for 80 bucks on kijiji. Worn like once.

In general, I purchase most stuff on kijiji or online from the States. motorcyclegear.com has great deals and their fitment guides are very accurate.
 
I picked up all of my first gear for under $500 just by searching online for the best deals vs reviews. revzilla.com for reviews. was just at royal distributing and they have a ton of great deals, helmets under $90, jackets $125-$160, gloves for $30, boots $90 pants wear jeans- tough jeans like levis, not your $200 diesels which will fall apart and shred on impact
 
Haven't read most of the previous responses but my opinions:

Helmet - 100% personal choice as to what fits your head best. GP Bikes and Royal Distributing have great selection, Sturgess does as well along with unbeatable pricing. Buy local imo. Shoei, Suomy, Arai and AGV are the best out there.

Jacket - Joe Rocket (American cut), Teknic (In between) and Alpinestars (Euro cut) are all excellent depending on your body type and price range.

Pants - Velocity, Joe Rocket, Icon, Teknic, Dainese...etc. etc. etc. GP Bikes has a great selection of riding jeans. If you want leather pants make sure you match with your leather jacket for safety and comfort.

Gloves - "5Five" gloves are the only gloves worth having in my opinion.

Boots - Alpinestars. Period, full stop. Again, that's my opinion. People have said good things about SIDI and Dainese. Should be lower/mid calf or else you may as well wear flip flops.

Personally, I recommend your first set of gear "for the course" to also be the first set of gear you wear on the road. Learning in what you'll be wearing is best. No point dropping $500 on cheap or used gear just to drop $700 plus helmet on "good gear" for when you start riding. Just spend the money up front.

 
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Thanks a lot everyone!

I have also been looking at jackets...textile/mesh/leather. I have come across perforated leather which seems to give a lot of ventilation, much like the mesh ones, with obviously the protection of leather. For driving on 60km/h roads and hwy 7 (80km/h) roads, would textile/mesh jackets provide good enough protection? Or should I go with leather/perforated leather?
 
Tjf said:
Thanks a lot everyone!

I have also been looking at jackets...textile/mesh/leather. I have come across perforated leather which seems to give a lot of ventilation, much like the mesh ones, with obviously the protection of leather. For driving on 60km/h roads and hwy 7 (80km/h) roads, would textile/mesh jackets provide good enough protection? Or should I go with leather/perforated leather?
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Well you also have varying degrees of those jackets as well...you've got your 3/4 or full length touring jackets which are 3-season jackets, you have regular vented textile jackets (not worth owning imo) you have your basic mesh jacket with armour and you have the 2 kinds of leather jackets.

There's a saying: "dress for the crash, not for the ride" I personally don't abide by it but many do.

"Good enough" is relative as well. Do you want to chance your skin? As a rule, leather (goat, cow, kangaroo) will ALWAYS hold up better in a skid down the pavement than textile anything. Leather and textile jackets generally have the same armour in the same places so for impacts you're covered. If you're gonna be on hwy 7, where realistically you'll be doing 85-100km/h do you trust your skin to a thin mesh jacket? In a normal impact you'll crash to the ground likely on your knees and elbows/shoulders and skid across the pavement. The skid is what will hurt you most.

I personally own and use a non-vented leather jacket for chilly rides, a perforated 2-piece leather suit for spirited summer rides and an icon vest and elbow pads for when I don't feel like wearing proper gear. I personally don't advocate the vest-only from a safety standpoint but sometimes it's nice to get away from the tight-fitting leathers.
 
Renboy said:
The best gear you can get is the gear you wear.
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^+1

Also, the more you ride with gear, the more you'll get used to it. You don't have to buy everything at once. Get good qualtiy for the critical things, then as you get better, ride harder and faster, more challenging roads, slowly build your gear inventory up and replace older items with better ones. You don't need full leathers putting around the neighbourhood, but you surely couldn't go wrong with full gear doing a spirited ride through a twisty area.
 
Tjf said:
Thanks a lot everyone!

I have also been looking at jackets...textile/mesh/leather. I have come across perforated leather which seems to give a lot of ventilation, much like the mesh ones, with obviously the protection of leather. For driving on 60km/h roads and hwy 7 (80km/h) roads, would textile/mesh jackets provide good enough protection? Or should I go with leather/perforated leather?
Click to expand...

Nothing will offer better protection than leather. My leather Scorpion jacket has perforated leather in the front, plus it has a warm insert for colder weather. Here are my observations after 3 years.
- It's great to slide in leather jacket (no road rash), but won't (obviously) save you from broken bones
- It's hot in the summer. It's OK if you're moving, but sucks if you're stuck in traffic
- It's cold in the fall, even with the warm insert. 550 km ride in +10 weather with some wind - well, I wasn't miserable, but I wasn't comfortable either.

So IMHO, if you want a single jacket for now, get a perforated leather one. After you know what you like and don't like, you can get mesh/textile for summer, super-warm leather for cold weather, etc.
 
There is some great advice above, so all I will add is what is your safety and life worth to you.
Set your budget and get the best quality you can afford at the time. Once you spend a season of two riding, you will realize what you like, what you are comfortable in and may adapt your gear.
 
Your course will outline will outline what is required before it even happens, if it doesn't than your inclass instructors should and if they don't be sure to ask because they will not let your ride without it and your money down the drain.

Typically start off with a decent helmet, GP bikes and Royal are on the same street in Whitby so there is TONS of gear to try on and try everything on until you can't because comfort should be your number one priority with you being able to move and twist without restriction.

Boots typically need to cover your ankles (think construction boots for your course) but if you get in to a race boot it will take some time to get use.

If you want a leather jacket, perforated is definitely a great idea especially with a removable liner if it has one because youdont want to be a stuffed sausage during the weenie roast but some prefer it that way because of the comfort and level of protection they will get.

The pants that are required are denim jeans, if your want to go with actual gear it doesn't hurt.

Good luck on your course and finding your gear, let us know what your come across.
 
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Thanks a lot, ya'll are very helpful!

I know the pants aren't required but I would like to get all my gear and do the course, just to see how I feel etc., I would be purchasing a bike perhaps within a week of the course, or even before.

Will update for sure!
 
Tjf said:
Thanks a lot, ya'll are very helpful!

I know the pants aren't required but I would like to get all my gear and do the course, just to see how I feel etc., I would be purchasing a bike perhaps within a week of the course, or even before.

Will update for sure!
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Go to Jimmy's (Velocity) office and try out his gear. I have his armored jeans. Fairly comfortable to wear, way more protection than regular jeans, obviously less protection than full leather pants.
 
ViperZ said:
Go to Jimmy's (Velocity) office and try out his gear. I have his armored jeans. Fairly comfortable to wear, way more protection than regular jeans, obviously less protection than full leather pants.
Click to expand...

Group Buy seems to be on :)
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