Hi guys,
proud owner of a new yamaha r15 with the misses. Now that we are having a look a gear, I seem to be getting more confused. Theres all this talk of getting leather gear, but some a recommending mesh. Helmets that are meant to be better than X, but they both have the AS1696 rating. Shoes not being necessary etc etc.
What advice would you give to a newbie to set him off in the right direction?
I get all my stuff from Riders Discount and Revzilla. Have Alpinestar gears from them. QLD allows some of the international standards for helmets. However I still have my AGV K4 Creature. I didn't take ozbargain approach for my motorbike gear, since its the only thing between me and the bitumen if I crash. Same goes for my tyres, Michelling Pilot Road 3s on mine now.
I am looking to expand and upgrade my safety gear. Shark leathers are near me and I plan on getting some gear from there, I haven't looked around to much but their prices seem pretty good and then on top of that they are constantly having sales on different items. They also seem to sell a lot online. http://www.sharkleathers.com.au/shop/ also check out there Facebook page for sales.
I've only been riding for about 6 months and have spent a lot of time researching gear. RevZilla is a great resource to check out gear reviews; I have watched so many of their videos.
The most important thing about helmets is finding the right fit; don't buy an ill-fitting helmet because it has a prettier paint job, drop down shades or gimmicky stuff. Any decent motorcycle accessory store can assist you to find the right helmet. I note you live in Sydney; MCAS has a pretty good selection and is centrally located for Sydneysiders in Parramatta; I bought mine from there.
Whilst you are in the shop try on some leather/textile jackets, kevlar jeans, boots, and gloves. I got my Sartso jeans from MCAS; Alpinestars boots and gloves from Sydney City Motorcycles when there was a sale on; but both Dainese jackets (1 leather, 1 textile/waterproof) I bought from FC Moto in Germany because they were significantly cheaper and delivery was a mere $20 via DHL (takes 2 weeks to arrive). If buying from overseas, make sure you know what size is the best fit for you; you don't want to have to send them back because it will more than kill the savings you make.
Don't scrimp on gear; skin grafts are painful and the scars are for life, and that's the best case scenario! Leather is too hot for Sydney in all but the coldest of Winter months; but offers better protection than most textiles will, after all it is essentially a second skin.
If you don't have much money to spend then look for decent second hand gear on Gumtree and ebay, with the exception of helmets. A lot of people give up biking when circumstances dictate and have decent stuff going cheap. Aldi also has periodic motorcycle gear, though the quality is not that great!
thanks moola, bought jacket pants and shoes from fc-moto, cos they were cheaper as you said. gloves from SCM
ATGATT. All the gear all the time.
As others have said:
Gloves, don't scrimp on price and they'll last you longer. Human reaction is to throw a hand out when (if) you fall.
Boots, same. Expensive ones will last longer, unless you can find a cheaper one with decent leather.
Helmet as stated, concentrate on fit but don't go the cheapest!
Textile jeans, there are a lot around now.
Jackets, have used textile but prefer leather.
I ride/commute every day (qld) in dragging and a m2r leather jacket. Had a dianese jacket which lasted 7 years but only died due to my lack of "maintenance" - a once a month dubbin :(
Get some decent wet gear too. I've found the aldi wet gear to be fine
I would recommend a modular style helmet like the Nolan N44. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-knbDkTOjy4
It can be full face, open face, flip down tinted visor built in, can remove the face shield and use a peak instead AND has a spot for integrated communications.
Personally I have three of them now in varying sizes and couldn't be happier.
I use Arai helmets and Dainese or Alpine Stars gear. The exception is to that is the Kushitani gloves I am currently using for normal riding. I usually go to Peter Stevens but have purchased the odd thing from Denniskirk.com.
as for helmets have a look at Shark - they offer great protection at decent prices. whatever helmet you buy check it against the http://sharp.direct.gov.uk/ UK helmet safety test list first.
as for gear, anything from dririder, rjays, icon and the like will do fine, just make sure it is comfortable.
boots are absolutely necessary. when I had my first motorcycle crash I would've definitely broken something were I not wearing proper boots. your ankle is very likely to become the meat in a tarmac/bike sandwich when you hit the ground.
I bought most of my gear off gumtree and enjoyed a massive discount as a result. also bought an RST Rift jacket from cash converters for like $50 and that saved a lot of my skin in my first accident - take an ozbargain approach and you'll do well with motorbike gear.