Looking for gear recommendations
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 10,186
Likes: 17,837
From: In a van down by the river
Tall boots, decent helmet, decent pair of gloves that FIT your hands, having extra room in the fingers getting caught on things isn't good, tends to get caught on levers. Pair of thicker, durable jeans.
It's all going to be up to personal preference and your own safety vs. comfort analysis but whatever's exposed, not covered by leather, and you want a rough estimate of what it'd feel like if you went sliding down the road at as little as 15-25 miles an hour? Just take a cheese grater to whatever skin you have exposed and that'll be a rough comparison.
I had a low speed accident that flipped me high side. Came around a blind turn on a road I didn't know, stop light just around the bend and 4 cars already stopped. Had about a car length to stop else I was going into the back windshield. Thankfully was only doing about 25mph. Too much back brake. Did well at first, had a dirt bike, dukes of hazard slide around the turn thing going before the bike decided it wasn't going to slide anymore and caught.
Face shield on my 3/4th helmet saved my ugly mug, gloves and sleeves of my leather jacket protected my hands and forearms. Knees though, had my uniform cargo pants on and the road ate them away like nothing. Boots were ground down on the steel toe and near the ankles too. Couldn't have been doing more than 10-15mph when it happened.
That said, summer weather I'm still in the uniform pants when I ride into work. Jacket is usually stuffed in the saddlebag, vest on to at least protect the core. Engineer boots, pair of gloves and my 3/4th with face shield. I really should know better, but I'm an idiot.
It's all going to be up to personal preference and your own safety vs. comfort analysis but whatever's exposed, not covered by leather, and you want a rough estimate of what it'd feel like if you went sliding down the road at as little as 15-25 miles an hour? Just take a cheese grater to whatever skin you have exposed and that'll be a rough comparison.
I had a low speed accident that flipped me high side. Came around a blind turn on a road I didn't know, stop light just around the bend and 4 cars already stopped. Had about a car length to stop else I was going into the back windshield. Thankfully was only doing about 25mph. Too much back brake. Did well at first, had a dirt bike, dukes of hazard slide around the turn thing going before the bike decided it wasn't going to slide anymore and caught.
Face shield on my 3/4th helmet saved my ugly mug, gloves and sleeves of my leather jacket protected my hands and forearms. Knees though, had my uniform cargo pants on and the road ate them away like nothing. Boots were ground down on the steel toe and near the ankles too. Couldn't have been doing more than 10-15mph when it happened.
That said, summer weather I'm still in the uniform pants when I ride into work. Jacket is usually stuffed in the saddlebag, vest on to at least protect the core. Engineer boots, pair of gloves and my 3/4th with face shield. I really should know better, but I'm an idiot.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,482
Likes: 631
From: NorCal Rocklin
"What are your recommendations for helmets, eyewear, jackets/upper body, gloves, pants/lower body, and footwear"
Well if you are trying to achieve a certain look, I would go with a 3/4 bubble helmet, flannel, sneaker boots, gloves, and a leather jacket. Go with the basics and overtime build your gear collection from there.
Well if you are trying to achieve a certain look, I would go with a 3/4 bubble helmet, flannel, sneaker boots, gloves, and a leather jacket. Go with the basics and overtime build your gear collection from there.
Cruiser
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 125
Likes: 24
From: Alberta
Tons of good advice listed above, and as already stated, what gear to ride with is a personal choice. With that said Ill share my limited gear experience, others may have different experiences but heres mine:
Biltwell helmet: excellent quality, fair price.
Shoei helmet: excellent quality, higher side of fairly priced.
Harley Davidson Motorclothes leather jackets: Ive had two and ok quality but did have a zipper fail in one. Easily replaced and still my cold weather jacket, but for what the genuine motorclothes stuff costs there shouldnt be an issue ever. Overpriced for the quality IMHO.
Espinozas leather vests: exceptional quality, exceptional customer service. Expensive but very worth it in my opinion. Cant say enough good about them.
Biltwell gloves: excellent quality. But whatever you choose for gloves, buy an extra pair or two. Because when the ones you usually wear are worn out, replacements can be out of stock or discontinued.
Friendly advice: those slims look pretty sharp with a swing arm bag and clear glasses are handy to have in case you end up riding after dark. Sunglasses suck for night riding. Its also handy to have a pair of warmer gloves in that swing arm bag in case it gets cold or wet. I even carry clean socks lol. Anyway, enjoy the new ride.
Biltwell helmet: excellent quality, fair price.
Shoei helmet: excellent quality, higher side of fairly priced.
Harley Davidson Motorclothes leather jackets: Ive had two and ok quality but did have a zipper fail in one. Easily replaced and still my cold weather jacket, but for what the genuine motorclothes stuff costs there shouldnt be an issue ever. Overpriced for the quality IMHO.
Espinozas leather vests: exceptional quality, exceptional customer service. Expensive but very worth it in my opinion. Cant say enough good about them.
Biltwell gloves: excellent quality. But whatever you choose for gloves, buy an extra pair or two. Because when the ones you usually wear are worn out, replacements can be out of stock or discontinued.
Friendly advice: those slims look pretty sharp with a swing arm bag and clear glasses are handy to have in case you end up riding after dark. Sunglasses suck for night riding. Its also handy to have a pair of warmer gloves in that swing arm bag in case it gets cold or wet. I even carry clean socks lol. Anyway, enjoy the new ride.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 7,439
Likes: 884
From: 'Noke, VA
Lots of people talk about, "dressing for the crash". I find that to be a bit silly. I was nearly killed in a crash in 2011 (f*cking texting teenager). I'm damn lucky it was the end of November and I was geared-up because it was cold.
Any gear is better than none in a crash, but if you leave your driveway thinking about crashing, you probably shouldn't be riding.
I went gear crazy after the wreck. In the last 10 years I've come to recognize some simple truths. If you have good boots on, it makes it easier to hold the bike up on uneven roads without rolling your ankle. You don't have to worry about bugs and rocks hitting your hands if you have gloves on. A jacket means you're not covered in nasty-*** sunscreen, and you're not sunburned and/or windburned after a 12-hour day. Riding pants mean that it's a helluva lot easier to pack for a trip, and jeans suck when it's hot or wet. A full-face or modular helmet means that you're not sunburned, windburned, deaf, beat-up, or otherwise worn out at the end of a day. When I ride in full gear, I can go 18 hours easily.
But if you want to talk about wrecking......The first thing that hits the pavement is your hands. No gloves, your hands are hamburger. Next is your head, usually followed by a roll over a shoulder, then the back. Then the serious tumbling starts. Getting melted Levi's pulled off your leg sucks, and it leaves scars. Facial stitches suck, busted ribs and knees even more so.
Do what you want, I've got an awful lot of really good Klim gear.
Any gear is better than none in a crash, but if you leave your driveway thinking about crashing, you probably shouldn't be riding.
I went gear crazy after the wreck. In the last 10 years I've come to recognize some simple truths. If you have good boots on, it makes it easier to hold the bike up on uneven roads without rolling your ankle. You don't have to worry about bugs and rocks hitting your hands if you have gloves on. A jacket means you're not covered in nasty-*** sunscreen, and you're not sunburned and/or windburned after a 12-hour day. Riding pants mean that it's a helluva lot easier to pack for a trip, and jeans suck when it's hot or wet. A full-face or modular helmet means that you're not sunburned, windburned, deaf, beat-up, or otherwise worn out at the end of a day. When I ride in full gear, I can go 18 hours easily.
But if you want to talk about wrecking......The first thing that hits the pavement is your hands. No gloves, your hands are hamburger. Next is your head, usually followed by a roll over a shoulder, then the back. Then the serious tumbling starts. Getting melted Levi's pulled off your leg sucks, and it leaves scars. Facial stitches suck, busted ribs and knees even more so.
Do what you want, I've got an awful lot of really good Klim gear.
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 3,684
Likes: 4,294
From: Northeast, NJ
Gear is a very personal decision. I've been in an accident with broken bones and what not, so that experience influences by gear choices.
For me, always a full face modular helmet. I've use to have 1/2 helmets, but on the day of my accident, was wearing a full face modular. If I hadn't been wearing it, my jaw would have been destroyed.
Some kind of jacket with armor. Again, from the accident experience, I always wear a jacket. Unfortunately, I haven't found one that covers all bases for all kinds of riding. In summer, I use an HD mesh jacket that has leather going down the outside of the arms and shoulders (impact zones).....great jacket. In other weather, I have an all leather jacket.
Full finger gloves - I play guitar. My fingers are important to me. I've been dinked a few times on the fingers from gravel and what not. Gloves...always
Boots - Again, based on my accident experience, I always wear MC boots. I have 2 pair. One (TSX) is a sport touring type lined with Gortex. The other is an HD Boot, laces but side zip and mesh panels, but with an almost Good Year tread. Love this boot. For me, I want deep grippy treads on the soles. The TSX boots have a slippery short depth tread that slips easily in road sand / gravel.
Pants - Really haven't found a good solution for pants in warmer weather. I still use jeans knowing that they would rub through in a blip sliding down the road.
For me, always a full face modular helmet. I've use to have 1/2 helmets, but on the day of my accident, was wearing a full face modular. If I hadn't been wearing it, my jaw would have been destroyed.
Some kind of jacket with armor. Again, from the accident experience, I always wear a jacket. Unfortunately, I haven't found one that covers all bases for all kinds of riding. In summer, I use an HD mesh jacket that has leather going down the outside of the arms and shoulders (impact zones).....great jacket. In other weather, I have an all leather jacket.
Full finger gloves - I play guitar. My fingers are important to me. I've been dinked a few times on the fingers from gravel and what not. Gloves...always
Boots - Again, based on my accident experience, I always wear MC boots. I have 2 pair. One (TSX) is a sport touring type lined with Gortex. The other is an HD Boot, laces but side zip and mesh panels, but with an almost Good Year tread. Love this boot. For me, I want deep grippy treads on the soles. The TSX boots have a slippery short depth tread that slips easily in road sand / gravel.
Pants - Really haven't found a good solution for pants in warmer weather. I still use jeans knowing that they would rub through in a blip sliding down the road.
Last edited by rauchman; Aug 12, 2021 at 12:11 PM.
Road Warrior
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 1,976
Likes: 1,880
From: SF Bay Area
I've always used this list in this order, and spent the money to protect them all.
ATGATT is an acronym used in the Adventure Riding Community. All The Gear All The Time!
- Head - Always a full face because I'm good looking and want to stay that way! I wear a Shoei GT Air II.
- Hands - Leather palms as it's the first thing to hit the ground. I wear Icon leather.
- Butt - No plain Levi Jeans, I use dedicated riding jeans that are lined with Kevlar or Cordura - I wear Bull-it Jeans
- Back - Quality jacket with back, shoulder and elbow protection. I wear Klim Apex in the winter and Klim Marrakesh in the Summer.
- Feet - Over the ankle sturdy boots - I wear Harley Boots.
ATGATT is an acronym used in the Adventure Riding Community. All The Gear All The Time!
Last edited by Calif Fat Bob; Aug 12, 2021 at 04:08 PM.
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I have to confess that I committed a sin of riding in the T-shirt (though in riding boots, kevlar jeans and 3/4 helmet). That was unimaginable for me in my home city.