Street gear advice for noob.

defeater905

defeater905

Well-known member
Hi All, I'm sure this topic has been beaten to death. I've been lurking lots and searching but I'm actually getting more confused the more I read.

I'm planning on getting my license in the spring and taking a rider saftey course. I've got my insurance quotes and bike quotes all done. I'm planning on getting a drz400sm. I'm tall 6'4" Riding style will be mostly street initially anyways.

My initial budget for gear isn't going to be the best. My thoughts were to get some helmet & gloves obviously, mx style boots, kevlar jeans, kneepads, and armor like icon styker rig or dianese manis and then wear whatever overtop a jersey or textile jacket at first. Then later in the year upgrade to leather. I'm now totally second guessing this protection specifically the boots and armor. There's just too many choices and opinions. I need legit guidance. Where better than here. :rolleyes:

Thank you.
 
Buy boots with great ankle protection, save money on the helmet (they all protect almost the same anyway, more money equates to less weight and fancier graphics).

Personally, I have been burned by textile (literally) and don't trust it.
 
I would move the armor & kneepads further down the list, and use the money for better everything else. Not that they're bad to have, it's just that abrasion protection is more important to get first. Do not wear a jersey. Not only will that be as effective as wearing a paper bag, I'm pretty sure most motorcycle instructors would not let you ride in their course with it.

People will say buy $300 boots/gloves now so you don't buy 3-4 pairs later (and similarly spendy advice for jacket/pants/suit) but that's not always realistic. On the flipside, some of the cheaper motorcycling gear is so useless I think it's negligent to even sell it for use with motorcycles. E.g. I personally prefer gauntlet style gloves in all circumstances, some prefer short-cuffed gloves for the street, either way, mind that you don't wind up with a pair of ski/snowmobiling gloves because some of the cheap stuff is very thin.

I would cruise the used motorcycling gear section here and assemble a Ronald McDonald outfit. Most people will actually not give a **** if you're wearing a red Honda jacket on a yellow Suzuki, you'll get way better value than buying new stuff for the same money, and you'll only have to live with it for a year. Or maybe you'll find some stuff that you actually like and will hang on to.
 
Thanks Grey. So what would you suggest jacket-wise? only leather? My thinking was that the armor was most versatile, but then I read that it's mainly only good for off-road, not good at all for street.
 
The axiom is that textile is good for one fall and leather for many. Fortunately I haven't had to test my textile gear. My leather gear has seen some abrasion though.
 
Start on kijiji. You cand find a decent glove for $40 that someone doeznt want. A textile jacket is ok, i took a dive well over 100kmh and i was fine (jacket becomes garbage). Your mx boots will be fine. Helmets from kapscomoto.com are about $50 but are loud.

If i was to start over, i would do this.
Kijiji a 2 peice suit for $250-300
Kijiji a set of gloves for $50
Buy a helmet from royal for $75
Buy boots from kijiji or royal 125-200.


The two peice is great
 
Agreed, a 2 pc is the best choice for street use. Also agree with most of zenice's list except for the helmet. I'd go a bit more $ and get something with more than just DOT cert., maybe around $200...and make sure it fits very well.
 
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The textile does a good job, all my ipacts were on armour. But.... where my jacket ended and azz started, i got some good road rash. my jeans ripped opene like paper, legs got some rash. I almost always ride street in my 2 peice. If i was, i wouldn't of had a mark.
 
GreyGhost said:
Buy boots with great ankle protection, save money on the helmet (they all protect almost the same anyway, more money equates to less weight and fancier graphics).

Personally, I have been burned by textile (literally) and don't trust it.
Click to expand...

Are you kidding me? Just because they all passed the minimum standards doesn't mean they are all made the same.


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Sorry that was in reply to the guy who said all helmets protect the same .


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Not sure, but I think he means of the same grade, all protect the same. So if Snell approved they would all do the same job. But the pricier ones are lighter and fancier. i.e. a $200 Shoei would be as good as a $500 one.
 
To try and cut off the impending helmet argument in a way that is helpful for the OP:

Mind the standards that the the helmet you buy meets. DOT is a "minimum" standard in the sense that most helmets will meet it. Other helmets will be some combination of Snell M2015/ECE 22.05/BSI 6658. Any one of those four is legal in this country, in addition to some Canadian standard that nobody bothers with. There are biblical arguments about the various standards for helmets, but some highlights are thus:

-It is very difficult for a helmet with a flip-up chinbar to pass Snell tests. They will pass DOT and ECE 22.05, but the ECE 22.05 has a different standard for flip-up helmets that basically does not test the chinbar for impact protection
-DOT helmets are self-certified, meaning presumably the manufacturer tested their own helmets and found that they passed the tests. Snell helmets are independently tested by the Snell Memorial Foundation, ECE 22.05 helmets are tested by the manufacturer but with tighter requirements on sample selection than DOT, and also with a witness present from a industry standards body in that country (e.g. TUV in Germany)
-None of the standards mean anything if the helmet is old, damaged, or a poor fit
 
Riceburner said:
Not sure, but I think he means of the same grade, all protect the same. So if Snell approved they would all do the same job. But the pricier ones are lighter and fancier. i.e. a $200 Shoei would be as good as a $500 one.
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Exactly, if it passes dot and Snell, it doesn't normally matter whether it is $200 or $1200. In the past Arai had problems with their Snell rated helmets actually failing the performance tests, so price doesn't guarantee anything.
 
What are some specific boots I should look into? Also, a 2pc suit..is that mean leather race suit? Any recommendations on those as well?

Thanks guys. The helmet debate was good to know. Lol
 
defeater905 said:
What are some specific boots I should look into? Also, a 2pc suit..is that mean leather race suit? Any recommendations on those as well?

Thanks guys. The helmet debate was good to know. Lol
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To be honest I'd go somewhere like gp bikes and see what they have. Try different things on to get a feel for it and find what you like. There's also royal distributing who also carry a lot of bike gear.
 
Leathers are the way to go but at the same time textile seems to work at low speeds anyway had a icon text jacket crashed at 60k and it only made one hole the size of a penny. As for jeans get leather they ripped like paper.
 
2motors said:
Leathers are the way to go but at the same time textile seems to work at low speeds anyway had a icon text jacket crashed at 60k and it only made one hole the size of a penny. As for jeans get leather they ripped like paper.
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Thx. What jeans did you have?

So now I've completely changed up what I'm going to pick up. Looking at getting something like the icon sprocket leather jacket w/d30 armor. Gauntlet style gloves, some kind of over pant for commuting but still interested in a Kevlar jean for booting around in. I'd like a pair of garne boots but I'm probably going to have to settle for something cheaper at first. Helmet something that exceeds ece and dot testing.
 
defeater905 said:
Thx. What jeans did you have?

So now I've completely changed up what I'm going to pick up. Looking at getting something like the icon sprocket leather jacket w/d30 armor. Gauntlet style gloves, some kind of over pant for commuting but still interested in a Kevlar jean for booting around in. I'd like a pair of garne boots but I'm probably going to have to settle for something cheaper at first. Helmet something that exceeds ece and dot testing.
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Sounds like a good start. Almost any normal jeans will disintegrate quickly (within ~10'), fashion jeans (thin and or distressed fabric) will shred upon first contact.
 
Textile is garbage. Marginally better than jeans. Moto specific jeans I have no experience with. Because I've never bothered to waste money on them. The recommended brands price point are so close to leathers.
Function over style. There are 2pc leathers that aren't too power rangerish. Check Spidi and Held. They make decent gear.
Any textile gear that's any good costs as much or more than leathers. My opinion is don't waste money on cheap gear. Seems expensive at first but when you do get to use quality gear you never regret the money spent. My advise is to cut budget somewhere else to get good gear.
 
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