For those dumping money into bike...

[HikerToo_imp]

I'm curious, have you fully outfitted yourselves with good/proper riding gear too? Seems odd to see a custom bike being ridden by a rider with cheap gloves, helmet, etc. :biker:

 

[dailyrider_imp]

I'm curious, have you fully outfitted yourselves with good/proper riding gear too? Seems odd to see a custom bike being ridden by a rider with cheap gloves, helmet, etc. :biker:

Odd? I see more people riding without gear than with. It's a choice. I ride both and don't appreciate harassment by gear nazis. It gets tiresome.
That wasn't meant to be a personal slam against you. It's just how I feel.

 

[Guth_imp]

Not sure I get the point of this thread, but will be keeping an eye on it for the sake of moderation.

 

[Tripod_imp]

Very odd thread...

 

[Stretch_imp]

Not sure I get the point of this thread, but will be keeping an eye on it for the sake of moderation.

I don't see anything at all odd about it. The guy's been on the forum for a good while (First Service completed) and has no reputation for being an oddball or starting trouble.

The question is perfectly legitimate. I was just on the FZ9 forum and saw a post where a guy was complaining that the first thing he'd have to do was to toss the entire stock exhaust and throw $1100 at a loud pipe. And so on. Probably $1100 worth of track days would be a better investment. My daughter and I had to treat and rescue a young man who got knocked off his GSX-R a couple of weeks ago. He had some pretty serious road rash on his left arm. He was wearing jeans, a T-Shirt, a strap-on back protector, and a helmet. The T-Shirt did him no good at all when he hit the pavement. Even a lightweight jacket would've save him the road rash.

We sure do a lot of debating on what kind of oil to use and since the oil, in its relationship to the motorcycle in which it is used, is just as irrelevant and impersonal as the gear you are wearing, one might also surmise that oil and octane threads were "odd".

My tuppence.

Myself, I wear only high quality gear, Shoei helmets, mostly leather jackets but some tech stuff (Alpine Stars, Bilt), and I never ride in short sleeves or in jeans. Always in leather pants and minimum a tech jacket with armor.

I prefer leather to anything else and I have learned the hard way how useless denim is in a crash.

My favorite outfit on the CB1100 is the traditional two-piece Vanson jacket/pants combo. The leather is the thickest I have ever seen but once they break in, awesomely comfy.

On the Gixxer, full racing leathers for track days, two piece zip-together armored leather (Alpine Stars) jacket/pants combo for canyon riding.

Gear is important to me.

 

[Guth_imp]

Here's the thing: If you are a gear guy, a believer in wearing protective gear, then it shouldn't matter whether the bike costs thousands of dollars or hundreds of dollars. A crash/accident is just that, no matter how much you spend on the bike. You either place a priority on trying to protect yourself in case of such an event of you don't. That's an individual call.

If someone were to ask for gear recommendations, or about how much others spend on gear on average, then I could understand. Questioning the judgement of others when it comes to mods v.s. protective gear only seems destined to end poorly.

 

[HikerToo_imp]

Thanks Stretch for wording it better then I did.
( BTW - which Vanson leather pants do you have and recommend? http://www.vansonleathers.com/cat-Pants_and_Chaps-61-2.aspx )

For me, after I bought the CB1100, I felt it was more important to get a good leather jacket then, then a good leather seat.
Or a good pair of gloves more so then a different color side panel or chrome piece.
So people say "gear guy", just depends which you are buying gear for....yourself, or the motorcycle.
My point is I would rather spend the money making sure I have good gear rather then swapping parts on my motorcycle that are for looks only.
I guess each person enjoys motorcycles/motorcycling in different ways.

 

[lola_imp]

I'm curious, have you fully outfitted yourselves with good/proper riding gear too? Seems odd to see a custom bike being ridden by a rider with cheap gloves, helmet, etc. :biker:

Always fully geared regardless of what steed I ride and distance I have to travel....Plus I look good in leather. So nothing against people not wearing "the proper" gear. Also Cheap gloves,jacket,rding pants or helmet is better than none at all.

 

[FUZZY_imp]

Wearing good gear has saved my wife's life 3 times. That being said, her wrecked bikes & everyone I've ever owned has had plenty of "gear" on them. It's half the fun of making it yours. I know folks that keep them box stock. That's fine too. My bike, my ass, I'll outfit them the way I like.:beerchug:

 

[Stretch_imp]

Thanks Stretch for wording it better then I did.
( BTW - which Vanson leather pants do you have and recommend? http://www.vansonleathers.com/cat-Pants_and_Chaps-61-2.aspx )

For me, after I bought the CB1100, I felt it was more important to get a good leather jacket then, then a good leather seat.
Or a good pair of gloves more so then a different color side panel or chrome piece.
So people say "gear guy", just depends which you are buying gear for....yourself, or the motorcycle.
My point is I would rather spend the money making sure I have good gear rather then swapping parts on my motorcycle that are for looks only.
I guess each person enjoys motorcycles/motorcycling in different ways.

Traveler. They are the most traditional. Stiff at first but they break in beautifully and get very soft and comfortable. Too darn hot to wear now though. I have something like the MK2 Sportrider jacket although it's about 13 years old so probably some slight changes have been made.

Here's the thing: If you are a gear guy, a believer in wearing protective gear, then it shouldn't matter whether the bike costs thousands of dollars or hundreds of dollars. A crash/accident is just that, no matter how much you spend on the bike. You either place a priority on trying to protect yourself in case of such an event of you don't. That's an individual call.

If someone were to ask for gear recommendations, or about how much others spend on gear on average, then I could understand. Questioning the judgement of others when it comes to mods v.s. protective gear only seems destined to end poorly.

Another way to see it is that people are coming here to learn about motorcycling. I think, here's a guy who's making some real sense, getting his priorities right, in my view. I got a lot of respect for that. I didn't know squat when I first started riding in '83. I sure came across a fair number of guys who wouldn't give me the time of day as well as a few who passed along some good stuff. Now 30 years later I am still sitting here with two arms and two legs and all my fingers and toes, thank God. Part of that is by paying attention and asking a lot of questions. I believe the only dumb question is the one you don't ask. And by the way, the most helpful guys were always the most humble. I believe in paying it forward.

Just an example, today I went to work on my travel trailer and the guy in the spot next to me had a new trailer. I got to talking to him and noticed he didn't have a weight distribution hitch for his 4,500 lb. rig. I says, "Are you just going to tow that trailer on the ball?" He replied that the dealer said it would be fine. I told him it would not be fine, he got the wrong info. Not a real good idea to tow a 25' trailer like that at that weight. I happened to have part of that type of hitch that I didn't need any more which fit his Tundra perfectly so I gave it to him, it cost me about $125 but I didn't need it any more. He's gonna need to throw another $800 at the trailer to do it safe but he's got his wife with him and it just did not sit right to stand there and say nothing. If the guy would have been defensive and said it was fine, then I would've wished him luck and went back to working on my own rig. But I won't stand there and say nothing, I'll take the risk of being brushed off. Maybe it'll save the guy's bacon some day.

To my mind it is a little bit refreshing to see a guy asking about gearing up rather than what kind of pipe or seat to use or how to chop off the rear fender. I have seen so many guys and girls busted up on the road and hauled off with helicopters and in ambulances I can't even tally them up any more. So yeah I am a huge supporter of rider training, track days, and good gear.

 

[thumper_imp]

Just read my signature line and you'll know my stance....

Stay safe, ride fun.

 

[meowguy_imp]

I am a very safety conscious person in all of my activities and I think this is an important discussion. While I rarely see people riding metric bikes without helmets I always see those of the HD v-twin persuasion without. I think it was described as a "lifestyle" thing, but without life there is no "style".

If a person is willing to sustain road rash, that is certainly their choice. Body leather, no matter how expensive, will not prevent broken bones. It's the helmet that is important, not just to the rider, but to all of us. Severely head injured people usually end up on life support and become a drain on society because their medical care far out weights what they paid for health insurance, even if they were covered. If not covered, it comes out of our tax dollars in Medicaid. Even the cheapest, goofiest looking half helmet provides some protection. Everyone has a right for that reason, to care about whether or not people wear helmets at the minimum. You don't need $700 leather pants. I would bet almost all on this forum wear helmets and some sort of body protection. It goes with the type of bike we ride.

 

[oldgoat01_imp]

I think the issue and the point Guth was trying to make was in how the thread was presented, i.e., as a judgement around how one should be spending money and one's priorities were wrong if they chose a new exhaust over a better helmet. For example, I could start a thread as: "I have seen some studies that say a $150 helmet X provides as good of protection as a $600 Shoei. There are a lot of people out there wearing Shoei, so I'm curious to know why someone is spending so much more on a helmet. Is it really worth it?"
Or I could start a thread as: "I have seen studies showing that a $150 helmet is as good as a $600 Shoei. How can someone spend that extra money when we have community food banks struggling to support the poor. Aren't they like the 14 year old girl that cares more about the stitching on the back of their jeans then how durable they are? Why do people buy them?"
Both threads are asking the same question. Does it make sense to spend $600 on a helmet. However, the second example is dripping with judgement. To be sure, I've exaggerated the example; however, Guth's concern is that the OP's question/premise strayed away from a question of "what are people wearing, what brands and why?' by wrapping it with bike upgrades. (By the way, I have nothing against Shoei and I am a full-face helmet, ATTGAT proponent)

 

[emptysea]

The original post was a statement in the form of a question. He already knew his answer, which was that he would buy apparel before buying accessories. If he was truly interested in what apparel forum users wore, he should have just asked that. Instead, his original post has a tone of superiority, which I think is rubbing people the wrong way, intentionally or not.

The real problem with th question as stated is that it presumes that apparel v. accessories is an either/or question when, in fact both are completely independent choices that each rider makes.

I ride in full protective apparel at all times, btw. Olympia Switchback jacket and matching pants. Boots, gloves, and a full face Snell helmet. My choice and it's not better or worse than someone else's.

 

[Guth_imp]

For what it's worth, I've got nothing against the use of protective gear. I've spent more money on the stuff than what my Hawk GT cost me and I definitely make use of it.

It's the tone of the original post judging the spending priorities of others that has me on edge. If you guys want to discuss the virtues of protective gear, I would suggest starting a new thread. You can argue the merits of brand X v.s. brand Y to your hearts content as long as you try to keep it civil. The argument over use v.s. non-use of gear generally only tends to polarize folks. Wear what you feel is best for you and let others enjoy their ride as they wish. On the other hand, if they want to inquire about their options, then great.

If you can't understand why this thread has me on edge, my apologies, but I can't do much more to explain it.