Other T
- Thread starter Bazlerker
- Start date
I love the nowadays Bell Bullit carbon Helmets, Rukka jacket, with Esquad (french) trousers in desgise as jeans.
One time had a tank slapper, and other than ribs nothing worse.
One time had a tank slapper, and other than ribs nothing worse.
Last edited by a moderator:
In the words of the late Barry Sheene from one of the old adds if you have a fifty pence head wear a fifty pence helmet.
I wear full face Arai lids on and off the road I am on the record of the benefits having went through a large four wheel drive after hitting it head on.
Full story on this is available online in an article on helmets published by the Belfast Telegraph motorcycling correspondent after my crash.
In short I was wearing a week old Arai RX7, which undoubtedly saved my life.
The hemet exploded dispearcing the impact.
I hit the front pillar with my left shoulder went through the windscreen and came out the back window.
The 89 year old registered blind gentleman driver had crested the hill on the wrong side of the road I had little time to brake.
My speed 39 at impact his speed 40 at impact result an explosion like scene and my nose detached from my face, ribs shoulder,collar bone and shoulder blade in bits all in all pretty bad but alive.
The maxillofacial surgeon who sewed my neb back on was nearly as amazed as me by the helmets performance.
Bike was destroyed car was destroyed I was alive which was a result.
I wear when touring my Rukka suit and a full face Arai helmet always.
Yes the gear is expensive but I am always as safe as I can be, warm and dry.
Have had several of these suits they last about six years 100 k miles, I change my lid every time it is timed out by scruitennering or if it gets dropped.
Arai took my helmet for research and gave me a nice new TT centenary lid which some twat stole of my bike by cutting the strap..
Al
I wear full face Arai lids on and off the road I am on the record of the benefits having went through a large four wheel drive after hitting it head on.
Full story on this is available online in an article on helmets published by the Belfast Telegraph motorcycling correspondent after my crash.
In short I was wearing a week old Arai RX7, which undoubtedly saved my life.
The hemet exploded dispearcing the impact.
I hit the front pillar with my left shoulder went through the windscreen and came out the back window.
The 89 year old registered blind gentleman driver had crested the hill on the wrong side of the road I had little time to brake.
My speed 39 at impact his speed 40 at impact result an explosion like scene and my nose detached from my face, ribs shoulder,collar bone and shoulder blade in bits all in all pretty bad but alive.
The maxillofacial surgeon who sewed my neb back on was nearly as amazed as me by the helmets performance.
Bike was destroyed car was destroyed I was alive which was a result.
I wear when touring my Rukka suit and a full face Arai helmet always.
Yes the gear is expensive but I am always as safe as I can be, warm and dry.
Have had several of these suits they last about six years 100 k miles, I change my lid every time it is timed out by scruitennering or if it gets dropped.
Arai took my helmet for research and gave me a nice new TT centenary lid which some twat stole of my bike by cutting the strap..
Al
Although I still have the leather jacket I got in the 1960s, I haven't worn it on a motorcycle for decades. I gave a lot of thought to protective gear when preparing for the 2018 Cannonball and, as a result, upgraded my wardrobe at that time to modern standards. Wearing protective gear means it takes longer to get ready to ride, but I force myself not to take shortcuts.
Head:
-- Full-face helmets
Top:
-- Several padded Gortex jackets with shoulder, elbow and back protection (one from Alpinestar that's even wired for adding an internal airbag, which I don't have)
-- Padded under-jacket armor by Bohn with shoulder, back and elbow protection
-- Padded desert-weight (i.e. 90+ ℉) Bohn mesh jacket that's not nearly as protective as the above jackets, but, hopefully its shoulder, elbow and back padding would be way better than nothing in a crash.
Bottom:
-- Padded jeans with Kevlar and knee protection
-- Padded shorts by Bohn that I wear under the padded jeans to add tailbone and hip protection
-- Padded long underwear by Bohn with tailbone, hip and knee protection that I wear with regular jeans
-- Bespoke leather pants
Gloves:
-- Ranging from short "dirt-bike" leather gloves to "road-racing" gloves with extra protection for knuckles
Feet:
"Road racing" and "Trials"-type boots
"Normal" leather boots that are easier to walk in
I also have a one-piece set of full leathers, which would offer more protection than some of the above, especially for abrasion, but the protective gear I actually would wear is better than "better" gear I likely wouldn't take the time to put on. No matter what, safety gear is a compromise. Having only a helmet would save someone from a cracked skull if their foot slipped on the smooth concrete of a gasoline station, but no amount of gear would help if rear-ended by a truck going 60 mph if they were stopped at a stoplight. Some safety gear is way better than none, but everyone has to make their own risk/benefit analysis when deciding what to wear.
The following image shows me in fairly typical riding togs when it's neither too hot (90+ ℉) nor too cold (50– ℉). The extra padding under the jacket and padded jeans, rather than steroid-enhanced muscles, is responsible for added bulk.
However, I was wearing non-protective ski gloves that day because it was predicted to be cold, and being able to feel my fingers as I ride also is safety-related. A few days earlier in the Cannonball I had worn gloves that were too light, and when I stopped for lunch it took several minutes for sufficient feeling to return to my fingers before I could feel the strap in order to remove my helmet.
p.s. in the interests of full disclosure, 50 years ago my safety gear wasn't quite the same as it is today:
p.p.s. The riding clothes that got me across the country on the Cannonball were:
helmet
(2 pr.) boots
(6 pr.) riding gloves
(2) armored riding jackets with zip-out liners
(2) Bohn armored jackets
(2) Bohn armored shorts
(2) armored jeans
Bates leather pants
Plastic rain jacket and pants
Kidney belt
Thermal bib pants
Balaclava
Fleece
Thermal neck guard
In most cases the duplicates were to allow for laundry at what I correctly assumed would be scarce opportunities at the motels each night (i.e. ~100 Cannonballers with typically only one or two washers and dryers), and to allow longer than just overnight for rain-soaked jackets and pants to dry. In the end, I only had to use the rain jacket and pants once, for a light-but-steady mist a few hours one afternoon, that looked like it could turn into a downpour at any moment. I had thought about buying something like a one-piece Aerostitch riding suit for the Cannonball, but decided against it because it was expensive and I knew I would never use it again afterwards.
Head:
-- Full-face helmets
Top:
-- Several padded Gortex jackets with shoulder, elbow and back protection (one from Alpinestar that's even wired for adding an internal airbag, which I don't have)
-- Padded under-jacket armor by Bohn with shoulder, back and elbow protection
-- Padded desert-weight (i.e. 90+ ℉) Bohn mesh jacket that's not nearly as protective as the above jackets, but, hopefully its shoulder, elbow and back padding would be way better than nothing in a crash.
Bottom:
-- Padded jeans with Kevlar and knee protection
-- Padded shorts by Bohn that I wear under the padded jeans to add tailbone and hip protection
-- Padded long underwear by Bohn with tailbone, hip and knee protection that I wear with regular jeans
-- Bespoke leather pants
Gloves:
-- Ranging from short "dirt-bike" leather gloves to "road-racing" gloves with extra protection for knuckles
Feet:
"Road racing" and "Trials"-type boots
"Normal" leather boots that are easier to walk in
I also have a one-piece set of full leathers, which would offer more protection than some of the above, especially for abrasion, but the protective gear I actually would wear is better than "better" gear I likely wouldn't take the time to put on. No matter what, safety gear is a compromise. Having only a helmet would save someone from a cracked skull if their foot slipped on the smooth concrete of a gasoline station, but no amount of gear would help if rear-ended by a truck going 60 mph if they were stopped at a stoplight. Some safety gear is way better than none, but everyone has to make their own risk/benefit analysis when deciding what to wear.
The following image shows me in fairly typical riding togs when it's neither too hot (90+ ℉) nor too cold (50– ℉). The extra padding under the jacket and padded jeans, rather than steroid-enhanced muscles, is responsible for added bulk.
However, I was wearing non-protective ski gloves that day because it was predicted to be cold, and being able to feel my fingers as I ride also is safety-related. A few days earlier in the Cannonball I had worn gloves that were too light, and when I stopped for lunch it took several minutes for sufficient feeling to return to my fingers before I could feel the strap in order to remove my helmet.
p.s. in the interests of full disclosure, 50 years ago my safety gear wasn't quite the same as it is today:
p.p.s. The riding clothes that got me across the country on the Cannonball were:
helmet
(2 pr.) boots
(6 pr.) riding gloves
(2) armored riding jackets with zip-out liners
(2) Bohn armored jackets
(2) Bohn armored shorts
(2) armored jeans
Bates leather pants
Plastic rain jacket and pants
Kidney belt
Thermal bib pants
Balaclava
Fleece
Thermal neck guard
In most cases the duplicates were to allow for laundry at what I correctly assumed would be scarce opportunities at the motels each night (i.e. ~100 Cannonballers with typically only one or two washers and dryers), and to allow longer than just overnight for rain-soaked jackets and pants to dry. In the end, I only had to use the rain jacket and pants once, for a light-but-steady mist a few hours one afternoon, that looked like it could turn into a downpour at any moment. I had thought about buying something like a one-piece Aerostitch riding suit for the Cannonball, but decided against it because it was expensive and I knew I would never use it again afterwards.
Last edited:
I'm afraid because I'm short and fat (5 ft 6ins tall, 44" waist with a 29" leg) any bike gear is a terrible fit on me, I have Richa Jacket and trousers because they're the only thing that remotely fitted, but as soon as I sit on the bike the jacket rides up so it looks like those things that used to have shoulder pads, but the pads are missing, and there's spare material everywhere.
The trousers are ok apart from although being "short" locate the knee pads below my knees.
So if the weathers ok its jeans or jogging pants and some sort of jacket/padded shirt as I can no longer get on my leather jacket.
The trousers are ok apart from although being "short" locate the knee pads below my knees.
So if the weathers ok its jeans or jogging pants and some sort of jacket/padded shirt as I can no longer get on my leather jacket.
The leather jacket I have was made to measure, but that was 30 years and 4 stone ago, I hate to think of the price these days.BKS Leathers makes bespoke motorcycle gear in either textile or leather..
Welcome | BKS Leather
www.bksleather.co.uk
Nineteen years ago this month a half wit jewelry store clerk leaving work at 2100hrs ran a red light while talking on the phone to his wife. The first indication that he had screwed up was when I went across the hood of his Jeep when he T boned me on my '67 Moto Guzzi V7. He later said that at first he thought he had hit a trash can, then he thought perhaps a large dog, he finally realized he had his a motorcyclist as went over the hood. The following driver was sure I was dead as I bounced down the road like a basket ball/rag doll. The first indication that I was alive was when I slid to a stop, jumped up and ran for the side of the road. The police officer on the seen said he had seen less car - motorcycle accidents result in the rider dying instantly. I credit my survival to several things, not the least of which was divine intervention. The more immediate and apparent factors were wearing a a full coverage HJC helmet, which was totally destroy as it took a MASSIVE amount of abuse that would have been imparted to my face and head. I still have that helmet prominently displayed to remind me why helmets are important. I credit the heavy leather jacket with padding that my ex-girl friend had bought me a few years before as Christmas present. We may not see each other anymore, but I will never have a bad thing to say about her. She may never know but she saved my life. My heavy leather riding gloves and my Frank Thomas boots. Surprisingly my regular old Levi blue jeans hardly suffered, I suspect because I bounced and rolled, but did not really slide.
Even though I am not legally required to wear a helmet when I ride, I will always wear a helmet, preferably an HJC full face, I now prefer a modular as it is easier to don with my glasses. Either the same jacket as I had it re-dyed after the intentional or a First Gear textile jacket with padding. I say intentional and not accident as he chose to pay more attention to the phone and his wife than the road and traffic.
I later learned from the same police officer that was first on the scene that the car driver lost his license and had to move out of state to get a license and retain a job. I know it was the same police officer as he was first on the scene at another intentional I was involved in at the same location and he remembered me. This time a woman chose to pay more attention to her cell phone and her girlfriend on the other end rather than road and traffic. This nit-wit did not see the 200 pound bumble bee ( me wearing a white full face HJC helmet and a black and yellow First Gear Kilimanjaro jacket ) astride a 500 pound praying mantis (my green '95 Triumph Sprint with top box) she ran into the back of me at a stop light. What is even more startling was she failed to see the large white moving van I was behind was also stopped.
The cell phone is the bane of modern human existence.
Even though I am not legally required to wear a helmet when I ride, I will always wear a helmet, preferably an HJC full face, I now prefer a modular as it is easier to don with my glasses. Either the same jacket as I had it re-dyed after the intentional or a First Gear textile jacket with padding. I say intentional and not accident as he chose to pay more attention to the phone and his wife than the road and traffic.
I later learned from the same police officer that was first on the scene that the car driver lost his license and had to move out of state to get a license and retain a job. I know it was the same police officer as he was first on the scene at another intentional I was involved in at the same location and he remembered me. This time a woman chose to pay more attention to her cell phone and her girlfriend on the other end rather than road and traffic. This nit-wit did not see the 200 pound bumble bee ( me wearing a white full face HJC helmet and a black and yellow First Gear Kilimanjaro jacket ) astride a 500 pound praying mantis (my green '95 Triumph Sprint with top box) she ran into the back of me at a stop light. What is even more startling was she failed to see the large white moving van I was behind was also stopped.
The cell phone is the bane of modern human existence.
We are a strange bunch, After a Nasty one, Nuff said,
Didn't think I would want to ride again,
Could not give it up,
Missed my First race I was going to do,
But started 17 years of racing, On the next Cadwell Park Race,
But a lot slower !, Than I thought I would be,
Always wonder how fast I would have been, IF ?.
Didn't think I would want to ride again,
Could not give it up,
Missed my First race I was going to do,
But started 17 years of racing, On the next Cadwell Park Race,
But a lot slower !, Than I thought I would be,
Always wonder how fast I would have been, IF ?.
When riding in very hot countries such as Ireland!
I use Rokker bike jeans which have the D30 armour for the knees and hips.
On a run out one day I watched a friend slide up the road at around seventy miles an hour wearing same jeans, no burn holes no road rash I was impressed enough to buy a pair.
I was watching a kids science program on the BBC, "Absolute genius with Dick and Dom" it is a fantastic educational science show, one program they explained how engineered liquids are used for impact protection, when struck said liquids become solids they featured the D3O orange armour which is used by lots of bike gear manufacturers.
They were pouring it over their hands and whacking the pile of goo stuff over their paws with a hammer very impressive bit of science in action.
One thing I have not mentioned is boots, I use Altberg bike boots for knocking about and touring, I have had the same pair for 35 years still water tight, made to measure cost me 140 which was a fortune back in the day.
Altberg are a family firm of craftsmen in Yorkshire.
You can have them serviced or repaired resoled even you can tell these guys ride as the boots are class.
Worn by the cops here as they love the comfort of the footwear when eating donuts and watching TV.
On the track I wear Daytona boots similar age still going strong, my track leathers are BKS they tell a story, repairs, expansions and a bit like you Chris my race leathers have the rings of the tree motive... a visual growth time stamp,as I have grown they have been expanded also.
Many cows have given their hides to protect mine.
I have tested them a couple of times some slide offs causing minimal scuffing and burns.
Al
I use Rokker bike jeans which have the D30 armour for the knees and hips.
On a run out one day I watched a friend slide up the road at around seventy miles an hour wearing same jeans, no burn holes no road rash I was impressed enough to buy a pair.
I was watching a kids science program on the BBC, "Absolute genius with Dick and Dom" it is a fantastic educational science show, one program they explained how engineered liquids are used for impact protection, when struck said liquids become solids they featured the D3O orange armour which is used by lots of bike gear manufacturers.
They were pouring it over their hands and whacking the pile of goo stuff over their paws with a hammer very impressive bit of science in action.
One thing I have not mentioned is boots, I use Altberg bike boots for knocking about and touring, I have had the same pair for 35 years still water tight, made to measure cost me 140 which was a fortune back in the day.
Altberg are a family firm of craftsmen in Yorkshire.
You can have them serviced or repaired resoled even you can tell these guys ride as the boots are class.
Worn by the cops here as they love the comfort of the footwear when eating donuts and watching TV.
On the track I wear Daytona boots similar age still going strong, my track leathers are BKS they tell a story, repairs, expansions and a bit like you Chris my race leathers have the rings of the tree motive... a visual growth time stamp,as I have grown they have been expanded also.
Many cows have given their hides to protect mine.
I have tested them a couple of times some slide offs causing minimal scuffing and burns.
Al
I agree with Bazlerker, having the right gear on is so important. When Russ and I had our accident and went bouncing down a Belgian motorway our gear probably saved us. I may have wrecked my ankle and Russ effectively broke his neck but we didn’t have a mark on us. My full-face helmet was completely battered on all sides from bouncing down the tarmac but all I got was concussion. I was wearing completely new gear which wasn’t cheap and it all got wrecked on its first outing but it was still worth every penny.