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This is really more of a links page and what works for me and
what doesn't and what lots and lots of riding experience has taught me. It's my personal experiences and what I like and
dislike. I hope it can be of use to others.
Gloves:
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| I wear Held Gloves and Held Gloves only. I wear
2273's for touring
and 2277's for track days. I went down at 70mph
with the 2273's and got no damage to my hands. I then sent them in to be fixed for about
40 bucks and I wear them now for daily wear (over 40,000 miles now and still
going strong). Not only are they
incredibly protective, but the comfort is fantastic. I put about
40,000 miles of riding on my first pair of 273's until they finally wore
out. Great gloves. Available from Helimot European Accessories
and some other places. Trust me on this, totally worth the money.
(about 130 bucks for the 2275's and about $170 for the 2277's.)(picture
from RPM Cycles) |
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| A glove that isn't worth the money, in my opinion, are the Olympia's.
Sure, they are cheaper (by lots) than the Helds, but they always start
coming apart from just wearing them in 3,000 miles (so what happens in a
crash?) and the color bleeds through in the rain. |
Boots:
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| I wear Daytona boots (also available from Helimot). I wore the touring models till I crashed. (with
absolutely no injuries at all and then sold them to Terry) and currently
have another touring set for everyday use and a pair of black Daytona Winners for
track days that just arrived. Comfortable, good value, incredible
protection and waterproof. You can't ask for much more. I now have a set of Daytona
boots for dual sporting. I'm a Daytona buyer for
life. |
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Another really good set of boots for sport riding and
track days are the
Sidi Vertebrae's. I've been very impressed by what I've seen and
lots of my friends wear them. No damage from anyone I know who crashed
while wearing them. (note that this is not the same thing as
saying they prevented the damage) |
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Riding
Suits:
| Obviously I already have a set of competition weight leathers from Syed,
which you can see more on my leathers page. I'm
very impressed with their quality and knock on wood, I won't have to test
them. But for everyday riding and touring, a leather suit just plain sucks. It's hot, not waterproof and a complete pain to get in and out
of and no pockets to store anything. So, I bought a riding suit. |
| For used/new/cheap leathers for track days and such, check out www.newenough.com.
Great people and good prices. I've been impressed. They also
carry some new stuff from assorted manufacturers. |
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| My first suit was a First Gear Solo Expedition. It was waterproof,
and reasonably comfortable and fast to get on and off. But it was hot,
had no ventilation and most importantly, it had no hard armor. This
was very bad in retrospect, because I broke my shoulder in a simple fall
that I think any hard armor would have prevented. Another
review. |
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| Thus, after my crash I bought a new Aerostich
Roadcrafter one piece suit. It too is waterproof (mostly) but it has
lots and lots of pockets and hard armor. I bought mine with the back
protector, knee pads and extra armor. It is the only way to go.
If you are at all serious about riding, you deserve to have one of these
made for you. For long tours and rides and such, I prefer the
Roadcrafter over the Darien. (picture from
Areostich). |
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I figured I should buy a dual sport outfit, and
having learned my lesson once, I went and bought the Darien setup from
Aerostich.
I got the bright screaming yellow jacket with black pants (to match
the bumblebeemer.) Suspenders to hold up pants on two piece suits works very
well. I use this outfit mostly as my commuting wear, mostly because the
bright screaming yellow keeps people awake. (picture from
Areostich) |
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Other Accessories:
| Once you have tried electric gear, you will never go back. I run a Widder
electric vest and it's just amazing how nice the world can be at 20
degrees. Not only is it a great product but Widder really supports the
whole riding community. Even if you don't have a BMW, buy the
BMW plugs and set up your connection to the bike that way. (looks like
a small lighter plug). Better connection and much easier to fumble
with when your gloves are on. |
| I have a Shoei
head (you either have a Arai head or a Shoei head, buy the best and protect
your head). So, I've worn RF200, RF700's and am currently on
RF800's. The RF800 just perfectly fits my head. I can be
comfortable wearing it for 23 hours
straight. I have one for track days and one for street riding. If you have an Arai head, well, I'm
impressed with their helmets, but it doesn't fit my head and I haven't worn one so can't offer an
opinion. |
| Heated Grips. Ok, so mine come standard on the BMW (best reason to buy
a BMW) but you can buy some from Kimpex or Hot
Grips. Truly great
investment, really expands the riding season. |
| Gold Bond Medicated Powder. Don't laugh until you have tried it on
those long riding days. |
| Baby Powder. Yes, seriously. At track days, sprinkle this on
your bare skin before putting on the leathers and you feel a dramatic
increase in comfort and ability to move around. It also keeps the
sweat down (absorbs the moisture), so you can get in and out of your suit. |
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| Back Protectors. The Areostich's come with smaller
ones, which seems like a reasonable investment. But for real
protection (esp. on the track), I wanted something better.
There is a good article about back protectors at www.roadracingworld.com here
which helped me make up my mind. I bought a Knox back
protector. It's badged as a Teknic, but it's Knox inside. |
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