All about motorbike clothing & protection.

[Owen_Easter]

Just purchased my first motorbike (17 years old, UK, Scotland, Highland) , it's a Yamaha YBR 125CC, I'm desperately needing motorbike gear asap.
I can't seem to find much relevant information on how much i should be spending. I can find boots for £500 and for £30, Jackets for £5000 and £50.

Pretty much what i need opinions and facts on is: What price range would you be looking at if you are riding a bike all year round and as much protection as possible.
It's inevitable I'll have an accident within the next 2 years on some kind of scale, I'm not scared of blood, grazing and bashing. As long as my gear can keep my bones from my breaking and my brain from smashing!! In Scotland we have cold winters and cool summers so I'm looking for gear which will be water proof / warm.

Any and all your opinions on educating a 17 year old, new biker on buying and using protective gear would be amazing. Thanks in advance (:

[slice]

Hi Owen, welcome to the wonderful world of motorcycling, you need a good pair of gloves first off, choice is yours of wearing a pair of trousers all day long or over trousers and jeans underneath,  jacket with a good armour (back and arms) and as you live in sunny Scotland you will also need them to be waterproof. As to cost well as you have already said the price is really "what are you prepared to pay"? Buy the best you can afford is the simple answer. Leather is good but leather trousers are heavy and sweaty, boots are one thing you should buy that you spare no expense on £30 pair might be ok for one year but make sure they are long not ankle boots, other than that just get what you can for now, you can always buy something else next year. One thing tho, you have no fairing on your bike so EVERYTHING is going to hit you right in the face which means your going to be sitting in a puddle of water every time it rains so make sure the trousers are waterproof at the crutch, nothing worse than turning up for a night out with trousers that look like you've pissed yourself.

Just one other thing mate, might be good to pop over to the New members section and say "Hi" folks are wary of one hit wonders.

[Malleus]

Hello and welcome - I would say price is often to do with branding. For example 'Gore-Tex' is a brand name and you will pay a premium for any branded clothing that uses it. Companies can make there own version of waterproof/breathable material (not always as good mind!) but can't call it 'Gore-Tex.' I think it is a case of shopping around, reading reviews etc. As Slice says boots are important (am I the only one here who has managed to run over their own foot? Also got it stuck between the peg and someones car - solid boot probably saved it from fracture) and of course helmet. At least with these two things I would go into a shop to check their fit and quality. I check all helmets on here: http://sharp.direct.gov.uk/  If you cant find the brand - I would say its not worth buying - if you cant find the model - look for something similar from the same brand for some indication of quality - also you may be surprised to see how well some of the mid-range/low priced helmets perform and how poorly some of the £400+ ones do. (Good example is the Halfords helmet £30 has higher rating than Shoei GT Air at £469)

As for jacket/trousers - this is up to your preference really as long as it has decent armor in and is abrasion resistant. For your weather I would say textile that is waterproof/breathable with removable lining for winter/summer.

When I first started out I cobbled together my kit from a fair bit of second hand stuff - only new things were boots and helmet. 

[Cynic]

Easy.

I found a firm called merlin. Most comfortable jacket i have ever had.

They have taken the belstaff process but used kevlar instead of cotton. Soft armour and basic back protection with room for a proper back protector.

Not leaked a drop so far. Was warm without anything more than a tee and a sweatshirt in 2degree weather.

About 200 quid. 

[Variomatic]

I have the same bike (if you need YBR Custom specific advice just ask). My gear consists of steel toe cap boots, a 26 year old leather jacket that I "aquired" from a friends friend. a KBC helmet and some RST gloves. Your bike has 10hp, as a result the chances are you're not going to be thrown down the road at 100mph, you don't need top of the rage gear. As far as jackets go, I'd recomend this: 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Spada-Air-Pro-Textile-Mesh-Motorcycle-Jacket-Black-/351718058726?var=&hash=item51e407aae6:m:mQaCTDnNhLkNYnO4tbsFXVA

It's a Spada Air pro, I have this exact jacket as well as my Dolomite Sportex, it's a warm, comfortable jacket, very strong, body armour. All round a good place to start, I wouldn't spend more than £70 on a jacket when on a little bike. 

As for Gloves, I use a set of RSTs' that I got on offer at a closing down sale, something similar to this will do just fine:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RST-MOTORCYCLE-MOTORBIKE-SHADOW-2-WATERPROOF-ARMOUR-TOURING-GLOVES-BLACK-NEW-/272134876655?var=&hash=item3f5c80adef:m:mtNAw9T5SmZPdV5iDMUT_6A

Just buy the best you can afford, but that said, don't go insane.

 

[drewpy]

there was some good stuff in Aldi a few months back, my boots lasted 2 years

they did jackets and trousers too

[clarke]

Steel toe-capped boots have the potential to guillotine your toes in an accident...

I'd say get a good helmet, waterproof boots and gloves, jacket with CE rated armour and trousers.

Waterproofing your clothes, you can either spend extra £££ on clothing or you could buy separate (cheap) waterproof oversuit - of course you need to be wearing that already when it rains or stop to put it on.

 

Enjoy biking

[Owen_Easter]

Really appreciate the advice guys.
I checked out everything that was recommended, read a lot of reviews, wanted to keep all my gear on one shopping list so i stuck to amazon also they do free returns on clothing if the size is wrong. (live so remotely I have to buy online)

Waterproof laptop & helmet bag https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/your-account/order-history?ie=UTF8&ref=ya_orders_css
Australian bikers trousers https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005VGE64Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Australian bikers jacket https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004HLYXJM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Gauntlets https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00NEJZDE2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Boots https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01E3X4CIA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Neck https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00FCNF31G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My priorities are : Weather Proofing > Comfort > Protection > Price > Style 
Only got half of my gear so far, should have the rest by Monday afternoon.

[slice]

That lot looks ok mate. but also remember to buy waterproofing spray for your gear, when you wash your kit it removes the factory waterproofing so you have to re-do it, something like this.

All sorts out there but very much the same stuff so don't be fooled by higher price is better product!

[KirriePete]

.... or just use Nikwax Techwash, available from camping shops, bike shops, even some Tescos carry it.

[Campaman]

Lidl also do a waterproofing spray in there W5 range

[mr bignal]

virtually all my stuff is off eBay!

 

surprising what good gear you can get second hand although i do buy helmets new.

only advice is to buy things a size too big, or if you are near enough, go round and try on.

 

i did buy some spade boots new, not really that robust or good wearing. important that boots are, in fact, waterproof.

 

on eBay you sometimes find situations where an individual is giving up biking so they are selling all their equipment

i feel these have the promise of being sound as there is a reason for parting with the items.