My newest midlife crisis

[Neal]

Thanks everyone. Some very good advice here. I took the MSF Rider course a few weeks ago and the one thing they stressed over and over was protective riding gear. I've been a lot more observant of other riders since then and noticing what they're wearing. The other day I saw a guy in a T-shirt, shorts, no helmet and sandals. Sandals... I couldn't believe it. During my course I was riding around and took a tight corner and I ended up dragging my heel a little bit. Kind of startling but it didn't hurt. My instructor told me that it's not an uncommon occurrence and is why you need to wear boots. I can't even imagine what it would have felt like in sandals.

As far as riding gear goes, here's it all sorta in a nutshell.

Armored Mesh is great because it's mesh so you get air flow so you stay cooler then you would in a leather jacket and the armored mesh jackets have armor where you would most likely need them should you fall off the bike or get thrown off(shoulders, elbows, hips(some, not all) and complete back. I wear this and one thing I will tell you from first hand experience is that you need to make sure that it's tight fitting around your elbows. I never wanted mine tight because it felt awkward and when a car pulled out in front of me and I tried to avoid and I ended up laying down my bike I hit elbow/knee first and because I didn't have the snap fitting things tightened how it should of been when my elbow hit, the armor in the elbow section rotated towards my forearm so I slid on with no protection on my elbow. I had regular jeans on as well, and they were ripped from my hip to my knee and where I hit with my elbow, I now have a nice scar that was to the bone. It's not exactly on my elbow but slightly towards my forearm but had I had the fitting where it should of been I wouldn't of had it at all. So this lesson is to always make sure your stuff fits you, it may seem a bit uncomfortable but you'll get used to it and it'll save your hide.

Leather Jackets are hot yes, but a true leather jacket offers one hell of a protection. I've watched people at the drag strip(requires full leather for racing) go down with full leather and get up with nothing more then a bruise. One accident I'll never forget is a guy on a Hayabusa laid it down doing around 120-130 and ended up doing tumbles. He got up and all he had was a quarter size bruise on his elbow. Leather definitely makes a difference and it protects you more then mesh.

As far as pants go, you can get stuff like double denim from motorcycle-superstore that provides good protection, but leather pants are the best bet, though I would never wear them even after being in my accident.

Then we have boots. Best Boots Ever. I've always used those and I've tried on many, many different ones and those by far are my favorite. They have a slip resistant sole which is good in case you ever have to stop at a red light and you put your foot down in a oil spot(it's happened to me). They have the little nobs on the toe to get better grip and they're also padded more right there so it's easier and less pressure on your toe. You cannot go wrong with those boots, plus it's leather.