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Riders GearHelmets, gloves, jackets, etc. You need to protect yourself from everything and anything. So what should you buy? Check out what others have to say. Riders Gear Forum sponsored by Sportbike Track Gear
High side at VIR. 1/3 asphalt, 1/3 grass, 1/3 asphalt
AGV Forza two piece leathers - Held up great. Leather split between shoulder blades because of the weird angle that my shoulder hit, could not raise my left arm for about 2 months afterward. Repaired for less than $50 by the Korean folk, and still in use.
HJC CL-15 - Visor ripped off, top-back-sides trashed, total loss. Remember waking up when the ambulance arrived.
Low side at Barber. 75 feet of asphalt, 20 feet of gravel trap.
A* SG-1 two piece leathers - Knee puck area seams failed, but leather was not compromised. $25 fix from the Korean folk, and still in action.
Suomy Vandel - Took a hit on the right side, rashed up the visor and the removable piece that covers the visor catch.
Joe Rocket Ballistic Gloves - Palm of right hand shows wear, but no failure of leather or seams.
Summery:
AGV Forza- Held up when needed. Heavier than most suits but sure is nice to have that extra cow between you and the asphalt.
HJC CL-15- Visor popping off is a concern. Getting knocked out is more of a concern.
A* SG-1- Held up to a slide. Still used for the track.
Suomy Vandel- Stayed conscious, guess that is something.
Joe Rocket Gloves- Did what I paid for them to do.
High Sides Suck More Than Low Sides
__________________
I carry a gun because I can't carry a cop.
Going around a curve, hit gravel, lowside bucked off.
HJC CL12 Session helmet--Saved my head, first part to impact the ground.
Cortech Impulse II Leather Jacket-- Small scuffs in leather, armor is first rate.
A* SP-2 full gauntlet gloves-- scuffs on palm, no leather failure.
I had on Bates zip side boots and jeans. No damage to either. I fractured my left wrist and right collarbone, no breaks.
I recommend all this gear. I have the HJC AC-12 Yikes III now, and it's definitely an upgrade from the CL 12. The CL12 is a good starter helmet, though.
I now have the Forcefield back and chest protector. Haven't crashed with that on (Thank God) but it's a great piece of gear as well.
Ride safe.
medic
Posts: 493
Casino Cash: $3051
Sportbike: 06 600RR track only
Crash:
100ish MPH lowside turned highside Barber Motorsports Park turn 3 into 4.
Gear:
Teknic Speedstar Roo suit: Great job but required repair. Zero damage to my body.
Alpinestars GP Tech gloves: Gloves held up well, showing very little signs of wear, I will continue to wear these. I did however brake my 3rd and 4th metacarple in my right hand. (that means pinky and ring finger hand bones) I'm pretty sure that the break was caused by my body weight rolling over my hand in a very particular way. No glove could have prevented the break.
Oxtar TCS boots: little scuffed up no big deal. No damage to my feet
Shoei RF1000: few little scuffs. Never really hit my head.
my brush with the pavement seems wimpy compared with those that come before but here it is
low side at about 20 while making a left hand turn. hit gravel and went down. the intersection was slanted so i slid about 30 ft and bike about 45 ft.
helmet: scorpion exo 700. not scratches or anything. i must have held my head up
jacket: frank thomas (don't remember the model, some cheap winter jacket) held up great. some scuff marks, but i still use it. can't really tell where it hit. sure did save my arm and shoulder from nasty things.
pants: tourmaster textile pants. held up great. saved the leg. i had some bruising, but nothing else.
boots: some random leather work boots. works great. saved the ankle. i had some major bruising around my left ankle i'm guessing from the bike sliding off my leg. i guess that it would have been worse with just Kevlar sandals on.
see signiture for any lessons learned
__________________
Words of advice learned through experience:
1. Protection pays off
2. BEWARE THE DAMN GRAVEL!
If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions?
Scott Adams
Low-sided on asphalt at about 30 mph in a outside turn. Slid maybe 40 feet on my left leg, mostly knee and hip. Wearing Olympia Moto Sports Recon pants, redwing work boots, joe rocket perforated leather jacket, icon gloves, and a Shark helmet.
No damage to me, just a little stiffness in my left shoulder the next day. A few scratches to my bike nothing more.
All held up great. Put a small, quarter sized abrasion tear on the left knee where the fabric rubbed against the pavement but the mesh lining underneath and the armor were unscathed. Still using it all, would rate it all as great. BUT, will be buying leathers as I can afford them.
The pants:
__________________
Aids or Cancer, Democrat or Republican, I pick none of the above.
My 2nd accident test my gear the most. (1st was a 5-10 miles per hour tip over...)
45mph in traffic. Lock the front brake for a nice high side half on street, and sliding to stop on dirt/gravel shoulder.
Helmet: Scorpion EXO-700 - Definatly saved my Jaw and right side of my face as my head bounced across the pavment 4 or 5 times.
Jacket: A* Stage Perf. Leather - Superb protection. Only minor scuffs on the arm and shoulder. I did fracture my elbow, but the shoulder and elbow armor did an amazing job.
Gloves: A* GP Plus guantlet style - Quality protection. The plams took a grip of rash, but better the leather and padding then my hand. The leather pocket for the padding in the lower palm did tear a bit, but I was able to repair it. Over all the gloves worked great.
Icon Leg protector: Saved my knees from the initial impact, but as I slid, the pulled down a little exposing my knee to a little bit of road. I was wearing these under my jeans. Over all, they did their job pretty good. I was left with only a small scrape about the size of a quarter.
I was just wearing heavy duty work boots and had no issues with my feet or ankles.
Overall: Scorpion will be my next helmet, regardless of how big it makes my head look. A* has served me well ,and will continue to do so. The Icon leg protectors were awesome, I just wish they were made for guys with smaller legs.
i've had two accidents:
the infamous left run
i broadsided a van at 15-25 mph.
shoei rf1000- saved my head. i not only head-butted the van, but when i bounced back off it, i clearly remember my helmet bouncing hard off the pavement as i landed 5 ft back on my side.
joe rocket alter ego jacket- didn't do much, not much was asked of it, but the shoulder padding probably helped when i landed.
a* sp2 gloves- i broke my right wrist, but no glove will help that. the carbon armor on the right hand was dented in, and i lost the top few layers of skin on top of my hand and wrist from abrasion inside the glove, very minor. the glove armor probably save me from braking a few of my knuckles and more skin loss. i'm still wearing them today.
sneakers- had i been wearing my sidi on-road touring boots, i wouldn't have had a 1"x.5" hole in my right shin (from my frame slider). my shin bone was visible through the hole.
jeans- see above
my second accident
i hit gravel in canada on the highway because i wasn't paying enough attention to the road. i was on the highway doing somewhere between 60 and 70 mph, accelerating through an easy right turn. somehow got a tankslapper, went off the road, hit the roadside gravel, went down on left side.
shoei rf1000- did it's job. my head hit all kinds of stuff on the bike, the gravel and the weeds. it was scuffed all over, my neck was a little sore, but that's not what a helmet's for.
a* sp2 gloves- the same gloves i've had for a few years and that last mishap. they took a beating from sliding on the gravel, with numerous lacerations. the extra layers of leather in the important areas did it's job. no stitching came undone, and my hands were unmarked. i should probably replace these, they're pretty old, but they're still perfectly useable.
sidi on-road waterproof touring boots, about 16" tall- these are not race boots, but they support the ankle pretty well. my left ankle got all kinds of twisted toward the back of the bike as i went down, but i walked away. the front of the boot was badly mauled up, but the stitching's fine and i'm still gonna wear them. without these, i'd prolly have a broken ankle right now and no big toe on the left.
aerostich one-piece touring suit- a little (20ft or so?) sliding in pure gravel before i went into the weeds/gravel. abrasion marks on the shoulders and ass, abrasions all over the stitching in these areas. nothing came undone and the suit needs no repair. the armor protected me well, i just had a little skin missing from the side of my left knee, kinda like a rugburn. at close to $800 a pop, they better work. plus they're waterproof.
i'd say my gear helped quite a bit. as i always say, luck favors the prepared. but gear or no gear, had i hit the van perfectly prependicular, i prolly would've broken my neck.
had there been a guardrail by the side of that highway in canada, i'd be sliced meat.
yeah, i consider myself luck, and lately, always prepared.
apor
__________________
"Those who sacrifice freedom in the name of security deserve neither."
I went down at about 30 mph. I was coming out of a turn and saw some sand off to the right. I thought it was far enough over to the right that I could make it. I thought wrong.
I low sided and slid about 20 feet, maybe more.
Anyhow my gear was as follows.
KBC TK-8 Helmet. FF, took a nasty hit on the back but saved my head.
Jacket was a textile,mesh by First Gear, I took a bit of rash but nothing too bad. Its still usuable too.
Gloves were A* SMX and they worked well, but dont seem very well made. My left one was worn down a bit and I wasnt even going that fast.
Jeans- Levi's 501's started to wear through ever so slightly. But no rash just a little bit red.
Boots, just some high steel toed hiking boots. Better than my Airwalks I figured.
All in all my gear saved me a LOT of pain. Cheap gear beats no gear for me. if i went down in a tshirt, god help me.
No helmet? I would be typing this. 20mph is plenty fast to kill you or make you a turnip for life.
Im a firm gear believer!
__________________
"He called me a rapist and a recluse, I am not a recluse." Mike Tyson
5 crashes (last season), all racing crashes (mostly bad luck)
Komodo FX suit -- did great! no complaints, kept me cool too
Sidi boots (whatever their top line racing boots are called now) --- GREAT! only issue is the wearing out soles due to racing rearsets (RRW magazine has a solution in current issue though). I went through 2 pair of boots for that reason this season. Did crash in them, but damage is barely noticeable, I can't imagine what you would have to do to make these boots unwearable
A* GP Tech Gloves --- 5 crashes and still wearing them on track and street, I LOVE these gloves!
Scorpion Exo-700 helmets (been through about 7 over the past few years, 5 this year lol) --- Awesome again, got a concussion from my last crash but I flew high and landed HARD on my head, so it was a miracle thats as bad as it was
Crash 1: simple lowside @ Jennings, didn't slide along the pavement very long at all before going into the grass so gear was not very damaged at all. Helmet barely touched the ground, couldn't use it anymore but wasn't a hard enough hit to "test" it
Crash 2: Lowside at Talladega (two riders crashed in front of me and between their bodies and their bikes, I had to tighten my line FAST to avoid running over someone, lost the front trying to do that). I was actually wearing an old set of Spidi leathers (bought used, no idea what model they are but it wasn't a current one). Now that set of leathers had been through quite a few crashes previously by myself and the previous owner, the seem in the left knee gave out (granted by that time the leather had been worn down to nothing so its a miracle the seam lasted that long) and I got a small chunk of rash on my knee, but nothing bad at all. Everything else held up perfectly, helmet barely touched the ground again.
Crash 3: Back at Jennings, 110 degree weather + worn to hell tires + an overheated and semi delerious rider = mysterious lowside. I slid for a bit longer than in previous crashes and Jennings has some pretty abrasive pavement but all gear did amazingly well. By this point leathers were looking rough but no issues at all with their integrity. Hit my head pretty hard and didn't even have a headache, helmet did great as well
Crash 4: WERA GNF @ Road Atlanta, was practicing braking later for 10A, going down the hill passed my previous brake marker, pulled on the brake lever at the very last second and... NOTHING. Not a pleasant experience. I didn't go down hard, made it in the gravel a good ways straight up got down from 130mph or so (SV650, just a guess on speed, never really looked) to about 40mph before I finally layed it over. This time I bounced/ rolled more than slid. Wasn't bad on gear, everything did well. Helmet was roughed up pretty good from the gravel but wasn't hit really hard.
Crash 5: Got hit going into the AMA chicane the next day (dammit). Flew pretty high from what I was told and landed smack on my head (VERY VERY HARD). I was unconcious until partway through the ambulance ride to the hospital. Had a pretty hefty concussion, considering how the crash went down, it wasn't so bad. Helmet was obviously pretty well damaged. Had a big chunk of "rash" on the back from the initial hit and as small bit on the front and side.
broke my collarbone pretty good, common injury so not a fault of the gear. Leathers, boots, and gloves area all still useable.
This does seem to deserve to be a sticky. Post up pics when possible.
I'll add my MINOR get-off from about 4 years ago. It was a 15 mph high-side. As I was flying through the air about 6 feet, I had time to think "this is what hitting the ground is going to feel like". Zooni suit had some minor abrasions as did my Helimot gloves. Both still worn regularly today.
__________________ Moderator - Help me fix it and riders' gear. Send me a PM with questions, suggestions, or issues.
Never out-ride your ability to react (even stop) within the distance you can see (at least on the street).
Got a little bite on the dragon while playing way too hard. Lowsided my bike in a tight left corner going about 60 with my foot caught under it for about half of the slide.
Frank Thomas 2 piece Strike 2 suit: This bad boy held up great. There are slight scuffs and some dye missing on the lower back or the jacket and butt of the pants. Other than that, it did a great job protecting me. I still wear them today. People talk a lot of trash about these leathers, but they came through for me when I needed them to.
Joe Rocket Speedmaster BP: Didn't hit my back to hard, but the slight hit I did take didn't do any damage at all. I'll give the BP credit for this. I still use it, but wonder whether I should replace it because maybe it's a one use item.
Frank Thomas Kanga gloves: They did some dragging, but not much. I still use them today and can't tell that they've ever been down.
Sidi Boots (don't remember model name): I am amazed that I have a foot that still works. It was caught under a heavy machine sliding at 60 mph down the pavement and I got up with out a problem. You won't see me riding without proper boots ever again. I would buy them again, but got a better deal on a pair of Oxtars, so I've switched.
Riders Gear Forum sponsored by Sportbike Track Gear
. I run into burning buildings for no pay, love trauma, and I'm not happy unless there's a good chance someone could die. Then it's a good day.
