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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
Well, the inevitable happened this past week at Willow Springs Raceway. I went out for the third session and got a little over zealous on the first lap and the rear washed out on me in turn 4B. I know it’s an excuse but I had a good second session and just went at it a little too hard in the third…cold tires.
The good thing is, my bike held up great. I was doing about 60 mph when I went down and the Motovation USA frame sliders held up perfectly. The KR Tuned bar end on the right side took the remainder of the damage with some minor rash on the stock exhaust, and a slight scuff on the right side of the tail section.
When the back end washed, I ended up on my right side, mostly on my elbow and forearm. I have to say; I am really surprised at how well this suit held up after some of the comments that have been posted on this forum. The only damage my suit had was a little rash on the right shoulder and the stitching came loose on the forearm padding on the right sleeve. There is a little scuff above the knee slider on the right leg and other than that, the suit is perfect.
My helmet never touched the ground, and the Spidi gloves I wore have a small scuff on the ulna protector. The boots have one little scuff on the outside of the ankle of the right boot.
All in all, considering I fell, it was a productive day. After taking off the right slider and replacing the motor mount bolt, I was back in Tech for inspection less than 20 minutes after being taken off the track and rode four more sessions throughout the afternoon.
Any of you guys or gals looking to get a one-piece suit, the MotoGP one-piece kangaroo suit is worth the money. Some of the online retailers offer them for around $500.00. I bought mine from Lithium Motorsports last summer for $525.00 and couldn't be happier.
Bottom line, I walked away without a scrath or bruise. Thank God it was on the track and not on the street with all those variables present.
Last edited by YellowDuc748 : 04-28-2008 at 01:08 PM.
I had my first real get-off this past weekend at Heartland Park. Long story short, I went into turn 12, tried to pull the bike in a little harder than I think it was ready for and lost the tires. I'm not entirely sure how fast I was going...but I do know it's a 3rd gear corner if that helps.
I slid across the track on my left side and into the grass. My bike took the brunt of the crash when it caught the rumble strips and started barrel rolling through the grass. I've got a nice write-up on the experience here.
Long story short...I popped right up, no injuries. Dug the bike out of the mud and rode it off the track, unfortunately it did end my weekend because of a few special Triumph parts that I wasn't able to find readily at the track.
Gear List:
Suit - Barnacle Bill custom 2pc
Back Protector - Tpro Forcefield
Lid - Arai Quantum II
Gloves - Joe Rocket Speedmaster 5.0
Boots - Alpinestars Supertech
Gear Report:
My suit has a little rash on it, but definitely still in awesome shape after the slide. The seam on the left should split a little, but I think that's because it snagged on the rumble strips as I went by. Except for the split seam, the suit does not require any repair. The seam repair cost me a grand total of $10. The suit help up like a champ. I escaped with minimal bruises and a little soreness. Overall verdict...AWESOME SUIT, worth every penny I paid for it!!
My left hand hit the ground pretty hard...but you wouldn't know it looking at the gloves. They're in great shape. I've got some bruises on my knuckles from the impact, but that's it.
My head never hit the ground, so the lid is still good to go.
The boots show a little rash from sliding, but again...nothing that requires repair or replacement. No damage, bruises, or soreness to my feet or ankles.
I'll snap some pics when I get my leathers back tomorrow and post them up.
__________________ NESBA #24 - I
"If you can't fix it with a hammer, you have an electrical problem" "It all goes back together the way it came apart, unless it came apart at redline"
35-40 mph lowside in a strange right hander. Strange road profile, old/gray but good asphalt. Slid about 30ft before landing in dirt and leaves on a bank. Not a scratch on me, except that my wallet was in athe right side jacket pocket and rode up and scraped me right above the waist. Lesson learned- got a Stunt 2 jacket to zip to the pants, and a tiny tank bag to put my wallet, keys, and cell in.
Shoei RF-1000: Never hit the pavement
Alpinestars Spinner jacket: Excellent- I rode the right sleeve all the way, and it held up. Has some scuffing/abrasion above my gauntlet, and some of the reflective piping is torn up. Couple little marks across the chest and left sleeve. Still using it, and I'd buy another any time I needed another street jacket.
Cortech Scarab RR gloves: Excellent- Couple scuffs across the main Carbon/Ti weave knuckle protector, and the palm C/Ti patch is worn off. No problems with the ballistic stretch material around the finger sides. Only reason I'm not using them any more, is because the insurance took them and payed to replace them with the new Cortech Adrenaline. (which feels even better, though it lacks some of the protection)
Alpinestars Track pants: Excellent- Look new still. Couple little dings, but nothing obvious to say they crashed.
Joe Rocket GPX boots: Excellent- only wear they show is a ground down ratchet spinner, and some abrasion on the hard shin/calf armor and toe slider. Best $50 I ever spent.
Last edited by Phenix_Rider : 06-26-2008 at 11:51 AM.
Right side plastics were pretty well rashed and smashed. They all got replaced. No hard parts damage except the brake levers and mirror/instrument bracket.
Crash tested: MotoGP TT Jacket, Oxtar TCS Sport Boots, Teknic Sport Pants
The crash:
I was practicing emergency stops and decided that it would be a good idea to start from normal road speed. At about 50 MPH (indicated, which means more like 42ish), I applied both brakes fairly hard. I screwed something up, and the next thing I knew, my body was over the tank and the front wheel was at full lock right. Shortly thereafter, I was on the ground with my left leg still under the bike, trying to relax and let the gear do its job (easier said than done). I stopped sliding perhaps fifty or sixty yards later, having gone separate ways from the bike after the first ten yards or so. (distances totally estimated; guessed roadspeed at time of crash 35-37 MPH)
My helmet didn't even hit the ground (there's no way it could have without getting at least scuffed, which it wasn't), so it's not included in this review.
My jacket, a MotoGP TT jacket, gets a good rating from me. I sustained no upper body injuries, although my left arm was a bit sore. The jacket sustained some damage to the left sleeve and scuffing on the left side; one spot is pulling apart (i.e. I've worn it since then but wouldn't count on it holding up to the same sort of crash and slide again).
My pants, the Teknic Sport, held up great. There is some scuffing, and one of the plastic knee patches has partially worn off (less branding, okay with me). I didn't have the knee sliders attached, for what it's worth (I see no point while riding on the road). Still wearing 'em, still quite happy with 'em. I did have a small rasberry-like abrasion on my left knee, but I also had that knee under the bike on its side.
My gloves, the Fieldsheer Air Perf, protected my hands sufficiently (no hand injuries) but came apart at the palm seams on the left hand within the next week. They're now garage gloves (i.e. they have enough left to 'em for garage tasks like working near hot stuff, but I wouldn't trust them in a crash). I'd call that a good rating; I did buy another pair.
My boots, the Oxtar TCS Sport, held up great. They show some damage but it doesn't seem to be structural; I'm still riding with them. I think the toe slider came in handy.
Oh, and the bike sustained some significant fairing scuffing, a broken left mainstay (foot peg bracket), busted left turn signal (although I found enough of the pieces to glue the lens back together and use it for a couple of weeks until I dropped the bike at about 0.5 MPH and the glue failed), dented and scuffed exhaust can, bent centerstand, cracked front sprocket cover, bent chain adjuster, ground tips on some of the rear sprocket bolts (er, I think that was how that happened...didn't notice it at the time, but I did when I changed the sprocket last week), scuffing on the mirror mount, bent clutch lever, and significant bar-end scuffing. Oh, and a dent to the tank. I think that covers it...I was riding again in two or three days (the peg mount was the only show-stopper).
Riding down the highway at and indicated 70 mph when the suv with the boat in tow did not see me and turned left, I got slowed down a bit, but the boat brought the bike to stop.
Setup Vision boots, not a scratch from the accident.
Shift M1 leater jacket, no rash. Only sign of accident on the jacket was some paint from the boat.
Shift M1 gloves, tiny scuff on the knuckle protectors. No dameage other wise.
HJC CL-15 helmet, helmet is not reusable.
I was wearing jeans at the time.
The helmet I am sure saved my life, I did not even have a concussion. I came away from this with no road rash at all. I did have a bruised shin and my pelvis was separated in three places.
I will replace the helmet with the same one and all other gear is reusable. I would recomend all of it to anyone.
The helmet is the only thing I have pics of.
__________________
1990 GS500E
2005 SV650S TOTALLED, BOAT FOOD
88 Trans Am GTA
84 Trans Am
Commuting home, going downhill when traffic stopped. My mind was wandering, hit the front brakes @ 30mph while near the white bike lane line. Front wheel skidded on the stripe, caught pavement, skidded on the next stripe, front wheel stepped out and went down. I rolled down the hill about 40 ft over asphalt and gravel.
No road rash at all, just a pulled shoulder muscle
HJC AC-12 Excellent - Right side chin and face shield with deep gouges. Will buy another
FirstGear Kilimanjaro Jacket 4.0 - Excellent. Slight skuffs on the right side and arm where I landed. Armour and textile saved me from serious injury. Will reuse with wider back protector.
Held Steve Gloves - Excellent - No injury to hands or wrist. The metal buttons on the right palm show where my hand slid on the road. One button ripped out, several ground down, no other damage. Replacements on order!
Draggin Jeans with knee armor. Excellent - Some skuffs on the right knee and the butt. Witnesses said I landed on my knees, could not believe I stood up right after the rolling stopped. Will replace knee armor, jeans are very serviceable. No road rash on me!
Magnum High Tech boots - Excellent- Slight skuffing on the outside of the right boot.
Bear
__________________
'05 Faster Silver FZ6 Mods: Dual Headlight Mod | Corbin Seat | Killer Noodle Clutch Lever | PC III | K&N Air | Fazer FE Kit
| Grip Puppies | Gen Mar 1" handlebar risers |
Sorry, What's a tank slapper? I'm not familiar with this term......
Its a situation where the righting force of the motorcycle's front trail geometry overcompensates for the degree to which the front end has stepped out of line with the back end. The result is a harmonic oscillation of the front steering axis.
It happens for a number of reasons, the most common of which is setting down a wheelie with the front wheel at an angle or position that is out of line with the rear.
If you are familiar with a steering damper, they are put on SS bikes with acute rake angles specifically to avoid a tank slapper.
Another term for this is "headshake"...if headshake gets so bad that the front fork is going lock-to-lock...its called a tankslapper (as the grips appear to be slapping the tank).
Here is a great video, showing a tank slapper in motion:
p.s. - If this happens, the best thing you can do is to give the bars ZERO feedback. A proper motorcycle will have the geometry needed to work out headshake on its own. Any attempt to try and muscle the tankslapper away will result in a sure wreck. Actually, the best thing would be to let go of the bars entirely, but most people could not do that.
Here is some data I recorded off a racebike (modded ZX6)at Willow Springs (data aquisition is what I do for a living).
What you are looking at is a wheelie, purposely set down with the front steering axis at a horrible angle, specifically intended to demonstrate headshake.
The channels in red and blue are front and rear wheel speed....when the blue channel drops below the red, the front wheel is in the air. When it rapidly catches up, that is the rider setting the wheelie down.
The bottom channel (green) is the steering angle...note how it goes through a dampened harmonic oscillation right as the wheelie is set down...that is the bike naturally working through headshake on its own.
In the video I posted, the rider tried to fight the headshake, making it worse...and resulting in a crash.
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