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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
Posts: 210
Casino Cash: $2297
Sportbike: 2006 Yamaha FZ6 Red
I had low side last spring, I went into a rainy, oil intersection too fast and too far leaning over (first time riding in the rain!) The bike went down and right and I was thrown down onto my left shoulder at about 15-20 mph.
Helmet : Scorpion exo 400. It did not really hit, but my faceshield got scraped. no other damage.
Jacket : Cortech Impulse (version one, perforated). The shoulder vent was crushed a bit, but besides a few scapes on the leather no other damage. The armor took all the energy and had no injuries (a little sore but that's all)
Pants : Joe Rocket Blaster perf leather, minor marks on knees, but again the armor absorbed the hit.
Gloves Cortech race gloves with carbon armor, just minor scrapes.
Boots Komodo race boots, minor scratches only.
Summary, all the gear was reusable except for the faceshield. I popped right up after the fall, really pissed off at my stupidity, but uninjured. The bike's frame sliders did their job too (but needed replacing).
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With great power, comes great responsibility
Awsome thread guys prob one of the best resources out there for gear shopping - we should compile a list of good gear and gear to stay away from after we get more input on this post
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~"It didn't turn out the way you wanted to did it?"~
I took a left side low-side at about 50-60mph went off the road into a field, soft grass mostly thankfully Totalled my ZZR, getting ready to pick up a new '09 ZX-6R next week.
Helmet: AGV XR-2...Good...just a couple spots where the paint went right to the shell, I hit my head on the pavement just where the shield tab was and it ripped my visor right off my helmet.
Leathers: Teknic Violator 1-piece...great...barely any marks, a touch on my left forearm, shoulder and knee puck.
Boots: A* SMX-Plus...great...just scuffed a little.
Gloves: Held Phantoms...AWESOME...barely noticeable marks at all. Recommend them!!! $$$ but worth it.
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You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight? I ask that of all my prey. - The Joker (Batman, 1989)
30mph lowside straight into a highside.
Agv helmet and agv forza2 two piece leathers, helmet never touched, leathers held up great, only ground a hole through the spandex and lost some stitching on outer armor, slid about 20feet, probably of which 15 were on my ass.
Tecnic Speedstar gloves, held up great, despite smashing my thumb and dragging right hand, barely any visible wear. Sidi Vertigo Corsa boots, bike landed on my left ankle as I lowsided, only visible damage was on the vent where it ground down the plastic a little bit. Edit, just noticed the right boot looks the same lol. trackday6-7-09 003.JPG
had a low side last night, went in to a left hander too fast tried to stand the bike up and stop, hit gravel and just tipped over. 30mph low-side mostly gravel and grass.
Helmet - Scorpion EXO-700 held up great, I hit my head pretty hard my neck is just sore and the helmet is scratched up, definitely saved me some pain.
Gloves - Cortech Gauntlets, held up great, they have a few scratches but I'll wear them again!
Jacket - Joe Rocket leather, no issues a little dirty but I'll live
Boots - A* S-MX 4, They did great! my ankles/ feet don't hurt at all.
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Dennis: Yeah, I remember that video. You guys were burning G.I. Joes and throwing rocks at cats.
Accident: At dusk with my highbeam on I was about to pass a car while doing about 120 in the right lane on a highway. They decided to not use their mirrors/check their blind spot or maybe just decided to kill me, whatever, they pulled right into my lane while I was next to them. I hit the brake then swerved into the shoulder. I later found out from the towing company that a kid crashed on his bike doing 110 (broke his foot but lived) in the same spot a week prior so I hit the remaining sand that was used to clean up the fluids. The bike slid out from underneath me, I hit the ground on my backside probably doing 90-100mph slid about 50 feet on my ass then got flipped over and slid another 50 or so feet on my stomach. The car kept going never to be seen again, but witnesses stopped and checked to make sure I was ok. I wouldn't have been speeding but I had a couple beers in me and felt invincible since I hadn't drank in a couple months. Never drinking and riding again, 1 or 2 beers is still too much.
The damage: 03 GSXR 600 kept going sliding on its left, hit the concrete barrier, then landed facing the opposite way. Totaled by insurance company. Luckily no broken bones. My body was fine except for road rash on my left butt cheek, left shoulder blade, and left hip. All my gear is getting replaced.
Performed surprisingly well for textile at high speeds. Burned through the back left shoulder, left hip, and most of the back section. It's being replaced by an RS Taichi leather jacket, but I might get another for the winter. If I had the stock foam backpad I would've faired far worse as that was even scuffed up badly after I landed on my back. Armor did it's job. My left elbow was bruised a bit but no pain or broken bones.
I usually wear textile or leather, but I wore these because I was out running some errands and didn't want to be uncomfortable. I regret it now, but they did ok considering I didn't buy them for high speed falls. They protected the whole front side of my body, but they suck in the ass part and I got burnt for that. I only paid $30 off ebay so I guess I got my money's worth.
These did great. Super comfortable and not even a sprained ankle. I have a bruise under my left big toenail, but if I had regular sneakers all my toes would be ground down about a 1/4 of inch I'm sure. I still may even wear these if they're still waterproof. I already bought some Vertigo Corsas for the summer time.
These faired the best out of all my gear. There are a couple millimeter sized holes and scuffs on the carbon protectors, but they would probably hold up for one more crash. To be on the safe side they're replaced by some Rev'It GT Corse gloves.
I'm definitely lucky and learned some important lessons: don't drink before riding even a couple, don't pass in the right lane if you can help it, always wear full gear, and don't speed in traffic.
Last edited by Super Dennis : 06-23-2009 at 01:36 AM.
Posts: 11
Casino Cash: $317
Sportbike: 2005 Triumph Sprint St
I crashed my '01 R1 several years ago, low side in a canyon going about 50-60mph, slid on pavement on my side for around 20-30 feet. Bike went across the lane of trafic, over a pull off spot, and down an embankment to settle next to a river. The lesson from this crash was don't ride while on ephedrine on an empty stomach.
I was wearing an Aerostitch roadcrafter 1 piece suit, and sidi road sympatec boots. Boots were fine, just scuffed a little. My gloves and helmet were largely untouched, Aerostitch was toasted on one knee and scuffed up along the side so I had to get a new one. Walked away without a scratch or bruise, very happy with the stitch.
Second crash was on the track, I think it was a low side, not sure. I don't actually remember the crash at all from the concussion, but I think I was going around 30-35mph, just fell backward and hit the back of my helmet on the pavement. Wearing stitch again, minor damage to the knee which was repairable. Don't remember what kind of helmet (some kind of shoe, but it was getting old and loose fitting which may have contributed to my concussion), but I got a different one.
Both times wearing the sidi boots and roadgear gloves which both performed admirably.
Funny that my fast crash I walked away fine and the slow one I ended up with a skull fracture and concussion, and about 30 seconds of memory loss. All I remember is slowing down for the turn, then next thing I know I'm crawling off the track.
Worst road rash I've had was from low siding a recumbent bicycle at about 20mph, .
"I am not without scars on my brain and my body, but I can live with them." -- Hunter S Thompson, song of the sausage creature.
Sorry I dont have pics, but here is my little contribution.
Low side @ a high rate of speed. Not sure how fast. I slid about 75 feet, head first, into a gardrail (where it tapers off into the ground). The gardrail acted as a ramp, launching me back into the road, where I slid another 50-75 feet.
Head: Scorpion EXO 700 (crack head). The lid did its job considering I hit the road and slid into a gardrail.
Jacket: Joe Rocket Big Bang Textile jacket. For being textile, held up really well. I still have it. sliding down the shoulder of the road did not do much to it. it was probably being launched back out into the road that did the damage (I can only guess). I ended up with a little spot of road rash on my elbow and collar-bone.
Boots: Vega/Nitro tech sport boots. Looking at the scene of the accident the next day, you can see where I hit the gardrail, you can see where my boot hit the I-beam corner, and cut big gash on the top of the boot. I dont know how my foot came out with out a scratch. A friend low-sided under similar circumstances in nothing but sneakers; he crushed his ankel. I was so impressed with how they held up, I got another pair later on in the season, when I got another bike.
The Crash:
I had a monster high side racing at BIR this past weekend. I spun the rear tire up coming out of turn 4, it got bumpy and I got bucked, chopped the throttle and boom...I'm air born. The cornerworkers said I took the hang time award and the scariest crash award for the weekend. It happened so fast, I barely had time to get my arms to brace for impact and took the majority of the first hit with the helmet. My hands and then my chest came down next and I rolled and slid for a little bit coming to rest on track. I got up and walked away from the crash, bit collapsed later and had to take an ambulance ride back to the pits. Turns out I was ok, just rung my bell and broke some ribs.
My Gear:
Helmet - Scorpion EXO 400 Sonic
Suit - Barnacle Bill custom 2 piece
Gloves - Joe Rocket Speedmaster 5.0
Boots - Alpinestars Supertech
Armor - TPro Forcefield 2
The Results:
My helmet is clearly destroyed. The visor mechanism on the left side broke off on impact and caused the visor to fly off during the crash. However...I am still here to tell the tale, so +1 on the lid, it saved my life in a very high speed crash. The visor bit was a little troubling to me and causes some concern. I was lucky to not slide into a gravel trap, otherwise that might have gotten messy. However...like I said, the lid did save my life and I would consider buying another one. For the time being though, I will likely fall back on my Arai, Shark or Suomy.
My hands dragged on the ground and I burned 2 small holes in the finger tips of my gloves causing a some very minor rash. Otherwise the gloves are in great shape still, but not longer usable due to the finger tip holes. I'm undecided on getting them repaired or replacing completely. They're a few years old, so my first thought is likely replacement.
My leathers barely look crashed in. What can I say...Barnacle Bill builds and amazing suit. This is the second crash on this suit and it's still in awesome shape. No holes or split seams anywhere, just the rash you'd expect from sliding.
Boots are in great shape too. Similar to the leathers, they barely look crashed in and have only some minor rash to them.
On my first tumble, I landed pretty hard on my back and credit the protector for keeping my injuries to only broken ribs. In the future I will be adding a chest protector and mouth guard to my list of protective gear.
Pictures to follow once the track photog gets them up.
__________________ NESBA I #724
CRA #724
"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"