New motorbike clothing/gear

Felix

Felix

Felix

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Joined
25 Jan 2003
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2,701
I was looking at the weekend for clothing and gear for when I get my motorbike in the new year.

I tried on some of the Dianese jackets and trousers and found them comfortable and light but expensive and from what I read on here you can buy similar for less. I need something that is waterproof and is breathable as I live in Scotland and the weather is rubbish.

Regarding helmets I found the Shoei XR1000 was the most comfortable but they are being replaced by the XR1100. Theres quite a bit off the XR1000 at the moment as they are end of line but is it worth spending over £100 more on a XR1100 which has a better sharp rating and better styling?

While I will only be starting on a 125 I do not want to skimp on kit, I am already budgetting for a Forcefield back protector.
 
I'd go with £100 in my pocket over a new style/design. They are a great helmet and well rated, a true bargain at the moment. I have just done the same - Arai have brought out a load of new designs and I got nearly £150 off my Chaser, which compared to my £60 Takachi Special of 5 years ago, is absolutely lush!

Whilst I would agree, don't skimp on kit, it doesn't mean you have to buy Dianese and Alpinestars. Heine Gericke stock some brilliant own brand kit, especially the all-round touring type stuff. My housemate has just bought a HG jacket and HG winter gloves, both real top notch.

I bought this £80 Wiese Jacket which has been 100% waterproof so far and had it nearly a year, very warm in the winter and has a KNOX back protecter built in. I bought this after reading up on another forum when looking at spending a fortune on Goretex stuff, though I can imagine spending £500 on a jacket it would be a lot lighter and more breathable etc. Spends your money I guess!
 
Good man on the back protector! Personally I would do the same pocket the £100 and get the XR1000, did the same thing few months ago :)

And as said go look at Frank thomas and the likes gear, really good stuff at a good price, but as said you have to pay a lot more for lighter waterproof gear.
 
As Fireskull sez, well done on the back protector, wish more riders had the common sense to buy one.

I would wait till you get it, then take it with you to a shop so you can have it on whilst trying on jackets to make sure you get the correct fit as said before Hein Gericke do some good stuff.

XR1000 is a good lid, you only get one head so protect it.
 
I was also looking at the Arai chaser but the Shoei XR1000 was less (which defeats the point when I look at the XR1100!). My only concern is the lower sharp test results on the Shoei between the old and new model. I have managed to find a XR1000 lid with an OK design for £150 less than a xr1100(now I actually write it, thats a lot less!!)

I am getting as much safety kit as possible, I have been looking at getting a bike for years and now going for it but I am fed up with all the kill joys saying how dangerous they are so need to prove them wrong. I don't have any bike experience as such but been driving for over 10 years and have a quad (off road) though shamefully rarely wear a helmet - just been lucky I suppose!

There was a Frank Thomas jacket on sale but found it very stiff and not light where as the Dianese one was very comfy. I went to Hein Gericke earlier in the day and saw some bits but kind of thought that if I can afford it then I should go for the best!
 
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The sharp tests are good but dont take them as gospel, what do you think will be better in a crash a helmet that has 5 stars but isnt comfy or fit right or one with 3/4 stars but is really comfy! Comfy and Right fitment is No1 Priority!

If you can afford it and want to by all means go for the best, Dainese is no better than BKS, spidi, Arlen ness etc but because its Dainese and endorsed by Rossi it comes with a big premium tag, im surprised you found the FT jacket stiff, I take it this isnt leather jackets right? not sure why a textile one would be stiff, quite possible the Dainese one has been tried on many many times so has been warn in, expect anything new in bike kit wise to be abit stiff to begin with but they all get comfortable after a few rides.
 
I haven't tried on a XR1100 though so that would be the next thing, I might find it is no good! Then again if it was good and I got one without a design then its not a lot more (though a bit boring)

The FT jacket's material felt a lot thicker, it was a lot cheaper too, reduce to £99. So maybe it was their entry model.

This is for textiles, I will be commuting mostly so needs to be easy to put over shirt and trousers.
 
See if you can find somewhere close that sells Rukka gear, they make really good textile stuff, pretty expensive though, but not sure what the prices of the Dainese stuff you have been looking at?
 
Hey.
Really just go and try on lids and get the one in your price bracket that fits best.
I was planning to get a XR1000 as my XR800 is well past its best but instead I found the AGV K4 Gecko to fit me best so got one at the NEC bike show on Friday for 119.00!
As to clothing - I have Frank Thomas leather jacket and a synthetic, both really really good for the money, same goes for my trousers, FT synthetic with additional knee and hip protectors. Same goes for boots...
Best way is set a budget +/- say 10% and look at what you can get that fits best and is safe. Really is best to try all the gear you can on first.

Glad to see another driver come in from the cold to the world of biking!
 
With regards to Rukka - that's exactly who I was thinking of when I said a £500 jacket, but couldn't put my finger on the name - its supposedly the all-round kit to have.
 
Save the £100 and spend £80 on a ForceField L2 - they have a new one coming out called the "Sub4" I think.

The Sharp tests can be a little miss-leading (not quite the word I'm after). One of the Sharp tests is to drop a metal spike into the riders ears. Arai said the reason they get lower scores in the Sharp is because they have replaced some of the armour in this area with sound deadening material. Their argument was there was more use in having a quieter helmet than offering higher protection in an area which was already covered by the riders shoulders in the event of a crash.

I've got a full set of Heinz Gherkin textiles and have found them great through winter.
 
I found the AGVs too tight or too loose.

I will still be a car driver, I still enjoy driving but hate sitting at traffic lights for 5 mins at a time.

Is the Forcefield Sub 4 out in the UK?
 
I've got a wiess jacket, still havent got my trousers yet. I go into the Dainese shop up here and it's like :O lol too pricey for me at the minute.
 
The Dianese jacket with Goretex is around £350, with D-Dry it was £250. Trousers were around £150. Can't remember the models/name.
 
Another vote for HG stuff - I got fully kitted out (Boots, jacket, trousers, gloves, lid) for £450 (after haggling + sale items). Having ridden a lot in the recent weather, it's all rather good at keeping the cold / rain out. Had an off a while back and put a couple of small tears in the pocket outer on the trousers, but the rest of it saved me.
 
I really like Wolf gear. The quality's fantastic and the prices are too. It looks and feels as good as the much more expensive stuff imo, like Dainese, but the prices are closer to Frank Thomas. And it's British!
 
Well finally went out shopping this weekend. Tried on a loads of stuff at Hein Gericke but found everything didn't fit comfortably. Went to another shop and tried on some other bits. Nothing there and by which time I was getting annoyed and wondered if going into biking was really a good idea.

Went to another shop today and found some Spada clothing, its the adventure jacket and trousers and some Forma Safari boots. Any opinions or reviews on these?

Still can't decide between an Arai chaser or Shoei XR1100 though!
 
Felix said:
Still can't decide between an Arai chaser or Shoei XR1100 though!
Click to expand...
Not quite the same but I have an Arai Condor and my girlfriend has a Shoei XR1000.
I prefer the Shoei, mainly due to the removable pads and the much easier visor removal system.

To answer your earlier question: The Forcefield Sub4 is available from March 2010
One place I found taking pre-orders
http://www.sounddistribution.co.uk/products.asp?recnumber=5380
 
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