new gear

[Guest]

Hey everyone just wanted some help just passed my A2 lisence and looking for new gear I am getting a fzs 600 and I ride to work everyday all year and the last set I had just about kept the rain out

Helmets I was looking at was a

Shark evoline 3

AGV Numo

Shark raw

And gear wise I just want to know what is a decent brand I have about £1000 to get jacket, pants, boots and gloves

If anyone could help me out that would be great thanks

[nman1]

Every one will say, depends what you want and what bike you ride and how you want to ride it.

RST is a good brand. I also have some Richa kit. With a £1000 I`d get along to some shops and try lots of kit on, the assistants should be able to give you good advice.

[Guest]

Thanks for the reply

Ill be on a fzs 600 for commuting to work though the winter and the rest of next year too

Not many dealerships by me but will have alook

[Susieque]

Difficult to recommend brands because sizing varies so much too - as Neil says, it's better to try stuff on really.

You can then always look on ebay

[Tango]

Check out Rukka gear.......bl**dy expensive. .....but there's a reason most of the dispatch riders I see wear them.......

[techno]

You should have no problem finding decent stuff with a grand budget.

Personal preference I buy stuff I've tried on.

Also remember when trying on trousers and jackets to allow for them to move when in the riding position, they may feel fine when just stood in a shop.

[Rad]

Trying cloths on before buying is a must for me. That said, I bought a jacket that was too small. Looks great on me but after adding a back protector it got very tight. So when you try things on make sure you wear all the stuff you'll have underneath when riding, especially if you plan on riding throughout the winter.

[uk190]

... I have about £1000 to get jacket, pants, boots and gloves

 

thats one of the most sensible things a new rider has ever said on here. i know not everyone has that sort of money to spend, but it is a realistic budget to kit yourself out with decent year round protection and its a nice change to see that a new biker has realised that.

depending on where you are located you could go to the BMF tail ender show 14/15 sep at peterborough. its not as big as the May BMF show but it will still have plenty of vendors selling every bit of bike gear you could need and at decent prices.

you can spend the day trying on different bits of gear/ helmets etc, work out what you like and more importantly, what fits, then google the kit you like and get the vendors to price match it. thats what i do when i go to the BMF.

try and get gortex boots as they will be usable all year round, same witth decent ce armoured textile jacket and trousers with removable thermal linings. winter gloves are horrid in the hot weather and summer gloves are dangerous in winter (cold hands vastly reduce yur throttle and brake control) so you might need two pairs. if you fancy leathers, AVOID NO BRAND CHEAP RACE SUITS! only buy protective gear from reputable manufacturers and not some market trader who is punting out "fashion" leathers, cheap gear is cheap for a reason.

as for helmets. prob the most important decision youll make in your biking life. yes, a cheap brand helmet may have a CE or BS kite mark but it will not be built to the same standard as say a shoei or arai. cheap helmets tend to be noisy and will not have had the same R&D budget as the top brands have invested. you'll pick up a very good helmet for a couple of hundred quid.

if you can stretch to it, a decent back protector should be on your list too.

if you unsure of decent brands then i'll start a list of the manufacturers i have bought from and reccomend (i'll include the exact model if ca remember them). hopefully others will chip in with their reccomendations.

Helmets.

arai chaser

arai quantum

shoei xr1100

agv gp tech

Boots

alpine stars smx gortex

alpine stars smx plus gortex

textile trousers

richa

heine gerick

rst

textile jackets

heine gerick

leather trousers

alpine stars

leather jackets

furygan

alpine stars

one peice leathers

bks

alpine stars

gloves

alpine stars 365 gortex (3 season gloves)

alpine stars gp pro (summer/race gloves)

knox handroid (summer/race gloves)

frank thomas aqua/sub zero range (winter gloves)

[dimmers]

nice budget for all your gear, you can get a lot for that!

if possible, get yourself down to Hein gericke for some good kit, gore-tex jacket and trousers easily affordable with your budget.

boots, look at TCX and Sidi, they are really good, i own a pair of each.

back protectors (and other additional strap on armour), in my opinion, look no further than forcefield. Their back protectors are some of the best, and are very comfortable. The pro sub 4 is my back protector of choice, and i fully recommend it. Something else to consider if you go for textil trousers is some strap on knee armour. The knee armour that is supplied as standard within textile trousers will always be CE approved, but that won't make much of a difference if when you come off your bike (hopefully you never do) the armour moves around and isn't in the correct position. With strap on knee armour, it will stay in place, and actually protect your knee in the event of an off. This isn't as big a problem with race style leather trousers, as they are much tighter fitting, and keep the armour where it should be much better.

helmets, have to agree with the previous post, go for a good brand if you can afford it, Arai are my choice, but make sure the fit of the helmet is right for you, this is VERY important. Shark/Agv do some good helmets at good prices if you wanted to keep your budget down. Saying that, the Arai Axcess helmet is around the £200 mark, and a very good entry level Arai (it's the one i own).

gloves... you could take a risk and order these online, but do yourself a favour (much like all the other gear you buy) get yourself in to a shop and try it on first, and then keep it on for a few minutes. See how it feels, open and close your hands a lot, walk around for a bit. If they feel uncomfortable in the shop after a few minutes, they will cause you a lot of pain on the bike after 15/30 mins of riding, trust me, i've been there! Plenty of good gloves can be bought for around the £50/60 mark, it just depends if you want them to be waterproof or not, then the price can sneak up to £100 for gore-tex, but if you're riding all year round then it's well worth it. Saying that, the shelltech gloves are good as well, and stay pretty dry.

RST are a good value brand in my opinion, and have lasted me over 3 years now for leather and textiles, and held up well in a low speed slide.

If you can, check out a Ride magazine, and take a look at what they recommend, they usually have a section at the back which covers the majority of gear and what they think is good/bad.

i think that's enough from me for now... enjoy your shopping! i know i would with a £1000 budget

[Rik398]

All year round riding you want a textile jacket really. I recently got a frank thomas 3 season jacket (you get a removable thermal liner for winter, and a waterproof liner, so you can just about get by in summer, and be waterproof, warm, or both in winter, which is generally the way with all 3 season jackets). Not raining at the moment but stood under the shower for a bit and didn't get wet so can't complain. Having said that, gore tex does seem to be within budget. Never tried it myself but seems to be the way to go if you can afford it.

Boots wise, I basically wear by bike boots as my shoes as well, so they basically become my only form of footwear. As a result, I generally get fairly plainly designed boots. My last pair lasted me nearly 5 years, and I had to chuck them because I had worn through the souls rather than any stitching gone or anything, they were made by Forma, and I now have some boots from J&S Accessories that seem similarly well made.

I have a pair of Honda gloves and they are simply awesome. Gloves tend to come in winter and summer flavors, so you may need 2 pairs for year round riding.

I am afraid I cannot comment on trousers, as I literally just stick to kevlar jeans, and stick a pair of cheap pack - away waterproof over trousers on top when the weather changes.

I would recommend getting to a shop and trying on, fit is king. You have made a decent budget, so can afford to go to a shop and get a feel of what you like and what feels quality and go for what you feel is good for you at the time.