New rider kit

[Guest]

Hi, I've got my DAS coming up in the next couple of weeks that I need to get some kit for. Will be buying myself a helmet (dont want to use the schools one) and some boots. The school will provide a jacket and gloves. Unless its worth buying my own gloves?

To be honest I have no idea about motorbikes and kit, though I have got a bmx/dh mtb background. Will be deciding on a bike once i've completed the DAS.

I just wandered if anyone could give me some advice on the kit I may need. In terms of lid I'm going to go round the local motorbike shops to try them on, just need to get the best fit really. Will be looking at brands such as agv, arai and shoei. I dont really want to skimp on the helmet.

I however have no idea about boots. A mate suggested just wearing work boots but I dont own any. Any suggestion on what I can buy/use?

Lastly what did everyone wear for trousers when doing their course. Would jeans be insufficient?

Cheers for the help

[Korben]

Hi Mate

Drop into the newbie section and introduce yourself!!

Firstly, you have the right attitude towards a helmet. Fit is the most important thing. Not only for comfort, but for safety as well.

Have a look here mate for more thing about what to look for.. viewtopic.php?f=32&t=15767

If you can afford your own gloves you may as well get em now mate. Make sure they are comfy, provide protection and you can easily move your fingers around.

I would get some boot. TCX, Alpinestar, and SIDI are 3 names, but google "Motorbike Boots" and you will find load more brands.

You can wear jeans if you want, but if you can get some proper motorbike trousers then do. If you slide down the road in jeans they will stop your skin getting burned for about half a second... After that you are wearing through skin.

[stevie16v]

Got to agree re fit. However, Expensive isn't always best. I now have 2 Box BX-02 helmets. They got a rating of 4 on the sharps test and several others tests. Well thought of. And the best thing. I paid £40 for one, and the most recent £15 from an ebay shop thats shutting down

[Bill_on_a_bike]

Got to agree re fit. However, Expensive isn't always best. I now have 2 Box BX-02 helmets. They got a rating of 4 on the sharps test and several others tests. Well thought of. And the best thing. I paid £40 for one, and the most recent £15 from an ebay shop thats shutting down

 

Although, buying by mail order, how careful is Mr.DHL really going to be with you 1 drop and it's uselses lid?

[Alex Gold]

How do you think helmets get to the shop?

[stevie16v]

Got to agree re fit. However, Expensive isn't always best. I now have 2 Box BX-02 helmets. They got a rating of 4 on the sharps test and several others tests. Well thought of. And the best thing. I paid £40 for one, and the most recent £15 from an ebay shop thats shutting down

 

Although, buying by mail order, how careful is Mr.DHL really going to be with you 1 drop and it's uselses lid?

 

No worries there. It arrived all packed in its box wiyh polystyrene so didnt cause me a concern at all

[bex]

if you got pennies to spend then get decent pair of gloves and boots, they dont have to be "named" brands, i have Forma boots and they are ace, textiles are cheeper than leather so look for a pair of trousers and a jacket but make sure there is padding in there where you need it, hips n knees, elbows and shoulders and back.

but the bit that is wanting me to ask is,

if you To be honest I have no idea about motorbikes how come you going for your das?

[Guest]

Definitely get your own helmet if you can - just on a hygiene issue! And the same goes for gloves.

I did mine with a school lid - didn't fit great and fortunately was clean, but to be honest I had to try really hard not to even think about cooties! I bought my own gloves, and used a school jacket and wore jeans underneath a waterproof pair of over-trousers that the school provided, and Doc Martins that gave reasonable ankle protection. The over-trousers were really slippery on the bike seat!

I didn't want to spend too much money on protective gear before the lessons in case i hated it - but now I've got all the gear, my only regret is that I didn't buy it in time for the lessons - would have been a lot happier in stuff that fit me properly!

[Guest philgale]

do you have your own bike yet?

to be honest if your doing your test then your going to want to ride, once you done your training and done borrowing the training centres jacket what you gonna do then?

if you can afford (to be honest there next to nothing) get all the gear

get yourself to J&S the one in northwich near me (dont know if others are doing it) but they got a load of factory seconds leathers and textiles, can get a jacket for about 30 notes for a nice one and rose got a pair of frank thomas goretex pants with proper knox protection for 30 quid....

cant argue with that

[Korben]

do you have your own bike yet?

to be honest if your doing your test then your going to want to ride, once you done your training and done borrowing the training centres jacket what you gonna do then?

if you can afford (to be honest there next to nothing) get all the gear

 

Got to agree.... I got nothing before I learnt and hated it.... Stank of other peoples sweat when I got home from a days training.

[Guest]

Cheers for the advice guys.

Money isnt really the issue at the moment, my main thoughts is that I am unsure of which type of bike I will be going for until I have passed my test and whether I will be getting a bike straight away anyways. I'm doing the DAS as I have the spare time atm and learning to ride a motorbike is something i've wanted to do for a couple of years. I started a year and a half ago with my theory and only just finding the time to do the course.

As I said i'm into bmx/mtb'ing so all my spare time outside of work/girlfriend is spent on bikes. I thought the bike pre-determines the kit you get to go with it. Also as I have not ridden a motorbike before I do not know what to look for in terms of kit etc. Where as in bmx/mtbing i know exactly how i want a set of gloves/shoes/lid/pads to feel. Therefore I thought getting the basics, lid, boots and gloves would be a good idea and go from there when I get a bike. I'm probably over thinkning it as always, I just dont want to buy kit for the test and re-buy when I get a bike.

I will be going out on sat to all the local bike shops to have a chat and see what kit they offer.

Take it easy

[Voodoo]

Bike shops arn't always the best places to buy kit, specialist clothing shops tend to be cheaper and have a far better range. Here's a few links:-

https://www.jsaccessories.co.uk/

http://www.hein-gericke.co.uk/1/

http://www.jtsbikerclothing.com/html/home.shtml

http://www.getgeared.co.uk/

[nman1]

From personal experience, I`d get all the kit, despite not knowing what bike your getting. You say money is not too much of a problem so whatever you buy will always be useful. Most kit can be worn an all types of bike, just don`t go for tassled leather stuff on a gixer,

Before I took my test I had no boots, jacket, helmet or gloves anywhere near suitable for riding a bike. I went along to a local dealer and got some basic, but good (RST) kit, gloves £30, helmet £69, boots £89, jacket £199 and as I`d brought all this the guy chucks in the trousers as well. I felt a little safer as well, which boosted my confidence knowing I`d not leave a little bit of my skin on the road should I come off.

[cruz]

I thought the bike pre-determines the kit you get to go with it.

No more than the kit pre-determines the bike. Yes you would look a bit of a knob on a sportsbike with tassels, as you would on a cruiser in power ranger one piece racing leathers. I ride with the same leathers on a cruiser as I did on a CBR. There is plenty of clothing out there which is fit for purpose which look fine on either.