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TOPIC: Good gear.

Good gear. 07 Jan 2018 09:31 #24162

  • dennisd
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Body armour is essential. You may be riding slowly within your limits but others will pass you and often throw up rocks back towards you, and they can really hurt without some protection over your chest. In my very early days of riding with AMTRA I was unsure about body armour until I witnessed another rider in front of me going down a steep hill. He went down and slid along but his bike tumbled down after him and landed heavily on his back. Lucky for him he had body armour. I never rode again without body armour. The armour available these days is very comfortable, if a bit hot in warm weather, and it provides back, chest, shoulder and elbow protection all in the one bit of kit. You need all of this!

Do as already suggested and go on a ride and talk to as many others as possible about what they wear and recommend. It is what most of us have done to learn from others experience.
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Good gear. 07 Jan 2018 12:37 #24167

  • Dr. Peter
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Thanks, Dennis.
I was unaware of the effects of passing riders nor considered the possibility of my own bike landing on me.
I appreciate your logic and reasoning.
Peter
Peter Farrell
2017 Suzuki S40 Boulevard (cruising) - loned out
2006 Kawasaki KLE 500 (adventure) - loned out
1989 Suzuki TS 250 X (vinduro)
1986 Honda Goldwing 1200
1988 Honda Goldwing 1500
1976 TY250 (twin shock trials and officiating)
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Good gear. 07 Jan 2018 14:29 #24168

  • KennyB
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From my recent (this morning) experience falling off can happen very fast and unexpectedly, this morning I lost the front end in some loose gravel and went down, from the marks/scrapes/gouges on my body armour, gloves and knee guards, not to mention tears in my pants, jersey and gloves, I would recommend as much gear as you can wear comfortably, mine sure saves me a whole lot more pain today. Don't get me wrong I'm still sore and likely concussed but without my guards I no doubt would have a smashed knee from it hitting a rock aswell

my body armour also saved me in the past when I collected a kangaroo and went over the bars at speed and this was not in any knarly tracks/conditions it was just bad luck.

A simplistic way of looking at it is to ask yourself if you were putting your kids or significant other on a bike how protected would you like them to be?
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Good gear. 07 Jan 2018 22:19 #24189

  • Scott200
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Hey Kenny , glad to here your ok after your fall . By the way your not concussed that's just the way we feel working in the motor industry :up:
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Good gear. 07 Jan 2018 22:44 #24190

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Scott200 wrote:
Hey Kenny , glad to here your ok after your fall . By the way your not concussed that's just the way we feel working in the motor industry :up:

Fair point scott, the motor industry is definitely mind numbing at times. Pulled up ok from my off, need some new gear and a new helmet though. I took a fair knock on the helmet, the whole left side of my body went numb about an hour after the crash but was ok about half an hour later 
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Good gear. 08 Jan 2018 05:13 #24192

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Hey  Kenny , jokes aside mate glad to hear , as you stated that's why we wear all the gear . Take care & see you soon . Regards Scott
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Good gear. 08 Jan 2018 10:33 #24195

  • Ken R
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I have been trail riding for 50 years - what would I know?

Spend as much as you can on a comfortable, snug fitting helmet. Helmet brands have slightly different internal shapes, most important bit is snug and comfortable, try them all.

Goggles - good quality with ability to fit twin lenses. Twin lenses for anti fog but more important twice the protection.

Body armour - buy quality one piece - easy to use and all the bits get held in place when your cart wheeling - I know.

Gloves - forget the pretty MotoX gloves - get good road gloves with real leather and knuckle protectors - you can punch trees and rocks - they work - I know.
People might say here that you can't feel the throttle with thicker protective gloves, I say bullshit, MotoGP boys have the thickest gloves for protection and they need to "feel" 240hp plus.

Riding jersey over body armour - for looks only.

Riding pants - not as protective as they used to be - buy sturdy pants with internal hip protection pads, tuck the pants into your boots over your knee guards.

Knee guards - get quality ones that fit inside your boot and have straps to hold them in place around your legs, the straps and pants over help to hold them in place as your sliding.

Boots - spend some money on quality, comfortable with ankle protection and front and outside protection pads.

All the above will minimise the damage, get geared up and GO!

The most pain I have had falling off bikes was A - sliding down the track feet first at 140kph at Oran park, I decided to stand up while still doing about 40kph - wrenched shoulders back.
B - got my toe caught in a hole as I slid off the trail bike at about 20kph, twisted my ankle.
It's just more time to be flat out!
Last Edit: 08 Jan 2018 21:34 by Ken R.
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Good gear. 17 Jan 2018 22:52 #24368

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This has all been very helpful. Thank you everyone.
Peter Farrell
2017 Suzuki S40 Boulevard (cruising) - loned out
2006 Kawasaki KLE 500 (adventure) - loned out
1989 Suzuki TS 250 X (vinduro)
1986 Honda Goldwing 1200
1988 Honda Goldwing 1500
1976 TY250 (twin shock trials and officiating)
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Good gear. 17 Jan 2018 23:13 #24369

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But I am serious, Frankie Boy. I am returning to riding dirt bikes after a break of 45 years and I have not kept up with the trends.

Even the variety of riding disciplines seems out of control now and the currently available protective gear has begun to resemble something like a medieval knight might wear, albeit in modern materials.

So in my naivety I ask my question. And with the benefit of their hard-won experience, the forum members answer. Their intentions are good and I appreciate that, I truly do, but my response is - no. This is not how I want to ride as I come back to dirt bikes, older, wiser, and more fragile. What you (AMTRA) describe seems like an enduro event, but without the benefit of 'winning'. All this gear, it seems too extreme but the collective wisdom of the group says not. Its not gentle easy trail riding as far as I can tell.

I still have my DT175 but, just so you know, I recently bought a TY250. No one kicks rocks at me in a section. The courses through a section are graded for [in]ability.
Peter Farrell
2017 Suzuki S40 Boulevard (cruising) - loned out
2006 Kawasaki KLE 500 (adventure) - loned out
1989 Suzuki TS 250 X (vinduro)
1986 Honda Goldwing 1200
1988 Honda Goldwing 1500
1976 TY250 (twin shock trials and officiating)
Last Edit: 18 Jan 2018 00:03 by Dr. Peter.
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Good gear. 18 Jan 2018 07:26 #24370

  • Serge C
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Dr. Peter wrote:
 I recently bought a TY250. No one kicks rocks at me in a section. The courses through a section are graded for [in]ability.

Hmmm......  Now I'm interested!
"That's what I do, I drink and I know things!" - Tyrion Lannister
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