Bikewear for noobs

[pinkyfloyd]

With the recent posts about youngsters going in for their cbt i thought i would try and help with the clothing aspect.

a recent poster was unsure of what was meant by suitable footwear so i hope this thread helps anyone with any doubts as to what is suitable attire for riding.

Firstly you need a helmet. All helmets sold in the uk must either:

comply with British Standard BS 6658:1985 and carry the BSI kitemark or
comply with UNECE Regulation 22.05 or
comply with any standard accepted by a member of the European Economic Area which offers a level of safety and protection equivalent to BS 6658:1985 and carry a mark equivalent to the BSI kitemark

never buy a second hand lid as you cant be sure it hasnt been dropped. once a helmet has been dropped from waist height its useless as it has already done the job it is made for.

Secondly clothing: the idea is to have as much protection between you and the road surface in the event that you come off the bike.

turning up for your CBT in a T shirt is probably the fastest way to be sent home again without even looking at a bike.

leather is one of the best options. thats why motorbike racers wear them. but leather is expensive and not always an option for new bikers.

most training schools recomend a minimum of heavy denim. a sturdy pair of jeans and a heavy jacket is acceptable. tracksuit is not. tracksuits are made of polyester and nylon which melts in the friction caused between skin and road at X mph.

remember, you are going to want to wear something that will keep the wind out as well as keep you from pulling the skin off your body when you fall off. (note the when, not if. everybody falls off sooner or later)

gloves: there are many motorcycle gloves on the market. the best ones are leather, or a mixture between leather and textile and can set you back a small fortune. many have extra protection, should it be carbon fibre or kevlar, they are all designed for one thing: protecting your hands from the road in the event you fall off.

idealy you want gloves that fit comfortably and snugly. preferably with a strap around the back to keep them secure.

boots: most places recomend boots that cover the ankle. this is to prevent your ankle turning to mush in the event you fall off your bike. trainers are useles as they offer no protection at all.

turning up at the CBT wearing a full race suit might give you a little bit of stick from the rest of the people there but it will also give you a lot of respect as it shows you have done the homework and have turned up prepared. any abuse given by the instructors over it is all light hearted banter and you will find that as the pre ride talk goes along you will be singled out as an example of what to wear rather than what not to wear.

remember. motorcycle clothing is not designed to look good first and formost. it makes you walk funny and makes you sweat like a bastard but it isnt designed to win fashion contests. its designed to give you as much chance for survival as possible.

its a terrible sight watching the chav brigade on their peds in their tracksuits and t shirts knowing that a spill at that speed has the same effect as a cheese grater has on cheese.

i never leave the house without my big heavy leather jacket and at least a heavy pair of jeans on. i'd rather sweat in the sun than risk it.

i'll end with a pic of 2 to try and hammer home the point of wearing suitable clothing.

not weaing a helmet:


https://www.daymented.com/2006/0613_scott_road_rash.jpg

tracsuit bottoms

https://www.maigh.com/photos/kev_rr.jpg

the black specks are bits of melted tracksuit which will have to be picked out.

https://www.ulyssesclub.org/branches/whittlesea/assets/0.gif

https://wiki.sabmagfaq.org/Road%20Rash%20Queen?action=AttachFile&do=get&target=RRQ5.jpg
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illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[C-Pk]

Good post for anyone stupid enough to ride without the protection. Hope the pictures help people see the light. Remember its not necesarily the rider that causes the accident.
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Passed Mod 2 - 6th August 2010

First and Current Bike - 2008 Suzuki SV650SK8

[rob_scott92]

What was the girl wearing?
Really good thread this showing what happens when it goes wrong without the gear

When i took my 125 to the new owners house the other day, he was telling me that he'd just won a second hand helmet and jacket off ebay for £10! And he didn't seem to think that it was a fu**ing stupid idea! Luckily he said that the lid doesn't fit so hopefully he'll go to a proper shop and buy one now.
Honestly some of these people dont have a clue!

Rob
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First bike: 1982 Suzuki Gs 125 'The beast MK1' > 1988 Honda Cb 350's' FOR SPORT! (Good ol' oil burner!) > 2001 Suzuki Sv 650 's' Made it out of the 80's! > 1997 Honda Cbr 600f :p

[pinkyfloyd]

girl was wearing a wolly jumper. Trainers and light jeans. She was pillion not rider.

nothing wrong with second hand jacket. But a skidlid has to be new or there's no point.

everyones head is a different shape and over time the pollyester foam stuff in the lid moulds to the shape of your own head.

a lid is designed to spread the energy of the impact damage around the whole lid. And it can only do that a single time effectivly.


think of it like a thermos flask. You can fill it with hot water it'll stay hot for hours. Drop it and break the glass inside and any hot water will cool down fast. this is because the energy has been spread to the weakest point causing it to shatter.
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illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[rob_scott92]

Also, When i did my CBT at 16, I asked the instructor when i booked it whether i should bring any special clothingfor the day (I was using their lid which looked like it had been dropped many, many times )
The guy just said "Bring a warm jacket". That was it! I ended up just taking my uncles leather jacket and some heavy jeans (normal jeans mind) Didn't have any gloves either as i just didn't think really. I'm suprised he let me do it in the end and it is lucky i didn't come off.
Now i ride with everything on and have tested the "anti abrasive" thing when i came off at low speed. My skin didn't feel a thing, just walked off with a sore knee where the bike landed on it. I dread to think what it would've been like with jeans or shorts even at that speed!

I think people really do need to be shown the consequences sometimes.
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First bike: 1982 Suzuki Gs 125 'The beast MK1' > 1988 Honda Cb 350's' FOR SPORT! (Good ol' oil burner!) > 2001 Suzuki Sv 650 's' Made it out of the 80's! > 1997 Honda Cbr 600f :p

[pinkyfloyd]

most people make the mistake in thinking that the gloves are there to keep your hands warm when your riding along and the leather reinforced palm is to stop it wearing out on the bars.

everyones fallen over at some point in their life. the brains response to falling over is protection. it protects itself by making your arms break the fall. its a natural defence that you cant control. you fall, your hands break the fall. thats why gloves have the extra padding.
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illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[bikertomm]

Great post mate:) ↲I have a question regarding helmets
. I have a fully road legal mx style helmet with the british kitemark and acu gold. The only thing is on the strap I have heard it should be .05 , mine is .09 ? Could this be the country it is made in or what? Other than that really nice lid ↲Cheers in advance

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07' Honda Hornet now full powaah! My guide on performing an oil change!

[Bloke]

I've had a low speed (we're talking like 2 mph) off in jeans, it burnt a hole in the arse of them where I landed. Jeans offer no protection at all.
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2008 VFR800 VTEC

[c_dug]

It probably has a lot to do with the quality of the denim and the abrasiveness of the road surface.

I came off in jeans on a roundabout with my mate on the back, also wearing jeans. I was fine and still wear those jeans, he still has a scar on his knee over a year later.

Also I came off at 40 in my textiles and put a nice hole in the knee, I didn't get hurt but I wouldn't want to come off in them much quicker than that, that said I still wear them now, lets hope I come off on the left hand side instead next time!
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[Ichy]

Seems to be a bit of preaching going on. I have no issue with what you have tried to do but its better to stay with the facts rather than your own opinion.

Dropping a helmet from waist height does not mean

[Ste]

[FURBAR]

Flip flops .. shorts and t shirt is great, but i wonder if i would wear them on a bike where you may through circumstance be tempted to go to fast for a few seconds here or there ..

Yes, and i know you can do plenty of damage at 30 odd mph ..
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Fuk um !!

[Bendy]

[pinkyfloyd]

[Imonster]

[Ichy]

[Bloke]

[Bloke]

[c_dug]

If BCF as a website/forum actively started promoting safer riding or wearing maximum gear at all times I think I would stop using it very quickly.

I disagree with helmets being a legal requirement as it is, I don't need BCF shoving safety advice in my face at every opportunity, thats not to say that individuals can't have an opinion on gear by the way, just that it doesn't mean the whole forum should actively promote it.
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[Imonster]

[Ste]

[Bloke]

[Bloke]

[c_dug]

I don't think it's so much helmet/no helmet, it's just the ability to be able to choose without the powers that be, who in all likelyhood have never ridden a motorbike, deciding that I am a danger to myself and all the poor kittens and that I must under all circumstances wear a lid.

Along the same lines of people calling for lids to be compulsory for quad riders, if they are retarded enough to do silly speeds without a lid and die because of it, that's their own problem, keeps the undertakers in work though so it's not all bad!
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[C-Pk]

I think the requirement to wear a helmet should be the minimum myself.

But Whatever. At the end of the day everyone has their own choice. But I for one think it is stupid to ride without adequate protective clothing.

Just for the simple reason that it doesn't have to be you who does something stupid for you to slide down the road ripping shreds off your skin. And for the sake of peace of mind, I will wear safe clothing.
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Passed Mod 2 - 6th August 2010

First and Current Bike - 2008 Suzuki SV650SK8