Street gear worth investing in?

[NJD]

And by street gear I mean; ankle boots, kevlar jeans and summer gloves (as shops sell them) I do own a textile jacket that's suitable to all weathers with the inner liner removed but do like the look of a leather jacket.

My aim with this style of gear is to be able to actually walk around shops and get off the bike for more than a couple of minutes without feeling like i'm a spaceman and it becoming a hinderance to attempt to do anything.

Anyhow, my question is as an owner of nothing but multiple sets of full textiles and sport style boots is the above more relaxed style of gear worth the investment and how much use do you get out of them?

I did ask this question to the guy who worked at J&S when debating if to go for another set of textiles or street gear last time I visited and then gave me an opinion about imagine falling off in the wet in jeans (a) that's not the aim (b) wearing them in the wet isn't the idea, so BCF's opinions?

I do already have a short list of items that I like the look of based on a quick search of the J&S website but my opinion will change as I visit the store and take a look in person as i've owned IMO both budget end and decent quality gear with the textiles that I have so have an idea what the difference in quality looks like, website pictures aren't as accurate as trying them on in person and feeling them etc etc.

In advance.

[hedgehugger]

Buy what you like, wear when you want.
If you have the storage space, and can afford it, why wouldn't you give yourself more choice?


If 2 years down the line you realise you never wear it, sell on ebay for a fraction of what you pay, or in my case more money than I paid for the boots originally (and I wore them a lot, and they got 'ferreted!'

[Rogerborg]

Comfort and convenience uber alles.

I always wear goretex lined army boots, and kevlar jeans and summer gloves for as long as possible until having to winterise. Really can't be doing making a big faff of changing at either end of a commute.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Sable]

Dont give a shit what other people think of how you look and life is a lot easier Links and photos provided however, as I tend to dress like an old man and never wear normal textiles.

My general aim when wearing clothes is comfort first, and not needing to change clothes at journeys end. My boots are always RAF flight boots, smart, comfortable to walk all day in, and pretty sturdy. Nobody sees any of them as I always wear Marks & Spencer budget jeans with them. My gloves are simple cheap spada ones. My jacket is the only actual motorcycle gear I wear with armour aside from the helmet.

Urbano Tucano used to do some nice jackets. I wear the middle jacket with blue jeans.

https://cdn.bikechatforums.com/files/tucano_urbano_chaquetas.jpg

https://www.tucanourbano.com They do have a whole range of clothes and jackets, not just the above ones. They go as low as £50 on ebay new when some company or another goes bust.

Next jacket will be a Spada Staffy most likely. Usually £160 unless you have one of them 20% off ghostbike vouchers they send out endlessly. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Spada-Staffy-Wax-Cotton-Waterproof-Motorcycle-Jacket-Brown-/351431509133?var=&hash=item51d2f3448d Removable lining for winter and summer, so all year round, all weathers, all locations.

If your flash you can always buy a barbour jacket, £300+. https://www.triumphworld.co.uk/buy/triumph-Mens-Triumph-Barbour-Jacket/MTHA15120?gclid=Cj0KEQjwsIWvBRCnzevvor2g4L8BEiQAAN234VBYDJXQqBCWxkLGvANz3HyWDQD2gBLzdQkxD_U03w8aAqyK8P8HAQ#eq1

Expensive but the quality is fantastic.

If you are fashion / appearance conscious, and wear any of the above, I do imagine all old men look like they skipped everything from the 1950s - 2015, and all young people look like hipsters wearing them. Middle aged men wearing the above, I imagine you will look like an inane grinning idiot trying to be a hipster or his dad while having a mid life crisis.

No matter what age or appearance you have, someone will always pick fault with the way you look, so wear what you want

[Timfy]

When I was hooning around on a GSX-R in all weathers I'd only be wearing full textiles or leathers.

Now I'm all FWB on a cruiser pretty much only wear kevlar jeans, textile jacket (or kevlar super-hoody) and ankle boots/light gloves.

Depends upon the journey and conditions, but I find I use my "street gear" most of the time now.

[defblade]

I have a not-obviously-bikey leather jacket and some Kevlar jeans for those times when I'm going somewhere rather than just for a ride (and it wasn't raining...), alongside full goretex for commuting.

They do get used from time to time.

I wouldn't bother with different gloves as they go in the top box with my lid (or are shoved into the lid if I have to carry them both (yes, I know about Velcro...)) and they'll be my thin summer ones as if I'm wearing the other stuff, it's not raining.

I really wouldn't skimp on the boots - the jeans fit over my proper boots and feet/ankles are the most damaged area in crashes. If wearing the boots would be that big a deal, I'd take trainers to change into instead. But I've been out and about all day, happy enough in my boots.
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Honda Varadero 125cc => Suzuki Bandit 650 33bhp => 77bhp =>
BMW K1200R Sport 163bhp => Aprilia Shiver GT 750 95bhp

[NJD]

Comfort, I think that hits the nail on the head.

Attempting to dent the bank account as little as possible I think i'll just invest in a pair of ankle boots and jeans for the mean time as gloves just get chucked in the bag when out and about regardless and my jacket ends up hanging from the shoulder strap of my bag if it's really warm.

I like the look of the fastlane boots so if there's nothing or something that takes my fancy then a pair of cheapo jeans and job jobbed.

Now then.. time to get out in that sun (while it lasts.. cough, cough).

[gorillaonabik...]

Don't know what others do but in summer wear kevlar jeans, Dainese ankle boots (which look like trainers) and a Furygan jacket. I'm not an ATGATT guy but most of the time like to wear something.

Winter is textiles, Daytona boots etc...

Just want to be comfortable walking around in summer so jeans and ankle boots make more sense than Dainese dungarees and a full jacket.
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FZR400 (blown engine), ZXR750 (blown engine), ZX6R (accident), CBR600 which had engine issues after which I learned to change gear..., CBR900, CBR924 (stolen), CB600, CB1300 (everything blew up), BMW K1300GT (written off, hit from rear while stationary), Bandit 1250 for a couple of months, Triumph Sprint ST 1050 (nicked) and somewhere in there, I wrote off a Ducati 748 at Cadwell.

[Robby]

I'm a fan of cheap "touring" bike boots. They tend to be waterproof and comfortable. I don't like boots with metal exoskeletons that look like Spiderman's slippers.

Kevlar jeans are good, because I don't like leathers and textiles look like I make my own clothes out of laptop bags.

Normal bike jacket that I've had for 15 years, but I removed the armour ages ago. Hot and uncomfortable.

Gloves is the one area where I spend a bit more to buy some that fit well. Plain leather summer gloves. If I have a crash, I'm going put my hands out when I fall, it's a reflex. Armoured gloves don't have armour on the palms, the one place where I might actually use it.

[wr6133]

Unless it's raining I'm in Kevlar jeans/cargo's and a leather jacket. If it's cold I wear long johns underneath. Head to toe in textiles is uncomfortable and inconvenient.

Doesn't have to cost a lot. Force riders Kevlar jeans are around £30 and reasonable leather jackets can be had for under £100.

[NJD]

Apologies if the pictures are a bit OTT in size the one down on the menu was to small to see anything.

So i'm back (well done, state the obvious) and have the basics that I wanted and at what I consider a good price coming in at just under £100.

BKS Kevlar Jeans on sale at just under £40. They might not have the most protection but drew my attention straight away in terms of price and look more like just any normal jean that I expected. And upon writing this I've just realized that the black bit on the knee is a velcro pocket for knee pads (of course not provided). Looks like it would have to be generic knee pads form amazon for about £15 since it seems there's no specific ones but for the price that's a neat feature. Personally wont purchase any time soon but may do in the long run dependent on use and how they feel out on the bike.

After trying on the Alpinestar faster boots boots for £59 the guy at J&S tried to tell me that there was no sizes bigger than 10 after fishing around the table and give me one size to small making me say "yeah, there a little tight on the toe end" with the reply of "oh, we have this range over here but they're a little more expensive" so I tried them all on and gave him a long wait while he stalked me from behind and kept walking away and coming back, eventually picked up the fastlane WP for £99.99 and noticed that they where the same size as the largest on the table of the reduced ones so I tried the reduced ones on again and lone behold there was my size on the table, by this time the original guy had gone and someone else was watching over me. "Ha, up yours" I thought.. under £100 made even sweeter by the fact that the guy had tried to sell me a shoe that cost just as much as that.

I do admit that the ones he was showing me where waterproof, a little more protection and snazzy but i'm not after the best ankle boot for my first pair after all I'm yet to even ride in them so might not like them but in terms of general comfort to walk around in and combined with the jean they look the part. Nice try J&S, nice try. Oh, and the boot is blue and black on different sides but meh.. look decent enough.

Sorry for the wall of text but may be worth popping down to J&S to take a look if they have anything discounted near you for the bank holiday weekend.

https://s2.postimg.org/uhj2q07op/3_Copy.jpg

https://s14.postimg.org/qalfumeg1/1_Copy.jpg

https://s17.postimg.org/odvqre1of/2_Copy.jpg

https://s17.postimg.org/ecvyf6uwv/4_Copy.jpg

[Undinist]

Let's not forget fashion, boys and girls! Big BMW dealers usually have the best range of street wear for bikers. It's stupidly expensive, so go and try it on, get an idea of the look you want, then get on the internet and find something cheaper. A lot of the good-looking bikey street wear is impossible to find on the high street - the likes of J&S, Infinity and the late Hein Gericke have/had a very narrow range, most of it tragic.

Another option is street clothes with lightweight armoured overtrousers and jacket over the top. Sling the oversuit in the topbox at your destination and walk around in clothes that you actually like. My female passengers have always preferred this approach.
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Current bike: K1100RS. Previous: CD200, GSX250, GT550, VFR750, K100LT, K1100LT, R1100GS, R1150GS, ZZR1100, Hayabusa, RSV Mille, MV F4 750S, R1, ZX-10, KTM Adventure 950S

[stevo as b4]

I saw a guy come roaring past me on the M42 today riding a V-rod with loud pipes, and wearing cammo trouser's, white trainer's and a brown hoody.

Shame he had the wrong Harley to be all S.O.A though!

[deadwolf]

Don't bother. Any amount of 'normal-looking' gear you wear is instantly negated by the motorcycle helmet you're toting around with you
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Motorsapien Art