Recommendations for gear outlay beginners

[Milesprower]

So just started thinking about trying riding having driven for nearly 30 years and a regular cyclist. Going to book in for the CBT and am visualising moving towards the full licence to ride a reasonable sized bike for pleasure.
So the question is how much to spend on protective gear as an initial outlay, or more accurately what's required to achieve an acceptable level of protection?
Any recommendations?
Many thanks

[gbrand42]

Personally my current gear cost:

Helmet £550
Jacket £300
Trousers £130
Boots £170
Gloves £40

Total £1190

I'm a bit of a cheap skate and could have spent a bit more on trousers and gloves - so maybe £1400 all in for a good level of protection. I do not buy any additional armour, that's my risk and my hard luck if I do turn out to have needed it.

Having said that you could get a helmet for £50, cheap trousers say £40, cheap jacket £50, work boots £30 and gloves for £15 so under £200 all in. BUT, I have bought cheap before and in my experience they do not last very long, they are not as comfortable and I can't believe you would get the same level of protection.

Another option is to go second-hand on anything except the helmet. There are bargains to be had if you hunt around.

This is just my opinion, and there will be others that say go cheaper, and others that say go as high as you can afford. It's really your shout. Hope this helps
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Yamaha RD50M, Honda C90, Yamaha RS100, Yamaha RD125LC, Honda XL125 V9 Varadero, Honda NT700VA, Honda VFR800X, Honda CRF1000L, Honda ST1300 Pan European

[Freddyfruitba...]

[Ayrton]

Depends on what you consider acceptable really. I think for my first set of gear I spent around £350 for helmet, jacket boots, gloves and trousers. It did the job fine and I'm still using the RST trousers and jacket years later.

It also depends if you will ride in winter or not as you would need some different gear for colder weather.

[wr6133]

Richa is a good brand for low(ish) prices if you are starting out.

Helmets go and try on, some brands just wont feel right.

Lid, boots, gloves, trousers and jacket (textile) you should be able to get a decent set for £3-400. If you are really needing to cut cost then half that but don't expect to be dry, warm or comfortable.

[barrkel]

I'd never spend £550 on a helmet, unless I had some kind of special needs and it was the only thing that would do. A basic helmet which fits and does decently with safety ratings (https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/) can be had for less than £100, paying more is paying for features like nicer fabric, better ventilation, etc. As it is, I use a Schuberth C3, well under £400.

A cheap helmet that fits is better than a mega-expensive helmet that doesn't.

Get Gore-Tex motorcycle boots. Not only will they be properly waterproof, but they'll stink less. TCX aren't too expensive, ~£170.

Jacket and trousers depends on the kind of riding. Fair weather fast roads, leather; commuting, Gore-Tex-lined (or equivalent) textiles will be fine, and you can add rainproof over-clothes if necessary. All weather, possibly including touring in winter, you want very good Gore-Tex Pro Shell gear, the liner is bonded with the exterior so it doesn't soak up anything. This is where I'd spend the most money, but you can get by with a combo of cheap textiles + oversuit for weathproofing.

Long term, you want a few different options. I have a leather two-piece for sporty riding and sporty touring, a one-piece waterproof for touring in the leathers, a two-piece expensive set of Gore-Tex Pro Shell textiles for bad weather, and a different leather jacket which I use with jeans for casual riding, and some rainproof over-gear which packs up well that I can put on over jacket & trousers.

Gloves: Gore-Tex or similar with some padding for winter and rain, something lighter with more feel for summer and when it's not raining. Gloves wear out faster than everything else. Fit and ensuring the main seams are double-stitched is the main thing.
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Bikes: S1000R, SH350; Exes: Vity 125, PS125, YBR125, ER6f, VFR800, Brutale 920, CB600F, SH300x4
Best road ever ridden: www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2MhNxUEYtQ

[Riejufixing]

[slowside]

I'm still using the gear I started out with and have no complaints. The zip on my jacket is a bit knackered so may have to replace that at some point, but other than that it's been great for 2+ years of three-seasons riding.

Spend so far:

Held FF387 helmet £70
Weise Psycho jacket £100
Bullit SR6 Jeans £60 (I've got 2 pairs so £120)
RST Paragon Pro Textile trousers £50 (eBay)
Frank Thomas shorty boots £40 (eBay)
RST Tundra boots £70
Richa gloves £20

None of it is particulary fashionable or likely to attract much kudos, but it all fits and looks good together and despite being cheap all of it has good protection.
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Triumph Sprint RS 955i - Sold
Triumph Street Triple R 675

[ThunderGuts]

Helmets, if buying reputably, are generally going to meet a benchmark EU standard (can't remember what it is off the top of my head and no, that's not a pun). If they fit well, they should provide adequate protection. I think it's the other gear where there's more opportunity to buy sub-standard protection as it's quite easy to spend a lot of money on jacket/trousers which are labelled up as motorcycle gear but actually don't meet any standards and may be no more protective than high-street clothing.

I paid about £800 all in I think for my first outfit, although ended up buying more stuff down the line to suit my requirements.

If you're with a training school they sometimes have deals with local shops; I got 10% off at J&S (although they're not the cheapest to start off with) at the time.
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TG.

[Ste]

The best lid around that will offer you the most protection in the event of a crash is the lid which fits you the best.

SHARP ratings can't take that into account so as useful as the ratings might be, you want to be choosing a lid based on how well it fits you and the only way to do that is to try on as many different lids as possible. But I've no idea how trying lids on will work now there's Covid19.

Once you've tried lots on, you'll know which ones mostly kind of pretty much fitted, which ones were uncomfortable and which one fitted you the best.

Everything else comes after fit.

[stinkwheel]

Not been a Lidl/Aldi motorbike gear special for a bit. That was always a good spot for some decent budget bike gear. Their denim jeans were quite decent.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Bhud]

I'm not going to suggest an initial outlay because I don't know the answer. I built up my gear over time, so I have more than one set of everything (except knee and shoulder armour inserts), and it all gets changed around depending on the weather. I can't pretend it all gets worn all the time, either. I also made some silly purchases that didn't serve me well. The only bit of gear I bought when starting out was a helmet (it was a good one) but times have changed and you now get lots of good gear recommendations.

I recommend armoured bike boots, with shin and ankle protection. From whichever brand (just make sure it's a brand). I can attest that they can resist being hit by a Range Rover from the side, and ankle and lower leg injuries are apparently very painful and take ages to heal.

Familiarise yourself as best you can with the current state of play regarding CE armour, level 1 and 2. It can be a confusing picture, so forewarned is forearmed. The more information you have, the better. Neural injury is, obviously, everyone's worst nightmare, so your head is important and so is your neck and back. I have a motocross back armour (very hard), and a D3O armour insert (very soft). Tbh, I have zero training in anything medical related, and to my inexpert eye the motocross armour is a lot better as it would spread the load over a wider area. The D30 stuff - well, I'm just not sold on it but I stick it in anyway. The best protection remains, as ever, to not crash.

[Milesprower]

Ok some great advice there thanks all.
I'll probably pop along to a shop or two and get expert advice on fitting etc... my main concern about riding bikes is the safety aspect as even on my bicycle when riding quickly I've had some closer shaves.. so getting good protective gear seems a no brainer even if spending a bit more...
Just thought I'd look like a tit turning up to a CBT dressed like Barry Sheene
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milesprower

[stinkwheel]

The first part of the CBT syllabus covers selecting appropriate riding gear.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[ThunderGuts]

Most places doing CBT will have helmets/jacket/gloves for you to wear (unless Covid is making a mess of this too), often just asking you to turn up with thick-ish jeans and ankle boots on. You're unlikely to go above 40mph on your CBT and you'll be being watched like a hawk throughout. The school will probably recommend somewhere to get gear and as I mentioned, they might even have a discount agreement for you.
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TG.

[slowside]

[doggone]

You could get a decent lid under £100 and buy a few bits from ebay or watch for things offer, no reason at all to spend over £500.
To get started, especially in Summer, you really only need helmet and gloves most of us have a reasonably thick coat and pair of boots?

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[pepperami]

[Riejufixing]

[c_dug]

Surprised at some people spending over a grand on initial kit out! I guess it's all about personal preference.

I'd probably not buy a helmet for less than £100 personally, I'm sure plenty of people have done so with no issues, but buy cheap buy twice comes to mind. At the other end of the scale, my current lid at £350 is the most expensive I have gone, and wouldn't personally want to go any higher than that.

I'd suggest a set of well fitted gloves in the £20-50 range, and a good set of boots because personally I much prefer riding in proper bike boots than any other option - again many others will suggest military surplus and the like, but not for me. Boots and gloves are things I find really make a big difference to how I ride.

As for the rest, I'd honestly suggest second hand textiles for your first jacket/trousers. There is so much good gear out there to get you through your first year or two whilst you work out how much you'll be riding, the style of bike you'll end up on, whether you'll ride in all weather, whether you'll fancy trying a track day.... all of which will change what you want out of the gear you buy.

Don't forget to factor in some sort of security into your budget, depending on where you live and ride you'll likely want a decent chain and/or disk lock, you'll want to budget at least £100 for that.
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[Kentol750]

No Teflon yet!

Get a helmet that fits and do CBT. Or do CBT in the kit supplied.
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Some bikes.

[c_dug]

Got a friend who's just done his CBT and they won't lend helmets whilst Covid is a thing, so, helmet first for sure!
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[stinkwheel]

Also consider second hand gear. A lot of people buy all the gear, wear it once and put it away in the cupboard (they do it with motorbikes too).

My bike leathers are second hand. Got the bellstaff (so absolute top-bananna kit) jacket I always wanted when I was younger for £60 off ebay. Had clearly never been worn more than once to try it on.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.