Proper Motorcycle Riding Gear
When riding a motorcycle you should always wear proper gear at all times. If you think weather, or tempurature is going to be an issue, dont. There is gear for summer, winter, and rain. Wearing any kind of proper gear wont competely prevent you from injury, but it can incredibly increase your chance of minimizing injuries and road rash.
Helmets:
Helmets are your most important piece of motorcycle gear. It’ll protect not only your head from direct contact with another object, but depending on the kind of helmet, it can protect your eyes and face. The best kinds of helmet to use are Full Face helmets. They protect all of your head, unlike half or open face helmets. When wearing a half helmet, there’s a chance in almost any serious accident, that there can be contact with something on the face or side of the head. But no matter what kind of helmet you choose to wear, make sure they are DOT or Snell certified
Jackets:
Now Jackets are just as important as a helmet. Jackets will not only protect you from road rash, but separate your spine, shoulders, elbows, and torso from direct contact with anything. There are many kinds of motorcycle jackets, from nylon, leather and textile; to varying amounts of breathability with mesh or vents. Also there are jackets with built in armor pieces for your back, shoulders and elbows providing even more protection. But that protection can go to waste if the jacket doesn’t fit properly. Not only do are you going to want it to fitting well when walking around, but you’re going to want it to completely cover your arms and back when you’re on your bike. So make sure you always wear a jacket while riding to protect your bones and skin from road rash.
Gloves:
Gloves are another very importance piece of protection because of how important our hands are. They’ve got reinforced padded palms like other gloves, but gauntlet motorcycle gloves provide great protection for your wrists and knuckles. And that padding on the palms will be something to keep in mind. The padding could be too think and not allow the proper amount of feel that you want when holding onto the handlebars. So keep in mind the amount of protection you’re getting and you’ll want gloves that are CE certified to ensure their protectively.
Pants:
First off, you should never wear shorts. If you wear shorts, you will be exposing your shins to not only the road, but heat from the bike as well. And there’s plenty of type of pants to choose from: leather, textile, and denim. Although motorcycle pants can provide great protection, they can be a hassle to deal with while out casually after a ride. The pants can be very hot and baggy, but maybe baggy enough to have shorts on underneath to wear at your destination. Now the most common type you’ll see other riders wear are jeans. Although jeans provide the least amount of protection, you can buy Kevlar reinforced jeans that perform great for protection and casual use.
Shoes:
Shoes are another thing that can be a bother. You can get big, heavy and bulky boots that provide amazing protection, but can be a pain to wear casually. So you need to find a balance. You’ll want shoes or boots that will protect your ankle in case of a low slide, and have a fair amount of padding on the sole to protect your foot from the foot pegs. But keep in mind, that left boot is going to get some wear and tear from upshifting.