Riding Gear - n00b alert..

hi all,

you guys must get this question all the time but here goes..

i just bought my bike and am now looking at getting some gear before i pick it up. any tips on what i should get as i am just starting out? how much should i expect to spend? what brands to look for (or stay away from)? what should i be looking out for? where is a good place to purchase?

i am looking at getting helmet, jacket, gloves, pants, boots. since i bought the bike at peter stevens (melbourne/city), i was thinking about just picking up some gear from there (apparently i get heavy discounts - 10% - for buying my bike there).

thanks for your help guys.

cheers,
mel

hey mel...

i'm on my full licence but still relatively new to biking and i'm i student...

ive got a:
$300 AGV helmet
$350 ixon textile jacket
$250 rjays boots
$200 draggin jeans
$15 KSRC neckwarmer (won't need it till next winter but jee it was a good buy)
$60 Rivet summer gloves (knuckle protection)
$60 Rivet Winter gloves (knuckle protection)
$80 ixon wet weather pants...

so thats $1315

when i can affor dit i will be getting leathers and probably a back protector

I do commuting and weekend stuff and have lived comfortably using these

$180 Motodry jacket. It's a mesh with removable waterproof lining.
$60 Aldi waterproof pants
$199 draggin jeans for really hot summer
$150 nitro Helmet
$290 oxtar boots (waterproof). Aldi boots would do though.

Check our site sponsors too. In most cases we get 10%.

Work out your budget first and then sort out how much you want to spend for each item. Remember you're gear will last you a while so it's a bit of an investment thing. If you can afford better quality then go for it because it will probably last you longer. Beware though more $ doesn't always mean better quality.

Work out what sort of riding you are going to do also. if it's commuting/touring then textile gear which has a degree of waterproof ability would be good. If it casual weekend sports riding then leather might be a better option. For most newbies though Textile is probably better as it's more versatile.

The guys have given you a bit of an idea what their gear cost so you've got a good starting point. I won't because I'm at the leather end of the scale and you don't need to lash out on leathers etc yet. I do have a Dririder Nordic 3 jacket though which I think cost me about $300 a while ago and it is brilliant.

Good Luck with it.

thanks for the response guys. thats definitely a good starting point.

i'm hoping to be able to get away with decent gear for $1-1.5k. i am only looking to be riding on weekends - just for fun, no daily commuting required.

are jeans with armour any good? i heard differing opinions.

what are peter stevens like for getting riding gear?

Or you could go the way i did and fork out for gear, Alot of which i sitll have 3 years later

IE:

Shoei Xr 1000 - $700
Alpinestars TZ1 jacket - $800
Alpinestars Boots - $400
Alpinestars Gloves - $150
Alpinestars Track Leather Pants - $550


Also have
Dri-Rider Nordic 4 - $300
Been threw a set of RJays gloves - $100
Crashed in a pair of Draggons, never buy again but - $200

But i think it pays to fork out for the extra quality of good riding gear cause it iwll last and hopefully save u some grief if u stack!

bikers gear in phillip island have some good stuff....i got wet weather jacket and pants for $260 and i am very happy with them.....another place that has cheap stuff that isnt all crap is amx on dorset rd(they have another store but i dunno where it is)....good luck with the shopping

if you can get out to bike mart in ringwood they will probably be cheaper than peter stevens and they have a bit more variety (not just dainese and alpinestars)
http://bikemart.net.au/
I usually get at least 10% discount without asking.

Another good place is AMX (All Motorcycle X-ccessories) in Dorset Road, Bayswater (and somewhere else but I live in the east).

Upstairs at Yamaha city is OK. (Next door to PS) Try and get Johnny (blondy older bloke). He was a kwaka salesman and I think he still races. If you tell him PS will give you 10% he should do at least the same. He will also order stuff in. He might be a bit pricier but you should get good stuff.

http://www.yamahacity.com.au/accessoriesspares

PS is OK if you know what you want and what you should be paying.

i've got 2 sets of road gear. tiger angel element stuff for touring and when its under about 25 and a mesh jacket for summer (still wear the tiger angel pants but the jacket is a bit hot). got draggins for around town. also got lots of gloves. winter summer and in between.

I'd suggest you sort out your summer gear. It should be OK until March or April then look at a winter jacket.

Main thing with a helmet is comfort and fit. Try lots on.
You don't need the wanky boots for road riding. Touring boots do the job and are under $200. Gloves $60+.
When I'm looking for stuff I look here
http://bikebiz.com.au/enter.html?lmd=39146.358970
and at least get an idea of prices and whats around.

have fun

wow.. thanks for all the info so far everyone.

i went down to ps yesterday to have a look at some gear and get some prices. this is the recommended estimate they gave me:

- helmet (low end shoei) = $500
- jacket (leather alpinestar/dainese) = $700-900
- gloves - $100-200
- boots - $400
- pants (draggin) - $200
- pants (leather) - $550

how does that sound? its a bit over my budget. i was hoping to get away with $1000-1500.

to me its over the top. I think PS try to push people to the expensive stuff.
for that price for the jacket and pants I'd go to tiger angel and get an element suit custom made.
Show yamaha city your list and see what they will do.

that a bit pricey.....the draggins you won't find much cheaper nomatter where you look but there are other brands that are kevlar lined like shift and spidi.

The helmet as long as it fits right it's ok but you can also get cheaper brands that will fit well as well...they are all aus approved although generally the more expensive helmets are better lining and lighter.

Gloves can be a bit cheaper but that not an unreasonable price.

Boots you can definatley get cheaper.....as dilligaf said touring boots do the job.

Leather pants i can't really say cause i haven looked for any in a while!!!!

search other shops and online....

you can get a leather jackeet for 400... of course they are going to reccommend the italian brands

i got $170 touring boots first up.. sure they are just black and dont have toe scrapers... but they will do you well...and i dare say you wont be scrapign toes immediately... my dririder boots lasted me over a year of constant riding... ive now got 250 rjays racing boots... look good but not way expensive... and only decided to get racing boots because of the track days ill be doing in the future... for road riding you dont need em...

get fancy gloves if you like as you could prolly only save 30 bux anyways...

and seriously do lok at helmets like AGV Shark nolan they are all lgood and recers wear alal of these.... sure arai and shoei are nice but not at the price sometimes...

my 2c again... and i'd prefer to ask guys on here than bike shops becaus ebike shops will always recommend the expensive stuff

well, given whats happened to me regarding my bike, i really question the ethics of the salesmen at that place. i doubt i will go there to get my gear now. i'll try some of the other places suggested. thanks guys.

Hi,

I bought my leathers from Bikers Gear:

Jacket - $179
Pants - $189

Both are pretty comfortable and I'm happy with them. CE Armour in all the right places.

Falco Axis Boots - $179
RJays perforated gloves $49
RJays Tourtech flip up helmet $249 - seemed to fit my head better than some of the others I tried.

Most of my riding is commuting - 60 to 80kph stuff.

well worth shopping around and always ask about a discount.

Cheers,
Wayne

You'll probably find it's a lot more expensive and difficult to buy ladies gear as opposed to mens - ladies gear never seems to be on special and the range is more limited. I can't recommend a decent helmet highly enough - I've tried a HJC and a KBC and compared to my Shoei's they just sucked.

If the budget can stretch to leather pants I'd suggest doing so over getting Draggin jeans or other similar lined jeans, particularly as you're not commuting and just doing weekend blasts. I rode in a pair of Draggins the other day and was as nervous as all get out (plus there's no where to attach your knee sliders to your Draggins ). It's also important to ensure that your leather pants zip into your jacket - preferably all the way around, but certainly at least at the back. If I do wear Draggins again I'm going to get a zip attached to them so I can zip them to my jacket.

Finally, I'd strongly suggest a back protector - had I been wearing one I'd probably have walked away from my last crash rather than been airlifted to hospital. A $99 Rjays one will do.

I had a look around the Bikers Gear store at PI on Monday and wasn't particularly impressed with the quality of the gear, but each to his own I suppose.

For reference I ride in the following gear:
Collins 2 piece leather suit - $700
Dianese Wave 12 Back Protector - $250
Sidi Vertigo Boots - $450
Motodry Nitro Gloves - $90
Shoei XR1000 helmet - $700

Good luck with gear shopping, and be sure to bung up a pic of your new bike and all your new gear!