Appropriate street riding gear is...?

I have heard a lot of arguments about what kind of gear is appropriate for street riding. I, for one, ride only on the street, day and night, and have on a DOT and Snell approved helmet, leather jacket with back, shoulders, and elbow protection, leather gloves that cover the wrist/carbonfiber knuckles, 14oz denim jeans with hip and knee reinforcements, and riding boots that cover the ankles. What is your take on appropriate street riding gear? Are you one of those people who believe in wearing full leathers/track gear no matter where you go?Thanks

I agree 100% with your gear selection.

good selection if you are riding mountain roads hard maybe leathers but for everyday riding what you have is great

Wife beater, flip flops, shorts and a ball cap with oakley sun glasses.











J/K what you have listed is sufficient IMO for the street.

i've got a similar set up but i've got some alpinestars road race style boots smx4 that i like much more than the just covering ankle boots. i also have a textile jacket instead of the leather. i would like to run leather jacket/pants for out of town riding just have to wait for the funds to catch up to the wants.

[CBR929RE]

I wear the same exact stuff on the street as I do on the track. 2-piece leathers, race style gauntlet gloves, Sidi Vertigo Corsa boots, Suomy Spec-1R Extreme helmet, and Spidi back protector.

its been said the street is more dangerous than the track. so why wear less protection on the street.

I wear all the gear one or two peice leathers , full armour racing boots ,gloves, back protector and helmet.As I've said in a previous post " dress for the crash not the ride ".Why is it riders will spend loads of money on the latest bike and the latest gizzmo for it , but when it comes to protective riding gear they some times try to spend as little as possable.
The amount of young girls over here riding scooters wearing high heels , short skirt and tee shirt with only a crash helmet for protection has to be seen to be belived.
You can have as many bikes as you want over as many years as you want,but you only have one life so you,d better look after it.

Originally Posted by MarinoKouch

I have heard a lot of arguments about what kind of gear is appropriate for street riding. I, for one, ride only on the street, day and night, and have on a DOT and Snell approved helmet, leather jacket with back, shoulders, and elbow protection, leather gloves that cover the wrist/carbonfiber knuckles, 14oz denim jeans with hip and knee reinforcements, and riding boots that cover the ankles. What is your take on appropriate street riding gear? Are you one of those people who believe in wearing full leathers/track gear no matter where you go?Thanks

head to toe an excellent choice in riding gear. I have been riding for about 18 years and have worn everything from shorts to full race leathers. ideally you would wear the safest gear possible but the reality of the situation is that is not always realistic. Who wants to ride on a 93 degree day in full leathers for a trip to the mall. If I was going out on a mild spring day for a day of "sport riding" I have no issue with race gear.
The only thing I would change with your gear is a Ballistic cordura style jacket (cooler in hot weather and offers EXCELLENT protection even better then leather,is also lighter) and race style boots. or most everyday riding race boots are a pain and a bit much I agree but ideally they offer much better ankle protection and support.
My usual gear is a light cordura jacket with light armor in it, regular leather boots, street gauntlets with hard knucle armor, jeans and a good helmet.Soon to have some Sidi vertigo air race boots though.
Back when most of my riding was day long hard core sport riding at high speed I wore full leathers, top of the line SHOEI helmet, race boots and gloves. Big draw back? When you hit the local arcade to cool off and play SUZUKA 8 with your buddies in full race gear and some kids mom tells you " excuse me, I really thing you are taking this game way too seriously"
Back when most of my riding

[slickwill]

Ballistic cordura style jacket (cooler in hot weather and offers EXCELLENT protection even better then leather,is also lighter)

In all of the drag tests that have ever been done the ballistic nylon hasn't even come close to the protection of leather. The ballistic materials went something like 17 feet on asphalt and the leather was around 80. If ballistic nylon offered better protection the pros would be wearing textile suits. It just doesn't offer near the abrasion resistance.

Originally Posted by slickwill

In all of the drag tests that have ever been done the ballistic nylon hasn't even come close to the protection of leather. The ballistic materials went something like 17 feet on asphalt and the leather was around 80. If ballistic nylon offered better protection the pros would be wearing textile suits. It just doesn't offer near the abrasion resistance.

First, that test was done in 1988 and not on the same material with the same construction as now.
"Better protection ESPECIALLY for the street is not confined to abrasion resistance. A lot less sliding untill stopped is done on the street then on the track. Cordura has better tear and puncture resistance depending on the construction.
Leather beat Cordura in abrasion resistance only in competition weight. Again all this depends on how GOOD the material is wether it is it leather or a textile. A high grade Cordua will beat a regular leather jacket every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
The Ballistic jackets come with very nice armor in several places
The best jacket is the one you wear and since most people ride in warm weather they are much more likely to wear and keep zipped up a nice light well breathing mesh jacket then a heavy leather one.
If you look at the diffrent test results done they score Cordura vastly diffrent. One test has it performing VERY poorly and another quite well in the same weight/construction. I like to stick with the "guy laid down bike at 100+mph test I have actually seen" catagory where they have performed very well.
Given unlimited money and a nice cool day where I did not have to do anything but ride I would pick race leathers every time. Unfortunatly I do not live in that world.

I have a alpinestar leather jacket, suomy spec1r,sidi boots, joe rocket summer gloves...I also have some teknics leather pants that I only where when its cold or when Im planning on acting a fool

[slickwill]

First, that test was done in 1988

I've read a lot more than "that" test, whichever one "that" one supposedly
is.

A high grade Cordua will beat a regular leather jacket every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

It gets to be a "high grade" cordura but a "regular" leather jacket. What the hell is a regular leather jacket? I have "high grade" cordura jacket that came with my bike and a "regular" Alpinestars MX-1 that I picked up the moment I had the money. There is no comparison for safety and the cordura one is much hotter and less comfortable. I also have an armored mesh jacket that is more comfortable in hot weather. However, from the moment I got my leather I never once put on the mesh again, even when it was 100 degrees and 100% humidity here this summer. Better to sweat than bleed, there is no amount of extra comfort that makes up for the safety difference.

Originally Posted by slickwill

I've read a lot more than "that" test, whichever one "that" one supposedly
is.



It gets to be a "high grade" cordura but a "regular" leather jacket. What the hell is a regular leather jacket? I have "high grade" cordura jacket that came with my bike and a "regular" Alpinestars MX-1 that I picked up the moment I had the money. There is no comparison for safety and the cordura one is much hotter and less comfortable. I also have an armored mesh jacket that is more comfortable in hot weather. However, from the moment I got my leather I never once put on the mesh again, even when it was 100 degrees and 100% humidity here this summer. Better to sweat than bleed, there is no amount of extra comfort that makes up for the safety difference.

Most of the cordura jackets are pretty stout like the Joe Rocket BALLISTIC jacket where as MOST leather jackets are crap. There are high end high grade ones like the competition style jackets but VASTLY more low end ones. Think about how many crappy Harley style jackets they sell for every nice Alpinestar jacket. I have work about every type jacket there is and never seen a competition grade leather jacket that was as light or cool as my Ballistic jacket minus maybe the leathers I had which were covered in holes and breathed very well at speed but were twice as hot as the Ballistic jacket when stopped.
As for the tests there are a few but the one you got the numbers from are the TORN in the USA test. I am pretty sure that was the test unless another test used the exact same material names, weights and test criteria and came up with the same numbers as you quoted.
As I said before there is more to "better protection" then abrasion resistance.

[slickwill]

As I said before there is more to "better protection" then abrasion resistance.

In a street accident you are either going to have blunt trauma (often), get impaled by something (rare), or have abrasion (majority).

1. Blunt trauma is going to be the same whether you are wearing leather or cordura. However the armour in the typical quality leather jacket is typically better than what is found in the cordura stuff. Definitely true comparing my A-stars armour to my JR Ballistic armour.

2. Anything that impales you in a street accident is not going to differentiate between leather and cordura.

3. Abrasion, the majority of street injuries (I've spent a lot of time in the ER and riding LifeFlight) is definitely a win for the leather. The other two categories aren't going to make any difference.

Leather definitely wins for safety.

As far as temperature goes the only time I wear the Ballistic is when it gets to cold to wear my leather any more. My JR Ballistic is way warmer than my leather. With todays leather design and tech the temperature difference is only there if you choose to buy a crappy, cheap, non-ventilated jacket.

Scorpion full face helmet, Icon leather jacket or Joe Rocket textile jacket, leather gloves, either Sidi or JR leather boots, and either heavy reinforced jeans or JR leather pants.

At least a jacket gloves and a helmet...

Since this thread popped back up again.........DOT/Snell helmet, Icon chest/back protector, Icon leg armor, leather jacket with CE back, elbow, and shoulder protection(I have a textile, but after I got the leather I won't put it back on), leather padded gloves, and some high leather harness boots.......I need to get some good pants...or some of those slider shorts.

I don't care what pads or armor are included...denim is as good as wearing nothing. Skin grafts are not funny.

I either wear my Aerostich Roadcrafter one piece, or one of three one or two piece leather suits that I have, one of three pair of riding boots for street or track, one of two full face helmets, one of four sets of gloves with gauntlets and my lucky rabbit foot under the seat.

I don't really care what I look like to others. Odds favor I'll be the one getting up, dusting off and riding home instead of taking the ambulance taxi to where the jello is indigestable.

Originally Posted by maxib

I either wear my Aerostich Roadcrafter one piece, or one of three one or two piece leather suits that I have, one of three pair of riding boots for street or track, one of two full face helmets, one of four sets of gloves with gauntlets and my lucky rabbit foot under the seat.

Yeah we get it, you spent a lot of money on 3 sets of gear......at least you're wearing it.

[slickwill]

Originally Posted by TattooedGQ

Yeah we get it, you spent a lot of money on 3 sets of gear......at least you're wearing it.

I'm pretty sure that wasn't his point at all (trust me he has worked very hard to get to where he can afford it and has definitely done his time). I think his point was that good gear is important enough to him that he has made having it a priority.