Newbie here. Took my first lesson Saturday....going to buy my Road King this afternoon. JUST KIDDING! I will heed the advice of the more seasoned and salted (but, hopefully, not cooked) members of this forum. Plan to start w/ some used Metric up to 6-750CC max. Prferrably a 350 I think. Depends on what I can find cheap. Anyhoo...I will buy a full face helmet, Jacket and boots pretty soon so I'm wondering what the favorite brands are and why you like them. Should I shy away from cheapos? I want the best possible saftey gear, but don't want to spend foolishly. Please clue me in.....Thanks!!!!
The very best is leather. However if you are traveling around at near legal speeds then textile is fine. I've got an old Joe Rocket Ballistic that won't seem to die for winter and an AGV mesh jacket for summer. Both were relatively inexpensive. I've got some First Gear pants but the zippers are a problem with those. Tour master makes pretty good pants, solid and mesh both.
For boots I use good old fashioned jump boots. They are inexpensive compared to the boots with "motorcycle" stamped on them and last longer than any other boot I've tried. Just don't get cleated soles.
Will definitely look at pants as well.
Will look at pants too.
A 16th Century suit of armor is needed if you ride in Los Angeles, or a full coverage helmet that's big enough to cover your entire body. If you get hit by a SUV you might as well be wearing a swim suit and flip-flops, 'cause aint' nuthin' gonna hep you boy. Say hello to the spinal ward.
If you have a Cycle Gear store in your area, they have a house brand called "MotoBoss." It's pretty good stuff at cheap (I mean reasonable) prices. They also carry Icon and Rocket if you want to compare. I have mixed bag of whatever is on sale when I'm buying. If you buy from a dealer ask for a store credit as part of the deal; the dealer can give you $500 and their cost is obviously 30-60% of that.
I had a pair of Spidis with hard kevlar knuckle protectors. I took a tumble some time ago and one of the protectors got a dent. No sign of cracking. So some of those hard protectors can be good.
I replaced the gloves with a pair of Spidi's Carbo Six (silly name) racing glovs.
If you have a Cycle Gear store in your area, they have a house brand called "MotoBoss." It's pretty good stuff at cheap (I mean reasonable) prices. They also carry Icon and Rocket if you want to compare. I have mixed bag of whatever is on sale when I'm buying. If you buy from a dealer ask for a store credit as part of the deal; the dealer can give you $500 and their cost is obviously 30-60% of that.
You just like walking around with Moto Boss stamped on your chest.