Riding gear

[Bob Denman]

I would have said it, but I didn't want to insult you like that!

[foxtail1]

I love my Tourmaster Venture Air 2.0 Pants. They have armored mesh with 2 liners, waterproof and insulated. With both liners, you can ride in most weather (e.g., Rocky Mountain National Park in midsummer: hot sun to hard rain to 45˚F in the course of an hour). I also have a HD armored mesh jacket.

I'm just getting my Spyder tomorrow, but my plan is to suit up as I did for my HD.

[Arion]

Great post Ann. People don't understand the laws of Thermodynamics. Heat will always try to find a balance and transfer from the warmer surface to the cooler surface. If it is over 99 degrees outside, you want to keep your 98.6 inside and away from the 102 outside. You will remain cooler by zipping up all vents and even closing the vents on your helmet. Keep the 98.6 inside and you will be cooler. I tested this coming home from Valcourt. Drove 200 miles across South Dakota in 102 degrees. I closed up everything and remained cool throughout. Once you jump out there in your shorts you will dehydrate and go into heat sickness very fast. So if you are going to the grocery store you can wear what you want, but for me, I am going to remain covered like those cool, calm collected BMW ryders.....and the long, tall cool one....Ann Myers!

Ah, an understanding of laws of physics. Well said. It's counterintuitive so there will always be those who argue, but it remains accurate nonetheless. Neil deGrasse Tyson summed it up nicely - “The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.”

[UtahPete]

Great post Ann. People don't understand the laws of Thermodynamics. Heat will always try to find a balance and transfer from the warmer surface to the cooler surface. If it is over 99 degrees outside, you want to keep your 98.6 inside and away from the 102 outside. You will remain cooler by zipping up all vents and even closing the vents on your helmet. Keep the 98.6 inside and you will be cooler. I tested this coming home from Valcourt. Drove 200 miles across South Dakota in 102 degrees. I closed up everything and remained cool throughout. Once you jump out there in your shorts you will dehydrate and go into heat sickness very fast. So if you are going to the grocery store you can wear what you want, but for me, I am going to remain covered like those cool, calm collected BMW ryders.....and the long, tall cool one....Ann Myers!

The OP was about riding in the rain, not in the heat of a Southwest summer! This issue you're now debating has been discussed ad nauseum elsewhere.

[Buckeye Bleau]

ATGATT here...
I wear a Speed & Strength textile jacket with the armor intact, riding boots, deerskin gloves, and a Schuberth modular helmet.

1. It keeps the sun from broiling my hide.
2. Any road grime is caught: leaving my real clothes looking better for the office.
3. They also keep the minor rainstorms from requiring a stop for the serious raingear.
4. They add a whole lot more visibility to the package:

Bob, I could not help but to notice how much better looking you are with a helmet on! It must be one of your wife's home improvement plans.

Joe

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

What are you saying about BMW riders? I guarantee that I am cooler wearing riding gear than some idiot wearing shorts and a tshirt. I'd be willing to undergo scientific testing to prove my point.

Here's one test you could do take two beers and open both. Put one in a coozie and leave the other naked and set them side by side in the sun. Give it a few minutes and tell me which one is cooler??????

Mike, come on out to Las Vegas and ride with me in the summer. You don't wear any gear and I'll wear mine and we will see who is cooler. Oh and you don't have to wear a helmet here so you can cool your head off too. Not!

Dear Ann, I'm sorry you felt I was attacking you, and I can't see how you even arrived at that idea..... IMHO anyone who wears shorts on a Mtc is less than intelligent ..... and thanks for the invite to Vegas , I look forward to visiting with You and Joe..... ...... Mike

[cognaccruiser]

The OP was about riding in the rain, not in the heat of a Southwest summer! This issue you're now debating has been discussed ad nauseum elsewhere.

I think if you read his post again, you will see it was NOT about riding in the rain although he mentions having a bright coloured rain jacket.

Just to add "ad nauseum", I agree completely with those that wear armoured textile clothing. And yes it does protect you from the heat/sun. Used to wear T's and jeans and got the moisture sucked right out of us. The brand is up to you.

Gary

[UtahPete]

I think if you read his post again, you will see it was NOT about riding in the rain although he mentions having a bright coloured rain jacket. Just to add "ad nauseum", I agree completely with those that wear armoured textile clothing. And yes it does protect you from the heat/sun. Used to wear T's and jeans and got the moisture sucked right out of us. The brand is up to you. Gary

I stand corrected. I was hoping to have a discussion about the need for armor when riding a Spyder. I'm not questioning the need for proper riding gear to protect from wind, rain and sun.

[Bob Denman]

The "need" for it???
You're not strapped down inside a metal box that is bristling with airbags...
If things go wrong: you WILL be ejected into a very uncertain future!

[RTman10]

After 25 years on BMW bikes I have a mountain of clothing most of it BMW, all armoured and quite heavy but comfortable. I also decided that none of it was suited for my Spyder. But I now have a mountain of armoured bits and amazingly a lot of very comfortable and quite lightweight suitable gear. I can learn to ignor the BMW roundels on most of it. The helmet stays as it is except for the odd short trip down the shops.

[wyliec]

The "need" for it???
You're not strapped down inside a metal box that is bristling with airbags...
If things go wrong: you WILL be ejected into a very uncertain future!

I have to agree with Utah this time. If you go bouncing down the road, that armor is not going to do much for you, IMO. If you're really concerned about that, get one of those airbag jackets like someone else did. To each his own, armor or no armor. Now back to the whatever the OP's question was.

[Bob Denman]

But Ron,
Do you just "go bouncing down the road", or do you simply come to an abrupt stop against something that is very solid?
You know: stuff like guardrails, trees, oncoming front bumpers, bridge abutments, parked cars, etc...
As I said: an uncertain future awaits the accident victim.

[UtahPete]

But Ron, Do you just "go bouncing down the road", or do you simply come to an abrupt stop against something that is very solid?
You know: stuff like guardrails, trees, oncoming front bumpers, bridge abutments, parked cars, etc...

Exactly. That armor is not going to help much in those circumstances. It's designed for falling off the bike, not for protection against a high-speed ejection resulting from hitting a solid object.

[Bob Denman]

Whatever floats Your Goat.jpg

All that I'm saying, is that if you're going to make an important decision: be sure to figure in all possible information.

[UtahPete]

All that I'm saying, is that if you're going to make an important decision: be sure to figure in all possible information.

Agreed. Isn't that why we're discussing it?

[Tango]

ATGATT here...



4. They add a whole lot more visibility to the package:

I know what you are talking about. Butt, when I first read it. I was like Bob, really? More visibility to the package. Then it was like, oh, wrong package. Tom

[Bob Denman]

I honestly hadn't thought of THAT interpretation!

[crazycanuck]

where are we with this

[Bob Denman]

Riding gear is good!
It all depends on how you define "gear".

[crazycanuck]

How about people wear what they want to wear and can afford. Safety is looked at differently by each individual.

[Bob Denman]

That's why I said: It all depends on how you define "gear".
Define it however it suits you best!

[wyliec]

where are we with this

This is how I gear up:


https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...f5LMmV-wH4pJVQ

The helmet is in my hand. It's an Arai Profile that I had wrapped.

[ARtraveler]

We went round and round on the subject not to far back. Lot's of people, lot's of very good opinions.

You need to decide what is good and prudent for you.

The term ATGATT (all the gear, all the time) is used a lot. How you follow it--is up to you.

I don't use armor. Dressing up like the Michelen Man is not going to save my bacon in an all out, ejection, direct crash into a wall, rock, or tree. When its my time, and if it happens that way, just consider that I passed happy--doing what I liked most.

Good boots, a helmet, gloves are a minimum--to help with road slide. What you wear for the legs, and torso are up to you. There are very good textile and leather options. I have several of each.

RE: High VIS: I went through that phase. Have three yellow helmets, and a couple high visibility mesh vests--one orange, and one yellow. Have not worn either for four years or so.

Good luck on the hunt. Be safe out there.

[motoswami]

The nurses in the ER are so sick of seeing road rash they scrub the gravel out with stiff brushes and a vengeance.

I cringe at the thought of having to have an extremity immobilized in a cast with a whole bunch of raw skin on the inside.

Proper jacket AND pants for me, thanks.

[UtahPete]

The nurses in the ER are so sick of seeing road rash they scrub the gravel out with stiff brushes and a vengeance. I cringe at the thought of having to have an extremity immobilized in a cast with a whole bunch of raw skin on the inside. Proper jacket AND pants for me, thanks.

Hey Pete, question I have is whether armored jacket and pants make sense on the Spyder. I'm not sure they do.

BTW, got your old Cognac registered today. I like the looks of your new ride.