Appropriate Gear for a meet up n ride??

[FAST GSXR750]

Full boots like A* and such.

[WordTooYoMamma]

Bostoniannu, who cares what others think. Personally the first day i bought my suit i went out for a long ride. The guys in the on coming cars laughed their asses off, but the ladies love the suit . I didnt care, i needed to get used to the suit, and the thought of sliding on the ground in this thing wasnt such a horrible idea. I felt safe to the point of well theres really nothing more i can do gear wise. Its a nice feeling

[Uncle Snake]

I showed up to a group ride last year as the only one in full leathers. I felt out of place, but I wouldn't have done it any other way. I'm not truly comfortable unless I'm wearing my full leathers. Even Doc, the anti-squid, was only wearing his draggin' jeans. And I believe that was the ride that we had somebody go down. He wasn't seriously hurt, but the rash that he got on his knee wouldn't have happened with riding pants.

If somebody gives you crap or judges you for protecting yourself just tell them to go fuck themselves, that should solve the problem pretty quickly. Wearing "too much" gear doesn't hurt anybody, wearing too little can mess up everyone's day in short order. I say "too much" because there is no such thing.

[j4eric]

i was also wondering what smart riders use to protect their legs. T shirt n shorts crown need not answer.

boots, armored knee pads, armored shorts....if you have armored riding pants, it will have armor in the knee and hip area.

checkout sportbiketrackgear.com, goto the armor section.

most wear just jeans on the ride...i think....i wear armor knee pads with my jeans....saving up for the armored shorts.

[OreoGaborio]

The best was the day a13x & I went out riding in Boston in our race leathers, through the Northeastern campus as everyone was out & about, riding as SLOW as we possibly could in full race tuck, hanging way off around every little corner.

Oh, the looks we got

Them were good times!

[Stiggy]

....."The Road"....

Is that what you're calling it nowadays?

[butcher bergs]

Is that what you're calling it nowadays?

That's what I'm calling a very specific road located in NY.

[Uncle Snake]

My question to you is, how are you going to afford hospital and/ or vehicle replacement bills when you eat shit into a ravine/ vehicle/ tree/ rock/ telephone pole/ mailbox/ pedestrian/ sidwalk? Last I checked there weren't any safety provisions on a public thruway and "The Road" (you know which one) offers damn-near everything that can hurt you and nothing that will save you.....not even your 520 conversion.

All that in itself was enough to get me to the track and I don't regret it at all. A couple hundred bux seems pale in comparision to the many thousands being risked......all IMHO, of course.

I'm STILL making payments to TWO hospitals every month from a get off on "The Road" in July08.......

[Femmekat]

i wonder if group rides where the majority are in full leathers will draw negative attention. like local police thinking that the group is out riding looking to drag knee.

In my experience its the complete opposite. Every time I've had a friendly chat with an LEO they always praise the riders for being smart and wearing good gear. I think they see geared up riders as being more responsible and respectable than the squids out in their flippy floppies.

I've even gotten out of tickets for wearing gear...

[butcher bergs]

Yes, Lauren, it was the gear that did it.

[wiggeywackyo]

The best was the day a13x & I went out riding in Boston in our race leathers, through the Northeastern campus as everyone was out & about, riding as SLOW as we possibly could in full race tuck, hanging way off around every little corner.

Oh, the looks we got

Them were good times!

[Stiggy]

That's what I'm calling a very specific road located in NY.

That's what I meant by "it."

[Cheese]

bostoniannu,

You're on the right track by asking. Most leaders would rather answer questions before the ride or at the very least know you're a new rider before starting off with the group. It's tough, but the more you can swallow your pride on a group ride, the safer everyone will be.

As for gear; I have never been on a ride where anyone made fun of someone in leathers. Whether we wear it or not, the majority of people on this forum respect those that wear it far more than those that don't.

Lastly, I'm one of those riders that went down in a pair of textile pants when I had leathers at home in the closet. It's a bummer.

[RandyO]

Forgive the noob question. But what is appropriate gear for one of the group rides I see the posts for. Jacket/Jeans, pants, 2pc, 1-pc?? How aggressive are your rides.

.

Disregard the previous 3 pages of saftey nazi posts

ride however YOU feel comfortable, this forum was originally started cause of the mama safety nazi attitude that made some people uncomfortable on another sportrider forum here in NE.

[butcher bergs]

That's what I meant by "it."

I felt I had to clarify the usage of the word "it", what with all the crotch-fixations around here.

[Doc]

3 pages of safety Nazi's might mean a change has occured...

[Slyder]

My question to you is, how are you going to afford hospital and/ or vehicle replacement bills when you eat shit into a ravine/ vehicle/ tree/ rock/ telephone pole/ mailbox/ pedestrian/ sidwalk? Last I checked there weren't any safety provisions on a public thruway and "The Road" (you know which one) offers damn-near everything that can hurt you and nothing that will save you.....not even your 520 conversion.

All that in itself was enough to get me to the track and I don't regret it at all. A couple hundred bux seems pale in comparision to the many thousands being risked......all IMHO, of course.

Excellent points. I guess its time to sell the bike. Luckily for me, this is the best time to sell

[Doc]

Excellent points. I guess its time to sell the bike. Luckily for me, this is the best time to sell

Or get a 250....

[SteveM]

3 pages of safety Nazi's might mean a change has occured...

I hope not.

The issue isn't more gear or less. More is better, that's not debatable.

The issue is live and let live.

Give good advice when asked, but don't preach.

a 50' slide on asphalt while wearinf wranglers will teach more than 10 years of preaching.

[butcher bergs]

Excellent points. I guess its time to sell the bike. Luckily for me, this is the best time to sell

Oh stop. I'm not dogging on you. I can't tell you how many times I've heard or read how people "can't afford" a trackday but will happily risk everything on the street.

Trust me when I say that there was a time where I let it all hang out on the street. I'm sure if you jog his memory, DucDave will tell you a story about a Honda Accord I almost bought while cresting a hill at 135 as I was trying to catch up to a few riders ahead of me. The close calls got pretty old once my eyes were opened to the track.

Would it mean something to you if I offered to cover half of your trackday fee? Would you come to the track then?


...and Randy, God forbid the members here promote a safe riding atmosphere.

[Doc]

...and Randy, God forbid the members here promote a safe riding atmosphere.

Or an appropriate 1st bike...

[Degsy]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.508 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

3 pages of safety Nazi's might mean a change has occured...

I hope not.

The issue isn't more gear or less. More is better, that's not debatable.

The issue is live and let live.

Give good advice when asked, but don't preach.

a 50' slide on asphalt while wearinf wranglers will teach more than 10 years of preaching.

If any of you ever catch me wearing a pair of wranglers, riding or not, just shoot me then and there.

[butcher bergs]

Or an appropriate 1st bike...

I just checked that thread. Pete cleaned it up real good.

[CBR929RE]

As crazy as this sounds, I bet it's the complete opposite of the reality of wearing gear.

I'm gonna guess that the general public sees a rider wearing full gear as a trouble-maker of sorts because, much like those silly cruiser folks and squids think, if you're not going fast then you'll never crash and since they're never gonna crash they don't need gear.

people who don't own leathers always say you don't need them on the street. what a croc. I worry far more about getting hurt on the street than on the track.

The best was the day a13x & I went out riding in Boston in our race leathers, through the Northeastern campus as everyone was out & about, riding as SLOW as we possibly could in full race tuck, hanging way off around every little corner.

Oh, the looks we got

Them were good times!

I'd totally be down for a ride like that.

[Slyder]

Oh stop. I'm not dogging on you. I can't tell you how many times I've heard or read how people "can't afford" a trackday but will happily risk everything on the street.

This person has been unemployed since Dec 08 and lost health insurance not too long after. It's not by choice that I've not made it to a trackday, I could afford a trackday or two but that wouldn't be a wise move given the circumstances. Blame this rational thinking on my ex...if I had never met her I'd have been at the track a few times last summer too. I thought about it and almost pulled the trigger but luckily I thought better of it.

Thanks for the offer but my new job should be taking off soon, just sucks waiting for it and it sucks that it took so long to find...but it should be well worth the wait. When it takes off, I'll make it to a t-day. Probably more than one.

Riding last summer probably wasn't really bright either, and it was a risk but it gave me something to do and kept me sane. I knew if I got messed up I'd be in big trouble without health insurance. Who cares about the bike though, its insured.

So there's my sob story. When things change trust me, I'll be there. And probably wishing I was on a 600 to boot.