Everyone's always talking ATGATT

[Pterodactyl]

Just consider how many people are driving drunk, high, texting or eating at anytime of the day. The statistics are scary. About a quarter mile from our place there is a ranch with both cattle and buffalo herds. The rancher occasionally moves some livestock across the road and uses his hired-hand to stop traffic. I was coming home on a bike and got stopped behind a pick-up truck. It was a sunny and warm early afternoon. The driver of the pick-up stepped out of the cab and walked to the bed while tossing an empty beer can in the back. He then reached in a large cooler and got a fresh beer to drink as he continued his drive. At least he didn't litter. Knowing that these sort of idiots are out there makes me an ATGATT guy.

In our area animal strikes are very common. Montana has consistently ranked in the top three states where animal strikes are likely to occur. We have deer, mule deer, elk and coyotes roaming around here with great regularity. We are also a free range area, meaning livestock does not have to fenced. If you hit a cow or buffalo it is your fault, end of story. You have to pay the rancher for the animal and the rancher gets to salvage any meat that is useable. A nurse of mine and her husband hit and killed four buffalo on the road in front of our place. Totalled their car and they had to pay the rancher $10,000 for the animals. He had a skid steer loading the carcasses to take to the processor within a couple of hours. I don't think the end result would be very happy if Spousal Unit or I hit a buffalo.

Do what you want as far as gear. I do not care, but I do chuckle when I see pirates riding.

When I was young and stupid (I'm no longer young) I had an introduction to road rash. While driving home from school I stopped to visit and old friend. At 3 AM we ran out of wine and decided it was a good idea to ride two-up on his Triumph Trident to get more. He demanded that I wear a helmet and fasten the chinstrap. My other gear was a t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. There I was sitting on the back with a bottle of wine in one hand and a bottle of Kippered Herring in the other. I let out a yell and my buddy thought I was urging him on and gassed the bike. At around 40-45 MPH I flipped heels over head, but was able to get hold of some part of the bike and was dragged for some distance with only the helmet on the pavement. This was soon an unsustanable position and my slide down the road began. The helmet had a hole in the back from being dragged on the road and my back, elbows and knees were hamburger. The medical personel at the Oceana Naval Airstation Clinic were attentive but did not show much commiseration. The bad part about road rash is that they want it to remain open so it will weep and clean itself. If it is allowed to touch a sheet or clothing for long it will adhere and be misery to remove. For weeks there was no way to get comfortable. Yup, do what you want.

 

[airboss]

Never been fearful of riding a motorcycle, even in less than idea conditions.

BUT; Nurse Ratched scares the sh*t out of me.

All the gear every time.

 

[GMAK]

I went to a motorcycle crash last night. A guy was sitting in traffic when the car behind him rearended him. The impact lift his bike in the air, a K1200LT (not a small machine), and sent the rider flying a little way. Luckily for him, he landed in some bushed on the side of the road.

I'm that guy !! Figuratively, not literally. A little older than him. On a '07 FJRA, rear-ended at ~30mph. Briefly, the force caused a "snap throttle" wheelie, pitching me on the ground in middle of an intersection. Unmanned FJR takes off up a slight hill, and travels 200 feet before final momentum loss topples the bike on the left side. Bike totaled, but really didn't look THAT bad considering all the abuse. I've got some minor abrasions, jammed thumbs, spinal jamming/pain, and just a following soreness level like I'd played 4 quarters in an NFL Pro Bowl game. Although I'm helmeted, I took a pretty hard head lick. Months of vertigo. Then, the responsible insurance carrier tries to entrap me with some kind of incriminating statement(s). Great time in my life. <g>

Regarding the "gear issue".... Yes, ignoring gear is not wise, i realize that. But, I just don't want to have to wear a "uniform" to ride. In my locale, you're lucky if you can tolerate even a helmet during summer. We all make choices, some good, some bad. I do most of my riding now during the times when other traffic is off the roads. But, I sincerely understand my exposure. Although, I'm willing to be accountable to that exposure, it's unfair to drag my spouse into that accountability also.

 

[gixxerjasen]

In my locale, you're lucky if you can tolerate even a helmet during summer.

Hydrate properly, choose the correct gear, and it's possible to suffer through it.

 

[Uncle Hud]

Summer riding in Georgia: ventilated armor over wetted running tights and a t-shirt. Wet them again if they dry out. Gloves, ventilated boots, and full-face helmet.

 

[bigjohnsd]

Last Summer in Indiana, 100F 100% Humididity.

LD Comfort Shirt and Tights, wet them thoroughly,

Jacket sleeve cuffs open full, all other jacket vents closed

Pants Vents Open front and rear.

Had to close down on the cuffs as i was getting too cool at freeway speeds.

Also used my Mesh gear with the LD Comfort stuff underneath, very cool, especially at lower speeds, but the water required replenishment quite often.

 

[Hotboot]

Some people have 1 year of experience that they have repeated for 48 years.

I really like this...stolen from Bounce and used for eternity.

 

[Hotboot]

In my locale, you're lucky if you can tolerate even a helmet during summer.

Hydrate properly, choose the correct gear, and it's possible to suffer through it.

I remember that summer ! Jeez let's not do that again.

 

[SunRider]

When I first started riding in '78, I took to wearing my new helmet in my car for humor and to spook my passengers.

Seriously though, adding helmets in the car is akin to ATGATT. It could save lives, combined with a Hans and full harness....

And I felt mostly safe in my three layers of nomex, plus boots & gloves, plus SA rated helmet, and 5 point harness,

in my open cockpit formula car. Yes, brutally hot in the FL sun at 95f, on the grid awaiting the 5 minute whistle.

But that SCCA specified level of ATGATT was required to play.

These days I ride with full armored leather and helmet, on the sport bike.

Lessor gear on the FJR, likely less armor or armored mesh.

Wearing jeans less often, in favor of leather.

Anyway, as soon as you leave the safety of your car, you are no longer ATGATT.

 

[Yosemiterich]

Just last August I rode from Yosemite and met up with a bunch of my old army budies heading to Sturgis,meeting up with the last one in Idaho, the entire trip everyone was giving me crap for wearing full gear,till one of them went down after wards everyone changed there attitude and there gear.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Some folks just have to learn things the hard way. Sometimes folks can learn by witnessing someone else's "Hard way."

 

[infrared]

. . . but nobody ever talks about prices. I would really appreciate some gear, even armor, that looks more like street clothing, rather than what a rider wears for the Isle of Man. It would also be great if it did not cost a young fortune, or in the case of larger sizes, twice that much.

I do not ride that aggressively, but maybe quickly.

Full leathers just seem too pretentious to me, and it would to all who know me. This is the first bike I have had that spends more time on the open road than on city streets. I do not think I am immune to cage drivers who simply are not paying attention.

 

[ionbeam]

. . . but nobody ever talks about prices...Full leathers just seem too pretentious to me...I do not think I am immune to cage drivers who simply are not paying attention.

Have you priced out the medical costs to fix what could have been prevented?

Nobody wants to see ionbeam in leathers. People would pay to avoid that sight

I do have high dainer textile gear with good armor in all the likely contact places to cushion the blow and provide extra abrasion resistance.

There are so many things that can go wrong that don't involve a car (or deer), not the least of which is one little moment where the attention is someplace else and a wheel slips off the pavement, the unseen antifreeze spill or a very unexpected turn in the road (the remaining 999,997 possibilities go unlisted).

 

[Knifemaker]

. . . but nobody ever talks about prices...

Formerly known as "new enough" you can find good deals on quality gear here:

https://www.motorcyclegear.com

I've found a few good prices at local dealers, and bought some used stuff.

You didn't say "how big" you really are, but larger sizes aren't twice the cost that I know of, but of course more material would mean some increase in cost.

Expect to pay at least $120 for a good jacket with armor and about $100 for armored pants. Any good leather boot will work, but yeah, Moto boots are higher. I must have 10 pairs of gloves, none cost over $50.

Many pick one piece suits....like this one:

https://www.motorcyclegear.com/street/closeouts/textile_jackets_and_pants/first_gear/tpg_expedition_suit_2014.html

Helmets....well, it's been shown a 100 dollar helmet isn't necessarily safer than a $400 one.

So really if you do a bit of searching, you can get some decent protection without paying a lot of money.

But, what's your hide worth? Good gear is a good investment. I know folks with Aerostitch suits and Cycleport suits which cost them over a grand, still wearing them after a decade...so that's like just a hundred bucks a year right?

 

[bigjohnsd]

. . . but nobody ever talks about prices. I would really appreciate some gear, even armor, that looks more like street clothing, rather than what a rider wears for the Isle of Man. It would also be great if it did not cost a young fortune, or in the case of larger sizes, twice that much.
I do not ride that aggressively, but maybe quickly.

Full leathers just seem too pretentious to me, and it would to all who know me. This is the first bike I have had that spends more time on the open road than on city streets. I do not think I am immune to cage drivers who simply are not paying attention.

PM sent re gear

 

[FJReady]

As the professor points out it is the possibility (inevitability?) of the unknown that I think about the most when choosing riding gear. I realized a couple years ago that I've been extremely lucky with respect to crashing since I bought my FJR in 2004. I had a bad get off in 2002 that I recovered from rather easily. Just one broken scapula and a tiny bit of road rash. (the C10 Concours is gone).

I know that even if I am the most careful and conscientious rider out there (I am not) I am still facing life threatening/altering risks every time I ride. So I made the decision a couple years ago to step up my ATGATT game a little. In 2014 I bought a Motoport Kevlar jacket and last year I bought some Motoport Kevlar pants. I did enough research (mostly at the ADVrider nut house) to convince myself that the Kevlar gear greatly improves the survivability of my skin in the event of a slide on asphalt. Skin grafts and infections are not my idea of fun. I don't know how much, if any, the Motoport gear protects from impacts (it does have well placed armor bits) better than any other gear but I'm pretty happy about the abrasion resistance. And the stuff breathes very well so there's no penalty in the warm weather.

And I have to say it is pretty comfortable once broken in. It ain't pretty, but neither am I and I'm not out there trying to win a beauty contest. So I spent about $1100 for premium ATGATT gear which is a lot of bread, but as Professor points out its a drop in the bucket compared to typical medical costs. I feel a little more protected going down the road and if that lets me enjoy the ride a little more (which it does) then I'm coming out ahead on this. YMMV

 

[RJAMT]

When I was younger I wore a helmet, jeans and t-shirt. I got lucky just losing a bit of skin when a paved road turned into gravel mid- turn rolling thru Nebraska one night. The gouges in my helmet showed the wisdom of wearing it. My bleeding arms and chest showed I wasn't all that smart.

My current gear is motorcycle jacket and pants with boots and gloves. I've got a Roadcrafter on order.

Did I get hot rolling through Texas last fall with temps well over 100? Yep.

Did I consider stripping down? Nope.

With a wife and kids that depend on me to provide for them it never entered my mind.

I'll park the bike if I get too hot to ride without protection.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

What many fail to realize is that protective gear does not just protect the body from impact and abrasion. Quality gear protects the body from temperature extremes both hot and cold. It protects the body from dehydration. It protects the body from sun exposure. It protects the body from rain.

Still, I do not want to wear it. It makes me look fat and my appearance is more important than my safety or my comfort. Of course if I crash I will be neither pretty nor comfortable if I don't wear my gear.

 

[infrared]

Just to avoid any misunderstandings, I do want to get some gear. Nobody needs to convince me. There are a few factors that I want to avoid, though. I really can't pay big money for the stuff. Also, I do not want to pay a fortune for it, and then have somebody tell me I should have bought Brand Y instead, which is better, safer, cooler, warmer, and cheaper. For anybody who thinks that a coupla grand is really nothing, I will be happy to PM my address to you, and thanks.

More directly, I would appreciate knowing specific brands and Part Numbers for gear that can come in larger sizes, and to get the best value for my money. I do not want a one-piece suit, and I do not want to look like a racer. Actually, as for style, once I get off the bike, I would want a cop to be asking me where the rider went.

Cheers,

Infrared

 

[Redfish Hunter]

I will not preach to others about what THEY should do. We are all adults here. I do what I think is right, I want all of you to do the same. I confess that I do not always wear my riding overpants. I already know that jeans do not hold up. I am always aware that my decisions affect others besides myself. If I mess myself up, I compromise my ability to provide for my family. I can cause problems for my family, my friends, and the medical/law enforcement personnel that have to scrape my carcass off the asphalt.

Again, my choices do not have to be Anyone Else's choices.

I will confess that I tend to look at folks without decent gear with a bit of contempt but I generally keep those feelings to myself.

Infrared, as far as cost of gear, thousands are not required. Obviously, more money buys nicer things. I usually make do with a Tourmaster or a First Gear jacket. Both cost under $200. My riding britches cost about $100. Gloves vary between $40 to $60. I wear a $600 Shoei but there are excellent helmets for much less. That is a comfort decision, the same level of safety can be had for much less.