joining bikers...

[Sijray21]

so, is there anything wrong with getting a 90 dollar helmet at first? also, is a regular leather jacket enough protection at first or should i get like a freakin michelin man type jacket that's gonna cost me an arm and a leg? also, shoes? gloves? jeans ok? what's the norm for safety equipment? I'm cheap, so I want to spend as little as possible, but be safe at the same time...

you can spend as much as you want on a helmet - typically the DOT or Snell sticker signifies it's crash worthy and the rest of the money goes into lighter material, more comfort, better ventilation, and other 'nice-to-have' amnenities. I personally think it's worth it, but as a first helmet you may want to stick to budget - that's what i did anyway and now my first helmet is a spare helmet.

wear what you can afford and try to wear the basics that the MSF would typically recommend (long sleeves, jeans, gloves, and ankle-high boots/shoes). Just remember that if you crash, will what you're wearing hold up? If you go down on the highway at 65mph do you think that jeans and a long-sleeve shirt will be enough? probably not, but it's better than wearing shorts and a t-shirt - may save you 1/2 out of 4 skin grafts.

an example of what i wore before: jeans, work boots, leather jacket and cheap joe rocket gloves. my helmet was the Scorpion EXO-1000 or 600? the higher model at the time.

here's an example of what i typically wear now: jeans with hard-shelled knee guards underneath (kinda like catcher's shin guards), a leather or heavily padded mesh jacket, leather gaunlet gloves (past the wrist), and motorcycle boots. my helmet is the Arai RX-7 Corsair - i love it.

some cheap good gear:

if you want cheap and protective i recommend the a* knee guards ($20-$25) and well worth it IMO - you wear this under lose-fitting pants:


gloves, jackets, and other gear you can try on at Colemans and then order it online. i've had great experiences with <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.newenough.com">www.newenough.com</a><!-- w --> and they are great about returns or exchanges.

it may not be worth it to you to buy good gear first, but i recommend it. otherwise you'll be spending it later anyway. good gear will take more abuse (if you go down you can probably wear it again - except for the helmet) and you'll end up spending less in the long-run. i bought cheap gear first because it was all i could afford, but i rode more cautiously (not recommending this, however).