Please give opinions about ATGATT

[Lefty]

Take your current riding gear, run down the street as fast as you can, and spring onto the pavement head first. Now multiply that by 5 times and you'll see how much skin you can lose without a minimum of riding gear protection.
As someone who's had a skin graft I can testify that there's nothing, I mean nothing as painful as a skin graft.

 

[Tailgate]

Have you ever scooted around Key West, Florida on one of those rental Honda 50cc's? I wore shorts, shoes, and a tank top (No helmet required). Think that's bad? Others wore jusk bikini or swim suit without shoes. But, hey that's Key West----it's like a giant beach party. Some on this forum will feverently argue ATGATT no matter what!

Yeah, at least wear a durable jacket, jeans and of course, helmet. I once purchased a leather jacket at a department store (Mervin's or Kohl's?) for only $20. Have you thought about possibly changing out riding boots, etc, into comfortable shorts, etc., at work or school? Everybody (I think) is going to tell you the same thing on this FZ6-Forum. Sometimes I wonder if the ones who I see ride around on sport bikes in shorts with t-shirt flapping up their back ever go on bike forums. Seeing shorts on a motorcycle is similar, maybe, to seeing long pants on a St. Tropez beach during July. I almost cringe when I see some chick in short shorts riding passenger on the back of some guy's liter sportbike. At least ride in some long pants or jeans, jacket and change into shorts after?

 

[dschult2]

We're all adults here and in the end the choice of what to wear or not wear is completely up to you. But with that being said if you go down in shorts and a t-shirt you may live but you'll look like raw hamburger and be a scab from head to toe. Not good! My advice, keep an eye out on Craigslist especially in the fall and spring when people are either getting out of the sport or getting new gear.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

I rather sweat than bleed.

 

[crowelor]

I agree with that guy. My thoughts are that ATGATT gear is a part of the cost associated with motorcycle ownership and should be considered and included when calculating how much getting into the sport costs. It's not cheap, my head-to-toe getup I wear every time I get on the bike cost over $1000 total. Cheaper stuff is out there, but I wanted stuff that would last and offered high levels of protection. I do believe that riding without gear is less than smart. You can't control all conditions and without gear, the outcome of a crash could look completely different.

So my opinion(and words to any potential riders reading this) is that you bought too much bike for your budget if you can't afford gear now. You should have purchased a cheaper bike and spent the rest of the money on quality gear.

Now I'll step off my soap box and address the situation you're in where trading in the bike for a cheaper bike to get gear doesn't seem like a reasonable idea.

I would do the Goodwill thing to find something cheap that is somewhat protective. Also, try to look for Craigslist for ads that are throwing in gear with a bike and offer to purchase it from them for cheap. Another idea is local forums that might have a donation section. We have a local forum here that has a "Pay it forward" section where riders can donate items, including gear, to others.

 

[Skybow388]

And to whoever said if if ant afford the gear I can't afford the bike my dad bought me the bike because he bought one and wanted me to ride. I guess I'll lay off riding until I can get some gear. Gotta find something comfortable with 99 degrees and 95% humidity...... I feel like an idiot.....


2006 faster blue fz6

 

[dschult2]

Gotta find something comfortable with 99 degrees and 95% humidity......

You'd actually be surprised at how much airflow you get with mesh pants and jacket over your shorts and t-shirt. When moving it's almost like your not wearing them at all.

 

[Senior]

This will make you think ...... http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle...rning-to-t-shirt-and-shorts-bikers/23188.html




Sent from my HTC One on Vodafone 4G using Tapatalk 2

 

[Mac fz6n]

I guess I'll lay off riding until I can get some gear. Gotta find something comfortable with 99 degrees and 95% humidity...... I feel like an idiot.....

Your not an idiot, you asked the question and it sounds like your listening to the advice given.
Even the smartest / safest rider will go down eventually, you have to protect yourself.


The collective here adds up to 1000 years experience with millions of miles.
You won't find better advice anywhere (or a group as nice).

Play it safe and ride for life.

Cheers,
Mac.

 

[aclayonb]

I don't have much of an option (military has policies on this) but at a BARE minimum, I always have gloves, helmet, long sleeve shirt (if not the my leather jacket, long pants (I don't wear shorts anyway...ever), and boots/shoes that cover the ankle. Normally, I'm in uniform with a leather jacket, helmet, gloves. It's all ripstop fabric and it won't stop much pavement, if any, but it's better than nothing. Southern Indiana has about 100% humidity and mid-90's all summer. The ventilation zippers on the jacket are a must, even if you get the fat-man look on the highway.

 

[greg]

Has anybody on here got anything they can donate?

I'm on a UK forum and they collect unwanted bike gear and recycle it.

A pair of mesh pants and jacket would go a long way to offering some protection.

 

[Skybow388]

We'll thank you guys! I appreciate if anyone ever has a xl jacket they don't use I will try and buy it,


2006 faster blue fz6

 

[VEGASRIDER]

And to whoever said if if ant afford the gear I can't afford the bike my dad bought me the bike because he bought one and wanted me to ride. I guess I'll lay off riding until I can get some gear. Gotta find something comfortable with 99 degrees and 95% humidity...... I feel like an idiot.....

2006 faster blue fz6

It's not whether you ride or not, it's about how much are you willing to risk? Know what the consequences are before you ride!

 

[Shiny_side_up]

You'd be amazed what you can get on clearance. Around here, CycleGear does an annual warehouse sale. Full Face helmets for $10-20 (I bought a couple to hang on the garage wall as decorations), Mesh Jackets for $40 (I picked up a bright orange one for when the weather is hot enough that I'd rather look like a traffic cone then sweat in my leather jacket) as well as crazy prices on pants and boots. Hell, a friend of mine picked up a 1-piece leather track suit for $199 (which is insanely cheap for a brand name 1-piece).

My personal opinion is all the gear all the time, but I live in California (Bay area) where traffic is always bad and always filled with idiots who like to jump between lanes to try to get 1 car length ahead on a 20 mile commute.

All that said, you'll still see the CHP out here in short sleeve shirts...

 

[chuckfz6ryder]

I'm guilty of riding in jeans often, but I usually ride geared up as in this July photo from the Dragon. It's not always comfortable, but as stated by others, I'd rather sweat than bleed. I work with someone who's son crashed at around 25-30MPH Wednesday with sneakers on. Besides shattering his leg, his toes are ground to the bone and they are likely going to amputate most of his toes on one foot. I've never paid full retail for my gear, always last years discounted stuff. I love motorcyclegear.com Stay safe and find some gear, I don't have anything to donate now, but I've always donated my old gear to others when I bought new gear.

 

[MG-242]

Some great advice here. Vegasrider touched on it (I'm not surprised) but part of riding is assuming the risk. One of those risks is being injured. Having the proper protective gear will significantly reduce that risk. How much risk are you willing to assume?

Some good "bad" stories in this post as well. I'm glad someone posted the link to Brittany Morrow. Watch it!

As far as the stories about it being too hot, too humid, too this, too that - at the beginning of this riding season I finally bought a piece of gear that I have had my eye on for some time. A full piece Aerostitch suit. After I bought it I thought it would be too hot to wear during the summer months. I was wrong. The full suit is actually cooler than mesh or just a t-shirt. And the nice thing about the Aerostitch is that when I stop I can be out of it in seconds with shorts and a t-shirt underneath. I wear it nearly everytime I ride now and I feel very vulnerable if I don't. A lot of people will tell you the same thing about a helmet. It feels weird NOT to have it on.

Some have posted various avenues for obtaining gear. Post your sizes and I'll mail you at my cost what I have or what I can obtain from friends. I'm sure others on this site would do the same. Warning: I'm not an XXL .

You're not an idiot by far. You're on this forum so you must have something going on You've asked a very legitimate question especially for someone your age. As others have mentioned and you've probably already deducted, there's a gazillion years of experience here. We've all been through it. We've all done some pretty stupid things (I'm speaking for myself). We have good reason for our comments. We want all riders to live a long, accident-free life, grow old, and still be riding.

Good luck!

 

[Flat_FZ6]

I always ride in jeans, but they're also paired with a leather A* Jaws jacket, Held Phantom gloves, Sidi ST boots, and Icon Variant helmet. Sometimes I'll wear my mesh jacket if it's way too hot outside.

I don't know if it's been said in here yet or not: "Sweat wipes off, road rash doesn't"

 

[Carlos840]

I'm a new rider, but one of the first thing i did when i started was to google image "roadrash", and to watch a few hours of "motorcycle fail" on youtube...

Best way to make sure you wear your gear and not to ride like an idiot!

 

[FIZZER6]

A $10 thrift shop leather jacket is better than skin grafts and possibly thousands of dollars in medical bills and excruciating pain and being embarrassed to take off your shirt for the rest of your life.

It really only takes one minor spill at 30 mph to put you in the hospital for road rash even if you get "lucky" and don't break anything.

YOU WOULD BE TAKING LESS OF A RISK BY NOT HAVING INSURANCE ON YOUR BIKE THAN YOU ARE BY NOT WEARING GEAR!

 

[why_not_Zoidberg?]

+1 more for the ATGATT crowd.

A couple quick stories:

Local guy and his wife (I didn't know them, it was in the news) t-bone a car at a relatively low speed (~35mph) on their cruiser. Neither had any gear on at all. He's dead, she's in a coma. That cager now has to remember that for the rest of their life, even though the rider was at fault. Imagine if you were that cager? You don't want to put someone through that.

A couple years ago, I was on a group ride in the Adirondacks, and the lead guy t-bones a frickin black bear on his Ducati at low speed. He was wearing full gear, it was rashed up and he sprained his wrist. He was fine in a few weeks.

This summer, a guy on my other forum (I've since moved on from my FZ for something a little...torquier) hit a deer going 130, full gear. This one is a very good example, because the deer exploded, he did not. He still broke an ankle, a wrist, a rib, and bruised a lung. The deer turned into red mist. I'd be minus a friend if he hadn't been wearing full gear.

As others have said, the choice is yours. Just make sure you think about who else it effects if something happened to you. I, for one, need to make it home to feed my dog. ATGATT