Bulky gear... ?

[ticktock]

So I finally bought myself a real pair of riding pants and a set of boots. I got the Scorpion EXO Deuce pants and the Tourmaster Solution 2.0 boots.

Unfortunately, I'm sending 'em both back. The knee armor in the pants slid around too much to the point where I had to physically tug the pants while riding to be comfortable, and were so baggy I thought they were going to catch a peg and have me dump the bike at a light. The boots were way too bulky.

Maybe I'd be better off with a tighter fitting race-style suit and racing boots? Don't really care what I look like; just want to feel that connection again between my feet and the pegs and my legs and the bike.

I'm new to gear on the lower half of my body... but hey, at least I'm trying to get it straightened out! Appreciate any comments.

 

[callmegandhi]

I just bought a pair of Tour Master riding pants. Great fit over jeans, a little baggy over shorts. Overall the fit is very good, and tons of mesh for keeping you cool. I haven't invested in riding boots yet, my work boots have a steel toe and cover my ankles, they'll so for now.

 

[Erci]

Tight-fitting leather definitely provides best protection. I've tried several riding pants and many felt too bulky and just weird. Happy with the ones I have now (Olympia Recon 3), but can't necessarily recommend them, as they too fit rather loosely and knee pads will likely move in event of a crash.
As for boots, I tried TM Solution boots and found them to be very uncomfortable on this bike. I settled on Sidi Strada Rain boots. They have the built-in lean like race boots, but don't have all the plastic of full-on race boots. They work very well on this bike in rain or shine and are not bulky at all.

 

[chomorro]

The boots are bulky, probably because your not use to them. Mine were a pain in the butt at first. They felt like i was wearing two sizes to big and heavy as heck. After about a week of riding, i wont ride without them they are so comfortable LOL. My gf just got her first pair of boots and has the same complaint. The boots have to be very tight at first, if its leather then it will break in a loosen up really nice, from my experience with my first pair of boots.


With the pants mine are pretty baggy since i put them over my work pants. But there is a zipper on the bottom that tightens them up around my boots and i have no worry of it hitting a chain or something.

Im 195lbs, with all my gear im 219lbs hahaha. Honestly i think you will get used to it or just go try out some at the store before you buy online :rockon:

 

[Erci]

Few more things about boots:
1. Remember they're not built for comfortable walking. They're built for maximum comfort on bike. If you can try they out in a good shop, they'll let you sit on a bike with new boots on and see how they feel.
2. Boots break in after some use. I know that moving your feet up and down (shifting/braking) may feel a bit restricted at first, but may get better after few rides. This one is hard to gauge though so you want to make sure that they have enough give out of the box for allow for comfortable shifting and braking.

 

[spock]

I have used tourmaster solution on my FZ6 for about 40000kms without any issue at all, worked wonderfully

right now I have cortech latigo rr wp boots and they are amazing!!!

regarding pants I use tourmaster ventura overpants (non the air ones), I agree they are kind of bulky, all the textile ones that I have seen seems to be that way, so what I do is I put my regular jeans on, fit underside a pair of EVS knee guards and then put my overpants, I can ride all day long that way without any issue at all, I removed the overpants knee armor.

Regards.

 

[nksmfamjp]

My experience says "bulky" is a matter of a couple of things. Bike gear is bulky feeling off the bike. That is kind of a fact of life.

Also on an FZ6, any excess material will make gear feel bulky riding. I like to wear my gear a tad small, when possible to keep the pads in place and avoid flapping in the breeze. The least bulky would be those padded tights and add pants over it.

Boots feel bulky. This is because they are a tad loose in the ankle and calf to flex and they have padding for protection. On the other hand, i think the buckle boots would feel less bulky, but they are all pretty expensive.

 

[PhotoAl]

It does feel bulky but should not be so loose the pads are moving around. First Gear pants and Komodo boots. I wear dress pants to work every day. the first gear pants are loose enough to not cause massive wrinkling in my dress pants and the pads stay in place. Of course off the bike they feel somewhat bulky but if its more than a quick stop I'll take them off.

The boots feel a little bulky but are great once broken in and are not too bad for walking around. Had a pair of Joe Rocket boots which were less bulky and were good for walking around.