SuzukiSavage.com - To wear or not to wear, that is the question!

Afan

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To wear or not to wear, that is the question!
07/01/13 at 21:34:02

Hi guys,
Recently I bought to myself my first bike. S40. Same day I created the account here . My first bike for my 50th birthday. Cheesy

And this is my very first post.
After almost 2 months and 1200 miles of riding it's time for Questions and Answers. About meaning of life, etc.

Anyway, I'm very happy owner of 2006 S40. And I know I'm gonna use it for a while. I use it for afternoon/weekend cruising around my town. I plan to ride on Lincoln and Jefferson Highways through Iowa this year but there are few things I have to do before I start.

Anyway, first thing that bugs me the most: almost all bikers I see on the street with cruisers (specially HD bikers) don't use helmets nor any other protection. Eventually a helmet only. In Basic Rider Course I was thought it's VERY UNHEALTHY (to not say other word) to ride w/o any protection. Huge numbers of bikers died because they had limited or no protection at all.
But, as curious as any other biker, I tried it once too. IT IS DIFFERENT! IT'S BEAUTIFUL. I can really hear and enjoy in the sound of the engine, smell of the road. I wanted to say "I felt free!" but the phrase is already used to the boring level.
And then, one day I dropped the bike. Tiny rocks on the pavement, speed 5-10 mph, panic break and block of the front wheel, front wheel wasn't strait... And I was down. But, don't worry, I was fully geared. And, except very small road rush - no harm's done. My leather jacket got its first mark, small scratch on my helmet, short lasting pain in the left shoulder. On the bike only left peg changed it's shape. I didn't like them anyway. Now I have good reason to change them to something more cool.
But the first thought I had after I had get up was "Sheet! What would happen if I didn't have any protection?!?" According to scratches on my jacket, pants and helmet - it would be really nasty. Even after a childish, silly drop. Since that moment I kept my gear on all the time.
And then, again... The same bug started bugging me again. Riding without the protection gear. I really hate having heavy leather jacket on hot day. I would be all sweaty before I leave my garage. With the helmet I can't hear anything. Though, pictures of my drop still are keeping me geared.

I would like to hear a little bit from you about this. Both sides. Is it really worth risking a lot?

Thanks.

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Borracho Full Member Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 132 Albuquerque, NM Gender:	Re: To wear or not to wear, that is the question! Reply #1 - 07/01/13 at 22:02:00 If it is hot outside, get a lightweight mesh motorcycle jacket. It will protect against abrasions and keep the sun off your skin.
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WD

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Re: To wear or not to wear, that is the question!
Reply #2 - 07/01/13 at 22:33:02

I've been known to ride in shorts (or less). Grin

Most of the locals (including my wife) think my friend and I are bonkers, no shirt most of the year (rarely gets overly cold in west TN), half helmet until we hit a free state, and off come the lids.

We both have a couple 3/4 shells, chaps, gauntlets and heavy buffalo/elephant/horse hide jackets for actual cold weather.

Lisa rides in chaps, jacket or vest and 3/4 shell with face shield year round.

You'll get a lot of opinions on this site, some of us have been riding for decades, some race (for real race, track bikes), others just putt around.

Gear is a decision you'll have to make for yourself as you gain experience.

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Re: To wear or not to wear, that is the question!
Reply #3 - 07/01/13 at 22:37:36

10 Hot weather riding myths - BUSTED
by Debra Porter (Notes) on Monday, July 1, 2013 at 9:18pm

Myth #1: When it's really hot it's too uncomfortable to ride
Initially this myth holds some truth. If you're not up to speed on ways to cool your body down you may be thinking that there is reality to this. Especially if you're one of those people whose on-board thermostat (the thyroid) just does do well in the hot sun. But as you read on you may learn a tip or two that will actually make hot summer riding fun for you.
_______________________________________
Myth #2: Mesh gear will keep you cooler
To a degree, or should we say a few degrees, mesh gear will provide some relief from the heat. Up into the 80's for most people. But keep in mind that your thyroid is attempting to regulate your body temperature at 98.6 degrees. Riding into a wall of 90 degree plus air won't provide any cool options with which your thyroid can work with. At about 90 degrees or higher you'll need some skin surface moisture and some air. Lots of air and no skin surface moisture is a recipe for dehydration and sun stroke. But as you ride with mesh gear on your body, the air is quickly wicking away any moisture coming to the surface of the skin which will leave you dry and hot. Read on.

________________________________________
Myth #3: When it's really hot strip down to shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt
You see it all the time, but this is a faster route to dehydration and sun stroke than number three, not to mention sun damage to your skin which you may have to deal with later in life at the skin cancer center. Keep as much of your skin covered when you ride to reduce sun damage, road rash and stay cooler. Some may ask - "How can that be?" Keep reading.

_______________________________________
Myth #4: Full textile and leather gear is too hot on hot days
Well built textile and leather gear with good venting provides the right amount of airflow to pass over your perspiring skin and offers some natural evaporative cooling. Moisture is released through the surface of your skin and transfers excess heat away via the airflow. That's the way mother nature built the human body. With full coverage gear you won't wick all that moisture away like you would in shorts, a t-shirt or mesh gear. But there's another way to increase your evaporative cooling ability which we will discuss in #6.

________________________________________
Myth #5: Textile over-pants were made to be worn over - PANTS
Most riders that wear textile over-pants do so with a pair of pants underneath. The stuffy pair of blue jeans or otherwise can make wearing over-pants a little uncomfortable and provide too much insulation at a time when you don't want it. To remedy this simply wear nothing but a pair of wicking skins and over-the-calf socks and notice how much more mobility you have and how much better you feel when the heat comes on.

________________________________________
Myth #6: A wet neck tie does wonders to cool me down
The hottest part of your body is your core. From there main arteries head for your arms, legs and brain. Wearing a cool tie or otherwise only partially cools down the arteries going to your brain. If your core is overheated then the blood moving to all your extremities is overheated. You need relief at the core, not the neck. An evaporative cooling vest with a nominal amount of airflow will assist your thyroid and body with keeping your blood at a far more acceptable temperature than a wet neck tie and your whole body will love you for it.

________________________________________
Myth #7: You can never drink enough water
While it's true you need to keep water intake steady through the day it is indeed possible to drink too much. If every time you pee your urine is clear like water, you may have peed out all your electrolytes and you're now on the verge of the same symptoms as sun stroke bundled with organ damage. Keep the water flowing through out the day in reasonable amounts, but refrain from drinking a few liters of water every hour.

________________________________________
Myth #8: A baseball cap is all I need on my head when I take off my helmet
Imagine you're riding through Death Valley. It's 116 degrees and you get a flat tire. You have the tools on board to fix it but it's going to take 20-30 minutes to do so. With just a baseball cap you still have your ears and neck exposed to the sun. They little a little fogy-like but it's best to carry a full brimmed hat that was designed to be worn in hot sun.
________________________________________
Myth #9: Gatorade and energy drinks provide the proper hydration and electrolytes my body needs to ride in the hot sun. The sport drink commercials said so.
Gatorade and energy drinks are loaded with sugar and caffeine, which is essentially an oxymoronic recipe that backfires when it comes to hydration since these two ingredients promote dehydration. If you're looking to increase your intake of electrolytes us an electrolyte additive and mix it with your water, juice, diet soda or any other beverage you like.
________________________________________
Myth #10: I can't use sunscreen when I ride because it burns my eyes
There are various types of sunscreen on the market today. Many utilize all sorts of chemicals to block the sun's UV rays and keep the product affixed to your skin. And amidst all this chemistry lie certain ingredients that burn the eyes if they get in there via sweating or just using your finger to try and clear your eye of dirt. Look for sunscreens that have few ingredients yet yield a high SPF rating and then test a few out.

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Re: To wear or not to wear, that is the question!
Reply #4 - 07/01/13 at 23:32:44

Quote:

Myth #4: Full textile and leather gear is too hot on hot days
Well built textile and leather gear with good venting provides the right amount of airflow to pass over your perspiring skin and offers some natural evaporative cooling. Moisture is released through the surface of your skin and transfers excess heat away via the airflow. That's the way mother nature built the human body. With full coverage gear you won't wick all that moisture away like you would in shorts, a t-shirt or mesh gear. But there's another way to increase your evaporative cooling ability which we will discuss in #6.

A well vented jacket is a balloon... ever try to hold on to a balloon in the wind.

And what's this BS, wear full coverage so you don't dehydrate? But use your natural cooling ability? and don't drink too much you'll piss away your minerals. Has she ever been in the desert?

What a bunch of useless advice.

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Dave YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 18098 Camp Springs, Kentucky Gender:	Re: To wear or not to wear, that is the question! Reply #5 - 07/02/13 at 04:39:54 I wear a full coverage helmet.....all the time. I wear a mesh jacket with armor in the elbows and shoulders....all the time. I wear boots......all the time. I wear gloves.....all the time. Now.....I need to do something about my jeans!
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Blinky-FSO

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Re: To wear or not to wear, that is the question!
Reply #6 - 07/02/13 at 04:57:29

Wear what you want when you want. Full gear is safer than partial or no gear. Risk vs. feeling or looking free. Your call.

10 Hot weather riding myths - BUSTED
by Debra Porter (Notes) on Monday, July 1, 2013 at 9:18pm

Some of this is basic bs. She states a mesh jacket just wicks away moisture leaving you dry and dehydrated. I must have a magic mesh jacket because I can feel the air flow through the jacket and the resulting cooling evaporation. Magic mesh jacket for sale in hi-viz yellow! Make me an offer.

Good hunting!

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mpescatori

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Re: To wear or not to wear, that is the question!
Reply #7 - 07/02/13 at 05:38:50

Dave wrote on 07/02/13 at 04:39:54:

I wear a full coverage helmet.....all the time.
I wear a mesh jacket with armor in the elbows and shoulders....all the time.
I wear boots......all the time.
I wear gloves.....all the time.

Now.....I need to do something about my jeans!

Couldn't agree more... (library pic off University Hospital ER library)

Hello Afan, you asked
Quote:

But the first thought I had after I had get up was "Sheet! What would happen if I didn't have any protection?!?" According to scratches on my jacket, pants and helmet - it would be really nasty.

Look at it this way: your shoulders and knees are your bumpers, your arms and legs are your fenders.

Here's what happens when you run into something harder than your kneecaps Shocked

As for the helmet, if you can't hear anything chances are your helmet is 1+sizes too small.
I have 3 (three!) helmets:
- one flip up full face for city riding in the winter,
- one flip up full face for touring, equipped with BT intercom
- one full size jet with bubble visor which goes down to my chin.

When donning your helmet, your ears should be "cupped" in a dedicated hollow, so that your ears are "free to listen" without being clamped shut.

Similarly, the FF helmet should have the chinguard that does NOT cross your chinbone, but should be a little lower, in order to protect chin AND throat.

Do NOT click on this link unless you are well braced... Tongue

http://web.tiscali.it/fox.m/images/Incident-3.jpg
Now go and buy a Full Face helmet !

Naaah ! That ain't me, just a library pic ! Grin

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Re: To wear or not to wear, that is the question!
Reply #8 - 07/02/13 at 06:21:27

I always wear my boots and 3/4 helmet with face shield.
I generally wear my gloves. These stay in the saddlebags.
I commonly wear either one of my three jackets:
Mesh ( Joe Rocket Summer Joy) its good up to 70F, its still heavy as crap
light leather
heavy leather
But, I will go without. 90+ is just a killer to my old body.
I bought some chaps, wore them once and one of the zippers broke.

I wore my light leather jacket Saturday night ( 2013-06-29). We are having a rather cooler summer (mid 80's day, mid 60's nights). The summer joy actually works really well, but its heavy and bulky to store in the saddlebag. A bigger saddlebag is the real answer.. I suppose.

Note that 95% of my riding is to and from work. I work in an office. I keep a pair of shoes at work to change into. Were I just riding to enjoy the ride, I would probably wear MORE protection, as I would not have to deal with how I looked once I reached my destination.

Things I found out:

I have to wear dress shirts to work. If I wear one that does not have a button collar.. and I ride with no jacket, the collar will flap like mad and hurt like heck. So now I am buying/wearing only button down collar shirts. If I do wear a non-button down... I always wear a jacket.

Dress pants make lousy bike riding pants. The (ahem) jewels tend slide beneath. Jeans don't seem to have this issue. Dress pants are also to slick on the seat. I have not resolved this to date.

Tennis shoes: prior to getting the boots, I wore tennis shoes. The laces are still melted to the exhaust pipe.

My gloves are just fingerless padded gloves from Home Depot. Even if you never fall, I have bugs constantly hitting my knuckles... I like my gloves.

Riding a bike is inherently dangerous. I do what I can mitigate that danger, and to reduce damage to my body should an accident occur, but only to the extent that such measures do not remove the joy of riding the bike to begin with. Could I do more? sure... but at that point the burden of doing so would reduce my eagerness to even get on a bike. This is decision we must each make for ourselves.

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Re: To wear or not to wear, that is the question!
Reply #9 - 07/02/13 at 06:41:34

So you've already learned how bad it could have been from such a small fall. Imagine how much worse it could be if you were at road speed. Do you think it's worth the risk? If you go down, it's gonna hurt. More if you're wearing less. Personally, I usually wear jeans, jacket, gloves. A shorty lid (better than nothing) usually, full face sometimes. If i'm in busy traffic with the mad mums and suits in utes, I dress to protect. Riding with a group on weekends on a nice day sometimes I go out in T shirt. It feels safer in numbers. Wink

The couple of times I've been down the road I've been happy to be wearing the right gear.
Here's a couple of links to some local tv ads we have on telly over here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAHTQisEl2Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wnx20F51S_E
Ultimately it's up to each rider. Good luck.
simon

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Re: To wear or not to wear, that is the question!
Reply #10 - 07/02/13 at 07:05:13

Quote:

A well vented jacket is a balloon... ever try to hold on to a balloon in the

I wear a 1.3mm leather jacket no matter what the weather is and have never had an issue with ballooning even at interstate speeds, not all jackets are laid out to properly vent the air from front to back and also most people tend to wear motorcycle jackets that are a bit too large for them. A motorcycle jacket should be snug but not restrictive to movement and not loose enough to wear a sweat shirt underneath.

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Re: To wear or not to wear, that is the question!
Reply #11 - 07/02/13 at 08:05:23

Dave wrote on 07/02/13 at 04:39:54:

I wear a full coverage helmet.....all the time.
I wear a mesh jacket with armor in the elbows and shoulders....all the time.
I wear boots......all the time.
I wear gloves.....all the time.

Now.....I need to do something about my jeans!

This is the same for me. I see a lot of other riders that prefer to ride with less, and a few that ride with more. My risk assessment accepts the jeans until I can afford some mesh over pants.
A friend of mine just took a 35mph high side spill and was glad he had his riding jacket on. His helmet and elbow armor did their jobs and, while he is sore, he does not have any road rash.

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Re: To wear or not to wear, that is the question!
Reply #12 - 07/02/13 at 09:16:08

Back in the mid nineteen sixties my state of residence passed a helmet law. I grudgingly bought one and wore it. Less than a week later I was in a nasty collision with a car while I was doing about 55 mph.

The helmet saved my life that day, I head butted that car at 55 and survived. The helmet law has been repealed where I currently live but I never ever ride without one. I will admit that when it is hot I dispense with the armored jacket, gloves etc. but I always wear a helmet.

I have personally known four people who died in motorcycle accidents including a brother-in-law. Three of the four deaths were due to head injuries, the other one was a broken neck. Two of the guys were not wearing helmets and struck their heads when they failed to execute curves. The other one didn't fasten the strap on his helmet and lost it during the crash then hit his head. He did survive as a veg for a couple years then died leaving his family broke.

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Re: To wear or not to wear, that is the question!
Reply #13 - 07/02/13 at 09:21:11

I wear as much protection as I can tolerate,... and always a FF helmet...
Below 95'... a tight, sturdy leather jacket...
Over 90'... just long sleeve shirt.... (sun protection)... (you burn twice as fast on a bike, because you are usually stuck in a fixed position... makes for some funny looking burns)...
... usually,... at least ankle boots, and fingerless gloves... (nobody ever died from a broken finger,... besides, fingers still break in gloves.... they mostly protect against road rash)...

Helmets aren't just for crashes.... as you ride more, you'll encounter, birds, really big bugs, thrown rocks, etc...
Those things hurt,.. and can cause an accident...
Also,... analysis of accidents show,... we tend to lead with our face... 2/3 of helmet damage is face, chin area... FF is important...

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arteacher Serious Thumper Offline Ride as if your naked and invisable! Posts: 2581 London ontario Gender:	Re: To wear or not to wear, that is the question! Reply #14 - 07/02/13 at 09:28:59 "A well vented jacket is a balloon... ever try to hold on to a balloon in the wind." A jacket is not well vented if it balloons. Good jackets are vented front and back, and they don't balloon.
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