hey all...

i'm a new rider...been looking around for gear. i don't know if this stuff is overkill or not...but it's stuff that i like appearance-wise and i'd rather be safe than sorry. any feedback is appreciated.

helmet: shoei x-11: $394.99
jacket: first gear z-pilot: $450.00 (all season, comes with removeable liner, elbow, shoulder, and back protection)
boots: SIDI Vertebra II: $230.00 (probably overkill but i think the cheaper ones don't look as nice or offer as much protection)
gloves: alpinestars sp-1: $89.95
pants: not sure yet, but the first gear pants will zip to the jacket.

all these prices except the helmet were from http://www.newenough.com. heard good things about them.

people have suggested ebay for buying gear but honestly other people's gear kinda skeeves me out. i'd liek to start fresh, even if it costs more $$.

thanks...

 

I bought my new 1-piece suit from newnough.com for $379 (shipping included) so you may want to look at that instead of just the jacket.

 

All good stuff...I'm a big fan of the Sidi boots, both on and offroad. Newenough is good, I've gotten a bunch of things from them myself...great customer service. I'd recommend you get the pants to match the jacket...trying to mix and match makes of jacket and pants gets bothersome as often the zippers, etc. don't line up right.

 

sounds about right but I'd say you're paying too much. Btw, I use sp1s and they're great. Be sure to keep them conditioned or they get thin and hard if you ride in the rain or sweat like a pig. Try getting a cheaper lid too... don't get me wrong, it's your life on the line but I got my shoei rf900 for 220 new online. anthracite to match the 01 f4i silver/black. very comfortable, light and the venting is better than a couple other cheaper lids I've had. the sidi's are gold, personally I wear smx's but that's because of price. Remember that you can't walk for **** on the vert 2s. Don't know anything about firstgear so I'll leave that alone. Paid $120 for my chicane though, used JR armor inserts from my summer jacket. Fieldsheer sport 2 (non-perf) leather pants for $140 new. Sounds like you've got yourself set. Rubber down

 

Sounds like you're off to a good start. Take your MFS course and have fun! Keep the shiny up.

 

thanks guys!

 

I have disagree with you on the sidi vert 2's, I think they are quite comfy to walk in, as a matter of fact I just walked 8 miles in them with all my gear when my bike broke down (in front of the friggin shop too, what are the odds!!!) and my feet were fine.

I wouldn't recommend a 1pc suit as they are not practical for anything except racing, but a 2pc is perfect if you want a full setup. I would recommend you get better gloves though, you are getting good stuff already, might as well get the Alpinestars GP+ gloves, I have them and I love them.

 

good to hear abotu the sidi vert II's...i really like them the best. keep it comin'......

 

sidi boots= (I have the sidi race II verts)
alpinestar gp+ would be better
firstgear I dunno, never used their products. I hope it is leather, not another material.
shoei rf900 helmets rule

Just make sure it fits right.

 

I suggest you buy a leather jacket instead of spending $450 on something that won't give you close to as much protection as a leather jacket will, and as for pants you should invest in some draggin' jeans which you can purchase at http://www.dragginjeans.com

 

i'm not sure what you mean. it is a leather jacket, all season, with a removable liner and plenty of zipper vents for when it gets hot. it also comes with CE core comp armor and back protecion as well. mayeb you could take a look at this for me? here: http://www.newenough.com/mens/fg_leather.htm

first gear is also known as "hein gericke" and very popular in eurpoe. generally considered to be mid to very high quality stuff.

 

Check the HJC stuff as well.

I just bought one of these:
http://www.newenough.com/closeouts/hjc_leather.htm

My previous jacket was an HJC and has seen 50 kmiles/5 years with no trouble whatsoever.

 

hmmm,thats a nice looking jacket, too.

 

for Helmet go ARAI or SHOEI

leathers:

not to expensive w/ great quality get TEKNIC

but my choice would deffinitelly be DAINESE

 

Dainese is great but it comes with a high price tag. I just got a dainese tatoo suit myself.
Check out helmetcity.com and helmetharbor.com for good prices on helmets. They do have new stuff on ebay not only used stuff. Lots of stores use ebay.

 

oh I'm sorry I misunderstood you, I thought it was one of those textile jackets. I'm just saying go leather leather leather.

 

no problem bro, i hear you. it's the only way i'd go!

 

I have never really "heard" good things about Alpinestars gloves. What are some other good gloves to look at, besides Dainese (drool)?

 

Best gloves -> Kushitani but they come at a price tag.

 

Any particular "model" of Kushitani you recommend personally?

 

Personally no (I did not go that route), but a friend went for the higher end (which have an inner/outer glove) and I've never seen better finish on a glove

I have Spidi Carbotech in black, and I am fairly happy about them.
http://www.starcycle.com/street/spidi_gloves.html (this is just for picture reference, not for the retailer).

 

I hope you have never "crash tested" them but do they/are they holding up pretty good? I am just looking for the most durable glove and trying to not break the bank.

 

I've never crashed (touching wood), but the carbotech have sturdy protection while keeping good feel. BTW, I've had them for 1.5 kmiles so I can't honestly comment on durability.


[Modified by Dropping_By, 5:30 PM 1/8/2003]

 

There was a post on esb awhile back about personal experience w/ different gloves... at least 30 guys chimed in w/ praises for alpinstars stuff, mostly the gp gloves though. I have nothing but praise for my sp1s but I have yet to crash test them. They have a very good throttle gripping between he thumb and index so I can really let my hand go limp during freeway type cruising and it will still stick.

The vert2s have excellent ankle range of movement, I'm sorry I was thinking of the older verts. Those along w/ the older smxs don't have that great range of motion for walking but plenty for foot controls. Teknic stuff is decent for the relatively cheap price. For $450 I would rather go w/ a mainstream 2 piece. You can have a tailor triple stitch your seams and zippers for like $15. Definetely get some lower body protection b/c low sides are common and will chew up stuff. Knees are nice to have when you're older

 

ESB = Esportbike.com, just for those of you who aren't members on both sites. I've been there for a while, but there's much less noise over here

Gloves gloves...I'm currently liking my Teknic Violators very much, despite not being a Teknic fan in general. They're not the Violator Pro glove, just the plain-jane black Violators. Very nice fit and build quality for not a lot of money (I think I paid $80 or so at a local shop). Previous gloves included:

AGV Carbon 7 Pros - sold with a bike, as the fingers were too wide to be comfortable on my hand. Otherwise very nice gloves with good build quality...never crash tested

Alpinestars SP2's - the early SP2's without the carbon knuckles, these were by far the best fitted gloves I've ever worn. Build quality wasn't quite up to Alpinestars current standard though. Wound up in the trash because I got the gloves wet, failed to treat them properly, and tore up both palms in a lowside.

Just a few data points...