Motorcycles

[m_wave]

my 1964 Lambretta LI125.. I've actually just finished painting it and it has a new seat now. Great fun for getting around London when it's not raining!

 

[Tck13]

^ I wish scooters were more popular in the states.

 

[appolyon]

Guys, I'm going for my riding learners next week and doing a two day course. The course provider recommends having your own helmet and gloves ... can someone recommend some good brands?

 

[emptym]

You might just get a cheap set in case you don't like it. As w/ clothes, the main thing is fit, so you should try them on.

That said, I like Arai helmets. My favorite gloves are army surplus.

 

[hankwx]

Originally Posted by IBJanky

I've got one of these too:

2007 Yamaha FJR1300

myke

myke,

manual or AE, the auto thingy?

the motocycle world thinks the new honda design is ugly...ie. looks like shamu. but i like 'em. i think the new vfr will be a sick bike to own! its in ur bike's category. there will be a dual clutch automatic version.

henry

 

[j]

Originally Posted by appolyon

Guys, I'm going for my riding learners next week and doing a two day course. The course provider recommends having your own helmet and gloves ... can someone recommend some good brands?
If you're not sure you'll be getting a bike, just get a pair of heavyish work gloves that you can manipulate controls in (i.e. not loose/too clunky). Good riding gloves cost a lot, and cheap ones are not worth bothering with (sound familiar?) I bought some work gloves for the course that had a velcro closure and were part elastic and they feel more durable than many of the cheaper riding gloves that cost literally 10x as much. Helmet... borrow one of theirs if you can. Don't rush into buying one, a good one is $300++. You'll want to figure out what shape your head is and what features you want. But since you asked, Held, BMW and Rev-it make good gloves, and Shoei, Arai, Nolan, Shark, and some others for helmets. I recommend webbikeworld for gear reviews.

 

[appolyon]

Emptym, j, thanks for the recommendations.

I'm pretty certain I want to get a bike, but I'll wait till I've done the course and see how I feel about it afterwards.

Just spoke to a friend of mine who has sold his bike since getting married (sound familiar?) but has kept his riding gear which he has kindly offered to lend me for the two days.

 

[eg1]

Originally Posted by appolyon

Guys, I'm going for my riding learners next week and doing a two day course. The course provider recommends having your own helmet and gloves ... can someone recommend some good brands?

I like a helmet which has a jawpiece that swings up (like the old BMW system helmets) to make it easy to put on/take off glasses.

 

[j]

Originally Posted by eg1

I like a helmet which has a jawpiece that swings up (like the old BMW system helmets) to make it easy to put on/take off glasses.
Same here, I have two modular helmets, a Shoei Multitec and my old Nolan N100E. The Shoei doesn't fit me too well so I'm looking into the newer Nolans.

 

[Ludeykrus]

I have never met a person that trusted a mod helmet any more than they trusted a 3/4 helmet, and I've never trusted them, either.

I've always kept a full-face for when I was riding harder on the Rat or Cafe, and kept a skull bucket halfer for when puttin around town on the knuckle-buster. The half helmet's nice for smoking a cig while riding, and I don't see it being much worse off than a mod helmet.

Or had technology changed that?

 

[j]

I don't expect it to be as good as a full face, but I'm kind of claustrophobic in a full face and don't like how it smashes my hair into my eyes either. I pulled apart my Shoei to put a headset into it and foudn that the jaw piece is quite flimsy, but at least it has some styrofoam in there to absorb impact, which is better than nothing. And when closed, the helmet does protect you from everything except a crash just about as well as a full face, e.g. gravel/bugs/random crap hitting your mouthal area. But yeah, they don't replace a full face.

 

[appolyon]

Well I went and successfully got my motorcycle license permit... also got a pretty memorable lesson in the dangers of snatching at the front brake

It may be a little while before I take the plunge and get a bike, for financial reasons, but will keep you guys posted of progress.

 

[emptym]

Congrats!!!

Originally Posted by j

... But yeah, they don't replace a full face.
When I took the MSF class, they advised us against flip helmets, since something like 35% hit the chin. It was the most frequently impacted area by far.

 

[j]

Originally Posted by emptym

Congrats!!!


When I took the MSF class, they advised us against flip helmets, since something like 35% hit the chin. It was the most frequently impacted area by far.
Yeah, I don't totally buy the importance of statistics like that (or everything the MSF tells me... try parking your bike in neutral on the hills around here sometime and see how long it stays where you left it). One thing you can say for modular helmets is that at least they won't be Snell rated.

 

[emptym]

Wow, thanks for that link, J.