As you may remember from my motorcycle project customising my new Honda Shadow VLX 600, I’ve added a few extras to the motorbike itself such as a windshield and also a customised seat with better gel and foam (OEM seat just customised by a local tailor shop, it works the treat!).
But I still had one particular motorcycle topic in mind that I needed to address.
Motorcycle gear aka protective clothing
So my wife Anita, being the great wife she is, told me to either gear up or not ride. She was serious about this and I’ve been reading about how motorcycle gear is actually important and can save your life.
Last couple of days I’ve been following this excellent review website for advice and info on good motorcycle clothing. According to this website (which has tons of great advice), there’s a lot of crap motorcycle gear online and it’s super easy to end up with the bad stuff. So after lots of reading on lots of gear guides, I’ve bought all this motorcycle gear below.
Helmet
Arai Defiant X helmet. It’s full face since I appreciate my ugly mug and don’t want to lose my jaw if I drop my Shadow. Very expensive helmet but great for long rides.
I’ve tried those beanie helmets and there’s no comparison. A full face helmet is miles better in comfort. Lots of geezers riding with beanie helmets over here.
Anyway it costed me $670 with shipping.
Jacket
This is where I went on full cruiser mode. After reading several times this cruiser jackets guide, I bought the Alpinestars Dyno v2 leather jacket. The guide says that cruiser jackets need to be armored and this one is like a bulletproof vest/jacket with the back and chest armor.
A very comfortable jacket and looks incredible. Get compliments all the time. Costed me $615 with addon armor and shipping.
Trousers
Or “pants” as Americans call them. Went with Tourmaster overpants as they’re big around the waist and must I admit, I’m out of shape. I won’t fit inside regular leather pants, already tried at a local shop.
These overpants can be removed on the fly. Comes with knee armor already and I sent an email to the review website on suggestions for hip armor. There’s this thing called CE certification which approves functional armor as protective. No CE armor for hips so looking to see which to buy next.
I love the overpants although they don’t go too well with my Alpinestars Dyno v2 jacket. The overpants are textile while the jacket is HQ leather so it’s a bit of a visual shock to be fair.
I don’t really care. Do you?
Cost: $160 delivered to my door.
Gloves
The amount of gloves that you can buy from is huge. Like real huge-ly and big-ly. So many motorcycle gloves to choose from and again this motorcycle gloves guide comes to the rescue to help me choose a good set of protective motorcycle gloves.
My choice? The Held Sambia gloves. WOW the gloves guide was correct, these gloves are made for riding anywhere. Practical and suit my Dyno v2 jacket even though they’re part leather and part textile (talking of the gloves).
The gloves’ palms have these tiny beads to protect against burns and abrasion. The material is called Superfabric and it adapts to your hands when gripping the handlebar.
A bit expensive but I really think they’re worth the money. Costed me $120 delivered from Germany.
Boots
My cruiser mind went “loco” again and I opted for the Icon 1000 Elsinore boots. Freaking crazy boots! They look all Mad Max styled and ready to kick heads. A bit too hooligan-ish for motorcycle boots, but I get compliments on them all the time.
Problem is the overpants cover most of the boots but that’s until I find a good pair of motorcycle trousers to fit my belly on. It’ll be leather, how not.
The boots costed me $295 delivered to my door.
Now Anita wants to ride…
Reading around, my personal choice is that Anita must also be geared up if she wants to ride with me. I’ve seen enough gory pics to know that you have to ride “atgatt” (“all the gear, all the time”) or not ride at all.
I’m already debating what to buy for her, but that’s another topic to be dealt with as I continue to build upon my custom Honda Shadow motorcycle project.
Loving 2020 so far. Much love for everyone!
Henry & Anita