Made the decision this year to get back into riding after many years off. Figured I'd start off a little smaller so I got a 2010 BMW F 650 GS (which is actually an 800).



So far I likely. Handles good and easy to ride. Going to ride this for maybe a year and then eventually upgrade to a BMW R 1200 GS and start doing some good 3-4 days tours.

sucks to hear that rbk, def my nightmare scenario to crash into a cager that's taking over another one in a blind corner.
which bike did you total?

anyone ever been to a track day, with guides and stuff?

You mind posting the exact models of jacket, helmet, boots, etc? I'm thinking about some new gear before winter.

tbh I've kind of been considering a full-body race suit

zyrrth,

crashed the gixxer, pretty much the only one i ride nowadays.

clever,

i was wearing an arai quantum II helmet, dianese tattoo jacket, alpinestars SMX+ 5 boots, and alpinestars GP racing gloves.

would highly recommend all of these.
don't have the exact style numbers in front of me but easy to get em on cycle gear.

Is the jacket something you need to attach to your pants to keep it from riding up in a crash?

I have a fairly cheap motoboss jacket right now that has OK padding (a guy on the Triumph forum I read has crashed while wearing one and reported that the padding did pretty well), but I worry that it will just get completely scrunched up in the event of a crash (like if I were sliding on the ground) and leave my lower torso/back exposed. That's part of the reason I'm considering full body protection for longer rides.

Thx for the gear info btw... and sorry to hear about your accident.

PS - Nipples grow back.

Very sorry to hear about your wreak and glad the gear paid off.

I guess I'm shopping for a pair of mesh over-pants. I wear a jacket, gloves, boots and a ff helmet but I own a pair of Kevlar jeans I hardly ever wear. There so freaking hot in the knees and seat I only wear them on long rides and never to work or on short trips around town.

Has anyone tried the hi-vis yellow gear? With texting becoming the new means of communicating I've been giving it a lot of thought. When the hell did people forget how to talk on the phone. At leas they can do that hands free with one eye on the road.

GS

2pc suits def offer more protection, and getting a jacket that zips to pants is obv the best choice, however even just having a good pair of leather pants/kevlar jeans, and a good jacket is going to offer a ton of protection.

i'm going to be uploading some pics in the HSNL **** thread if anyone is interested.

OK the suit's wrong but I guess they don't sell mine anymore or something, but it's pretty close.

Me = no courage without full armor






The good part is that I don't think many people would start anything with someone a foot taller than them in full body armor. The other good part was dropping my bike at about 20 in some sand (mistook it for hard dirt that I could stop on nicely) left me with some bruised ribs but zero other injuries. Who knows what'd happen at 70 (or 120), though.

My girlfriend says I look like a power ranger (the aerodynamic bump on the back doesn't help).

I think all the gear totaled up to about $1700 or something when I got it but didn't keep track (boots $250, gloves $200, suit $900, helmet $350). I wanted a Dainese suit but they don't make them big enough for me without calling them up or something and dropping a ton on some custom job.

Have never done one but would love to. I think it may be a bit of a pain in the ass to get your bike prepped for it though. I know on some tracks you have to have a lot of stuff safety wired so it won't fly off if you crash, signals and lights taped up etc.

This hi-vis stuff seems really common in the UK ( I saw small children walking to school in it last week!) but I don't remember seeing it much at all in Canada/US. It definitely improves visibility imo and even just wearing a hi-vis vest over your gear can't hurt.


Couple of pics from our Scotland trip.







Scotland is incredibly beautiful, especially in the west/north west.

I'm not really a bike person, but the other day when I had my car in the shop my mechanic had a friend's Ducati 1098R Bayliss edition sitting there. Very, very sick bike. Everything was carbon fiber from the bodywork to the wheels to the license plate holder. Only 173 miles on it, too.

That's a good idea for kids walking to school. Pretty much every outdoor construction trade I see in the US is converting to some form of hi-vis.

I was on the gulf coast a few weeks back and noticed that even some of the helmentless crowd was wearing high vis tee shirts. Also, I was near Eglin AFB and it must be a military reg, because ever single military person I saw riding was wearing hi-vis.

I think I'm going to start with the vest and maybe switch jackets next season. I gave up trying to look cool when I turned 40. I'd rather keep my skin.

What kind of tank bag it that?

Thanks,

GS

The tank bak is made by MotoPak http://www.motopakluggage.com/gt20.html (I'm pretty sure I got the 20L and not the 27L).




It is a great tank bag imo, the magnets are very strong, has a zip-out waterproof cover, hidden back pack straps and a very convenient big map holder. I can pretty easily get all the clothes I need for a week in it too. I've been using it for 3+ years now and it's still in very good shape.

edit: Here's the luggage setup for the two of us

my 1st bike HD Dyna super glide costum


then I had this one bmw 1200gs on the middle(red one)



bought this one a couple of weeks ago, just loving it
996 ducati monster s4r

thats me on the bmw, yeah I know, but I ws getting use to the bike lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POiCaPJQiyk

Oh man. I need a Monster in the garage alongside my Bonnie.

I am sorry but saying 2 pieces offer more protection is just not true. I work in a company that creates motorcycle gear and I have seen our stuff comes back after crashes for review, the racing gear comes back best.

The suit Randy de Puniet crashed in recently is actually on display next to my office to show to customers exactly how good our gear is. If a professional driver can crash at 300km/h and come out without many injuries surely a casual driver can.

If I was to go on big tour I would definitely spend some extra bucks on better gear. Especially look for gear designed with a goretex membrane, since that is the best waterproof gear, albeit quite expensive.

Free tip: when you buy new gear, pay attention to where the dealer put the price tag/anti-theft thingy. You don't wanna know how many ******ed dealers completely wreck a coats' waterproof by punching a hole in it.

sick sick ride, Its used but only has 4k miles on it, 115hp it

I think I might get a Monster when I get back into riding in a few years. You can scoop em up cheap too. Always liked those.

I think RBK might have been suggesting that 2 piece is better than just a jacket. A 1 piece race suit is obviously ideal from a safety standpoint.

That de Puniet crash was nasty but I think professionals are probably less likely to be severely injured than a casual driver in a crash simply because they will almost never hit a curb, tree, car etc.

While that is true, and the tracks have WAY slicker asphalt than normal roads, the speeds are higher and there are other bikes closer than on a normal road.

With that being a given, there is simply NO suit that can protect you from hitting trees/trucks or cars completely, obviously.

I really recommend looking at our brand if someone is looking for new gear. I really believe in the quality of the products, plus you actually get to look good unlike some other brands where you look like a gimp in some outfits. I won't post direct advertising but it is easy enough to find out since de Puniet wears our suit.

I really like a leather jacket that we make, it looks like a normal D&G jacket that you could wear anytime, but with the padding it is well protecting nonetheless. Brown looks better than black, though. 90% of the male population in the office owns one :P.

FWIW I don't work in marketing but in process management so I am not doing this while getting paid nor do I gain anything from it, I just think it is a great product and hope that other bikers can come to enjoy it.

wait what?

i was saying 2pc suit is better then just jacket and riding pants, which i don't really think is debate-able....obv 1pc is the best but for most people its simply not practical.

are you trying to say that your jacket offers better protection then a 2pc suit?
i'm really confused as to what your point is.

I misunderstood what you tried to say the first time, I thought you meant to say that 2 pc is better than a full suit.

Obviously we agree on the fact that a pair of pants designed for driving a bike is better than jeans in every possible aspect.

Tomizawa was killed in the Moto2 race today...hit by 2 other bikes. The video is on youtube, but just a warning, it is an absolutely brutal crash to watch Only 20 y.o.

so brutal dude, why the **** did i feel the need to search this out.