clothing and helmet » protective clothing

Harleyfahrer are the same world 'round then. I see them in California in shorts and t-shirt.

I always wear a leather or armored riding jacket, helmet, leather gloves and boots when riding anywhere, but I will admit that I do not always wear leather pants when riding locally.

Late 70s and early 80s we would take 3 week trips wearing jeans, wind breakers and open face helmets.
Mid 80s was leather jacket, jeans and full face helmet.
In the late 80s we started wearing full leathers, but we would strap the jacket to the back of the bike on hot days.
We slowly got where we wear all the gear all the time.

Yeah, in my 20s (in the 1980s) I owned a helmet, leather jacket and gloves; for years that was it. Oh, and a pair of rubber boots for the rain. Never wore anything but ordinary jeans and trainers; though I suppose that was in part because back then it was leather trousers or nothing, which weren't ideal. Armour didn't even exist, as far as I can recall. Fast-forward 30 years, after a long bike-free hiatus, now I wouldn't dream of riding without ATGATT, regardless of how hot it is. By the time you get to my age you realise you aren't actually invincible after all...

In the 60s, open face helmet, gloves, jacket & boots.

70s, full face helmet otherwise same but better quality. Sometimes leather pants.

80s same but better quality.

90s ditto

00s ditto

Today, bluetooth helmet, armoured gloves, armoured textile Held jacket or lightly armoured mesh jacket if very hot, long or short motorcycle boots. Occasionally Draggin jeans or armoured Held trousers. Most often jeans.

Knock on wood, but I have had no injuries since 1973 which resulted from inadequate clothing.

I up-armored my mesh and touring jackets and use armored boots and gloves. A fresh helmet and proper eye protection also. I wear canvas pants sometimes when close to home, but usually armored textile pants or Kevlar lined jeans. I just don't bounce anymore...

In the 70's, jeans, t shirt and nylon jacket. When it got cold, ski jacket. I remember my first white Bell open face helmet. In the 80's, I bought a pair of chaps and jacket Hein Gericke, which I stretch into the 2000's. I still have them hanging in my closet. I left the leather for textile which are lighter and specially made for motorcyclists. Today, Alpinestar mesh suit for the hot summers and a Rukka suit for Spring and Fall. Helmet is a Schuberth C3 Pro which is not great, due to bad ventilation system.One more season and I will look for a different brand. If ever I lose control , I have a better chance to get back on a motorcycle again with these protective clothing.

Every time I ride, I'm wearing a Shoei helmet, Held gloves, AlpineStars SMX3 boots, and a Dainese perforated leather jacket. Embarrassed to say I'm mostly just wearing jeans (which offer just about zero protection in a crash). It would be nice to have some light weight armored pants of some kind.

When I think back to what I used to wear on a bike, it is with horror! The waxed cotton suits that were filthy, freezing cold, barely shower proof, had the crash protection of a wet paper bag and were expensive to boot. How I did not die of hypothermia, never mind crash damage, is a total mystery. For a while this was all topped off (bottomed off?) by the wonderful Derriboots. These were motorcycle-boot-styled rubber wellies. No protection at all, freezing cold but at least they were waterproof. All year round motorbiking back then was more like an extreme SAS endurance test and for someone like me who has used a bike as primary transport most of my life, it was genuinely tough. We had proper winters then too, with snow and freezing temperatures through the whole winter. None of this modern, soft, namby-pamby global warming stuff back then. Oh no!

Now? Oh my. It takes an age to put everything on! Leather or textile suit, air jacket, yellow high viz. vest, high-end boots, armoured gloves and of course, ear-plugs (the reason that I still have excellent hearing after 50+ years of riding bikes) and full-face helmet. In cold weather, I also use heated gloves and inner jacket. The result of all this is that I do not usually undertake short trips on the bike, partly because it just takes too long to prepare to ride the damned thing! Longer trips are fine as the investment of time in preparation is more than paid back by the reduced journey time compared with using a car. This is especially true in England which is basically a large traffic jam almost 24 hours a day.

The paranoid dressing up is tiresome but if I came off the bike at low to moderate speed and suffered injuries that could have been prevented if I had been wearing the proper gear, I would never forgive myself. Neither would my wife, children etc. I am also not naive enough to think that any of this would actually be that effective in a high speed crash. Without a lot of luck in that situation, you are truly cooked. Perhaps the ultimate justification for all this, outside of the safety aspect, is that I can now ride all day in cold and rain and be warm, comfortable and dry. That too has a safety aspect as frozen limbs and fingers do not allow good control of a bike. I could never before ride in such comfort and I like it a lot!

Zitat von Freddyfruitbat im Beitrag #5

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Oh, and a pair of rubber boots for the rain.

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Zitat von DJBee im Beitrag #11

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this was all topped off (bottomed off?) by the wonderful Derriboots.

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Well, I am glad that it is not just me who suffers from all this!
I am also glad that I still find riding motorbikes so enjoyable and usually efficient, especially for longer journeys, otherwise it really would not be worth all the effort.