Riding Gear and Why You Need It

Riding Gear

In the coming weeks, I'm going to be doing some reviews on some of my recently acquired off-road gear. It occurred to me while writing one of those reviews this morning, though, that I haven't really even spoken about the importance of riding gear or explained my recommendations on what you need, or why you even need to wear riding gear in the first place. So let's explore the reasoning for my "gearing up" the way I have.

Back In The Day

When I first started riding dirt bikes as a young MotoWriter, I was the kid that only wore jeans, a t-shirt and my sneakers when I ripped around the neighborhood. I grew up in the 1980's and we didn't have extra money for "fancy" gear like riding jerseys and pants, boots or helmets... no, my generation had to figure out how to ride without killing, or crippling, ourselves... and for the most part- we did. Once I started riding the streets, I just wore jeans, t-shirt, whatever shoes I had on at the time and usually a half shell helmet. Over time, I slowly added gloves, boots, a decent leather jacket and better helmets to my street riding gear. Now that I'm older, I realize just how much I have to lose, so before something silly happened on the dirt bike, I decided to gear up right from the start, this time around.

What You Need And Why

There's a LOT of gear options out there, so you may be wondering what you need, and more importantly, why. After all, riding gear can get expensive and you may want, or need, to make some compromises. Here's my simple breakdown, in order of importance to me:

• Helmet- a good helmet specifically designed for the type of riding you're going to be doing. For my on-road helmets, I want a minimum of DOT certifications, and for off-road, I'm looking for MIPS (Multi-directional Impact Protection System). Don't cheap out on your helmet- get a good helmet from a reputable manufacturer that has done proper safety testing. I refuse to wear a cheap, non DOT (minimum) certified helmet anymore. My head holds all my writing ideas, so I gotta protect it as best I can. 

• Eye protection- safety rated glasses for on-road (or a good shield on a full face or modular helmet) and goggles for off-road are a MUST HAVE. I nearly lost my left eye last summer while mowing the yard- I'm protecting my eyes from now on. For off-road riding, MX style goggles are significantly better than glasses, because they have a seal around your eyes to keep water, bugs and other things out of your peepers. You can get a good pair for a decent price, but you do want to make sure you get some that have good breathability so they don't fog up on you.

• Boots- broken ankles and loss of mobility sucks. Having a good pair of riding boots will protect your feet and will keep everything lined up and protected if, or when, you take a spill. For on road riding, I personally like lace-up, waterproof boots that are also comfortable to walk in. For riding off-road, waterproof is a must, so is a good sole with some lugs for grip on slippery, rocky surfaces.

• Gloves- wearing good quality gloves will improve your rides significantly. For on-road riding, a high quality pair of leather or other abrasion resistant materials like Cordura is a must. God forbid you do take a spill, you don't want to shred the skin off your hands. Accidentally touching a hot part on your bike, or having a beetle whack you in the knuckles at 70 mph can ruin your day, so a good pair of gloves should be standard in your riding gear locker. For off-road riding, there is a lot of throttle movement, clutch and brake lever manipulation going on, not to mention  limbs, branches, thorn covered vines and other annoyances that you'll encounter on the trails. Keep your mitts safe and free from scrapes and cuts with a good pair of gloves.

• Pants- On the road- I still just wear good quality jeans- maybe not the best pants to wear, but they're comfortable and for me, that comfort is worth the risk. For off-road riding, however, the jeans don't cut it, as I move around a lot more on the dirt bike- standing, sitting, leaning, etc., so a good pair of specialized riding pants that are flexible and gusseted, made of ripstop material with specially designed materials and components for when you come off the bike are a must. 

• Jersey- for off-road riding. On the street, I'll admit, I still usually just wear a t-shirt in the summer, but these "new" hot weather long sleeve shirts are great- they keep the sun's rays in check without having to slather yourself in carcinogen-filled sunscreens. In addition to the t-shirt, I do now wear a good leather vest to keep from getting any more scars like the one I got when I crashed a few years ago. For off-road riding, a long sleeve riding jersey is a must. While most of the designs are racing team inspired, you don't have to be a racer to wear a jersey. A good jersey will protect your arms from scrapes and thorns while you're out on the trails and it will also keep the sun from burning your arms and ruining your day. 

• Chest/Roost Protector- for off-road riding. These range in price from under $100 to several hundred and you can get overwhelmed quickly while shopping for them. My advice- keep it simple. You primarily need protection from punctures and impacts when you come off the bike. Figure out your budget, then shop within that- start off with an affordable, comfortable protector so that you'll actually get into the habit of wearing it, then upgrade later, as needed.

• Knee/Shin Guards- for off-road riding... and on-road riding, if you're so inclined. While I don't personally ride with knee protection on the street, I always wear it on the dirty bike. When you're riding off-road, especially on single-track trails, you regularly encounter a variety of obstacles and things that can abruptly and unexpectedly change the direction of your bike, causing you to fall or worse- get thrown, off the bike... especially when you're a novice rider. I'm getting better, and I fall a lot less now than I did a few months ago when I first got back on the old XR, but I still fall. Good, articulated, knee/shin guards keep your knees bending the right way and keep the bruises to a minimum. Like the chest/roost protector- you can get lost in the prices... I got mine for under $100, but I've seen others priced well over $1,000 so my advice is the same- buy within your budget and upgrade as your needs change.

• Hydration- If you're going to be riding for any length of time, especially in the summer (but even in the cooler months), staying hydrated is critical. When you get dehydrated all kinds of bad things start happening- I could write a whole blog post on just dehydration and its affects on the body. We all know how important it is, so when you're riding the streets, throw an insulated jug of water in your saddlebag- preferably with an electrolyte packet mixed in, or get a hydration backpack if you don't have any luggage on your bike. For off-road riding- I highly recommend the latter. I, and most of the guys I ride with, wear hydration backpacks when we're out on the trails. Enduro riding is fun, but it's also physically demanding. Getting dehydrated on the trails is not an option, so get a good durable pack with a bladder that is BPA, BPS and PVC free (you don't what those chemicals leaching into your water). Keep it clean! Wash it between uses and don't allow any water to sit in it when it's stored. 

Conclusion

Riding motorcycles isn't like driving a car. Motorcyclists have to make certain adjustments and accommodations to get the most out of our rides. It really doesn't matter what you ride, or where you ride, having the right gear is invaluable. Driving around in your car requires little more than putting on a seatbelt to get the job done... but we ride motorcycles to do more than just "get the job done." We ride motorcycles to experience the world around us. It doesn't matter if you ride street, dirt or both. Motorcycles are inherently dangerous machines, so mitigate the risks by wearing the right gear so you can keep riding, and experiencing life in an incredible way, for many more years to come.

Look for those upcoming MotoReviews of my gear, coming soon. Until next time MotoReaders...

Ride Safe and Gear Up!

Let's get DIRTY....

Let's Get Dirty!

I recently picked up a bit of a project bike; one unlike any of my other motorcycles. Now, I've been riding street bikes since the 1990's... but like many of you, I didn't start there. I got my start in the dirt and on the trails and it's been almost 30 years since I sold my last off-road bike. Take a quick ride down the memory "trail" with me, and let's get into the "brush" with this one, shall we?

Ya Gotta Start Somewhere

The year is 1980-something and your old pal the MotoWriter is still just a kid. A kid with a couple of fishing poles and a $10 bill burning a hole in his pocket. A few miles away, a classmate's dad had been to the auto auction and picked up an old Honda XR200 for his son. The bike was a beater and had been painted by someone with nothing better to do with himself but ruin a motorcycle with, what I can only guess was some kind of epoxy spatter paint (it was the 80's, after all), so my classmate's dad got it for a steal. 

Now, back then, I did a lot of fishing, but after ripping around on a mini-bike that my dad picked up for me from a neighbor, nearly breaking my neck on my cousin's Honda ATC and flying low on my buddy's motorcycle engine powered go-cart... my interests had shifted from peacefully standing on the bank of a bayou wetting hooks, to high-octane powered speed! On a school bus ride home one fateful afternoon, a couple of adolescent entrepreneurs had struck a deal! He would get two of my best fishing poles and that crinkled up $10 bill, and I would take delivery of his dirtbike... that didn't run. 

If my memory serves me correctly, I think I was still in middle school and I had no knowledge of motorcycle repair, and no experience turning wrenches on anything more complicated than a lawnmower engine and a BMX bike. After getting that ugly-ass Honda home and spending a few hours tinkering around with it, though- I got that old dirt bike running! It didn't take long for me to figure out how to ride it, and ride it, I did! I couldn't sand the paint down, and I definitely couldn't afford to buy a new gas tank and new plastics, so I did what any budget-restricted adolescent would do, and I got some red rattle-can paint and some cool looking "Mr. Horsepower" stickers (you know, the angry, cigar smoking woodpecker logo), and dolled her up. I ran the roads on that bike for months, much to the chagrin of the neighbors, and my parents. 

A Kid With Grown-up Money

Retirement has a way of, as my lovely bride has jovially commented, "de-adultifying" a person. Now, the best way I can describe this is, as I've previously stated... we only have 75 good years. The problem is, between age 5 and 18, you have to go to school (and many of us had to start working a part-time job for the last two to three years of those). The next 2-4 years might be college for some, or full time jobs for the rest of us. By our mid-20's though... we're pretty much all working and we'll do that for the next 25-30 years, at least. We don't usually get into the good years until we're in our 50's or 60's, and by then, most folks that never learned that motorcycles are basically the closest thing to a fountain of youth for the minds, are basically too tired to really do anything other than sit around, golf, fish or travel in an RV (which, I'll admit that a couple of those don't sound too bad). So, if you are lucky enough to retire in your "middle-age", you might find yourself in just the right spot to enjoy a time when you don't have to go to school, you don't have to go to work, and you have a little extra jingle in your pocket to get some cool stuff. Basically, you kind of get to be a kid again, but with grown up money.

My Last Dirtbike

I sold the last of my dirtbikes, a 1973 Suzuki TC100 Enduro bike, decades ago. I was married, working a full time job and Mrs. MotoWriter and I were expecting our first child. I hadn't ridden the old 'Zuki in a couple of years and it was just taking up space at my parents' house, so I figured I'd make a few bucks off of it and buy some groceries, instead. Over the next few years, I worked, paid bills and tried my best to make a decent life for my little family. 

Years later, as I was getting established in my career, I was finally able to get another motorcycle- an older model Honda cruiser- but that's a story for another day- and with it, my dirtbike days were over, or so I thought. 

In my younger days, I never raced or rode motocross, I was a trail guy. I loved getting into the woods and riding among the trees, along river banks and over sandy berms and along fire trails. After years of riding two lane highways, interstates and back roads on my street bikes, a long dormant fire was reignited inside of me. It was the call of the forest beckoning me, offering the tranquility of her trails for a chance to reconnect with nature the way I used to do as a kid. So I started looking for another off road bike. I toyed around with the idea of an ADV bike, like a Triumph Tiger or a Pan America. I still haven't ruled that out entirely, but I didn't want to drop over $15k on a bike that I was going to thrash on in the woods, so I figured I'd start with a simple little off-road bike, instead. 

Introducing, The "Leg Breaker"

I knew that I wanted a four stroke, since the last big two stroke I had was a Yamaha YZ250 that was a "retired" race bike that I nearly broke my back on during a failed attempt at a jump. I really like the Hondas, so I set out on finding a used XR250. What I found though, was that, apparently, everyone else likes the same bikes, because the only XR250s for sale were so overpriced that I could have bought a new bike for just a few bucks more. I had given up looking, for the most part, until I just happened to come across a deal that looked too good to be true. I found an 1989 XR600R, in 90% original condition and very well-maintained, for a price so good that I had to go see it. What I found was a super cool guy who was just ready to move on from riding, selling what would be my next bike. We struck a deal and I brought her home that day. 

After getting it home and on the lift, I starting doing some research on it to learn more about my new project. I learned a few things, but the most ominous was that the XR600R was nicknamed the "leg breaker." These bikes are kick-start only and, if you aren't careful, the kick start lever can kick back, and cause you to have a real bad day. I also learned that these bikes are still very popular and that parts availability for them is still pretty good, considering the age. 

Getting Her Ready 

Getting her ready for the trails was easy enough, thanks to the meticulous maintenance that the previous owner did. The plastics were in decent shape, albeit a little ugly due to some old decals and some abrasion transfers. The first order of business was to replace the Chinese Keihein knock-off carburetor with a proper Mikuni replacement kit from Speed Moto Co.. Next was a minor repair to a broken bolt boss on the engine case. After that, I cleaned up the plastics, replaced the headlight straps, grips, chain mud guard, seat cover, tank strap, tail light, fender bag, fork boots, trip meter cable and added a new headlight shroud decal and some aftermarket "XR" decals. She looks almost as good as she runs now. Since I didn't have any off-road gear, I figured I'd hit up Rocky Mountain ATV & Motorcycle and grab some riding gear. I had to do some research, but thanks to the good folks at Rocky Mountain (and after reading a lot of reviews and talking to some friends about what gear they were using), I landed on a pair of MSR Adventure boots, an MSR helmet with "MIPS" (Multi-directional Impact Protection System), and a pair of VSN goggles. I'll be doing some MotoReviews of that gear in the coming weeks after I've had a chance to beat it up a little. I've also been told that I need to consider getting some specialized off-road pants, a jersey and a chest protector, too... so if I do, I'll do a MotoReview of that stuff, too.

Time To Ride

While I'm not giving up riding my street bikes, I am excited to get back to my roots (pun intended) and reconnect with nature on a motorcycle. I learned a lot about riding, and a lot about myself, on trails deep in the woods. From exploring the wilderness behind my grandparents' house as a youngster, to riding dirtbikes and simply hiking on trails with my family, I've always been drawn to the outdoors. 

It's safe to say that I'm more than a little excited to jump back on a bike with knobby tires and, who knows, when I start adding some content about my off-road adventures, we might even add a few more folks to the MotoReader family. For now though, it's time for me to get this hoss out of the garage, loaded up and hauled out to some local trails. 

If you happen to see me out there on the trails, don't be too mad if I'm riding too slow in front of you... just say hello as you pass me by! 

Until next time, MotoReaders...

Ride safe and get Dirty!