Seriously guys, wear berkeleying gear.

Funny, I spent the next day after my crash rounding up gear on Craigslist.

In reply to Appleseed:

I'll have all winter to do that. LoL

This will pretty much sideline me for the rest of the riding season.

Here's a pic from about 2 hours earlier:

In reply to Bobzilla:

I didn't look at the raptor again, but it had nearly zero chicken strips left....who says a stretched/slammed bike can't handle...lol

yamaha wrote: In reply to Bobzilla: I didn't look at the raptor again, but it had nearly zero chicken strips left....who says a stretched/slammed bike can't handle...lol

I know it was pushing for me to keep up with him in the twisties that's for darn sure.

In reply to Bobzilla:

Yea, tons of racing experience made that difference. I'm impressed with how the raptor did....itll be terrifying stock heigh/wheelbase.

I lowsided my old DT 250 around the end of March. Going around a 90 left hand corner a bit too quickly, I ran out of steering lock and clean pavement about the same time. But I was flat-tracking pretty good through most of the corner. Just before the corner, I told myself to pick up the pace a bit because I was riding too conservatively and the limit wasn't anywhere near where I thought it was. Turns out it was almost EXACTLY where I thought it was.

Lessons learned: Joe Rocket mesh gear works better than I thought it would. The Cycle Gear cargo pants with kevlar and knee pads worked well, until I spun around and slid feet first. Full face helmets R O C K, I am still handsome after sliding down the pavement on my face-chest-knees-etc. I had a Scorpion EXO 700, lost the face sheild and was happy that I was wearing Oakleys underneath. Watching pavement sliding inches from your face is a weird sensation.

I left with almost all my skin intact, just a small strawberry on my left knee, a broken left radius and dislocated thumb. Likely from the bars initial impact with the road. Gloves were intact, they were Sidici perforated leather.

I am now fully healed and will pick up an Arai helmet in a couple of weeks and be back on the bikes.

The bike is already fixed, it just needed a new left rear signal and clutch perch.

After being there first hand for Paul's experience, it only enhanced my desire to wear gear always.

Yup, full gear here. And I mean dedicated motorcycle gear. I get a kick out of people who think jeans and a keather jacket count. They don't!

I'm full gear here but would really like to upgrade my pants. I have draggin jeans with Kevlar but they have no armor. But I don't really want textile or mesh pants. I like the abrasion resistance of leather, so much so, that I rock an Alpinestars full leather coat with all armor year round. Just looking for pants. Any suggestions?

Hit E-bay and/or CragsList start looking for the AlpineStars leather pants that zip into the jacket making it a onesie.

octavious wrote: I'm full gear here but would really like to upgrade my pants. I have draggin jeans with Kevlar but they have no armor. But I don't really want textile or mesh pants. I like the abrasion resistance of leather, so much so, that I rock an Alpinestars full leather coat with all armor year round. Just looking for pants. Any suggestions?

I really like these that I picked up at the beginning of this season. Offer lots of protection and comfort. http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/agv-sport-willow-perforated-leather-pants excellent bang for the buck. Very comfortable and surprisingly breathable.

In reply to octavious:

I'm seriously considering upgrading to Motoport gear.

http://www.motoport.com/

Allegedly 10x better abrasion resistance than new race leather. Of course just the jacket costs more than I have in both of my jackets, pants and both helmets combined.

In reply to octavious:

Why wouldn't you want mesh pants? Its nice to have something to wear that protects you and keeps you cool at the same time. I try to avoid leather. It's uncomfortable, hot and hogh maintenance.

My all-round ride-anywhere in any weather setup is/was a Klim Traverse jacket with the optional armor and Aerostich AD1 pants. Hurricane-proof water resistance, light enough for 100+ degree days, but layerable to below freezing especially with electric heated gear. Pretty easy to commute in too.

I've tried two different one-piece suits, the Teiz Motorsports Lombard and the classic Aerostich Roadcrafter. Both worked best if it was under 70 degrees, both were bombproof, and both leaked at the crotch in a steady rain. Two piece gear is way more flexible.

I've tried mesh pants, and while they've saved me on two small parking lot dumps both times the pants were toast afterwards, tore apart at the mesh. Definitely one and done type gear but reasonable in summer heat. Olympia Air 2's and a Rev-It mesh pant if memory serves.

I know it's not about style, really, but... DAMN the Motoport stuff is ugly in person. Bulky too, which is one of my big pet peeves about ADV type gear in general. Too much bulk gets in the way of riding and worse acts like a sail when riding in high winds or high speeds or both.

Nick (picaso) Comstock wrote: In reply to octavious: I'm seriously considering upgrading to Motoport gear. http://www.motoport.com/ Allegedly 10x better abrasion resistance than new race leather. Of course just the jacket costs more than I have in both of my jackets, pants and both helmets combined.

skierd wrote: I know it's not about style, really, but... DAMN the Motoport stuff is ugly in person. Bulky too, which is one of my big pet peeves about ADV type gear in general. Too much bulk gets in the way of riding and worse acts like a sail when riding in high winds or high speeds or both.

+11TBillion

I have the Klim Badlands Pro stuff and it's the most bombproof, functional gear I've seen. 100% waterproof, and is vented well enough for 4 season riding, blah, blah... But it is berkeleyING UGLY.

The jacket is one thing... it looks like some tactical goon stuff but with a pair of riding jeans it's par for the course in moto jackets. The pants, though, are just ridiculous. The waist is a snug fit but I could fit a whole other person in the rest. It's baggy synthetic material that swooshes like a little kid in a snowmobile suit when I walk. I only ever wear them when I'm expecting bad weather and do not expect to have to encounter normal people at a restaurant or something along the way. I'm not exactly a fashionista but for berkeley's sake - there is no reason someone in the business of making premium priced moto gear can't make it less idiotic looking and possibly get the fit proportional to the shape of the human body.

OP:

Most of the time I wear the Klim jacket, and cheap Sliders kevlar cargo pants (compacc.com house brand) with Bohn armored pantyhose (CoolAir Mesh Adventure pants) underneath. I should just sell the Klim pants and be done with them. They were a berkeleyload of money and only really used for keeping dry... like a $20 pair of plastic rain overpants would do.

On a related note, injury ended up requiring surgery, and the '04 was sold to help pay the deductible. It however is entirely rebuilt & roadworthy again.

The hilarious thing is I actually broke even on the '04. The first gen zx10's have been appreciating in value ever since I bought mine, so even wrecked it was still worth what I paid for the bike and everything I put into it.