Safety Clothing
The importance of the right equipment and clothing
Without the right clothing you can, and will, get very cold and wet when riding. Special motorcycling clothing is available which:
If you allow yourself to become cold and wet you will lose concentration.
Clothing is made from either manmade materials or leather. Manmade materials usually protect you from the weather and these include NYLON, CORDURA, PVC and WAXED COTTON. Some have reinforcing or padding to provide some protection in the event of an accident. Generally, manmade outer clothing is designed to fit over your normal clothes and comes as either: - Jacket and trousers or one piece suits, they can be unlined or lined for extra warmth.
Leathers are traditionally worn by motorcyclists as they offer a high degree of protection from gravel burns if you fall off. Leathers come in the same combinations as the manmade materials, although some jackets and trousers can be zipped together which helps stop draughts, but can still be worn separately when required.
One-piece leather suits can be a bit restrictive and are not particularly good at keeping you warm because they aren’t designed to fit over your normal clothes, but they do offer good protection, reduce wind resistance and don't suffer from draughts. However, they are expensive and like all leathers they are not totally waterproof, so you may have to buy a waterproof over suit if you intend riding in wet weather,
Separate jacket and trousers are usually the least expensive option, they all come in a wide range of styles, colour, sizes and prices, and accessories include protection for the shoulders, elbows, back and knees called body armour so look out for these, they'll have that CE marking too.
The best advice is to visit a good motorcycle dealer and try various types for fit and comfort. Ask the assistant for help and advice.
As a general rule buy the best you can afford. If you really can't afford leathers then good quality denim is the next best thing, certainly not shell suits.
When you're on the motorcycle you need to be wearing your coat and have clothing properly fastened.
It's worth mentioning that any clothes, not just leathers, must be CE approved if the manufacturer claims or implies protection other than from weather, it's a European Certificate similar to our British Standard.
Let's consider other items of clothing, good gloves are essential when you ride a motorcycle, never ride without gloves because if you do fall off, the first thing you do is put your hands down, and if it's cold and wet your fingertips are the first to be affected.
Leather is the most suitable material for motorcycle gloves; it's tough, supple and shower proof. (Consider buying waterproof over mitts for wet weather riding). Your mums woolly mitts are not good enough, the very least you should consider is a pair of thick quality gardening gloves, but I wouldn't recommend anything less than proper motorcycle equipment.
You can buy gloves for summer, winter or a combination of the two. Summer gloves are unlined and allow easy operation of the controls. Winter gloves are padded and waterproof but can be a little cumbersome. (If you are series about all year riding consider buying inner thermal gloves or even heated handlebar grips and waterproof overmits).
It is also important to have good footwear and I don't mean the latest in-fashion Nike or Reebok trainers!
Ideally your footwear will offer ankle and shin protection, and have a heel for secure location on the foot pegs. They should also offer protection from the cold and wet weather.
You have the choice of leather and rubber or plastic materials. As previously mentioned leather is strong, flexible and weather resistant so it is the most suitable. For very wet weather you may have to buy over shoes. Rubber and plastic boots are 100% waterproof and cheaper than leather. All types come lined or unlined and use zip or Velcro fastening - no laces to catch in the chain or around foot pegs and levers.
As always buy the best you can afford, but if you're on a tight budget consider hiking boots or work boots, they have ankle protection, a heel and are study, but beware of the laces, and try operating the levers first as they may be a bit clumsy.
By law there are certain things you must wear an approved Safety Helmet is one and it must be correctly fastened. All helmets sold in the UK must carry a BSI Kite mark and comply with British Standard BS6658 (these are further
categorized with a blue (class A) or green (class B) label, Class A are tested to a higher standard.)
There are two types of helmet, Full face and Open face. Full face helmets cover the head fully, including the chin and have a hinged visor. These protect the face in an accident and offer more protection from the weather.
Open faced helmets don't protect the chin, but are fashionable amongst cruiser style bikers. They are also preferred by some that feel a little claustrophobic in the full face helmets. I strongly recommend you have some form of eye protection with these whether it's a fixed visor, goggles or just glasses.
Whichever type you prefer make sure it's a good firm fit, the padding soon beds down. With the helmet on, unfastened, you should be able to bend over without it slipping off. Holding the helmet still you shouldn't be able to move your head around inside without the helmet moving too. I really believe you need to visit a dealer and ask the assistant for advice when you want to buy one, different makes have different shapes and sizes and he'll know exactly the type you need. I realize mail order catalogues are cheaper but it's worth paying extra for their advice. If you get one to small your head will be in pain in no time, and if it's too big the wind will blow it about and if you do have an accident it will just roll off giving you no protection.
As I mentioned earlier the helmet must be securely and correctly fastened. There are three different fastening methods in use today; none of them are Velcro fasteners! The Velcro is only to stop the straps from flapping. There is the Bar and Buckle method, which is becoming rarer but used to be the most common. The Double D Ring which seems to be quite popular. Both of these loop around the metal fastening and usually need the removal of your gloves to do so. The other method is the quick release buckle similar to a car seat belt mechanism, it's quick and easy but only found on the more expensive helmets.
Safety helmets come in three basic materials, Polycarbonate, Fibreglass and Kevlar.
Polycarbonate are the cheapest, typically £30 to £100, they are instantly recognisable by the seam, where the two halves are joined together, and are quite light. They are usually categorised as class B shown by the green label. The disadvantage is that they must not be painted nor have stickers affixed. Original stickers have special glue, which doesn't melt the plastic. They should be changed regularly as old age and sunlight affect them. Only use soapy water to clean them.
Fibreglass helmets are next in the price range, typically £100 up to £300. They are noticeably heavier than Polycarbonate helmets but last longer and have a much better finish as they can be decorated anyway and are easy to clean.
Kevlar composites combine the lightness of Polycarbonate and the strength of fibreglass and consequently tend to be expensive - up to £500.
Again money talks and my advice is buy the best you can afford. You do pay for the name but you also get a better finish and fit from the more expensive helmets.
One last note on helmets, helmets are designed to break on impact, rather than your head, and any damage may not be noticeable. For this reason never buy a second hand helmet, even if it looks great it could have been repaired and then sprayed over, just don't risk it.
Visors and goggles are vital to protect your eyes from, wind, rain, insects and road debris. All are covered by a British Standard BS4110 and are graded according to their scratch resistance XA, YA and ZA. ZA being the best and they all display a BSI Kite mark.
If you wear glasses or contact lenses you must by law wear them when you ride. If you were glasses it's a good idea to get safety lenses fitted which resist shattering, the last thing you want are pieces of glass in your eye!
Don’t wear tinted glasses or visors in bad weather or in the dark, it is illegal. The blacked out and coloured visors you sometimes see are illegal for road use.
It is important you keep visors clean, obviously, and they should be scratch free. Scratches distort your view, cause dazzle from the lights of oncoming cars and cause glare from the sun.
I've found warm soapy water the best to keep them clean, don't use solvents, and then I apply a water repellent coating on the outside and an anti-fog spray to the inside.
We motorcyclists need to make an extra effort to be clearly visible to other road users, as we are only small and have quite a thin profile. Many road accidents occur because another road user just didn't see the motorcyclist.
We can use the Headlight; we could also wear something bright, fluorescent and/or reflective.
Helmets come in all colours, but why not buy a plain white one rather than a dark one?
Leathers are usually black, but nowadays you can buy just about any colour under the sun!
Other aids include vests, belts and patches or strips. Fluorescent materials improve your chances of being seen in the daytime, but have little benefit in the dark. Reflective materials are excellent in the dark, but are of little use in daylight. So you need a combination of reflective and fluorescent materials.