Intro to ATGATT

[jdgretz]

Originally Posted by FishDiver

My goal is to get basically equipped on a budget, ride a bit to determine what I really want and need, and then upgrade. Also, I have long skinny legs and have not found founds pants that come anywhere near fitting. Knee pads become mid-thigh pads when I sit, hence my desire to mix and match shin guards with hard shorts, etc to create a combination to equal or surpass off the rack pants.

Take a look at these. RevZilla is pretty good about returns. Also the Tall in large has a 34" inseam. How long are your normal pants?

The MotoPort Air Kevlar pants do look pretty ugly, but they are very good and have a 7 year warranty (the stretch Kevlar only have a 3 year warranty) - that's if we can't fix it, we build you a new pair kind of warranty. And they are custom made

Keep watch for sales and visit MotorcycleGear.com from time to time for some pretty good deals.

jdg

[FishWitch]

Another thought is go to some shops & try on stuff & see what fits & then go to eBay or NewEnough.com

Glad to see you are concerned about having good gear. When I first started riding I was clueless. I learned so much from my Pashnit friends.

I'm due for some new boots right now. A friend is sending me some new pants but I haven't gotten to my mailbox to see if they fit!! YEHAW New riding pants hopefully!! Mine are about thread bare.

[FishDiver]

Originally Posted by CRASH

I would worry less about things like Hard Shorts and more about pants with some hip protection and actual abrasion resistance. The BILT line - as mentioned - is less that quality gear. There is a lot of folks that talk about gear that is good for multiple get offs. My philosophy is that the gear has to withstand one serious incident. After that it will be scared and ugly, compromised and un-trustworthy to me. Paying $1000 for a jacket that may last 3 or 4 wrecks vs one jacket that will last 1 for $250 doesn't make sense. I can buy a new jacket and still be ahead financially. If I am falling off of motorcycles often enough that I think I need a 4 accident worthy jacket, (or getting involved in accidents at all at that rate) , I need to look for alternate means of transportation.

I may be slow but I'm not stupid. One theme I hear repeated is that abrasion resistance is more important than padding for impact. I agree with the disposable riding gear message, too. If I can walk away from an accident, the gear has paid for itself. I plan to buy the pants designed to match my jacket and call it good until I understand more about riding and riding gear. I will also continue to wear my knee/shin guards.

[FishDiver]

Originally Posted by FishDiver

The links are excellent, thank you. They reinforced my observation that ATGATT begins to get subjective below the waist. My current iteration:

*Snell-approved full face helmet
*leather gauntlet gloves (no plastic armour)
*BILT mesh jacket
*Knee/shin guards
*BILT mesh pants (replaced Military BDU pants with additional skid pads in thigh pockets)
*Military 10" leather boots

Upgraded to matching textile riding pants. The mesh gear is really an act of faith. It appears so much less substantial than denim. Is it common for street riders to wear back/spine protectors?

[Law Dawg (ret)]

Originally Posted by FishDiver

Upgraded to matching textile riding pants.

Just a bit of info about Motoport. I have had their stretch Kevlar pants since 08. They have been crashed once and repaired by Motoport and cheaper than you can buy off the shelf stuff (if they cannot fix crash damage they will replace your gear). Still going strong...in 4 years I would have gone through at least two pairs of off the shelf pants if not more. Sometimes expensive at first is actually cheaper in the long run.

[jdgretz]

Originally Posted by FishDiver

Upgraded to matching textile riding pants. The mesh gear is really an act of faith. It appears so much less substantial than denim. Is it common for street riders to wear back/spine protectors?

The majority of folks I see wearing back/spine protectors are sport bike guys and most of the time this small group of riders are not full ATGATT. I'm not broad brushing the entire sport bike group as that would be unfair, wrong, and not accurate as the majority of sport bike riders I come across are full ATGATT.

While I understand the purpose of those protectors, I don't wear one as I wear upgraded back pads in my jackets. Probably not quite as much protection but better than just the jacket alone. Everything is a compromise as some level, and this is one I'm prepared to accept.

Mesh is nice and cool during the summer, but you're correct, it is much less substantial than textile or denim. Again, this is a personal preference, but where I ride most of the time, the summer temperatures often stay in the 90 to 100+* temps for a couple of months and full textile clothing just gets way too hot for any length of time (also the same reason I don't wear perforated leather), and that includes wearing a hydration pack, so my primary jacket is a combination mesh/textile - more textile than mesh. During the coldest parts of winter I switch to a full textile jacket with a heated liner. The rest of the cooler days (down to about 40*) I'm fine with my Tourmaster Sonoma Air, the liners and heated grips on the bike, although I am thinking of getting leather and a full textile riding suit from either Teiz (they do custom fitting), Olympia or AeroStich (not fully custom but close).

jdg

[FishWitch]

From Fish to Fish ~~ glad your doing your best do gear up. It took me a while & I'm still not up to what I would really like. I'm always searching for better gear as I can afford.

You are on the right line. zzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZtight lines & Vrmmmmmm