Wear the Right Motorcycle Gear to Enjoy Your Ride Safely
Riding can be a whole lot of fun.
However, in the absence of proper motorcycle gear, mishaps are just waiting to happen.
In between bruises and bumps, one can succumb to serious injuries for a lifetime.
Hence, there’s no stressing enough on the importance of protective motorcycle gear to help transform your riding experience into a pleasurable one and keep you under guard all the time.
From rookie to pro, here are five essential motorcycle gear that one can’t afford to miss.
Crash Helmets
The most basic among all protective motorcycle gear, helmets are mandatory by law for every rider to wear globally.
A perfect crash helmet can predominantly safeguard a rider from avoiding injuries across his head, face, and neck.
When choosing one for your ride, there are some ground rules that you will need to conform to:
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- Ensure the particular model is in line with the government’s protection standards. Internationally, crash helmets are marked with SNELL and DOT ratings to depict the highest safety standards.
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- Next, you will need to find a helmet that fits snugly around your face, especially around the cheek area. Try one for your size and move your head. Watch out for any wobble, which usually happens when the helmet is too big. On the flip side, never settle for a helmet that’s way too tight and suffocates you.
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- When at home, you will need to store your helmet in a place where it won’t fall or get knocked down easily. Additionally, always aim to keep your visors clean for the best visibility. If it takes on too many scratches, it is recommended to change it at once. For all those who prefer tinted visors, ensure there’s at least fifty percent visibility.
Rider Gloves
Rider gloves are a must-have motorcycle gear to protect your fingers, especially during harsh weather.
It’s quite common for many riders to settle for just about any kind of gloves. While it serves the purpose, for the most part, it is never the right approach.
Riders should have dedicated gloves; one pair for summer and another for winter, snow, or rain. Inferior quality gloves don’t last for long and tear away easily, thus exposing your skin.
While choosing your pair, always remember :
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- Gloves should never be heavy and should be good enough to avoid scratches.
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- They should serve to keep your hands warm during the chill and dry when it’s hot outside.
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- Check whether you can move your fingers freely within and keep control of your bike.
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- All straps and other adjustments belts should offer a snug fit.
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- The stitch along the palm area as well as the upper layer should be strong enough to ripple little pull-ins and pull-outs.
Jackets And Pants
Denim made specifically for motorcycle riders is a good investment. Also, one can opt for knee guards in case you are not sure about your pants offering adequate protection.Rider jackets and pants are another important motorcycle gear.
Together, they are known to offer firsthand protection against moderate to heavy injuries, courtesy of the padding present along the knee area, elbows, chest, hip, back, and shoulders.
Similar to rider gloves, there are few points to keep in mind when buying biker jackets and pants:
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- The jacket and the pants should never hinder your movement. Start by checking for the jacket’s arm and shoulder length.
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- Further, check whether the jacket comes with protective double stitches and seals in places.
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- Some biker jackets are also waterproof, while some have inner thermal linings that you can remove when riding during the summer months.
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- Denim made specifically for motorcycle riders is a good investment. Also, one can opt for knee guards in case you are not sure about your pants offering adequate protection.
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- Always choose jackets that have some kind of reflective element stitched on them. This will render good visibility for you to other vehicles when riding at night.
Rider Boots
A motorcycle gear that is often overlooked, boots help protect your feet from untimely crashes.
No matter how easy it appears, you should never skip wearing boots, especially when going for long rides.
When looking to buy a pair for yourself, comfort should be your guiding word. Start by wearing them with socks to help gauge the right fit.
Also, make sure you are free enough to change brakes and gear levers wearing them.
Many riders often trade their riding boots for a decent pair of sports shoes or touring boots. While such options can be good choices given their practicality, we recommend you to stick to rider boots for maximum safety.
Back Protectors
To help protect a rider from a crash or a fall, a motorcycle gear has to absorb the energy from the impact.
Back protectors are meant to do the same and prevent significant damage to sensitive body parts like ribs and spine. Additionally, it also renders effective safeguarding to internal injuries meted out to kidneys, intestines, and liver.
When choosing a back protector, it is important to find the right size. If it’s way too small, it might not be enough to render protection to the lower back area which is pretty vulnerable. On the other hand, if it’s too big, it might come off easily with a little blow.
In other words, it’s like getting a suit tailored to fit. Hence, it is recommended that you talk to the dealer first who will get your measurements done right and recommend the best product.
Final Thoughts
Besides the essential ones, there are several other motorcycle gear that you can choose to buy for added protection and comfort; like head masks, lumbar protectors, elbow and knee pads to name a few.
No matter what protective motorcycle gear you choose, you should always give value to function over the looks.
Remember, while stylish gears can cut you a hunk-on-wheels image, they might fall short of protecting you when you meet with an accident.
Hence, invest in functional motorcycle gear to fetch yourself complete peace of mind.
Happy riding fellas!