ATGATT

“All the Gear All the Time”
I’m guilty. As a young man I rode an enduro around in tennies, shorts and an open face helmet. Maybe age has something to do with it but once I began commuting every day it was ATGATT. Watching all the cars do their crazy stunts keeps you mindful that you could be picking yourself up off the ground at any time. I started commuting on an Adventure bike so crossover dirt bike gear was the norm. 3 season, multi layer, baggy stuff. After I moved to the XR and had the gift of commuting through the Angeles National Forest on some of the best motorcycling roads in the country I began to “hang it out” a little. That’s when I really started thinking. I’m sticking my knee out there and I don’t know where the knee pad is. There’s a pocket in there with a quality energy absorbing pad in it but with the loose pants who knows where it’s going to be if I need it. That and having read and seen pictures of the vented fabric,” Polytanium” or whatever creative name for plastic they can think of, melts at a very low temperature. Much lower than the temp that the friction between the cement roadway and the human body creates. Pictures of guys with their jackets melted to their arms came to mind.
——That’s when I took a page from the racer’s book and went with leather. A two piece for practicality on the street but able to be zipped together. I found out that this is an important feature and required by must race tracks. Knee, elbow, and shoulder pads held close to the body so they’re there when you need them. And a back pad. My suit came with a weak ass attempt at protection. A thin foam job in such an odd shape that there wasn’t anything like it in a higher quality unit. I had to find something with enough surface area that I could trace the shape on and cut it out myself.
——The helmet. There’s many opinions on the matter. The better you protect your head, the less chance you have for injury. Period. Face included. Helmets cost in the range of $1000.00 now. Crazy.
——Visibility. I’ve been wearing a HiVis vest with reflective stripes and have been told, by the medic on a job, that she saw me waaaaaaaaay up the road in the dark. Good to know that it works.
——Recently I found out how well all this stuff works and even with all the gear on the human body can only take so much before breaking so I thought I’d start a thread for people to post about what people put on to make them feel safe.(as safe as possible). I don’t know that I would change anything I wear to ride. We should consider an airbag vest but I don’t know enough about them.

the back pad worked

Tesla paint.






This is why they zip together.