Motorcycle Gear Reviews

I really love my Shoei helmet, it is comfortable, has a removable liner, and I can switch out the face shields easily. The one thing that it gets a C grade on is vents! For some reason my helmet fogs up more than my friends helmets, even if they spent less money on theirs. Since winter is coming it has been getting colder in the mornings when I ride to work. At these cold temps I have noticed that my helmet even fogs up when I am going 20mph or so in traffic! I finally decided to do something about it, and Fog City is definitely something I would recommend.

I haven't owned a car in over a year, so my motorcycle is my only mode of transportation unless I feel like walking or riding my bicycle. That means I ride to work, to the movies, and to the grocery store. The last location provided me quite a bit of a problem at first, it's kind of hard to fit a 12 pack of coke and bread in a backpack! I looked around for a bunch of different solutions and I eventually decided on a Chrome Messenger bag, specifically the Metropolis size which is a step down from their largest size, the Kremlin.

When I first got into riding it was summertime in California, and like most Californian summers it was VERY HOT! I couldn't picture being couped up in a leather jacket for the next few months, the thought just seemed way too suffocating. My riding mentor at the time recommended getting some sort of mesh type of motorcycle gear, and the Firstgear Mesh Tex jacket is what I settled on.

These Joe Rocket gloves are constructed of 1.0mm thick cowhide with extra leather and double stitching on the palm. In addition to that they have high density plastic positioned along the knuckles so if you crash you won't be missing too much skin on the top of your hand. They also look pretty intimidating if you were to get into a fight while wearing them!

When I first started riding I knew I definitely wanted a jacket, helmet, and some gloves, but I didn't really think about pants or boots. Luckily I had an older, wiser friend recommend that I get some pants and boots as soon as possible. His rational was if you crash you are most likely going to be sliding on your ass instead of your elbows. He was nice enough to go with me to the store where I ended up getting a pair of First Gears Textile Overpants, and I'm very glad I did so.

No Helmet: Some states require you to wear a DOT approved helmet by law, others do not. If you happen to be in one of the states where it isn't required then you have a big decision to make. If you choose not to wear one then you should wear some sort of eye protection to keep large insects from flying into your retina at 30 miles per hour. Thankfully I've never had that happen to me, but I have had my fair share of bugs splat on my helmet visor, it's very very gross, but better than in my eye. Also without a helmet your head is not protected in a crash which has lead some people to call motorcycles, "Donor-cycles", because riders receive head injuries that make them brain dead while the rest of their body is relatively uninjured. This makes them ideal organ donors.

No Gloves: Some people aren't aware that you should wear gloves when riding a motorcycle, but i'm sure after a few rides they will realize the protection it offers. Leather gloves look great and they also protect you against the cold wind and the vibrations of the motorcycle. Also in the unfortunate event that you do crash, most people try and catch themselves with their hands, its just a gut reaction. On a motorcycle you could be going 20, 30, 60+ miles per hour when you crash, and your hands will take a lot of the damage. For those of you that are still skeptical, you should try running as fast as you can (probably less than 20mph for most people), and then throwing yourself onto the ground while bracing yourself with your hands. You will find that your hands are scraped up and bloody, and thats only at running speed! So wear gloves!