4 Days!

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• December 23, 2008 at 10:37 am #2423
  Steve92

  Participant

  Hi all,
  I have gone down the bike track, I decided on this because I wanted to sell to my vl commodore for a more economical transport that I didn’t feel embarrassed driving for under $4k = bike.

  I’m picking up my bike in 4 days, cant wait, its a 2004 zzr 250 Kawasaki, has some fairing damage so I got it cheap.

  I cant wait to start riding it, my riding history and 125’s in Thailand and Bali, no helmet, no shirt, f@%king crazy now I look back on it (I survived both countries with just a scar on my angle that got freshly opened in the surf by my leg rope each day).

  I want to learn from you guys and would like to become a long term biker eg a safe biker. I will be using this bike to travel to work and back each day, about 40mins drive one way. I wear sneakers, jeans and a long sleeve shirt. What are your guys recommendation for daily commuter gear?? Helmet, Gloves, Jacket is the easy part right, what about pants and shoes, how do the daily commuters on this forum handle it, please tell me what you do, not what I should do??? Are there pants that go over jeans?? I dont want the inlined jeans…

  Cheers Guys
  Look forward to getting to know you guys
  btw I live in Sydney Australia,

  December 23, 2008 at 5:22 pm #15395
  Munch

  Participant

  Welcome!!! How does our tomorrow look?
  Anyways.. I commute almost everyday on mine. Winter time here…its all about the layers. Summer time. I wear a textile jacket with a zip out inner liner. Honestly with mine not sure the purpose its in there for other then the odd brisk start to the mornings in the spring…. even then the wind protection is minimal, it also has the CE padding at the elbow and shoulders. My riding boots are Vega touring… these things so far to date are to me my best spent money on gear. The things feel like slippers but offer shin protection and good grip on the road at stops. There are a multitude of pull over riding pants out there that you can get if your the business suit kind of guy. In which case also recommend some kind of hard case or leather saddle bags for storing the Jacket and tie. I am a cruiser guy and even in the summer I do where my leather chaps. Yes for a while I got the whole “Village People” joke…until I explain to them that my commute is normally near 75 mph for 45 mins and if the bike goes down, I know it isn’t complete protection but, I would rather be down to about 30 mph or so and shorter distance to stop before it wears to my legs then just straight up losing everything at about 70. I plan on looking into the Draggin Jeans this summer just for the added benefit.
  Thats my two cents worth of input… welcome to the site…. stay a while!

  *****************************************************************************************
  Common sense exists!!! Problem is -if the ones around me are setting the bar
  ……. I am a genius!
  *****************************************************************************************

  December 24, 2008 at 2:36 am #15402
  Steve92

  Participant

  Thanks for the quick response, I think I will stay for awhile, the forum seems quite active.

  I’m a project manager for a web development company, its quite small so I wear smart casual, I wear leather skate shoes.

  So i’m thinking I will wear my usual shirt and jeans and put on a jacket, gloves, helmet, and over pants (in summer as well……). I know skate shoes aren’t the best protection but are they adequate??? I’m pretty lazy (like to wear board short and thongs to work when I don’t have meetings) and cant see myself changing my shoes every time I go for a ride (I go for a drive to the beach every lunch time)

  I really want to be safe on this bike, but its going to take discipline, most people around Sydney wear shorts (I saw a cop wearing a short sleeve business shirt on the highway yesterday!)

  3 days……

  December 24, 2008 at 2:40 am #15403
  Budd

  Participant

  The best situation would be a locker room where you work so that you can change. Bathrooms kinda suck for that. In the summer I would just pack my work clothes in my back pack or in my action packer and get dressed at work. Fall/spring you can wear what you would normally wear, but with gear on top. Winter you are going to be going with more layers than you normally wear. Wear boots and just keep you work shoes in desk drawer.

  You will need to keep a brush at work and possibly a towel and some deodorant for those hot summer days.

  “I am the best there is at what I do, and what I do ain’t nice.”-Wolverine

  January 9, 2009 at 7:06 pm #15583
  Dagger

  Participant

  These are the boots that I bought and I couldn’t be happier with them.. I wear them all the time.. Even when I’m not riding.. Good traction and protection..

  http://www.leatherup.com/p/Mens-Motorcycle-Boots/Mens-Advanced-Motorcycle-Lace-Up-Biker-Comfort-Boots/41688.html

  This is the jacket I bought.. The neck is a bit snug and the sleeves could be a tad longer.. But it’s a snug fit in the chest and the ventilation has been great so far.. We’ll see when summer rolls around how it does it in the 100+ heat..

  http://www.leatherup.com/p/Mens-Motorcycle-Jackets/Mens-Advanced-Armored-Padded-Black-Motorcycle-Jacket/42527.html

  As for pants, right now I’m just wearing jeans with thermals under them.. (That cold air goes right through jeans) But I’m thinking to buy some padded pants that I can slip under my jeans while I ride..

  Other than that there’s the helmet and gloves.. Though I need to get a new helmet and some warmer armored gloves… My fingers freeze in the rain in the ones I have now…

  Dagger

  January 9, 2009 at 8:45 pm #15586
  eon

  Participant

  I got a pair of the Tourmaster Response boots and those things are more comfortable than my Timberlands. They would be passable to wear in an office in most situations (maybe not if you meet the public).
  

  There are plenty of boots available now that could meet your needs. I recommend reading through as many reviews in webbikeworld that you can.

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