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Jazzzzz
May 16, 2002

BIG DRYWALL MAN posted:

I have a pair of Klim fifty 2s that fit great and make my rear end look fantastic. Fairly protective too afaik since its entirely backed with fairly thick kevlar + armor. Not as protective as leather obviously.

Are you a quote-unquote skinny gently caress? As a thin-ish person I had the exact opposite experience with the Klim K 52s, they look straight up like dad jeans. Klim does not make gear for skinny people.

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Endless Mike
Aug 13, 2003



I used Lidpicker and the response from whoever does it seemed slightly confused - my circumference suggests an S, but the length and width suggest L. Anyway, I think the Scorpion EXO-RWEED looks like a good fit.

Slavvy
Dec 11, 2012

Endless Mike posted:

Scorpion EXO-RWEED

Lmao this has broken me, switch off the simulation I've had enough

T Zero
Sep 26, 2005
When the enemy is in range, so are you
Just a general dumb newbie question: Why is so much motorcycle apparel black?

There were only a couple light-colored options for helmets and jackets at the store I went to. I thought visibility was a priority.

goddamnedtwisto
Dec 31, 2004

If you ask me about the mole people in the London Underground, I WILL be forced to kill you
Fun Shoe

T Zero posted:

Just a general dumb newbie question: Why is so much motorcycle apparel black?

There were only a couple light-colored options for helmets and jackets at the store I went to. I thought visibility was a priority.

In no particular order:

Tradition - black leather is the cheapest and easiest to make both crashproof and relatively waterproof so people expect bike gear to be black even if it's nylon
Practicality - it's tricky to wash and doesn't show the dirt as badly
Style - black goes with anything, making your gear other colours limits the appeal because it'll clash with the bike

(And this is without even getting into the cultural signaling stuff around wearing all black)

LimaBiker
Dec 9, 2020




Russian Bear posted:

Which revit suit is it?

Regarding suits, watching some revzilla reviews, the presenters mentioned that it's more common in europe to wear a 1 piece for every day riding. Does this generalization have anything in it? Is it more just a use case thing? For instance if you think most of your rides are going to be point a to point a rides, a 1 piece is more practical while offering most protection?

Sorry for being bloody late with replying.

All in all i think about 50% wear leather and 50% wear textile. Commuters wear predominantly textile, but you can commute in leather just fine.

My suit is a Revit Venom. Got it for just €350 as a sales/photography sample, essentially unused with warranty. They were between 700 and 800, normally.
The price, looks and safety are why i got this one. For €350 i could barely get anything else, except for the absolute cheapest textile suits which are not as safe and absolutely not as pretty as the Venom.

Things vary a lot per country. In Italy, people don't often wear gear. In the Netherlands, only on hot summer days you sometimes see people wearing nothing more than some gloves.
I have no idea what people in the USA wear so i can't answer that question...

1 piece leathers are not the best from a practicality point of view. They are the best from a durability and safety point of view, but they have some downsides.
As with all leathers, they don't offer thermal isolation, so if it's cold you have to put on a sweater underneath which can be annoyingly tight.
At the same time, if you have an unperforated suit, above about 25 deg C things will get really hot really quick. The Venom is lightly perforated, and i ride until 30 degrees or so. Black leather is pretty but oh so hot in summer. I have a mesh jacket with protection for those really hot days - i combine it with the pants from one of my 2 piece leathers.

Two piece are more practical, because if you go hang out with friends or something, you can just put on a T-shirt under the suit, zip off the jacket, and then you're ready to go. I've only had positive comments walking around in leather biker pants.
With a 1 piece, you either have to change into street clothes, or you'd have to fit some trackies under the leathers which can be too hot in summer and will be annoyingly tight anyway. If it's a 30 degree day, you cannot walk around in a 1 piece suit while you would survive wearing the bottom part of a 2 piece just fine. Srsly - i hop into Amsterdam quite often in summer, and i had to strip off the top half of my one piece and somehow tie it to my waist to avoid heatstroke. I've learned to just take one of my ratty old 2pc suits and chain the jacket to the bike with my bike lock (very important, it will get stolen otherwise!)


Commuters are another subgroup. If you live in a place where it occasionally rains or gets cold, textile is great. It is also less tight, so if you care about dress shirts not creasing, it's also a better option. But except for the expensive new options from A* and Dainese, they look quite dorky.
Can't blame the textile riders for choosing that, though. They may look dorky but good lord do i wish for their suits when i'm freezing already at 10 deg C on the highway...

LimaBiker fucked around with this message at 00:17 on Feb 12, 2021

Razzled
Feb 3, 2011

MY HARLEY IS COOL

T Zero posted:

Just a general dumb newbie question: Why is so much motorcycle apparel black?

There were only a couple light-colored options for helmets and jackets at the store I went to. I thought visibility was a priority.

visibility from colors is mostly bullshit anyway, people do not magically see you because you're wearing flaming hot pink/neon. only the reflective poo poo makes a difference

Russian Bear
Dec 26, 2007


LimaBiker posted:

Sorry for being bloody late with replying.

All in all i think about 50% wear leather and 50% wear textile. Commuters wear predominantly textile, but you can commute in leather just fine.

My suit is a Revit Venom. Got it for just €350 as a sales/photography sample, essentially unused with warranty. They were between 700 and 800, normally.
The price, looks and safety are why i got this one. For €350 i could barely get anything else, except for the absolute cheapest textile suits which are not as safe and absolutely not as pretty as the Venom.

Things vary a lot per country. In Italy, people don't often wear gear. In the Netherlands, only on hot summer days you sometimes see people wearing nothing more than some gloves.
I have no idea what people in the USA wear so i can't answer that question...

1 piece leathers are not the best from a practicality point of view. They are the best from a durability and safety point of view, but they have some downsides.
As with all leathers, they don't offer thermal isolation, so if it's cold you have to put on a sweater underneath which can be annoyingly tight.
At the same time, if you have an unperforated suit, above about 25 deg C things will get really hot really quick. The Venom is lightly perforated, and i ride until 30 degrees or so. Black leather is pretty but oh so hot in summer. I have a mesh jacket with protection for those really hot days - i combine it with the pants from one of my 2 piece leathers.

Two piece are more practical, because if you go hang out with friends or something, you can just put on a T-shirt under the suit, zip off the jacket, and then you're ready to go. I've only had positive comments walking around in leather biker pants.
With a 1 piece, you either have to change into street clothes, or you'd have to fit some trackies under the leathers which can be too hot in summer and will be annoyingly tight anyway. If it's a 30 degree day, you cannot walk around in a 1 piece suit while you would survive wearing the bottom part of a 2 piece just fine. Srsly - i hop into Amsterdam quite often in summer, and i had to strip off the top half of my one piece and somehow tie it to my waist to avoid heatstroke. I've learned to just take one of my ratty old 2pc suits and chain the jacket to the bike with my bike lock (very important, it will get stolen otherwise!)


Commuters are another subgroup. If you live in a place where it occasionally rains or gets cold, textile is great. It is also less tight, so if you care about dress shirts not creasing, it's also a better option. But except for the expensive new options from A* and Dainese, they look quite dorky.
Can't blame the textile riders for choosing that, though. They may look dorky but good lord do i wish for their suits when i'm freezing already at 10 deg C on the highway...

This is really informative, thanks!

I can't decide what to get for my first set of jacket/pants, I'm thinking of just getting textile (like Revit Tornado) since i'm just going to be putzing around at first; then again newer riders are more likely to crash so maybe i should have more protection. Appeal of a one piece like the Venom is the protection of course but also saving $$$ as for the most part, it seems separate pants and jacket costs more than a one piece. Price of convenience I suppose. I live in a really hot and dry place fwiw.

Russian Bear fucked around with this message at 00:40 on Feb 12, 2021

MomJeans420
Mar 19, 2007



I just want to complain that Shoei decided to release the RF-1400 that uses the new CWR-F2 shields on January 1, 2021, but isn't releasing any sort of tinted visor until many months into 2021. I forgot how much it sucks to be riding on the freeway with the sun coming straight into your eyes for 30 minutes.

LimaBiker
Dec 9, 2020




Russian Bear posted:


I live in a really hot and dry place fwiw.
If it's often above 25 deg C, you pretty much have 2 options:
- Heavily perforated light colored leathers.
- Textile suit with a lot of mesh panels. The Tornado looks excellent and i wish i had it cause my mesh jacket is too small.

Don't get MX gear. While it's by far the best ventilated stuff out there, it has no abrasion resistance.

If you're just starting to ride, you could also just get any random suit to get used to the experience, and to scuff up when you're practicing the figure 8 and such. I don't know about the used market where you live, but my first leather suit was €50, got another one for free, and yet another one i found for 15 euro at a thrift shop. Old, heavily used stuff of course, but fine to use for a few months while you decide what you want.
I like taking people for rides so aside from my Venom, i have a few other suits in different sizes.

SEKCobra
Feb 28, 2011

Hi
:saddowns: Don't look at my site :saddowns:

Razzled posted:

visibility from colors is mostly bullshit anyway, people do not magically see you because you're wearing flaming hot pink/neon. only the reflective poo poo makes a difference

This is incorrect, fluorescent colors are very much more noticeable than anything else during daylight, retroreflectors only help during nighttime. People will see you "magically", because science has made it possible to give items the ability to "light up" by converting UV light into the visible spectrum.

MomJeans420
Mar 19, 2007



Actually no one will see you either way because they're either looking at their phone or totally checked out

Razzled
Feb 3, 2011

MY HARLEY IS COOL

SEKCobra posted:

This is incorrect, fluorescent colors are very much more noticeable than anything else during daylight, retroreflectors only help during nighttime. People will see you "magically", because science has made it possible to give items the ability to "light up" by converting UV light into the visible spectrum.

that is adorable you believe this

SEKCobra
Feb 28, 2011

Hi
:saddowns: Don't look at my site :saddowns:

Razzled posted:

that is adorable you believe this

It's a measurable fact, there have been several studies and tests about the use of fluorescence to attract attention surrounding the standards for vests and such. I don't know of any motorcycle specific ones, but if a road worker becomes less likely to be struck because he sticks out to the brains visual processor, I am pretty sure the same will be true for a motorcyclist.
Just like people are more likely to look at a neon sign vs an unlit one.

But hey, it's your choice, just like wearing a proper helmet is your choice.

Renaissance Robot
Oct 10, 2010

Bite my furry metal ass

Razzled posted:

visibility from colors is mostly bullshit anyway, people do not magically see you because you're wearing flaming hot pink/neon. only the reflective poo poo makes a difference

You say that but the one time I ever saw someone wearing a fluoro orange helmet, I noticed the helmet long before being able to actually see the bike.

Although I do wish someone would make a helmet where the entire paint scheme was just that white reflective gubbins, under the clearcoat.


All visibility talk subject to the caveat that nothing you can wear will help if you encounter someone who just isn't looking.

LimaBiker
Dec 9, 2020




The truth is somewhere in the middle. I've read some studies about retroreflective stuff and bikers, and the conclusion was that A. yes, you are seen sooner but B. only if someone was already actively looking.

Those who don't see you without, will not see you with.

My suit doesn't have reflective stuff on it, but if i ride in darkness or extreme weather (neither of which i do very often) i just put on a little cheapo vest.

So far i haven't found out if for bikers, it also actually reduces the number of accidents, but hey - there's no reason to not stash a reflective vest under your seat for those gloomy/dark rides.

Supradog
Sep 1, 2004

A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH
Here in Norway its actually mandatory to have a reflective vest with you, so you can put it on asap when there is an accident.
That's on both bikes and in cars.
In cars it has to be in reach from the driver seat. On a bike it can be where ever.
All motorcycle stores carry 5 usd/5euro pack small vests that fit under the seat of a bike.

It's not mandatory to ride with one on.

cursedshitbox
May 20, 2012

Your rear-end wont survive my hammering.



Fun Shoe

SEKCobra posted:

This is incorrect, fluorescent colors are very much more noticeable than anything else during daylight, retroreflectors only help during nighttime. People will see you "magically", because science has made it possible to give items the ability to "light up" by converting UV light into the visible spectrum.

lol. Just loving lol.
I've two bright flouro orange supermoto suits on a once yellow and now a bright orange bike. The ISS can loving see me but the rear end in a top hat in the adjacent lane won't see me as long as their face is buried in their phone.

Flouro high viz? same. No difference.

Remember, cars get hit by trains and fire engines. Those things are typically bright colored, with flashing lights, and loud as hell horns.

You are invisible on a very maneuverable machine. This is your advantage. Use it. If you're using your horn, you're doing it wrong.

Wear whatever color you want and pay attention to your surroundings.

Slavvy
Dec 11, 2012

Lmao "butmyvestisastatisticallysignificantcolour!!!!!" I cry as I burrow deep into the grille of a Lexus.

Visibility and the various farkes and rain-dance rituals surrounding it are the product of fear, which is itself born out of lack of confidence caused by being/feeling like a crap rider. You've accepted being hit is out of your control so you try to mitigate the risk by attempting to affect other people's behavior. You feel this is worthwhile because you've implicitly accepted that probabilities and visibility studies are more real and concrete and dependable than your own skills.

Will a safety vest prevent a crash? Statistically maybe? Will being a good rider prevent a crash? 95% of the time it will.

Wrt the horn: it is a device for a. telling people you're hosed off with them or b. making them glance up from their phone. It is not remotely helpful as a collision prevention device.

Russian Bear
Dec 26, 2007


Adding safety things (like reflective stuff) needs to be looked at the same way as medical risk factors. No one is saying stop riding defensively and put your life in the hands of drivers; but riding defensively AND having additional reflective gear, will statistically help you be seen by people actually looking. I don't get saying "welp this isn't going to help all the time in every possible situation, so gently caress it". I hear a lot of this same attitude in cycling as well and idgi.

MomJeans420
Mar 19, 2007



We all know the safest thing you can do is get the loudest exhaust possible

Lexorin
Jul 5, 2000

I'm a crap rider and haven't been killed yet, so clearly skill isn't a factor in accident prevention.

Steakandchips
Apr 30, 2009

Car drivers give me a lot more room on my big cruiser with loud pipes than they ever did on my Honda 125.

Clearly loud pipes and big bikes save lives.

cursedshitbox
May 20, 2012

Your rear-end wont survive my hammering.



Fun Shoe

Steakandchips posted:

big brakes save lives.

You were close. So close.




Lexorin posted:

I'm a crap rider and haven't been killed yet, so clearly skill isn't a factor in accident prevention.

Sure the gently caress isn't luck. I've been in the red there for decades.

Glass of Milk
Dec 22, 2004
to forgive is divine
Obviously all motorcycles should have reflective streamers coming out of the handlebars like children's bicycles do for visibility. And those plastic things that clack on your spokes.

Slavvy
Dec 11, 2012

Glass of Milk posted:

Obviously all motorcycles should have reflective streamers coming out of the handlebars like children's bicycles do for visibility. And those plastic things that clack on your spokes.

I support this idea. Also those things people put in their car muffler the makes a blow off valve noise.

Beve Stuscemi
Jun 6, 2001




Uuuuuuum I think you mean

https://youtu.be/JZD-ADArwXo

Supradog
Sep 1, 2004

A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH
Hmm, I'd like to have a silly medieval battlewagon style custom just to have morningstar handlebar streamers.

Tenchrono
Jun 2, 2011


Nah safest thing is to revbomb constantly at the slightest annoyances. Someone merged in your lane at a safe distance with more than enough time for you to gently decelerate? Revbomb.

Yuns
Aug 19, 2000

There is an idea of a Yuns, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me, only an entity, something illusory, and though I can hide my cold gaze and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable: I simply am not there.

Slavvy posted:

I support this idea. Also those things people put in their car muffler the makes a blow off valve noise.
Bring back whistle tips! Except mandatory for everyone.

SEKCobra
Feb 28, 2011

Hi
:saddowns: Don't look at my site :saddowns:
I love that some of you guys think I am arguing that somehow wearing fluorescent gear is gonna magically protect you and means you should suddenly ride worse.
That's not what I am saying, it's just one more factor potentially reducing risk. Also lol at saying "skill" is gonna save you from critical situations. This is wrong, avoiding dangerous situations in the first place is the only real effective "skill" saving you from other people's mistakes.

These arguments remind me a lot of "loud pipes save lives".

Wear whatever gear you want, dispute scientific facts as much as you want and beat all the statistics. I will continue using gear as a complimentary safety measure, it's certainly not my primary tactic.

builds character
Jan 16, 2008

Keep at it.

SEKCobra posted:

I love that some of you guys think I am arguing that somehow wearing fluorescent gear is gonna magically protect you and means you should suddenly ride worse.
That's not what I am saying, it's just one more factor potentially reducing risk. Also lol at saying "skill" is gonna save you from critical situations. This is wrong, avoiding dangerous situations in the first place is the only real effective "skill" saving you from other people's mistakes.

These arguments remind me a lot of "loud pipes save lives".

Wear whatever gear you want, dispute scientific facts as much as you want and beat all the statistics. I will continue using gear as a complimentary safety measure, it's certainly not my primary tactic.

I hear you friend and will continue to ride only in the dirt wearing ridiculously colorful, mismatched gear.

Supradog
Sep 1, 2004

A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH
FORWARD mounted pipes have to save lives right? (And collect road debris, small rocks, rain etc)

SEKCobra
Feb 28, 2011

Hi
:saddowns: Don't look at my site :saddowns:

builds character posted:

I hear you friend and will continue to ride only in the dirt wearing ridiculously colorful, mismatched gear.

You do you man, I like my black gear.

Slavvy
Dec 11, 2012

SEKCobra posted:

I love that some of you guys think I am arguing that somehow wearing fluorescent gear is gonna magically protect you and means you should suddenly ride worse.
That's not what I am saying, it's just one more factor potentially reducing risk. Also lol at saying "skill" is gonna save you from critical situations. This is wrong, avoiding dangerous situations in the first place is the only real effective "skill" saving you from other people's mistakes.

These arguments remind me a lot of "loud pipes save lives".

Wear whatever gear you want, dispute scientific facts as much as you want and beat all the statistics. I will continue using gear as a complimentary safety measure, it's certainly not my primary tactic.

These are the exact same thing, bright clothes don't contribute to either.

E: you are (correctly) deriding loud pipes save lives whilst arguing loud colors save lives

Slavvy fucked around with this message at 22:59 on Feb 12, 2021

Toe Rag
Aug 29, 2005

MomJeans420 posted:

We all know the safest thing you can do is get the loudest exhaust possible





All on one truck! And to show he has heart...

Razzled
Feb 3, 2011

MY HARLEY IS COOL

builds character posted:

I hear you friend and will continue to ride only in the dirt wearing ridiculously colorful, mismatched gear.

in the dirt it's a different story. how else will i claim my horrendous race lap times if NOT in a garish mixup of teal, yellow, orange and blue???

builds character
Jan 16, 2008

Keep at it.

SEKCobra posted:

You do you man, I like my black gear.


Razzled posted:

in the dirt it's a different story. how else will i claim my horrendous race lap times if NOT in a garish mixup of teal, yellow, orange and blue???

all black is OK too as long as it's matching jersey/pants!

Phy
Jun 27, 2008



Fun Shoe
Without good statistics to hand, we're really only working on conjecture here. But I believe loud pipes aren't a very good comparison to brightly-colored gear, because brightly-colored gear doesn't piss people off like loud pipes do. A better visual equivalent would be like if you were wearing the flashing lights from one of those carnival rides that spin you around real fast, and halfway through the operator goes "Do you want to gO FASTER??!!!!" and then there's a siren that goes vvvWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE and you hurl corndogs all over your big brother

What I'm saying is that there's a social cost to using loud pipes as a "safety" measure, and the benefit from it is probably outweighed by that cost. That's simply not the case for colorful gear. The worst you'll get is someone laughing at you and saying you look like a power ranger, and gently caress 'em, power rangers are cool.

There are real and serious issues with the way human brains work that make motorcycles difficult to see and react to, and I'm betting that in the face of that, colorful gear probably only makes a slim improvement, if anything. To discard it as useless doesn't quite fit, but to say it's worthwhile as a safety measure probably oversells it, unless what you're really worried about is being found in the bushes on the side of the road after you bail.

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pun pundit
Nov 11, 2008

I feel the same way about the company bearing the same name.

Slavvy posted:

These are the exact same thing, bright clothes don't contribute to either.

E: you are (correctly) deriding loud pipes save lives whilst arguing loud colors save lives

Your argument boils down to the same one touted by the people not wearing gear at all; "I'm too good a rider to crash, I don't need gear".

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