Any Motörbike riders here?

jaytmon

AK99 said:

Btw - and apologies if this has been asked before - but what kind of boots / shoes do y'all wear in the warmer months when you're not kitted up to the nines with track-type  gear ?

I'm normally one of your ATGATT types, but full track-type kit and interlocking boots/leathers feels a bit like overkill at times, especially when running around taking in the sights and sounds of the world at 55mph on the new acquisition.

Are there any other alternatives you'd recommend ?

I have a pair of Daytona Shair (basically Road Stars) bought used off eBay with little to no wear. 11 years on and they refuse to die. I’ve worn them all day in work in the odd occasion I forgot to take a change of shoes. Not saying I’d do that out of choice but I didn’t suffer particularly. Even survived 30 degree heat in France last year though my feet were definitely warm. Tried a few pairs of boots on since then but nothing comes close to the fit/comfort - the slight curve to the inner zip almost magically secures your foot in place, preventing heel lift. Very clever. 

Haych

I quite like the look of these. A little bit pricey but about the same price I’ve paid for all my other boots including my super-duper BMW Gravel boots. 

I reckon they also shouldn’t look too offensive in the office either. 

https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_prod/755657

TheBigDipper

Corvus said:

For donkeys I've worn steelie work boots, like DM sized things. I haven't had any sort of lever catch type incident as yet. They seem to have hovered around the £40 mark for decades. One current pair was 42 quid from Screwfix and waterproof too.

I've got some other taller ones, Spada 'Pilgrim Grande' that fit better with the length of my overtrousers. I've worn them all day at times, they're not too obviously 'bike' looking for that

Just passing something on about steel toecaps in good faith. I once ran a CBT for a couple of nurses. During the "protective clothing" lesson, they said that the risk with steels is if the force of a crash is enough to deflect the steel, toes get severed and surgeons preferred dealing with crush injuries more than those ending up in amputations. 

Strangefan

I always seem to go back to sidi, I currently have street burners,  had 4 pairs of sidis over the years, the souls are always so bloody thin,. And wear quick, these will be my last. 
I really loved pumas when they did bike boots so comfy

JEM

Dominic said:

Scooters are fun ,especially when you are 16 years old and think death is optional

Back when I was a youth we used to say scooters were like fat girls, great fun until your mates see you with one.

Different times.

AK99

cm01 said:

Apologies to all the ‘proper’ motorbike riders here, but I’ve been zooming round Koh Samui on a Yamaha NMAX 155 scooter for the last 3 days and it’s been so much fun!

I think you can get a pass

I still have the memories (and scars) from back in the day of being unceremoniously escorted off the Greek island of Poros on the ferry by a large Greek policeman, to the court in Piraeus on the mainland to explain why one of their Vespas ended up upside down in the hills at 2:00am, with the rider and passengers (yes..) sweating Ouzo from every pore. Come to think of it, I'm still not quite sure whether that ban from the island is still in place

p90fool

cm01 said:

Apologies to all the ‘proper’ motorbike riders here, but I’ve been zooming round Koh Samui on a Yamaha NMAX 155 scooter for the last 3 days and it’s been so much fun!

When we're on holiday abroad we always hire scooters rather than motorcycles, they're good fun and way more practical for exploring the sorts of places we like to be (although a 19km dirt track on Crete was a challenge...).

guitargeek62

TheBigDipper said:

Corvus said:

For donkeys I've worn steelie work boots, like DM sized things. I haven't had any sort of lever catch type incident as yet. They seem to have hovered around the £40 mark for decades. One current pair was 42 quid from Screwfix and waterproof too.

I've got some other taller ones, Spada 'Pilgrim Grande' that fit better with the length of my overtrousers. I've worn them all day at times, they're not too obviously 'bike' looking for that

Just passing something on about steel toecaps in good faith. I once ran a CBT for a couple of nurses. During the "protective clothing" lesson, they said that the risk with steels is if the force of a crash is enough to deflect the steel, toes get severed and surgeons preferred dealing with crush injuries more than those ending up in amputations. 

Yup, better to have riding boots/shoes with a steel base instead.


Another vote for TCX streets here, but to be honest most of the time if I'm bimbling around town I'm usually just in slip-on Vans, normal jeans or single-layer kevlar-type riding ones, (always) gloves, single-layer riding jacket, and open-face helmet. Not the safest options I know, but it's my risk to take.

I do kit up in full on my weekly commute back and forth from Somerset to London, but that's a ~260mi total day-trip through a mix of all road types, so I'm pretty much dressed for all weathers on those!

sinbaadi

I love a rental scooter on holiday.

I'm desperate for a bike at the moment but have so many other commitments of all kinds I'm struggling to justify even the lowest end of the scale.  

Koa

Had a 50cc Vespa at one point, very cool, woefully underpowered and much more fun than it had any right to be. I’m all for low powered bikes these days, Triumph Bonnie is still a big bike, anyone experienced one of the Royal Enfield Classic 350’s?

p90fool

Koa said:

Had a 50cc Vespa at one point, very cool, woefully underpowered and much more fun than it had any right to be. I’m all for low powered bikes these days, Triumph Bonnie is still a big bike, anyone experienced one of the Royal Enfield Classic 350’s?

I nearly bought one new a couple of years ago because they suit the kind of riding I like to do most, but ended up getting a 1300 mile old 650 Interceptor instead, on the grounds that I can get the boring roads between the nice bits out of the way quickly.

If they'd made the Classic a 500 instead of a 350 I'd have grabbed one like a shot, but I figure they know that it would cut into their own 650 market. 

Corvus

I've heard that steel cap thing many times, but in decades of using them never heard of anyone in a bike crash having that problem, me nor anyone else. Not even close.
Chances are surely higher that feet will be smacked into something, or slide down the road at speed, than have some great weight land down on top of them. As always you have to weigh things up and decide what kit you're going to wear.

AK99

^ Same. I remember reading an article in one of the Bike magazine articles back in the day which suggested tales of toe-amputations in steel toe-capped boots  fell into the modern-myth category. I stand to be corrected by more knowledgeable individuals though. 

LastMantra

It's the word "degloving" that gives me the willies. 

JEM

AK99 said:

I probably spend about 90% of my waking hours in either hiking boots or trainers, but the one thing that puts me off both for bike use is  having the laced bit below the gear-lever. Dunno if it's real or imagined but I picture constant shifting chewing through the laces.

I often wear walking boots for riding. I just checked and the shift lever definitely sits well below where the laces are. Maybe Kawasaki's having long shift levers (or, equally possibly, I just sit funny on the bike).

Kittyfrisk

LastMantra said:

It's the word "degloving" that gives me the willies. 

Try having your willy degloved...

thebreeze

As it’s a bit warmer and with this discussion in mind, I decided to jettison my Daytona boots and recommission an old pair of Timberlands.  There wasn’t a lace problem as your jeans sit well over the knotted part of the laces, or at least mine did.

Dominic

The answer is to keep on doing double bows until there is no hookable lace left.
A pair of ankle length dealer boot type things is ideal really.......no laces ,smart enough if you are going into work /a restaurant etc etc ...your ankles don't get cold and they have a little bit more protection than a shoe/trainer.
Obviously the best protection is a biker boot of some kind but I've never seen a 'nice' pair especially at a sensible price.
 Talking about protection .......does anybody here use/own kevlar jeans /shirt etc ....they seem terribly expensive for decent ones, pretty unstylish compared to normal jeans but most of all I watched a vid where a guy put them alongside a decent pair of jeans and attacked both with a belt sander to imitate road rash ......the kevlar ones only lasted a second or two longer which was disappointing......even so ,they may reduce a bit of road rash but they have no impact protection value anyway.
I think there are waistcoats/jackets you can get now with built in gyroscopic airbags .

Dominic

Kittyfrisk said:

LastMantra said:

It's the word "degloving" that gives me the willies. 

Try having your willy degloved...

There are some weirdos that would pay strict ladies good money for that sort of thing !

TheBigDipper

AK99 said:

^ Same. I remember reading an article in one of the Bike magazine articles back in the day which suggested tales of toe-amputations in steel toe-capped boots  fell into the modern-myth category. I stand to be corrected by more knowledgeable individuals though. 

I just don't know who to trust, TBH, my own experience of never amputating my toes or that of two A&E nurses who see a lot of injuries every day and are trained by others who've been doing their jobs for decades.

 Like I said, just passing it on in good faith. I've no evidence other than their testimony. To clarify further, it wasn’t that the toecaps did the amputation, but the steel cut off blood supply and the toes died, thus requiring amputation.