New to Forum, question about cycling gear

[mansito]

This is my first post. Sorry if the following questions has been answered many times before. Tomorrow I will be picking up a 79 CB750K (see pics below). The bike has 7500 miles. What should I look for while inspecting the bike. This is going to be my first bike. I was looking at Open Face helmets online. They range in price from $50s (Vega, AFX), to $100s (Bell, AGV, Biltwell), to $200s (Nolan), and $400s (Arai, Shoei). What are good quality helmet brands? I want to get something good quality. I like to look of the Open Face helmets. Is there anything against using an Open Face helmet and should I consider a Full Face helmet? What are recommended sites to buy gear (helmets, gloves, boots, jacket).
Thanks,
Guido in NJ

 

[grepper]

Gear choice is a matter of budget, safety and personal choice.

Here's my opinion...

As for helmets, I avoid the cheep brands. I lean on the safe side, DOT or better yet SNELL certified for sure. I have had a couple Vegas, my wife and my daughter both have HJC helmets. Those are both medium budget with decent quality. Nolan, Arai and Shoei are a bit out of my budget. Open face vs full face is your choice. Personally I like full face. I've been hit in the face plenty of times by large bugs and stones and can only imagine how much it would hurt if I had an open face helmet. Plus full face protects your chin while open wouldn't. Some say they feel claustrophobic or don't have good peripheral vision in a full face helmet, but I don't feel that way. Or they get hot inside, but as long as your moving, the vents do fine. Sometimes I flip up my face shield when going slow through my neighborhood or in a traffic jam.

As for jackets, avoid the cheap ones at bike shows. Leather is often thin and more for show rather than safety. Vents are important and a liner is nice. I often ride to work with the liner in when it's cold, then out and all the vents open on the way home. I just got a First Gear mesh jacket, the longer style so my but crack is not exposed to the elements. It also has armored elbows. The jacket is pretty heavy, but as long as I'm moving, I stay cool. A many years ago I went down wearing a cheap bike show jacket. The sleeve pushed up and I got some road rash on my forearm and elbow.

Paints, I always wear blue jeans now. The cargo paints I was wearing when I went down ripped open.

Footwear, I always wear heavy boots. Again, when I went down I had Vans on and the bike came down on my foot and ankle. I didn't break anything, but I was on crutches for a few weeks.

I would suggest going to a motorcycle dealer and start trying on gear. A Honda/Yamaha/Kawasaki/Suzuki/BMW dealer would have better gear, than that over priced crap with Harley logos. I know it's rude, but I've tried on gear, then found it cheaper online later.

As you can tell, I'm more into safety and comfort, rather than looking cool. Again, this is my opinion.

 

[Oliver Boy]

Hey Mansito, nice looking bike.

What sort of weather do you expect to be riding in?

From my own experience; Never ever ever ride in T shirt and trainers. As a Paramedic I have seen too many cases of life altering gravel rash to make it a worthwhile gamble.
Boots, gloves, reinforced jeans and a good quality leather jacket are the minimum I ever ride in.
Boots without laces are best, the laces can sometimes catch on gear shifter or brake lever when you put your feet down.

If you need rain gear, buy the very best available. If you try to economize on cheap gear, it will leak and you will end up replacing it with better stuff later on.
In BC I have a Joe Rocket jacket that offers a mesh shell with armor in it for hot days, (rain here is seldom an issue).
Personally I roll with a full face helmet; I once dealt with a guy that rode into the back of a semi trailer and smashed his lower jaw badly. Yuk.
There are some pretty neat FF helmets available that flip open the whole front.
Again, buy the very best you can possibly afford. You are going to put your head in it, it might save your life.

If you need waterproofs, I prefer a two piece suit. Struggling out of a one piece with cold fingers when you need to pee is an exercise in frustration.

Treat every other road user as a blind idiot and your expensive helmet will likely never be needed to kiss the tarmac.

If you manage to find the one ideal jacket that is perfect for every occasion and condition- please let me know! I have not found it yet; be prepared to collect a variety of gear.

 

[mansito]

Thank you guys for the recommendations + safety advice. I also lean on the side of safety and I am at a stage in my life where I can afford any gear I want. Got the bike home today and got it registered in NJ. I look forward to getting my cycling gear this week and to get my motorcycle riding license.

 

[dogchild2960]

I agree with grepper & 0liver Boy, I've been riding bikes since 1975, during that time I've had 2 crashes one involved loosing control trying to miss a cow in the road & the other time hitting a deer at night in West Texas, in both wrecks I was wearing a full face helmet and in both wrecks the helmets were destroyed.
Now I wear leather jacket, leather boots, gloves and what ever else I can wear to protect me.
As for the leather jacket's mine has pad's in shoulders elbows and lower back they are heavy and they do get hot, however as mentioned they have lots of zippered vents built into them and if they get to hot and your riding long distance just wet and wring out your T shirt out put it back on, with the vents open you'll stay cool when it dries out repeat the process as needed.

 

[Dave]

I have a rule, "Function > Fashion". if it looks better but reduces performance, it's stupid.

That said, full face helmets are the way to go. I could link several pictures of helmets with the front half ground through instead of the owners face missing but, you can google those. I've seen models were the entire front of the helmet opens for removal, I'd get one of those if I could afford it. Don't forget a quality head sock. I use one that closes in back with velcro. It hangs down far enough to be inside my jacket and comes up to just below my eyes, covering my nose and the bottom edge of my ears.

Leather jackets are incredible. You'll be amazed at how much protection they provide. If it doesn't take some effort to lift it, it's too thin and as Grepper said, the vents are important. You can open the vents and zip down the front a bit and it'll catch the wind and blow up like a balloon as the air flows through cooling you.

For cold or wet weather I have a Firstgear Hypertex 1 piece suit. I soaked it in 3m waterproofing before ever wearing it. It's actually warmer when it's wet. The legs zip up or down so you can open the top as vents. I've ridden in snow (on the sides of the road not on it of course LOL) with this suit and stayed comfy.