Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

I had the tracer because i wanted to do a bit of touring in Europe with the wife.

Ever since we got back from the US (where we had a massive harley for a month) she's kind of gone off the idea of using a 'smaller' bike so we would end up renting something anyway. It seemed daft to spend an extra £1k on something that would not get used for its intended purpose so i got something fun instead.

Makes sense then.

Nah, proper motorbike boots.

these are well made. they're not just trainers made by a company who specialise in motorcycle clothing wanting to put their logo on something else (they sell board shorts and hoddies for that). reinforcement in all the right places. yeah, not for a long tour but perfect for round town.

Fair enough. I've not seen them in the flesh. But still, I'll stick to boots.
I get scared of my foot being crushed under the bike. Or twisting an ankle, I near did that when I put my foot down funny once, but my boots held my ankle in line.

Can say this for all the harley Davidson boots I saw last week, there is a new monster full USA sized dealership up here.
£13 China shock pumps in a Harley box for £55, no thx.
Didn't find any boots, full length, Mid or short in men's or women's collection that had any ankle support at all, most were softer than your average wellie boot, really not for bikes imo!
Having had a broken ankle and the following physio and op and then follow up op, it's something I'd like to avoid if poss

Love the colour but honestly that front end is gopping. Two round lights on the front would make that infinitely better, I feel the same about the shite lights on the Street Triple.

I usually ride with Hein Gericke gortex short boots. They are comfortable and tough, with good sideways crushing stiffness and ankle protection. They're great boots, that I feel warm enough and super agile moving in, which gives exceptional control of the bike ... very important IMO

..and often overlooked! I like the Daytona, I've had the Voyager for 12 years, they've resoled them once for around £70. The soles are a great balance between slippery and sticky and the boots soften enough to walk easily but still have lots of protection.

I also have an alpine stars trainer style and they're not too bad. Stiff soles and ankle protection plus some toe protection, very comfortable and work well around town. You have to consider the likely impact at speed or on the track vs the speeds you should be travelling in town and decide how safe you need to be. All the same I'd be missing some toes if I'd not been wearing steel toe cap boots when I had an off at 30mph. You can't always predict the outcome of any accident.

scared of my foot being crushed under the bike.

True they might not help with that or protect your shin. But imo they are a summer choice instead of regular trainers /non-bike boots with limited or no protection - ie a substitute for normal shoes, not proper bike boots.

I've got a pair of the TCX S-Street* WP which are similar. Don't know about the A* but I assume like the TCX and StylMartin versions they have ankle protection baked in both sides plus a hard toe/heal.

Mine are pretty beef. Although if I was to buy a new pair I'd probably choose the non-WP version as they are meant to be cooler and I'd choose other footwear if rain was a concern.

*A pair of the leather S-Street are going cheap on ebay at the moment.

Yeah indeed.

I do occasionally go somewhere close and just wear my big mountaineering boots, they're solid. But no where near my proper boots.
I think becasue of cycling, I just take safety super serious. It only takes a small ankle sprain to mess things up for me. Really I should probably not ride a motorbike!

I once rode in t-shirts, shorts and trainers doing a good speed. Damn it was liberatingly scary.

You see them on YouTube videos, which I understand attracts muppets like moths, but the amount of them where people are flying down roads wearing a shorts and tshirts tightens my sphincter.
Skin is thin enough to get cut by paper. The equation isn't difficult to get to.
I'd rather look like a bellend but be happy riding.

In more boring news. The SV flew the MOT. I suppose working on bikes made me more paranoid then needs be. Splashed for fresh rubber and pads. Many stoppeies, such lean. Wow.

Burwins are great. Dropped bike off at 8, done before 11.

I think people in tshirt and shrits look like bell ends, it makes me cringe. I passed a sportsbike 2up down the motorway the other week, both in tshirt and jeans and no gloves! People geared up look good, or sensible at least.
I did it once, just to say I did. Never again.

Yeah for sure. Went to SE Asia to ride around with some. Airport security looked at me like I was nuts for taking lid, jacket and gloves. Paid off. Once my brother went down in the middle of nowhere. Bad enough, then mate had a full slide down his side. Flesh ain't pretty when it comes off.
Plus well fitting leathers feel daaaaaaaaamn fine.

Totally agree ... I refer to t-shirted fools on motorcycles as "skin graft boys"

I mostly just wear Jeans, a denim jacket and a back protector these days. I did just buy a new pair of Sidis off craigs but just for track and canyonering.

Always, always wear full MX boots for off roading though - it's stupidly easy to sprain ankles or worse in the dirt.

I don't ride without knee protection now. Got hold of the type you can use under any clothing, they stay in place and are fine when you're walking around. Stable door, horse situation really but 3 days in hospital and 8 weeks unable to bend my knee was enough to convince me.

Speaking of protective gear, has anyone with a breadbasket shaped dome bought an Arai Corsair / RX7 recently? I'm about due a new helmet and fancy a change from 20 years of Shoei. The only Arai I've had in the distant past used to squeeze me on the top of the forehead but I hear they have changed the shape a bit...

Best to try them on in a shop really...

...or Sportsbikeshop and then sit in the office wearing it when everyone has gone home (I have never done this).

But the Arais I tried on not that long ago were more roundy. For reference Shoei didn't work with my head, but Schuberth and AVG also did. Shark was close.

Schuberth were really comfortable actually, I just wasn't convinced about a flip up and they are pricey.

I tried loads of Shoei and Arai lids, and none of them were quite right. Eventually I tried an AGV it was like a moment of clarity. Having tried them on in Infinity, I went to an online source and bought the AGV Veloce GT that I considered buying from you @hugo7, but I had needed one size larger so it was lucky that I had held out and got the right one. It wasn't what I expected to get at all, but easily the best lid I've ever had.

Yeah - there's nowhere that isn't a schlep in LA to try one. Frankly, I've always loved the fit of Shoei, I was only considering Arai again as they've re-issued Kevin Schwantz's Pepsi Suzuki colours. My first ever helmet, bought secondhand for 40 quid and then gratuitously resprayed orange and silver by me because it was so chipped up. Foolish boy.

If you like the fit of shoei, then don't get Arai, they're totally different.

I've an NXR and it's great. GT-air is equally nice.

Gratuitous GP pic. Dani Pedrosa spots a quid lying on the rumble strip. Braking, much?

If you get yourself to somewhere that knows what they're doing then either Shoei or Arai can be made to fit. Both are now available with varying thickness cheekpads and in some models the crown/skull cap can be swapped out to tailor the fit. The days of having a "Shoei head" or an "Arai head" are long gone. I've had Arai RX-7GP's (medium) and currently have a Shoei X-Spirit II (medium with thinner cheekpads) and can't fault the fit of either.

Not sure what the score is in the states but in the UK at least Hein Gericke (now defunct?) used to be preferred dealers for both so would allow the pads to be changed at time of purchase free of charge. Smaller places you may have to pay for the different pads up front.

Hein Gericke (now defunct?)

No , still going strong looking at their website.

Good to know, I worked in the Hangar Lane branch years ago and shortly after I left the UK ones all seemed to become J&L or Infinity.