Getting back into riding after a few year break. Anyway, looking to buy a new helmet, gloves and jacket. Preferably all black or charcoal. Not looking for extreme protection or to spend a lot. Looking for basic all season gloves. A basic summer/cool weather jacket combo under 200$ hopefully. On the helmet side I am looking for the flip up style again under 200$ hopefully.

Any recommendations? Prefer to order at motorcycle-superstore.com.

Thanks.

Matthew

www.newenough.com

Although nothing beats trying on stuff in a real store. I also like the idea of supporting local stores as long as they can come somewhere near online prices. Fit is especially important when it comes to helmets.

Helmet Fit Guidelines...

Any recommendations?

I recommend trying helmets on and seeing what's comfortable and fits properly. Sizing also varies by manufacturer with other gear so it may be worth your time to try on jackets, gloves and anything you plan on wearing. Nothing worse than fighting your gear or trying to ride when the stuff doesn't fit right.

Originally Posted by matthewh

Getting back into riding after a few year break. Anyway, looking to buy a new helmet, gloves and jacket. Preferably all black or charcoal. Not looking for extreme protection or to spend a lot. Looking for basic all season gloves. A basic summer/cool weather jacket combo under 200$ hopefully. On the helmet side I am looking for the flip up style again under 200$ hopefully.

Any recommendations? Prefer to order at motorcycle-superstore.com.

Thanks.

Matthew

For all gear move boots to neck, I'm alpine star loyal. Quality gear, looks good...although with their brand name you some times end up paying a little extra. I think my Jacket/Pants/Gloves/Boots ran some where in the area of 400.

For helmet, everyone will tell you "blah blah arai, shoei or bust blah blah"...since your on a similar budget to what I was on, I would recommend Scorpion. I dont know if they make a flip up like you were asking, but they make quality helmets, with both DOT/Snell certifications and amazing artwork at an affordable price. More specifcally the exo700.

My jacket/pants/gloves are textile material, keeps cool during the hot weather with decent protection, as for winter...a few extra layers underneath and I was fine till 40 degrees. Incase your wondering specifics, Airflo jacket/pants/gloves, I dk the model of my boots but they are the half ankles. not full calve.

Jacket: http://www.alpinestars.com/store/pro...id=330253&cs=1
Pants: http://www.webbikeworld.com/r3/alpin...air-flo-pants/ (I realize you are not looking for these, but I HIGHLY RECOMMEND UPGRADING FROM JEANS...I've seen some wicked crash pics and if your not wearing riding pants...you might aswell just wear shorts so your cooler when your skin gets ripped off)
Gloves: http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...lo-Gloves.aspx

The helmet, I LOVE, no complaints what so ever and I get compliments all the time.

Helmet: http://shopping.scorpionusa.com/C55D...E4DEE90E4CA2DF


***PS. All black gear + Matte White Helmet w/ Dark Smoke Visor + 09 GREEN 650R = P.I.M.P.

based on the post ("Not looking for extreme protection or to spend a lot") it sounds like you would be best off ordering from the Closeout page on Msuperstore or New Enough.
A modular helmet (flip up) is not as safe as full face, but will be more expensive.

You can try looking at good gear online and going to your local store to try it on and asking if they'll come close to the online price, but usually they won't have the gear that you wanted.
With things like helmets and gloves you really need to try them on to know if they'll fit. There are just TOO many types/ sizes and many don't match their descriptions. Can't tell you how many gloves marked Large are really just mediums.

+1 on green rocket.

go to a the largest local store. try on the things in your price range. (Esp. helmets and gloves) then find the best prices online. barter with your local store or just order from the internet.

I wore my helmet in the store for about an hour to make sure it fit well. I looked silly filling out paperwork wearing it, but i spent big $$ on it and didn;t want to hate it.

Gloves fit differently for every make. I LOVE A* gloves (the build quality and safety) but cannot wear them. the pinkys are WAY too small for me.

helmets tend to be made for round or oval heads. the more $$ you spend (in general) the lighter and more comfortable it will be.

Returned to riding after several decades away and decided to do it right, all the gear all the time. After reading some older posts on other threads im debating my decision to ride with textile type gear. Have Alpinestar A10 poly riding pants and Frank Thomas XTI poly jacket...safe or not?

Look for a good deal on Shark stuff. I know around here there were a lot of Shark discounts due to Shark pulling out of Canada and you could get a Shark RSR2 ($400 helmet) for $60 for awhile. They get great Sharp ratings. If you decide to get one of their higher end helmets keep in mind that the RSX (one below their top of the line) is a little better for street use than the RSR2 (top of the line) because it sucks in less dirt and bugs (vents are designed differently and a little smaller).

I like the Scorpion gear I have as well and it wasn't super expensive but not as cheap as you're looking for. Maybe if you found it on clearance it would be though.

The best bang for the buck I've found was a fully custom tailored 2 pc leather suit direct from the manufacturer for $400 CDN. The supplier is now called MotoStark in Canada but my understanding is that they have a different name in the US.

To the OP - get a good pair of riding pants as well. Jeans wont do **** for you of you take a fall. Your legs are a LARGE part of your body, and deserve abrasion protection as well.

Originally Posted by steelerider

To the OP - get a good pair of riding pants as well. Jeans wont do **** for you of you take a fall. Your legs are a LARGE part of your body, and deserve abrasion protection as well.

+1. Even at really low speeds jeans will shred through and do absolutely nothing as far as protection goes. I know from experience.

I don't know if they're still available but I got my Firstgear mesh jacket for only $59+ tax on sale at New Enough and it is comparable to my $249 Kawasaki Joe Rocket jacket.

Plus I pulled out the liner for the summer and get a nice cool breeze now!

I've read some pretty good horror stories about mesh stuff and seen some bad pics. If it was up to me I'd at least go with textile but I don't really trust anything other than leather. Perforated leather is pretty cool especially if you get it in lighter colours (like white). It does cost more though.

I do have a friend that went down in mesh and now fully trusts it. Although he was only going 30 km/hr (20 miles/hr) when he went down. At highway speeds for the distance you may slide you want the best abrasion protection you can get.

Avoid those "armor shirt" things without a jacket over them. I see a lot of people wearing these over t-shirts thinking they've got some decent protection. They look like good protection but they are meant to be worn under a jacket to prevent impact injuries. They generally are not designed to handle abrasion. If you go down in one of these without something to handle the abrasion the abrasion forces of the asphalt can wear through the armor relatively quickly (since they aren't designed for that) or the straps/material and the armor falls off/shifts and no longer offers any protection.

Originally Posted by unL33T

I've read some pretty good horror stories about mesh stuff and seen some bad pics. If it was up to me I'd at least go with textile but I don't really trust anything other than leather. Perforated leather is pretty cool especially if you get it in lighter colours (like white). It does cost more though.

I do have a friend that went down in mesh and now fully trusts it. Although he was only going 30 km/hr (20 miles/hr) when he went down. At highway speeds for the distance you may slide you want the best abrasion protection you can get.

Avoid those "armor shirt" things without a jacket over them. I see a lot of people wearing these over t-shirts thinking they've got some decent protection. They look like good protection but they are meant to be worn under a jacket to prevent impact injuries. They generally are not designed to handle abrasion. If you go down in one of these without something to handle the abrasion the abrasion forces of the asphalt can wear through the armor relatively quickly (since they aren't designed for that) or the straps/material and the armor falls off/shifts and no longer offers any protection.

I was about to buy a mesh jacket at first buy decided to get
I saw the review done by sportbiketrackgear and decided to get it. I was about to buy a scorpion mesh jacket yesterday cause it's on closeout but I was also thinking how mesh most liekly won't protect good. The jacket above seems to be fairly good at venting. I took out the liner and opened the vents up and I feel a good amount of wind come in as long as I'm moving. However it has forearm and bicep adjustors and I have them to fit snug so the material on the jacket does stick to my forearm. The impact areas have 1680 denier according to the description and everything is 680 + I think.

Also +1 on the getting pants. I'm still trying to find a good pair of pants and boots. Everything I see and want tends to be so damn expensive so I'm still riding with sneakers and jeans

I can wear my mesh jacket in 90F temps and be comfortable when in motion. It heats up at stops. A textile or leather jacket would make heat exhaustion or possibly heat stroke more likely on a hot day. Mesh may give less protection from road rash than textile or leather but protects from the heat much better and a mesh jacket gives far more road rash/sunburn protection than a t-shirt.

The best protection in the world is no good if it is too hot to wear or wearing it causes heat sickness. Your mind is the first line of defense (stay sharp), gear is second. I try to use both.

My 2c.
Jim

icon armot vest thingy doesn't look bad. it wont protect your arms, but heck if one gets messud up, you have another