What is gear? People keep talking about it.

Question

I've been riding motorcycles for 50 yrs. On this site people keep saying about "gear", they say " I wear my helmet, and all the rest of the gear". What the h**l are they talking about? I don't wear a helmet, but I wear boots, levis, shirt ( unless it's really hot ). And I carry a jacket with me. What more does a man need? If I had to get loaded up like a knight, I don't think it would be much fun.

Answer 1

It is what ever you consider to be your gear (i.e. stuff, equipment, etc).

My gear is at all times, a riding jacket (mesh or full textile), full face helmet, boots that protect my ankles, riding gloves, pants (thick jeans or riding pants).  That is my gear and I ride All-Gear-All-the-Time.

Answer 2

riding for 50 yrs and u want to know about "gear" huh? :crackup:

Just go back under the bridge - TROLL  

Answer 3

Well said Crash.

Answer 4

"Gear" is what every American soldier with red, white and blue blood pumping in his veins wears to protect our freedoms everyday in everyway against the enemy.  

Answer 5

It's the modern time city boy yuppie thing.  And God's way of saying you are making way too much money.  They think they need a 'special' seperate suit of clothes specially designed for whatever activity they are doing.  Commitment to these people means buying all the right gear as if they actually have the skills to need all the right gear.

Other than my scuba 'gear', I just have old work clothes and new dress clothes.  When I get on my bike I'm wearing what I want to be wearing when I get to where I'm going.

Answer 6

Helmet, jacket, gloves, pants, boots...

you can ride naked if you want...it's your skin against the road when you fall...usually people call those riders squid or noob or organ donor

Answer 7

gear to me is a riding jacket with armor in the vital areas, helmet, gloves with the plastic knuckle protectors and palm pad, and riding boots that are reinforced in the heels and ankle.

I saw a youtube vid wear a guy's foot go ripped off when his foot slipped off the peg.

You may not need all that if you're riding a chromed out John Deere but us sport bike guys prefer to keep as much skin as possibly in the event of an accident.

You can call me a squid, pretender, weekend warrior, or whatever other comical name you can come up with but I bet you won't hear about me losing skin.

You know one piece of gear I never leave home without? Copper Tops. Keep a few batteries to toss at ey-holes who p**s me off on the road.

Answer 8

it refers to the helmet, jacket, gloves,and boots  

Answer 9

Pretty much leather everything. People loaded up like knights have survived more accidents than anyone on a motorcycle. In fact some motorcyclists wear chain mail just like knights. I've never witnessed it but I've read about it.

Answer 10

Dirt bike gear -

Helmet, goggles, long sleeve jersey, chest protector, kidney belt, Motocross pants with hip and knee pads, shin guards, Motocross boots.

Motorcycle gear is anything that covers a part of your body for protection.

The less "gear" you wear, the longer the recovery time will be after an accident.

Answer 11

My guess is that most of these people are riding rockets. Some of these guys wear all the reinforced jackets, pants, boots, whatever. HD riders are referring to full leathers. Ugh - too hot to wear leathers when is 80 or more! I wear mine when its cold - for warmth not necessarily protection.

Answer 12

Have fun feeling the flesh tear from your body when you go down, old man.  Or perhaps your skull will simply split wide open and empty its contents under a semi right away and save you that agony.

You are what I call a "squid" which stands for Stupid, Quick and Inevitably Dead.  You are the type of rider that will DIE when you crash because you refuse to believe in things like reality and physics, and probably think God is on your side.

But wearing a full face helmet, armored motorcycle jacket, leather gloves, good overpants and motorcycle boots will increase your survival chances many times over.  Why?  Because you don't dress for the ride, you dress for the crash, and I can tell you first hand that after totaling my first bike I was able to walk away from it and go to work the next day with only a few bruises.  GEAR WORKS!

Answer 13

I hate you

lol

Gear is what keeps your skin on your muscle tissue.

I ride with a ICON MOTORSPORTS back and chest protector vest

Scorpion EXO1000 helmet

AGVSport Pilot Leather jacket with elbow, back, and shoulder inserts

Teknic Chicane full gauntlet gloves

Cortech DSX leather + kevlar lined jeans, OR agv sport track pants

Joe Rocket boots forget wth their called too lazy to look it up

I've been down tons of times and know the importance of wearing all this. It doesnt hurt 9 times out of 10 when youre thrown on your head on the tack.

Hey if it helps IVE BEEN RIDING MOTORCYLES FOR 9 YEARS...still doesnt mean **** when an explorer rear ends you

Lying in a hospital bed with tar melted into your muscle tissue doesnt sound like much fun...looking like a knight I could care less, Ive raced in 110 degree heat 67 laps...riding on the street is nothing for me.

Answer 14

gear is the ninja turtle or power ranger costume s***w loose squids spend a half hour putting on every time they ride.

a few of them wear all this "gear" in the mistaken belief it will somehow protect them from getting hurt when a buick road master or cement truck runs over them.

most just wear it so all the other squids will think their big bad street racers.

real bikers accept the fact that if a ride gos bad your gonna get hurt & just wear whatever they have on & try to keep the shiny side up.

the only really necessary biker gear is the keys to the bike & gas money, anything else is just window dressing you have to waste time finding & put on when your time is better spent riding.  

Answer 15

hey pappy.....this is an easy one to answer,.....

ONLY GEARBOXES WEAR "GEAR"

you know,the little fruitcakes on thier singer sewing machines that wear 1 or 2 piece outfits that have to match thier bikes paint job...sorta like a ****** who's purse has to match her outfit etc.

and they talk about us looking like g*y pirates....lol

Answer 16

Gear is all the "stuff" that people need / use during the activity.

So gear could be helmet, boots, jackets, etc.

===

Safe to say that some people consider helmet a necessary gear.  Other don't.  So it all depends on who you talk to.

Good luck...

Answer 17

For me my "gear" is my s**t that I need for whatever trip I take. It could be my boots and leather or my sneakers and shorts. Whatever I feel like wearing and taking with me is my gear. Saddle bags? That is part of my gear on trips whereas a pack is on others. Maybe I take both? Maybe I wear leather AND jeans OR just jeans and sneakers with a tank top. Maybe for a change I want to ride a little for scenery? I take a pack and MREs to eat in case I decide to camp? What is YOUR gear? Been riding 50 years you should have a list of things you think you'll need. I have two helmets in my "GEAR" and wear whichever one I deem best for the ride. Leather may save a little skin but I have been on my back on a road before and I can tell you this, it don't REALLY hurt until the next few days. One leg bandaged from the ankle up, waist to underarms bandaged and both arms from the wrists to the shoulders. Yep, road rash hurts and I ride just like everyone else. Broken bones? Yep, leg, wrist, nose (three times) jaw, too many fingers and toes to count. I detest broken bones and don't relish the idea of a broken skull. I wear a helmet religiously.

EDIT: "Other than my scuba 'gear', I just have old work clothes and new dress clothes"

Why not just jump in the water without an air tank and mask? Do you wear PFD? Maybe jump in with a mask, a snorkle and 25 pounds of weight strapped to you? Try blackwater without a wet suit? "GEAR" is what you wear to keep you safe and comfortable in whatever the activity is.

Answer 18

squiddies call it gear, the rest of us call it leathers

i can tell you 1st hand, it pays to wear leathers, it's a month and 2 days since i took a 70mph asphalt skid, my skin is finally closed up enough it doesn't ooze anywhere anymore.  wear your leathers

my beanie saved my skull because it took a good whack, glad it was a beanie, my modular woulda snapped my neck like a twig

Answer 19

Well if you been ridin for 50 years it would seem to me you know what gear is and are just asking to see what people say. I think its crazy not to wear a helmet but its your life, do what ya want.

Fair enough, just see alot of people on here asking questions just to stir the pot. No offense meant.

Answer 20

Back in the day, prophylactics were the only protective gear we cared about.