Riding Gear

This first part is for new riders. If you know about the importance of gear, you can skip down to the links. You can never get enough safety information so feel free to read through it and give some feedback if I left anything out or you feel there are any mistakes.

Basic gear that I would recommend:

Leather or Vented Jacket - These comes in various forms. Riding specific jackets will have

built in protective crash pads and the materials used are intentionally used to keep your skin from being all rubbed off by the asphalt. A non-riding specific leather or heavy jacket can do well to protect you from abrasion, but the built in armor that you get with a riding jacket could mean the difference between a dislocated shoulder and a minor bit of soreness. The jacket on the left is a vented textile jacket from Teknic that has remained in pretty good condition after two falls. It is fully vented and I stay relatively cool so long as I'm moving. The jacket on the right is part of a full 2-piece leather suit that I had tailor made from ArmorWorld. I'm very proud of the suit as it was fully tailored for my body and every measurement was taken in order to ensure the perfect fit. Both jackets have built in shoulder, elbow, chest and back protectors.

Heavy Jeans or Riding Pants - Don't ride in

shorts. Don't ride in shorts. Don't ride in shorts. Don't ride in shorts. Don't ride in shorts. Don't ride in shorts. Actually, if you like skin grafts and want to rub off some skin into the asphalt, go ahead. Jeans actually offer little to no protection, but I'd recommend heavy jeans as the utmost minimum as they will give you at least a few seconds before you're using your own skin to protect your bones from being grinded down. The leather pants on the left are the lower piece that zip up to the jacket to make a full suit. The jeans on the right are "kevlar enforced" riding jeans from Draggin Jeans. You can see the yellow cloth where by the seat of the pants, that is the kevlar and it is supposed to have better resistance to tearing when dragged on the ground.

Leather Gloves - Basic principle behind leather gloves is like that of all your other gear, that the leather will be rubbed off when you skid on the ground before it gets to the soft and delicate skin on your hands. I've gone down without gloves

and having to scrape out gravel chunks and dealing with peroxide isn't very fun. The gloves on the left side are Knox Handroids, brand spanking new for 2010. These are full gauntlet gloves and may be overkill which is why I also have "street" leather gloves from Alpinestars.

Boots - The big thing with foot protection is that
you want to protect your ankles so even

low-cut boots that are tied securely will be of

great benefit. Sneakers will literally go flying in almost any crash you have... again, I learned the hard way. The boots on the left are "street" boots from Joe Rocket which are easier to take on and off when I'm commuting to work or not planning on doing really aggressive riding. I have even played basketball in them and they were fairly comfortable. They have served me well through one crash and my ankles and feet were relatively uninjured. The boots on the right are close to full race boots from Alpinestars and are a bit uncomfortable for daily use. These are both motorcycle riding specific boots, but so long as your boots are tied securely, go over your ankles and aren't steel-toed, you should be fine. I know that having a steel-toe might help you in the case that you're working in a construction setting, but in the case of a crash, the steel toe can be ripped from the boot and take your actual toes with it.

Helmet - Back up there where I told you to try running

and diving onto the asphalt? Try diving onto the asphalt from even a standstill and see how your skull holds up. HJC helmets are a cheap helmet, readily available in Korea and will do a good enough job as they are mostly DOT (American certification for protection criteria) certified. You can check for DOT certification by looking for a DOT sticker on the shell or under the inner padding. Shoei has recently entered the Korean market so they are now available here. I had to purchase mine in America and bring it over as Shoei's were not readily available here at the time. I crashed in the Shoei and replaced it with a carbon FS-15 HJC helmet. The rule of thumb is that you should replace your helmet if it hits the ground after it has been dropped by anything more than shoulder-height or if you crash and it hits the ground. There is some kinda foam/Styrofoam under the shell that compresses when the helmet crashes and once that material is compromised, the helmet becomes more or less useless. The shell can also be compromised without you being able to see it. The half-helmet on top is pretty much a souvenir from one of my motorcycle purchases and doesn't even fit my head, but can also offer some protection and may be right up your alley, although I wouldn't suggest it if you plan on doing anything more than "around town" riding. If you want some more definitive information on helmets, I would recommend WebBikeWorld Helmet Reviews. Web Bike World Helmet reviews are some of the most comprehensive motorcycle helmet reviews I've ever seen. They cover everything from weight to wind noise and even discuss interior helmet shape to help you figure out what matches your skull's shape.

Other Stuff - They sell other stuff for protection like knee pads, elbow pads and even full body armor to wear under your clothes. This is up to your discretion, just use your best judgment and remember that you should still have relative freedom of movement or in other words the gear you wear shouldn't be too constricting. These are some knee pads I got as a gift from a friend. I know I look doofy when I wear them while riding a sport bike, but changing pants at work has become a bit tedious. These aren't necessary, but besides the fact that they will protect me in a crash, if you ride at speed you can be hit in the knees and shins by pebbles or rocks and these will make sure you just find it mildly irritating rather than painful and terribly distracting.

So how much should you pay? Protective gear goes by the old adage, "You get what you pay for". There are plenty of sites like Passo where you can find cheaper used gear to buy and you can also go shopping for gear at shops. I like to go window shopping at ToeGoe-Ro, which is known as "motorcycle street" in Seoul (Chungmuro Station in Seoul (Light Blue / Line #4), Exit 1, if the Dunkin Donuts is on your right side keep walking straight and you'll know you're getting close when you see a couple pet stores with puppies on display).

Reliable websites that sell gear:

http://www.bikemart.co.kr
http://www.helmetmall.co.kr
http://www.hungryrider.co.kr

A Korean web search for : 오토바이용품 will give you plenty of sites to choose from. You can also find riding gear on Gmarket.com and Auction Korea, but they will try to sell you on anything so I'd recommend you try and find something you want from a reputable motorcycle gear dealer and then shop around on sites like Gmarket.

It isn't really necessary to have two sets of riding gear, but the "street" gear that I have listed were my first purchases and the "race" gear was purchased because I plan to eventually hit some track days and they won't even let you step onto the track with anything less than I have posted.

It's difficult to walk away from a crash on the streets unscathed, but proper gear will go a long way in absorbing shock and keep your skin from being sanded off.