Spoiler alert: Not gonna show you my undies ππ
On this part (7) I'll cover the motorcycle gear I used through this trip which (spoiler alert gain) despite being my longest one ever I didn't use anything more than what I already had or casually do. In other words, yes prepare but don't overprepare. You'll save time, money and space on your bike.
In a bottom - up order let's start with footwear so here's my motorcycle boots:
You'll see later that made a lot of cost saving choices in other parts of my gear but there's parts of your gear that doesn't allow you to do so or/and you shouldn't go cheap. When it comes to motorcycle boots, there's no alternative to them:
a) your only choice is the overpriced bikers accessories market
b) do yourself a favour and don't be cheap.
Why? Because you need something comfy and waterproof. And it's almost mission impossible to find one that's cheap. I got myself this pair from Dainese named Fulcrum GT:
Can't recall the exact price but I think I paid 230+ euros. For a Dainese product that's not that much, quite the opposite actually. But boy I never looked back and couldn't be happier with them. All the reviews I read about them prior buying were proved to be spot on. They are comfy to the point you can go shopping with them on (done that). Look at all these pivot points they have, at the ankle, above the ankle etc. They have so many adjustable parts with velcros to tailor them to your precise needs that I could make a separate post exclusively about them. But what surprised me is how waterproof they are. It's the only part of my rain gear that survived the Serbian monsoons (you can read my "live" impressions here). Can't praise/recommend them enough.
Before them I had ordered a pair of adventure style motorcycle boots. They were 50 euros cheaper, had very sexy looks, taller but too thick and hard to allow me smooth gear changes and felt like Robocop while walking in them. I returned them and still thank myself I did. Imagine that even though this pair of Dainese are not sold neither designed as adventure boots, I have used them in small hike walking in the bushes with thorns and such prior to this last trip and they still held their waterproof properties in tact. Unbelievable. Will treat their leather with olive oil after I finish typing π
That said, there is footwear that allows you to keep the cost low and save a lot of money while buying something more value for money than the overpriced "dedicated" stuff. And that's low boots. While medium or tall motorcycle boots are sexy, protective and all, some summer days are just too hot for them. And yes, you can find motorcycle boots with vent slots but you don't want to ride over a paddle like that and chance are you will at some point. And they are not waterproof even with the vents closed. So what do you buy instead? Safety boots like the ones below:
Of course cross check they have toe reinforcement like they should. This makes them not only more protective in the toe than normal motorcycle shoes/low boots but makes shifting gear an effortless breeze. My favourite place to buy such stuff is Leroy Merlin and that's where I bought this pair:
They have served me flawlessly for years and costed me around half of what a dedicated pair would. Their only weak spot is that material on the upper sides that is worn which hearts affects the optics but other than that they still feel and perform like day one. If it wasn't for this I'd be wearing them forever but I'll probably keep them as a second pair for occasions were looks are not priority.
Moving on up, let's have a look on socks. For those very hot days you can just wear your normal thin socks, not those ultra low ones though cause you don't wanna rub your leg against your footwear anyway right? But in any other day that weather allows you to wear something more it worth focusing on what this might be. Again, you'll see fancy "warm but breathable motorcycle socks" around the net with a price that might be longer than their title. Thank god for the workers market, you can find such stuff at half the price. I chose the most breathable/cool version of workers socks at Leroy Merlin, pictured below:
They are very comfy, nice feel and combined with the goretex of my boots (which allows air but not water) they make them not too hot for those warm days. I can't recall how much I paid for each pair, I'm sure it was single digit but you find such in motorcycle stores flirting with 20+euros. Yes, they tend to be taller but I don't need all that height - I'm not doing enduro or MX time trial so...
How about some pants? I am still using the following ones I bought during a trip of mine donkeys years ago near Innsbruck Austria:
And I still use them cause the Austrians did such a good job that they are bulletproof. Zero issues so far. One can hardly notice their colour fading a bit on the parts exposed to the sun and that's it. The rest is like day one. They are designed for summer so they have mesh parts that allow ventilation and they have knee and hip protection. Never regretted the 70+euros I spent back then. They are also spacious enough if you want to wear something under. I can even wear a pair of jeans if I want so they are actually and all weather thing. They only issue they have is the same most "summer" bikers gear has: They are black and their synthetic textile doesn't breath except the nesh parts. Begs the question why black since you want to keep things cool but black is also convenient as it stains more rarely. But the part around your waist that doesn't breath makes the belly sweat at times. Still happy with them though.
I was so fed up with black bikers wear that when I found the following summer jacket a little later than the above pants I grabbed it as it was at a nice price too:
I can't believe this thing still looks like they way I bought it from the store after all these trips, especially considering the money I spent then (not much more than those pants). It's got elbow and shoulder protection, many pockets and many vented mesh parts. On super hot days that's the only thing I wear on top. Its light colour helps too (I had a black one before and it sucked despite the similar design). Very happy with it so it's gonna follow me for quite a while I guess.
The following piece of gear is among the most neglected ones. I can't recall how many "experienced" youtubers I have seen riding without gloves. (Gotta admit that's very casual in Greece, central/north Europe is way more "civilised" on that). Any stupid fall even at low speed can cost you part of your palms as instinctively you'll put your hands down to save the rest of your body unless you roll all the way.
I'm sorry to admit that I can't ride with full gloves in hot conditions so instead I use sort ones. This is my last pair:
I say last cause they get worn soon so I buy new ones regularly. And not because these are not "dedicated" motorcycle summer gloves, even these wear soon. Plus they tend to had this synthetic leather that doesn't breath and still makes me sweat.
The above pair has a nice leather grippy bottom:
Up to you what you wanna buy. If you want alternatives to motorcycle stuff you can buy gloves for cyclists, weight lifters etc.
Honestly, I wish I knew which pair of motorcycle gloves is waterproof in the long run, offers a good amount on feel on the controls and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Till I find it I will stick with much cheaper alternatives. So for medium weather I have this pair which also allows you to use your phone:
I can use them combined with the following inner gloves, the only ones in my gear bought from a motorcycle store:
Not as warm as I expected, just better than without them. For even colder conditions I throw the "feel on the controls" out of the window and can use the following pair which is also water resistant:
Fun fact: these are cheaper than all the above except the summer gloves.
Fun fact II: I am experimenting with naked copper to be able to use touch screens hence those atrocious bits on the index fingers.
Last but definitely not least, is the head. When it comes to helmets there's no alternatives at all as you can imagine and if you plan on long rides you must pay a lot to keep your head comfy and yourself able to ride better. Because if you're tired you don't drive well and we can all imagine were this might lead to. And while you can compensate a noisy helmet by using earplugs (many and rightly so use them anyway, I carry a pair too) you can't do anything if it is not comfortable and doesn't ventilate well.
So I paid 500 euros and got me this one while I was in Austria during this last trip of mine:
Looks like a lot to you? Well, this was at a discount π
First and main issue is the fact that my head fits on their larger cell (they make two) so mine is heavy as opposed to their lighter cell which is a cellphone lighter:
In the above picture you can also see the two openings that allow it to host a dedicated intercom system. It already has antennas and speakers in it but I took all I could out as I don't plan to pay a shitload of money for their stupid system that requires recharging one unit and changing battery when needed on its remote control. The system I already have is much more efficient.
Another issue is the chin strap - normally you have to keep it like this under your chin:
I bought this helmet also because they said that they have relocated the above mechanism more to the front to make it more comfy. In practise it hurts me even more than my previous Schuberth. So I came up with the following position after trial and error while riding:
I put those two parts open like that under the chin strap so they force it to go in the front and not choke me.
I also bought this helmet because I read great reviews about its ventilation, I saw it has more vents than my previous one and yes, on that part it delivers.
Here's the rear vent:
Two vents in front:
And one on top:
I chose fluo yellow colour to be as visible as possible:
Its inner pads are very comfy and its design allows a lot of air to go through:
What I cannot tell you by images is how quiet this helmet is. It is so quieter than its predecessor that when I bought it the wind noise became so lower that it felt like the noise of my engine became louder. Or better say more noticeable, not irritating at all - quite the opposite. They must have spent a lot of time in air tunnels to achieve this and I can now confirm all the great reviews about that aspect. It made me stop using ear plugs and that says it all I guess.
Hope you found something useful in all these, feel free to ask me about bits I left uncovered.
Enjoy your trips!
Wow.. Great