Gear up
The growth of the motorcycle riding community has been astoundingly big. Hand in hand with this growth is the rising interest and demand for motorcycle accessories, customization and modification businesses. This development can be a double edged sword. The good side is that one can modify and accessorize a bike to whatever suits the rider/owner. Modification parts are now available for all makes and models and the cost is less expensive than it was a few years ago. Safety Gears are also available to everyone from the cost conscious to the lavish rider, something a few years back was very expensive or hard to find.
One of the bad sides to all of these, though, is you can spend too much on modifying your bike that you forget to spend equally on your safety gears.
Expensive bike, cheap helmet (or gears). This is an all too common sight in the Metro. We often see bikes that have been extensively modified, and then we see the rider sporting a cheap helmet. Or even worse, a skate helmet or a bike helmet; his tires are probably more expensive than his helmet.
I had a similar experience when I was getting into bikes. I bought a brand new 200cc standard bike that was good for starters. However, I sported a second hand helmet with budget jackets and gloves. I thought to myself, “If I ride as cautiously as I could, there’d be no way I was going to crash.” … … or so I thought. Fast forward four months, while riding with a group up the Transcentral Highway, a child who was standing by the road suddenly jolted in front of my path. I had to do everything in my power to avoid a collision. I successfully avoided the kid, but the aftermath of that was my sliding down the sloping road. Of course with the budget gears I had on, the road tore through the cheap fabric of the jacket and gloves, leaving me with a nasty road rash on my elbow and palm. I later found out that the boy wanted to play a game to see if he was fast enough to cross in between the motorcycles. Therefore, you absolutely will never know when an accident will happen. As careful as you are, you still won’t be able to control the external circumstances that surround you on the road.
It was a good thing that it was a minor accident, and it did not involve hitting a car or truck, as that would have been very unfortunate. Needless to say, after that little mishap, the very next day, I went and bought some quality gears. That day, I spent the amount that could have bought me a brand new scooter/moped on quality helmet and gears. Looking back, that was the best investment I have spent on with regards to motorcycling. A few years after that, I met another accident— this time, it involved me rear ending a pickup truck who swerved to avoid a truck, sending me flying to the opposing lane and hitting another truck that was stuck in traffic. To cut the long story short, I walked away from that big one with just bruises. By then, it was a clear comparison of the cheap gears versus quality ones.
Now, quality gears need not be super expensive. I spent a lot back then because I didn’t know what I really needed. So, I thought maybe it’ll be safer to “over-gear” than “under-gear.” It pays to ask a fellow rider or join a riding club to get to know what kind of gears you might need for your type of riding. You might not need those expensive mesh pants and boots for the home-office commute. You also might not need that full leather racing suit for your weekend rides. It all depends on the type of riding and how you ride. But for me, you can never “over-gear” on your helmet and gloves. The helmet, of course, protects your head and face from serious head injury during a crash, and the gloves are your hand’s first line of defense against the road during a crash. By instinct, we extend our hands and try to break our fall when we fall off the bike. Don’t skimp on your helmet and gloves.
A lot of people love to ride motorcycles because of the convenience and freedom it offers. Some like to modify their bikes for their own purposes while others do so just for the cool factor. Always remember, not wearing quality gears is like going out without your underwear. It may not be the first thing that people will notice, but it’s also a lot like modifying your bike—you don’t wear gears for other people’s approval, you wear them because it just might be the difference between a major road rash, some bruises, or your life. When in doubt on the price of a quality head gear, just ask yourself this question. Which is more important, your bike or your head?
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