RubberSideDown

I couldn't do as well as that guy did (before he crashed)- he was really tearing it up- it's hard to modulate the throttle of that bike as so much power is on tap, and it weighs well over 550lbs.- I would bet he never leaned it over that much before.

That would be a pricey fix...

To pass the second tier, you had to take (expensive) mandatory classes, and then a really tough skills test with a lot of low-speed maneuvering with little room for error.

If you fail, too bad- take (and pay for) the class again before you can retest.

There's also a road tax system ('shaken') that affects bike 400cc and up, which also encourages the use of smaller bikes- the streets have loads of 250cc sportbikes that you don't see too many of in other countries.

I gather you've seen the motorcycle gymkhana's in Japan. Those guys take traction & handling skills to a whole new level

http://youtu.be/2H-MKBK1Smw

0:45

RSD hasn't said anything yet, so I gather he hasn't watched the video

Pushing such a big bike hard on a tight course like that is asking for trouble- the guy was doing OK for a while, but it looks like he dragged his center-stand and it took him down. Ah well- at least he's unscathed and has a cool vid to show for it.

This is a guy practicing on the unlimited license course (note he would have failed with this run)- you really need a feel for how your bike rides at low speed to do well:

To pass the second tier, you had to take (expensive) mandatory classes, and then a really tough skills test with a lot of low-speed maneuvering with little room for error.

If you fail, too bad- take (and pay for) the class again before you can retest.

There's also a road tax system ('shaken') that affects bike 400cc and up, which also encourages the use of smaller bikes- the streets have loads of 250cc sportbikes that you don't see too many of in other countries.

I rode the Tokyo streets for eight years- they're a lot different from LOS.

The reason you see so few bikes bigger than 400cc has to do with the two-tiered licensing system- it's extremely difficult to pass the test for a big bike.

Try to check out the motorcycle section near Ueno Station- there are some amazing bikes there.

You should be fine in a 44/54- I'd make sure they'll refund/exchange. Note that bike jackets usually assume you'll be wearing gloves, so it's possible the sleeves might come up a bit short.

Here's a good video on measuring yourself for a motorcycle jacket- note I've dealt with Revzilla customer service people over the phone- they all ride, and they like their jackets super-tight- you might want to go a size larger than they suggest depending on how you're built- most of my jackets are tight at the shoulders and loose at the waist (though they come with adjustable straps to cinch them in a bit, which helps) as I'm not a good off-the-rack size:

28"? Is that to the tips of your fingers or the nub of your wrist? If it's to your wrist you're going to have a hard time finding anything- even an XXL jacket will have an arm length under 25".

Measuring your chest is a good way to tell your jacket size- take a deep breath to take a back protector into account (it helps to have assistance)- the size in inches is your US size- add ten for Euro sizes (ie I'm US44 and Euro54). Arm length usually isn't a problem on bike-specific jackets as they take the reach to the bars into consideration and are cut long.

Barring that, a local tailor shop can help you out- I've heard there are a couple in LOS.

What jackets specifically? You may see the word 'technical' used to describe the jacket- this means it's designed like the top half of a race suit and will fit very tight ( especially if you have large arms), and will be something you'd probably never wear off the bike in a casual situation. What's your jacket size?

This is my current gear list (I'll add more stuff as new and interesting products are released or I can take advantage of a big sale)- I can mix and match depending on the riding situation and weather conditions- I take my gear seriously;):

Alpinestars Orbiter suit

Dainese Rebel perforated leather jacket

Dainese G. 3 Air textile jacket

Teknic Violator perforated leather jacket

AGV Sport Topanga perforated leather jacket

Icon Stryker Rig armored mesh jacket

Alpinestars T-GP Plus Air textile jacket (awaiting)

AGV Sport Willow perforated leather pants

Teknic Chicane leather pants

Spidi Race Vent gloves

Knox Handroid gloves

Alpinestars Supertech R boots

Sidi Vortice vented boots

Shoei RF-1100

Shoei GT-Air

Various armor from Knox, Forcefield, and Alpinestars for back, hips, knees, chest

Oxford Bone-Dry rain suit made to go over leathers

^

I wear that every ride on my 14R- I've never ridden it without being properly geared up, even if I'm just taking a short, casual ride.

As I said earlier, I can see taking a short scooter trip in less than optimal gear- the OP is about commuting in BKK traffic- I wouldn't do that unless I was properly protected. Riding a large displacement bike without proper gear is foolish- the point of a bike like that is to be able to ride in the flow of regular traffic, which exposes you to greater risk (unlike a scooter, where you're relegated to the side of the road in most cases as most cars can out-perform it). That said, I would never take a long ride on any two-wheeled vehicle without proper gear- I'm a decent rider, but I'm not immune to making errors, and I've nearly been taken out by the errors of others many times. I agree there are certain situations where you can afford to be more lax on a small scooter.

There's no point to being on a large displacement bike if you're not going to take advantage of its performance advantage.

I think part of being a good rider is properly gearing up for the ride. Unless you're in a position to control not only yourself but everyone else on the road, your skills aren't adequate protection.

Your gear is as much (if not more) of a determining factor as speed as to how injured you might be in an accident. Of course you always need to drive defensively, but that's hardly the point.

I'm sorry, but I think you're rationalizing a poor choice- I concede it's your choice to make, but I don't agree with it- seeing someone on a large displacement bike in shorts screams 'squid' to me.

We've all seen plenty of road carnage here in Thailand- yes, the most common causes of accidents are from rider error- excessive speed, drunk driving, etc- what you need to do is properly protect yourself from some else's error becoming your problem, and this is one of many areas where proper gear comes into play- just checking your riding speed isn't enough, IMHO.

Saying you've ridden 1000cc bikes in shorts 'no problem' doesn't mean anything- it's never a problem until it suddenly becomes one- my rides have probably gone 5,000-1 (maybe better than that) between accidents- I'm still going to dress for the '1'- if I hadn't, the one big wreck I had might have crippled me- every ride before (and after) that crash was 'no problem'.

The vast majority of bike accidents result in injury, not death- I'm more worried about being permanently incapacitated than about being killed.

You're right, you can wear what you want, but you are also inviting more serious injuries than what you would otherwise sustain- this thread is about proper protective gear, though. If you were riding a large displacement bike in your Crocs and shorts, I'd say you were a fool, but on a scooter (even a big one) that's being used on a short trip, I can see doing it out of convenience.

Personally, I always use either a back protector insert (that fits in the jacket pocket) or a stand-alone protector (usually bigger and always more of a hassle) as few companies supply their jackets with one (RS Taichi is one that usually does, but they're pricey).

I'm a big fan of the Forcefield CE-level 2 inserts (and it's what I would recommend)- they run less than $100- for stand-alone, I like the Alpinestars Bionic Race back protector for ~$100, but it's not what you want. Either way they add some weight and bulk to the jacket- note that different manufacturers use different shapes for their insert pockets, so you have to find a back protector that's compatible.

Joe Rocket is a decent manufacturer from what I've read, but I've never owned any of their gear.

I'll look around a bit to see what's worth buying in the US at the moment- it's a good time to find close-out summer gear.

A good site in the US for good deals on gear.

http://www.motorcyclegear.com/

http://www.motorcyclegear.com/street/closeouts/mesh_jackets_and_pants

I just bought an AGV Sport perforated Topanga leather jacket on close-out from them a couple months ago for $150- for the price, it was a steal.

If you have someone in the States to buy it for you, Revzilla is closing out the Teknic Aquavent mesh jacket for $89- they still have several sizes left.

I have a Teknic Violator leather jacket (in fact, I wore it on a ride this morning;)) and it's excellent quality (I'd say one step below Dianese)- they went out of business a few months ago, so their gear can be found very cheaply (though it's in limited quantities). I've also hot a pair of their Chicane leather riding pants, and I would have bought more of their gear if I were in the US when the sale was going on.

Here's the link- note there are many customer reviews as well as a video- also note you'll need to upgrade the back protection:

http://www.revzilla.com/product/teknic-aquavent-mesh-jacket

Personally, I always use either a back protector insert (that fits in the jacket pocket) or a stand-alone protector (usually bigger and always more of a hassle) as few companies supply their jackets with one (RS Taichi is one that usually does, but they're pricey).

I'm a big fan of the Forcefield CE-level 2 inserts (and it's what I would recommend)- they run less than $100- for stand-alone, I like the Alpinestars Bionic Race back protector for ~$100, but it's not what you want. Either way they add some weight and bulk to the jacket- note that different manufacturers use different shapes for their insert pockets, so you have to find a back protector that's compatible.

Joe Rocket is a decent manufacturer from what I've read, but I've never owned any of their gear.

I'll look around a bit to see what's worth buying in the US at the moment- it's a good time to find close-out summer gear.

My gear AND my awareness will keep me safer than awareness alone.

Saying you've been fortunate not to have a serious crash for 40 years will mean nothing if some idiot blows a stop sign or traffic light (or turns right in front of you when he's in the oncoming lane, which is always a favorite) tomorrow.

I ride an extremely powerful bike and I gear up every time I'm on it, and not because I have any doubt in my skill or situational awareness as a rider, but rather my 20+ years on the road (with one serious accident that I walked away from due to my quality gear) have shown me that sooner or later, if you ride long enough it's your turn. I also wear decent (though not the same) gear on my scooter- I've got my 'A' 'B' and 'C' gear set-ups, and all are extremely protective and work in a variety of conditions.

Of course it's not about 'certainty'- it's about minimizing the chances of death or injury.

Riding at a reasonable speed (which I don't always do) can help increase your chances of avoiding an accident, but your gear is what will come between you and the road in a get-off. The best gear is made to have higher abrasion resistance (and it's built to not come apart at the seams) and will disperse the force of the impact.

If you're riding something like a Monster where you're not keeping to the left of the road edge and are instead in the traffic flow (as it has the power to be in that position) you need a decent helmet, and armored jacket, good gloves, knee and hip protection (if you're wearing jeans) and reasonable footwear (with at least a minimum of ankle support).

Dress for the crash.

'Expensive' is relative- you can achieve a certain protection level at a variety of price points- you can possibly survive a 150kph get-off relatively unscathed with proper gear, and you can get crippled or killed on a scooter if you have an accident at a fraction of that speed with no gear- there are no guarantees, of course- it's about maximizing your chances.

Apart from learning many common sense things about driving a motorbike here the main thing is, keep your speed down to stay alive!! I have seen quite a few videos regarding idiots going far to fast, most of them end up being very dead or worse seriously injured!

I agree. At least ride within the limits of your vehicle- a lot of scooters can go considerably faster than their brakes can reasonably slow them down.

As I said, you know little about gear from a practical standpoint- bragging about knowledge of physics and heat absorption is kind of laughable in the face of actual, real-world experience.

The materials you're referring to offer very little in the way of airflow, which is more important than reflectivity.

I already tried to explain that the white section on the arms are a part of the jacket that's directly exposed to the sun (unlike the front, especially on a sport bike), as is a section of the back.

In any case, get back to me when you've got more than five minutes of experience on the street, and please rethink the use of your very arrogant signature line- "If I agreed with you we'd both be wrong"- when it's so easy to put you in your place.

Knowing a little about physics isn't exactly bragging, unless from the standpoint of knowing absolutely nothing. You don't want any black colouring on a summer jacket, it is easily the worst colour, if you doubt this go an put your hand on a black car at mid day, then do the same with a white, or silver car. When you have peeled your burnt hand off the black car, you will have learned a little about physics.

How do you know what materials I am referring to? Airflow can be either an an inherent part of the material used, or created in the tailoring process.

As to my biking experience, I have been in Thailand 6 years and ride a bike every day, I have done a couple of road trips. Basically I know when I am hot...and why. When I ride in the UK, I know when I am cold and why.

Around town here, you see no one wearing protective jackets, why, because all those available are unsuitable?

As to my signature, there is a thing called "humour", obviously lost on those during periods of aggression.

Lighten up mate.

PS. As far as I read, they are not referring to sports bikes, so the riding position will be upright.

Really? Because judging by your posting style, you seem to take it very seriously- you don't disagree with people, but rather you attack their opinions, which is why I'm addressing you in the current manner. Having read your views on gear (specifically helmets) on this thread, you obviously don't have a clue, yet you feel qualified to give advice- that's dangerous if someone is naive enough to listen to it.

When you have ridden for a while in quality gear (which you obviously haven't) your opinion might have some real-world value- right now it doesn't. The reasons people don't wear proper gear go beyond the gear itself- it has more to do with money and laziness than anything else. There is a lot of suitable gear, but it takes expense to obtain it, and proper will and dedication to wear it. Thais wear jackets all the time in direct sunlight to keep their skin from becoming darker, but they will happily ride a bike without a helmet- they're just not worried about the consequences- it's cultural more than anything else.

A properly made mostly black jacket with UV coating and strategically placed lighter colors will keep you as cool as an all-white jacket, yet will also last much longer before becoming embarrassingly filthy. How do I know this? Because I've been wearing those jackets for over a decade in Thailand.

As far as your reading comprehension goes, please work on it a bit- one of the bikes in question is a CBR-250, which is most certainly a sportbike.

Note that the 320SP shop carries mostly fake reproductions of name brands. You can't get a real Alpinestars jacket for 2500 baht- the armor and safety stitching will be vastly inferior in comparison with the real thing.

As far as the back of the jacket goes, for most you need to buy a separate back protector if you want a higher level of protection.

I think the new Ninja 1000 is pretty appealing at 629K as opposed to the Hypermotard- yeah, it weighs 60lbs more, but that's not that much on the street, and it offers so much more performance.

Can you put up a pic of the whole set up?

I'm going to make an effort to get out on the road in 2014 and meet up with some people from a couple of the forums- I've been busy this year working to pay for my toys- next year I want to play with them.

^

True- a lot of bikes (including the Panigale) go faster than that in 2nd gear.

I'll have to tell you about my Middle East spec 2004 R1 one day

159kph at the 13,750rpm redline- that thing would rev forever.