Motorcycle Protective Clothing In Chiang Mai

[gravion]

hello boys and girls, im wondering where is agood place to shop around for the gear?

im newbie to bikes, and i dont wanna dress hardcore.... just light gear to protect joints and scrapes and stuff.

also im assuming they are hard to wash eh...?

i though about just purchasing elbow/knee pads from tesco, geared with long sleeved cotton cloth and jeans...?

howz it gonna roll????

also im keeniao, so dont wanna spend more than 3k on clothing...

[monty1412]

what is keeniao.... sorry to be dumb

[wana]

kee niao means sticky shit ,thais use it to describe someone who is hard to get money out him ala sticky shit

you might be able to get a low range jacket if theres a sale on but not full body gear

tesco clothes will ripp like tissue paper if you come off doing any substancial speed

[wantan]

Better not buy protection gear at Tesco. Someone will sure point you to a good shop in CM. I use the knee protectors from Clover and like to wear them over my jean pants. Maybe you could get something like the Fox Elbow guards if you do not want to buy a decent bike jacket.

You should protect yourself. Good idea. Better safe than sorry

[naboo]

Opposite the book centre on Sridonchai Road there's a shop that sells, from the outside, helmets, but once you go in under all the bits dangling down, they have a selection of other biking gear.

I bought a Scoyco jacket from them, mesh so not too hot, with back, shoulder and elbow protection for about 3000B. Not going to save me at 160kph, so I don't drive that fast.

Shop recommended on this forum a few times. Their website: http://www.helmet2home.com/

[wana]

there is a stall of jackets on sale for 2600 in the bike festival from a spanish company called LS2

(heavy duty nylon? or whatever it is + a water resistant overcoat )

they also have a mesh jacket for 3500 but if feels a bit flimsy to me

[Colin Yai]

kee niao means sticky shit ,thais use it to describe someone who is hard to get money out him ala sticky shit

you might be able to get a low range jacket if theres a sale on but not full body gear

tesco clothes will ripp like tissue paper if you come off doing any substancial speed

Whatever protective clothing any one wears it will not protect you when some maniac is overtaking another vehicle on a blind curve on YOUR SIDE OF THE ROAD!.

[naboo]

Whatever protective clothing any one wears it will not protect you when some maniac is overtaking another vehicle on a blind curve on YOUR SIDE OF THE ROAD!.

[monty1412]

You can keeniao on your personal protective gear if you wish but its your skin. I came off in Phuket some weeks ago and was wearing a very high quality raving leather jacket.. 20 m slide down the road.... friction burn on elbow and jacket roughed up but better than hospital and skin grafts.

Not advocating you should wear al the pro gear but certainly good quality helmet and decent jacket... just my opinion offers wil and do differ...

[wana]

You can keeniao on your personal protective gear if you wish but its your skin. I came off in Phuket some weeks ago and was wearing a very high quality raving leather jacket.. 20 m slide down the road.... friction burn on elbow and jacket roughed up but better than hospital and skin grafts.

Not advocating you should wear al the pro gear but certainly good quality helmet and decent jacket... just my opinion offers wil and do differ...

how much was the jacket ? and what about the bike ?

20 metres slide is a proper test of any jacket

i was looking at them last night and they go from 2,500 - 35,000 at the bike festival

not sure how much you need to spend to get a good one thats not too uncomfortable to wear

[monty1412]

You can keeniao on your personal protective gear if you wish but its your skin. I came off in Phuket some weeks ago and was wearing a very high quality raving leather jacket.. 20 m slide down the road.... friction burn on elbow and jacket roughed up but better than hospital and skin grafts.

Not advocating you should wear al the pro gear but certainly good quality helmet and decent jacket... just my opinion offers wil and do differ...

how much was the jacket ? and what about the bike ?

20 metres slide is a proper test of any jacket

i was looking at them last night and they go from 2,500 - 35,000 at the bike festival

not sure how much you need to spend to get a good one thats not too uncomfortable to wear

Its a Ricondi GT and I picked it up when I was visisting Australia for a very dscounted price as they were having a moving or going out of business sale . Bike Ok it just went slididmg down the road in front of me and has cosemetic damage to crancase cover, fairings etc but otherwise when picked up started and ran like normal... funny thing about the whole thing was jacket took full impact of the laydown.. not a marke on my clthes or hemet.. I was lucky.. gril on scooter came over from left to sudenly turn into 7-11 on RHS and went straight across my bows... still thinking about how i could have avoided it ...

picture of jacket and my fazer.. fortunately it wasnt this bike that I was on.

[nikster]

"also im keeniao, so dont wanna spend more than 3k on clothing... "

If you're keeniao you should get protection - waayyyy cheaper than hospital costs!

For cheapies the best place is probably the one mentioned by naboo - opposite the Suriwong Book Center in CM. It doesn't look like much but it has quality gear from cheap to, in some cases, expensive. If you're thrifty and all decked out in Skocyo jacket/gloves, cheapo no name body armor, and a LS2 helmet you probably won't exceed your budget too much. Any gear is better than no gear.

For upscale, FastCorner has some things but it's pricey; I often find good buys at the Kawasaki dealer near the moat too, recently picked up a top notch Taichi mesh jacket there for 3,700... that's the same price as via internet in the USA!

""

[KRS1]

There is used gear at Pistonshop and Samoto, the real stuff but will cost a bit more. Also another little stall at Rincome Market after 7pm.

Jackets wash just like anything else, you just have to remove the pads. I'd atleast invest in some good mountain boots for riding, it makes me cringe when i see someone wearing low top canvas tennis shoes.

[drift]

Honda has their own line of protective jackets. That's what I wear, seems OK to me.

[gravion]

thanks i totally agree with the protection... but truely i only own wave 125cc...

im planning to hire ninja 650 and maybe head for pai. someone told me today that pai is a road with 7000 curves etc... am i going for a big trouble?

as for the lincome market after 7pm, is that that place where lots of students gather with lots of bikes parked on the street?

cheerios bros

[KRS1]

Yep thats the place.

I think its more around 700 not 7000. Not as bad as some lead you to believe. When the road widens and you start the last leg of the trip downhill, if its wet can be slippery, but its nothing terrifying.

[thai4me]

Allocate or save up a bigger budget for more decent stuff. When you hit the deck, it happens so fast that you don't even realize that you are going down. If you are lucky, you will see sky, see ground, see sky, see ground. On most time, it is just either one.

It is that stuff that you are keeniao about between your skin and the hard Tarmac. You can also get skin burns even without ripping your gear.Btw, you might as well wear tissue if you think jeans will help.

Edited February 4, 2012 by thai4me

[thai4me]

What is the difference of hitting the deck at 60km/h on a 125cc and 1000cc bike?

[gravion]

i totally agree with protection gear, i dont want permenant nasty looking peeled skins... i prolly wont get laid right? but will it also look too hardcore if im geared hard riding a scoopy-i??? or flora....

i wanna get those armored looking types, but the arms are only covered with cloth eh

[BigBikeBKK]

i totally agree with protection gear, i dont want permenant nasty looking peeled skins... i prolly wont get laid right? but will it also look too hardcore if im geared hard riding a scoopy-i??? or flora....

i wanna get those armored looking types, but the arms are only covered with cloth eh

There's those who have been down and there's those who are going down. Sooner or later everyone crashes. When that time comes you'll be happy you're wearing decent gear or lamenting the fact that you aren't.

No need to dress up in expensive leather head to toe, but it would behoove you to invest in some decent riding abrasion resistant pants and a simple armored jacket. Jeans won't cut it! No matter how heavy the denim jeans come apart like paper when they hit the pavement and road rash flippin HURTS!

You'll want to look for pants that have para-aramid (aka Kevlar) panels- usually in the knees are butt. Popular brands such as Draggin Jeans, Sartso, Iicon and more can be found in Thailand, but they aren't cheap... You might be able to find some second hand on eBay for cheap, or order from abroad and you can save a lot by avoiding Thai retail.

I recently got a great deal on some Cortech CPX Water Resistant Cargo Pants that are on clearance at motorcyclegear.com

They still have some stock. Here's the link:

http://www.motorcyclegear.com/street...cle_pants.html

They've got Kevlar® Armortex® panels in the knees and butt and the legs zip off so you can chill in shorts when you reach your destination.

I got a pair in Black and another in Khaki-

I think it was KSR1 who had mentioned he found some very inexpensive Cordura pants in CM recently. Perhaps you can PM him to ask where they were.

You MUST get some decent footwear to protect your feet! It's so easy to mash a foot, and a busted foot can take forever to heal if you're lucky, or will leave you crippled for the rest of your life if you're not.

No need for expensive riding boots- You can pick up some sturdy steel toe leather work boots from almost any department store for 1-2 thousand Baht. Just make sure you keep the laces short so they don't get tangled up with your bike.

There are some shops in CM that sell second hand boots and jackets for cheap. The one I'm familiar with that seems to have a good selection is on the little alley off Loi Khor Road that goes to the #1 Bar.

You can get a DOT rated REAL brand helmet for a couple thousand baht. I don't trust the other cheap Thai brands like Index though some say they are ok...

So- all together I know that this is more than you want to spend, BUT, if you value your hide you should really dig deep and invest in some decent gear. If you buy quality gear it will offer you years of protection. If you're just here for a short time there are shops in Chiang Mai, like the one I described above, that buy used gear.

Hope this helps!

Happy Trails!

Tony

[KRS1]

i totally agree with protection gear, i dont want permenant nasty looking peeled skins... i prolly wont get laid right? but will it also look too hardcore if im geared hard riding a scoopy-i??? or flora....

i wanna get those armored looking types, but the arms are only covered with cloth eh

Id just go to the Kawasaki dealer and get one of those SHIFT mesh jackets, a friends been done once with it and i can vouch that it held together at 90-100 kph. It cost around 3700 baht and saved quite a bit of his skin.

The cordura pants i saw a couple months ago were at Central airport plaza, at either the 'export' shop or 'xl shop'...both shops sell similar items. Under 1k baht, more likely around 500 baht. Kinda ugly though.

Edited February 4, 2012 by KRS1

[wana]

What is the difference of hitting the deck at 60km/h on a 125cc and 1000cc bike?

hitting the ground at 60kmph is hitting the ground at 60 kmph and its will hurt for a while from impact alone ,even with gear

the only differnce would be had the bike landed on top of you

maybe some more bruises from the extra 100+ kg

[BigBikeBKK]

I've been meaning to post my old Hein Gericke jacket in the classifieds- alas I've gained too much weight to squeeze into it...

It's a top quality jacket and has saved me from serious harm twice.

It's pretty hot for summer riding, but perfect for this time of year. Kills me to get rid of it as I've had it for 20 years, but alas I just can't squeeze in to it anymore

I'll post an ad now in the ThaiVisa classifieds. Would love to see this jacket get some use by a fellow biker.

Happy Trails!

Tony

Edited February 4, 2012 by BigBikeBKK

[flying]

Allocate or save up a bigger budget for more decent stuff. When you hit the deck, it happens so fast that you don't even realize that you are going down. If you are lucky, you will see sky, see ground, see sky, see ground. On most time, it is just either one.

I have to laugh because it is so true....

I once came off a bike doing 70mph+/112kph

granted it was at a race track ( flat tracking) but the sky,ground,sky,ground is an accurate assessment

Funny thing is it was semi slow motion in my mind & every time I felt my feet touch the ground I tried to stand/run

because in my mind I wanted off the track because I knew bikes were coming.

But every time I tried to stand I was sucked backwards head over heels a few more times. I swear it happened at least three times.

Felt my feet touch ground tried to stand & was sucked over

In that case though I was in full leathers & the only damage was a fractured left wrist & my left pinky finger was pointing 90 degrees from where it should.

Edited February 4, 2012 by flying

[thai4me]

In dirt bike riding, we take a lot of falls. One of the earliest thing we are taught is to never cling onto your bike when you go down. Dump the bike and save your skin.

Sometimes it is easier said than done as most falls happen quickly. But you should be conscious about the need to bail out.

[thai4me]

i prolly wont get laid right? but will it also look too hardcore if im geared hard riding a scoopy-i??? or flora....

i wanna get those armored looking types, but the arms are only covered with cloth eh

Don't dress for the ride, but dress for the crash.

[monty1412]

i totally agree with protection gear, i dont want permenant nasty looking peeled skins... i prolly wont get laid right? but will it also look too hardcore if im geared hard riding a scoopy-i??? or flora....

i wanna get those armored looking types, but the arms are only covered with cloth eh

There's those who have been down and there's those who are going down. Sooner or later everyone crashes. When that time comes you'll be happy you're wearing decent gear or lamenting the fact that you aren't.

No need to dress up in expensive leather head to toe, but it would behoove you to invest in some decent riding abrasion resistant pants and a simple armored jacket. Jeans won't cut it! No matter how heavy the denim jeans come apart like paper when they hit the pavement and road rash flippin HURTS!

You'll want to look for pants that have para-aramid (aka Kevlar) panels- usually in the knees are butt. Popular brands such as Draggin Jeans, Sartso, Iicon and more can be found in Thailand, but they aren't cheap... You might be able to find some second hand on eBay for cheap, or order from abroad and you can save a lot by avoiding Thai retail.

I recently got a great deal on some Cortech CPX Water Resistant Cargo Pants that are on clearance at motorcyclegear.com

They still have some stock. Here's the link:

http://www.motorcyclegear.com/street...cle_pants.html

They've got Kevlar® Armortex® panels in the knees and butt and the legs zip off so you can chill in shorts when you reach your destination.

I got a pair in Black and another in Khaki-

I think it was KSR1 who had mentioned he found some very inexpensive Cordura pants in CM recently. Perhaps you can PM him to ask where they were.

You MUST get some decent footwear to protect your feet! It's so easy to mash a foot, and a busted foot can take forever to heal if you're lucky, or will leave you crippled for the rest of your life if you're not.

No need for expensive riding boots- You can pick up some sturdy steel toe leather work boots from almost any department store for 1-2 thousand Baht. Just make sure you keep the laces short so they don't get tangled up with your bike.

There are some shops in CM that sell second hand boots and jackets for cheap. The one I'm familiar with that seems to have a good selection is on the little alley off Loi Khor Road that goes to the #1 Bar.

You can get a DOT rated REAL brand helmet for a couple thousand baht. I don't trust the other cheap Thai brands like Index though some say they are ok...

So- all together I know that this is more than you want to spend, BUT, if you value your hide you should really dig deep and invest in some decent gear. If you buy quality gear it will offer you years of protection. If you're just here for a short time there are shops in Chiang Mai, like the one I described above, that buy used gear.

Hope this helps!

Happy Trails!

Tony

Tony for once we are in 100% agreement, good post, spot on.

Had dinner one night at Euro Diner CM and got talking to older guy who had permanent dead right foot.. simple crash many years ago on a scooter at 20km/h left his right foot mangled and useless for the rest of his life....he was wearing sandals at the time and firmly believes that if he had of had on something more substantial he would have walked away rather than having his foot bent back around.

There are some great looking jackets out there now without having to look like your in a moto GP. Paddock/ Panda and others have ranges of real nice safety foot wear that doesn't make you look like your just off a Harley.... you can get these all at reasonable prices so I just don't see an excuse these days for not being able to dress for safety without looking like your at a track day at Bira.

cheers

[KRS1]

Speaking of boots, these are what i wear when touring. Really good casual ankle high riding boots. Covers the achilles tendon as well as those two big ball joints on both sides of the ankle. Really light and grippy too, i can jog in these or run from soi dogs if necessary. Highly recommended.

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/harley-davidson-apollo-zip-work-boots-full-grain-leather-for-men~p~3314r/

[gravion]

i totally agree with protection gear, i dont want permenant nasty looking peeled skins... i prolly wont get laid right? but will it also look too hardcore if im geared hard riding a scoopy-i??? or flora....

i wanna get those armored looking types, but the arms are only covered with cloth eh

Id just go to the Kawasaki dealer and get one of those SHIFT mesh jackets, a friends been done once with it and i can vouch that it held together at 90-100 kph. It cost around 3700 baht and saved quite a bit of his skin.

The cordura pants i saw a couple months ago were at Central airport plaza, at either the 'export' shop or 'xl shop'...both shops sell similar items. Under 1k baht, more likely around 500 baht. Kinda ugly though.

i totally agree with protection gear, i dont want permenant nasty looking peeled skins... i prolly wont get laid right? but will it also look too hardcore if im geared hard riding a scoopy-i??? or flora....

i wanna get those armored looking types, but the arms are only covered with cloth eh

Id just go to the Kawasaki dealer and get one of those SHIFT mesh jackets, a friends been done once with it and i can vouch that it held together at 90-100 kph. It cost around 3700 baht and saved quite a bit of his skin.

The cordura pants i saw a couple months ago were at Central airport plaza, at either the 'export' shop or 'xl shop'...both shops sell similar items. Under 1k baht, more likely around 500 baht. Kinda ugly though.

cordura pants are those normal pants???? and they are good for abrasion resistance?

[KRS1]

Cordura is tougher and thicker than jeans but not as strong as Kevlar, they are good for abrasion and should be good for atleast one slide on pavement.

I saw those pants about 2-3 months ago, so they may not be available any longer.