What level of protection are you comfortable with

[Hal65]

Half helmet? Full helmet?

 

Regular clothes? Leathers?

 

Sandals? Boots?

 

One of the lousy parts of Thailand is that full protection for riders, a.k.a. full helmet, leathers and boots, creates a lot of heat which may be even more dangerous than riding thin. What do you guys deem acceptable when riding?

[DILLIGAD]

Half helmet? Full helmet?
 
Regular clothes? Leathers?
 
Sandals? Boots?
 
One of the lousy parts of Thailand is that full protection for riders, a.k.a. full helmet, leathers and boots, creates a lot of heat which may be even more dangerous than riding thin. What do you guys deem acceptable when riding?

I think it relates to your past experience and (unfortunately) past accidents.
It's a hard decision to make, how much to armor-up but as my 'ol uncle used to say 'the concrete is just as hard on a sunny day.'


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[Namplik]

Pants(rip stop),  boots, gloves, half helmet, and thats only on a scooter...

 

Next: 

Edited November 12, 2016 by Namplik

[taninthai]

I am only ever comfortable when got fullgear on,,,,,,yes I do pop around locally in Jean,flip flops ,t shirt and helmet and never feel comfortable like this and am always aware of the injuries I could cause my self.mostly always wear gloves hate riding without them .

[NormanW]

Full leathers boots obviously full helmet leather gloves back protection chest protector . on the big bike . 

 

Armoured jacket kevlar jeans boots and gloves on the medium bike.

 

Jeans boots gloves 3/4 helmet on the shopping bike.

 

2 broken collar bones and a broken wrist in 42 years riding bikes.

 

I don't like pain so I man up and take the expense and the heat.

 

Hope this helps . 

[Rhys]

Generally... I wear a full helmet, buckled up.. Gloves and jean jacket.... Tennis or boots.

[ClutchClark]

What I wear depends on seversl factors including the access to decent hospitalization in the part of the world I am riding in. 

 

If I am clocking big miles at speed then the full gamut--jacket, gloves, boots, helmet, pants and even Asterik knee protection. There are some excellent ventilated jackets but you are still going to sweat--just drink alot of fluids and deal with it. 

 

And carry MedAssist. They do offer a motorcycle add-on but its only to repatriate your own bike and of no value if you are on a rental.

 

However, I have worn as little as sandals and shorts when out riding on an early Sunday morning when there is no traffic and I am just puttering. The juevos like the ventilation. 

[JAFO]

For me it depends on scooter or my R3. Regardless on any Moto I always wear jeans and boots and scooter is half helmet. The R3 is a full mesh jacket with Kevlar  https://www.bohnarmor.com. Gloves with knuckle and palm Kevlar protectant and my full Shoei helmet. I brought all this gear from the US with me.  

[NormanW]

Good job this guy had all the gear on!!!

 

[Kwasaki]

On 11/12/2016 at 6:58 AM, DILLIGAD said:

It's a hard decision to make, how much to armor-up but as my 'ol uncle used to say 'the concrete is just as hard on a sunny day.'

 

    So right.

Trouble with roadways there is also tree's, lampposts, crash rails with metal post supports, and + many obstacles on the roadside.  

 

My take is where live and how busy,  on scoot just day clothing and only use locally and potter around.

 

On motorbike, fullface helmet, Alpine Jacket with holes ,  jeans,  thick soled leather boots, gloves with sliders on the back.

[guzzi850m2]

I am also relaxed dressed when riding the scooter but are using finger-less gloves and a top hat helmet & sun glasses.

 

On the big bike always dressed good up; mesh jacket/w elbow & back protectors, bike boots, full face & gloves. The mesh jacket is okay to wear when you get going but sometimes hot as hell when at a red light.

 

I will need some knee protectors, I had a low speed crash on my Versys and I hurt my knee badly and could hardly walk for a week despite nothing broken (only wearing normal jeans).

 

Shocked to see the amount of big bike riders only using a full face helmet as protection gear, both Thais and non Thais, some rode like crazy and smoked me, boy they gonna hurt themselves if they go down.

[Hal65]

I am surprised so many base their wear on the bike used, going down at 80 kph feels the same regardless.

[NormanW]

1 hour ago, Hal65 said:

I am surprised so many base their wear on the bike used, going down at 80 kph feels the same regardless.

Agreed but how many people do you see wearing full leathers on a Honda click ?

 

We've got to draw the line somewhere . 

[guzzi850m2]

1 hour ago, Hal65 said:

I am surprised so many base their wear on the bike used, going down at 80 kph feels the same regardless.

 

4 minutes ago, NormanW said:

Agreed but how many people do you see wearing full leathers on a Honda click ?

 

We've got to draw the line somewhere . 

Agreed on both posts.

 

When I ride my scooters it's normally downtown but are sometimes riding on sukhumvit road going 100km/h and know very well I gonna hurt myself badly if I go down but it's a risk I am willing to take and are always very alert about what's going on around me 360. 

I ride slow downtown Pattaya, admittedly sometimes many years ago, like an idiot and had a real real close call and thought to myself, oh boy man, take it bloody easy man, you got a family to take care of, it's not just yourself anymore. After that, always take it easy (typically 40-60km/h) and let others pass if they want to go fast.

 

Only way to be 100% safe is either stay home all the time or buy a Sherman tank.

 

The 2 wheelers gives me an enormous fell of freedom, the 650cc a rush when taking off from red light and I can filter though traffic easily. Sitting in the truck drives me nuts sometimes, going nowhere, stuck in traffic 75% of the time, fxxx that man.

[A1Str8]

Protection is a myth. 

[JAFO]

14 minutes ago, A1Str8 said:

Protection is a myth. 

 

HAHAHA.....I used to race in a superbike class. 750cc. I went down a few times in full gear and got up and walked away with a few bruises and zero road rash. Had I done that in tennis shoes, jeans and a T Shirt way different story.  

 

Protection does work however here in Thailand that can make it quite miserable to ride, racing is one thing as its competitive but a leisure blaze up in the mountains can be far to hot to enjoy with full gear. This is why I split the difference and did the mesh with strategic kevlar protection in spots. I sometimes wear just my the body Armor vest. 

 

As for a few other posts the difference on Scooter Vs Bigger bikes, I seldom ever blaze on my Wave at 80KMs. Its for cruising around. To me its like riding my mountain bike. Now my R3 I hit speeds of 130 to 140kms. I also say you get what you pay for in regards to helmets. I have a top of the line Shoei. Ventilated side, top and front. It was my race helmet. Its very cool even here in Thailand. But you aren't going to get that cheap. Top helmets will set you back 25k to 35k baht. Same with Arai. 

 

Anyway, happy motoring. 

 

 

[DLang]

I used to wear an open face helmet for city riding as it offers much better visability.

 

I went back to using a full face as I prefer the likelyness of keeping my chin and jaw and teeth should I be thrown into something.

 

I saw the aftermath of a Thai came off his Fino and hit the curb face on with no helmet. He was in shock holding his mouth with teeth and blood spewing out of it. Lost most of his teeth and broke his jaw by the looks of things. 

 

I think after that I went back to the full face. 

[Hal65]

I think the essentials are full helmet, gloves and boots. Even the boots are a tough sell in Thailand though, but those ankles easily get shaved on a lowside.

[BSJ]

As a kid I rode around most of the time with thongs, shorts and T-shirt on.  Fast forward 50 years......and when in Thailand I still do!

 

 

[wprime]

An amulet is enough for me

[ktm jeff]

Everyones different. Do your own risk assesment taking speed , family , insurance and risk acceptence into account. Id rather "over protect" , and leak sweat , rather than blood.

[papa al]

Wearing gloves is not a bad idea.

[Namplik]

I feel naked without gloves on any bike....

[taninthai]

21 minutes ago, Namplik said:

I feel naked without gloves on any bike....

100% agree.......it's mostly always yours hands that go out first when heading towards the tarmac,,,,many riders don't realise this.....and fingerless gloves not really ideal.

Motocross gloves are pretty good and not to hot at all.

Edited November 17, 2016 by taninthai

[Namplik]

I wouldn't use fingerless gloves unless I was a motosai taxi man  

[recom273]

Yeah .. It's shoes for me, I don't ride anything in flip flops, trainers on a scooter, cheap lace up ankle boots on small bike, adventure boots on big bike.

Gloves on the bikes - for one, without you are going to have dried up leather hands after a few years ..

[JerryinTH]

Full helmet and a proper leather jacket with a spine guard, shoulder guard and all those things. 

[Still Living]

I wear a half lid and flip flops to go around the corner to the gym. I don't want to funk up my nice full face after the gym. I just pray I don't hit the pavement on that ride... 

 

Usually it's a full face helmet, proper shoes and gloves. Rainy season so I've been slacking on the gloves... But I think gloves and a quality full face helmet is good Bare minimum for gear. 

[kannot]

this  and  only  this, trousers  are  padded with  kevlar

[Hal65]

On 11/13/2016 at 7:36 PM, NormanW said:

Agreed but how many people do you see wearing full leathers on a Honda click ?

 

We've got to draw the line somewhere . 

 

I disagree with this line of thinking. Just because you enter a Third World country doesn't mean you should suddenly lower your safety standards. People would call you a senseless squid for riding around with sandals on a scooter in the West just the same as they would if you were on a big bike.