Modern Vespa

What's optional? That's easy -- what part of your body do you consider optional?

Feel you can live without scar-free skin? Figure God gave you two eyes, kidneys, lungs, etc. for a good reason? Are you of the opinion that being able to eat solid food is overrated?

The options are yours -- it all depends on your capacity for risk. (Or your ability to ignore it).

I believe the Hurt Report said the average speed of a motorcycle accident is 22 mph and a large percentage are within three miles of one's home.

As much of a pain it is to put everything on to make a quick run, it is a good idea.

BTW what is the irony of a report about accidents named the Hurt Report?

You all aren't going to like this...

I respect your rights to wear what and as much riding gear as you choose. And if you choose not to wear any protective riding gear, I can live with it.

The only thing I'm against is people acting like idiots at certain times and in certain places.

There's a place and time for acting like an idiot and this isn't it.

Roadbum

This has been a helpful thread for gear / product suggestions.

I knew the airbag suit had to be out there somewhere. As for underwear, when you're heading into the side of a car or upside down into a ditch "Big Eyes and Brown Shorts" isn't just a cute phrase - go with a pattern print.

To wear or not to wear will remain a personal decision until the Guvmint steps in. I hope y'all are covered when and where you need to be. Ride safely.

Well, I guess I'll be the first. I pretty much don't wear any gear, any of the time. I don't wear a seatbelt when I'm in my cage.(never understood the whole have to wear a seatbelt, but it's ok to ride a motorcycle). I still smoke(gasp). I go out in the sun. I eat foods with trans fat. i have unprotected sex.

Now, I'm not saying you shouldn't wear gear. I just prefer not to. As a matter of fact, I don't think I would be riding if I did have to. It just kind of takes away the feeling. I know I'm really taking my chances,but I think I'm doing that just getting on my scoot.

Ok, got it out of me.

Flame away

It's fine with me if you don't wear any gear at all--just don't look to me to pay your hospital bills should the worst happen!

I just started riding but I decided at the beginning never to get on the scooter without helmet, jacket, gloves, and heavy shoes at least. I will have to look into some kind of riding pants. Is there anything to wear over your office pants? (NB for the UK: by pants I mean trousers.)

Boy does that sound familiar!

FF hat
Armored jacket - mesh or solid; depending on the weather, with a quilted liner also 8)
Jeans - I do want armored pants, really, I do
Armored gloves - mesh or full gauntlet, again, depending on the weather
Leather and nylon combat-type boots that go a bit further up than just over the ankle I've been broken many times, and I've been cut, scraped, abraded or otherwise made to bleed, many times. If I were forced to make the choice between being broken or made to bleed, I'll take broken, please. I'd even take broken over sprained. The healing process is less painful and shorter.

Hey, it's a free country. Although you can be cited for not wearing a seatbelt (yet it's legal to ride a bike without a helmet... go figure.)

All it takes is one dumped bike to change your mind. After you've been a human crayon once, you'll never want to do that again. Hopefully, you don't hit your head in the wreck and survive.

See, it's not a matter of not wrecking. It's a matter of being prepared for it when you do.

none of the gear most of the time.....

It is free for anyone to decide what to wear on your bike besides the things you have to wear by law.

Even I ride in my T-shirt and Teva's some times but I am well aware of the risk I take. I always have my helmet on

If you are not:
Just wear your T-shirt, take a walk through town, find a rough concrete wall, press your upper arm against it and walk for 10 meters but keep on pressing.
Thats only doing 2 to 3 mph so imagin what it will be at the speed you normaly ride on your scooter.

I have been a radiologist and I have seen people with parts of their legs scraped away or toes scraped away. And don't get me started on accidents wher bikers rode without a helmet on or didnt have it secured.

As i said, It is ones own choise to wear what tey want but be aware of the risk you take.

Hey, I like to put what I wear in a bit of context. In London, the statistics are that last year, there were 4,978 collisions involving motorcycles, with 5,000 bikers and their passengers receiving injuries.

In a crowded city, you are very vulnerable to trucks, buses and vans not seeing you.

That is different from over the pond, where you may not be taking the same risks of commuting every day.

As for smoking, well despite my best efforts, I've failed to give up smoking - we all have different attitudes to different risks.

i witnessed a nasty motorcycle accident on the way home today - wet roads, fast-moving traffic, and a car changing lanes without looking in her blind spot. the fellow on the bike was wearing combats when he went down but there wasn't much of them left when he finished sliding along the pavement.

like Wonder Machine said, it's all about context - in London i choose to armour myself against the potential stupidity of others.

At least there was something left. This is all making me think I should wear the jacket more often...

Those would have come in handy that time I was riding "commando" and the bee blew up me kilt. O' course the upside was the swellin.

I wrote two different posts prior to this one and deleted them both. I deleted them because I was afraid it was too divisive. So, I cut it down to this; wear what you want to wear. If you don't like what I'm wearing, run for office and change the laws regarding my attire. Or, you could run for the office of "My Mother," but that position is already filled.

If you want to wear Toreador Pants, fine. Sometimes I do, but not always. I don't need to hear over and over about what in inferior being I am if I don't. Just like I don't need to hear that I shouldn't wear sequined thong panties. I know what the dangers are.

i don't think any of the posts here have implied that people who don't wear Toreador Pants are inferior (maybe i'm not reading them carefully enough). If you feel safe without gear, then don't wear it - totally your choice and i think people here respect that. Personally, I don't feel safe without it, but I blame the f*ckwits I share the road with.

now, on the subject of sequined thong panties ... anybody who would even consider wearing those is completely beyond redemption and should be banned from this forum

I've made my own decision to wear the kit after commuting for a while, and having been in one accident where my foot was worn away by a car tyre! Ouch.

I mean, last year I saw a girl in a bikini and FF helmet riding riding her ET4 into town. That was rather impressive!

Or there was a Vespa launch in the City of London a few years back, with bare chested Italian models riding, er Italian models. That was good too.

I regret not shouting Toreador Pants at them, but I was distracted.

You want me banned for my underwear?

Sequined thong panties ... practical AND sparkly!

I have that same pair.
I like the way they enhance my butt.

my mum always told me to beware of gentlemen who enjoy the feeling of sequins wedged between their bum cheeks

And, they're always in fashion.

Gruesome.

I wear Toreador Pants, but the definition changes depending on the circumstances. FF helmet, armoured jacket, MC gloves, long pants, boots.

If I am on low speed city streets for short trips, my long pants are heavy denim. Their abrasion resistance is probably fine for the distance I may slide before being stopped by an obstacle. If I am on expressways or doing longer trips, I wear leather overpants - often with the knee armour as well.

I'm not just thinking about my own skin. I have a fair number of responsibilities to deal with. I waited until my children were teenagers before I got a scooter due the increased risk - they don't need me so much any more. However, gear that will help me minimize injuries and recovery times will also help minimize the impact on my responsibilities.

Once the kids are gone and I'm retired - I may take an entirely different approach to gear .

Ever write something on the interwebnets and then wish you hadn't? I did. I didn't mean to sound like an ass but after reading that post again, sheesh. I need to slow down and get over myself. Sorry.

Just when I wanted to start my campain to run for the office of "your mother" you take it back

I am very disapointed in you "son" (sorry, couldn't resist)

http://break.com/index/independence-from-pants.html

it's a rhetorical question...it wouldn't be Toreador Pants if something were optional!

jacqui

I'm a "I'll wear whatever I want and you whatever you want" person. I couldn't care less if someone wants to ride in shorts and flip flops. It doesn't make me mad, it doesn't make me worry for their health, it doesn't make me want to lecture them, it doesn't make me want to insult them, it doesn't make me want to make sarcastic comments to them, it doesn't make me feel superior if I am wearing the proper gear and they aren't. If they end up in an accident without insurance and somehow the cost of that filters down to a few dollars out of my pocket, so be it. A lot of dollars are going out of my pockets for crap that has little to do with me. If you are old enough to legally be riding your scooter, you are old enough to make your own choice about what you want to wear. Unless of course you are under 18 and still under the control of your parents. Or unless their is a law on the books in the area where you are riding that requires you to wear a certain thing. And the less laws that take away my own personal freedoms, the better. I dread the day if there is ever a law that REQUIRES me to wear Toreador Pants. I like to decide for myself.

On March 30 I was hit by a car and was sent flying and skidding down the road at about 30mph. Every piece of my gear (above) took damage that would have been really bad on my unprotected body.

Toreador Pants? You bet!

Highway - full face, armored jacket, heavy jeans, gloves, ankle-covering shoes.

City - relaxed a bit - wind jacket (unless it's cool enough to wear the armor), 3/4 helmet, gloves, no shorts, no sandals.

Whatever works for you - it's your skin.

Full face helmet, riding gloves, padded leather riding jacket, long pants, closed shoes. It's not top of the line stuff, but it does the trick.

Drove home mid fall two years ago, temperature suddenly dropped below freezing, hit black ice, wiped out around 30-35mph. I was sure glad to be dressed as I was! (Both myself and the Vespa came out of it ok)

I'm with Alice on this one. Each adult to their own perspective. Ride naked if you want! Abide by your own sence of what YOU need to feel OK. Otherwise let me enjoy the breeze in my own way. My Gosh We just celebrated INDEPENDENCE day. Don't force me to ride nude down 16th street to express my right to chose and then accept the aftermath of that choice.

The choices for jackets and pants is so overwhelming that it is frustrating. There are literally thousands of listings via google.

My budget for the armored clothing is too small to afford the Corazzo jacket that seems to be very popular here. I would like to keep the price of a MESH jacket to under $100, AND given that I have a 50" chest, it appears that my choices are fewer than most others.

I'd appreciate links to most popular items. Remember, the climate here in Louisiana demands something that circulates lots of air. Thanks.

+1.

Brendan

Same here, I readily take the risk on my bicycle of taking a fall from 30mph on a serious downhill, and routinely hit 25mph with nothing more than bike shorts and some cushioning on my gloves, and a skid lid. In fact, I'm clipped into my friggin bike too. If I want to head out without mc gear, I head out on the small backroads, 35mph or less. I'm always wearing leather gloves, closed-toed shoes, a helmet and pants. If I'm planning on heading out someplace where I wouldn't ride my bicycle, or at a rate greater than 35mph, it's time to throw on the mc gear. At a minimum, a polyamide nylon jacket and overpants, and real mc boots. I have a whole wardrobe of armor though, so usually it's armored too.

Oh-oh! I must be getting old!
It aggravates the heck out of me when I see kids bicycling in flip flops
(but I do keep my mouth shut about it)

The other thing that aggravates me (no end!)
is how few armored pant choices there are for dumpy short & middle-aged women my size
And how expensive those few options are!

It's not like jackets, where you can wear just one for a couple of seasons
And to get 3 pairs in my size would be upwards of $500--even more than my beautiful birthday helmet!
(see gratuitous pic below)


Philosophy aside, Toreador Pants is not even a practical option for a lot of people