Modern Vespa

Since my little escapade at Morning Wood the other weekend I've been thinking more about protective gear. I had been wearing an open-face helmet with jeans and my parka, but I think I pretty much reached the limits of that outfit when I came off my ET3.

I bought a full-face helmet for anything more than riding around the neighborhood, and I'm considering armored jeans and some sort of armored undershirt that might fit under my parka.

I've always thought that full-on leathers seem like overkill on a Vespa, but, on the other hand, if I kit my P200E out as a 'fast tourer', I'll potentially be doing 60-70 mph, so I should have equivalent protection.

So, I'm curious as to how you're kitted out when you ride.

* helmet (modular / flip face).

* gloves with knuckle protection.

* scooter jacket with armour installed.

* bike jeans. kevlar or ixon cordura (looks like denim). I dont use the pads. kevlar is hot 'n heavy. cordura is lighter and cooler.

* solid boots. Tradie style, lace up not elastic side.

everything all the time

Modular helmet with Sena audio system, textile jacket with armor, gloves with knuckle and palm slides, Sidi boots. Occasionally armored textile pants but they're hot and scratchy. I like canvas work pants, though.

I had an Aerostitch one piece for a while, but I didn't like it. Too stiff and short in the crotch (I didn't have it altered when I ordered it.) Or, maybe I was too fat...

Full face helmet

Dyneema armored jeans. Dress for the slide.

Motorcycle jacket. I have a few different ones for season and riding speeds.

Boots. Not the strongest part of my kit but at least they are over the ankle.

All the gear all the time for 2 reasons.
1. I don't control other drivers.
2. I assembled my Vespa from a box of parts and I'm a crappy mechanic.😀 Although I've put over 1500 miles on it and it's been pretty solid so far.

I wear a full faced helmet, leather jacket and padded gloves. Usually regular jeans and canvas lace up boots. I felt silly buying the jacket and gloves at a motorcycle shop. But I ride at around 55-60. The pavement doesn't care what you're riding when your skin meets it.

split leg running shorts and a tank top

Ha - Safety Third, or 5th!

Too much.

Just wear a mankini

Don't forget the Oakley Blades and Reeboks! And yeah, they match!

I've actually been searching for a pair of old school Blades

3/4 or full face helmet - depends from weather and what Vespa I ride.
Tucano Urbano GIG gloves or Kellys Frosty gloves.
Tucano Urbano parka or any daily windbreaker.
Thermal first layer sometimes.
Daily or warm jeans.
Daily sneakers or boots.

When not going to work and running errands etc., it's shorts, t-shirt, flip-flops, and an open-face helmet (it's hot here). When going to work, it's long pants, polo shirt, Vans slip-ons with socks, and the same open-face helmet (it's hot here).

I suppose I'll be banished and cancelled for my choices, but that's ok. Go ahead, cancel me.

As most things; depends.

Depends on the weather and where to/how long the drive.

Cold, moist weather then medium light fiber MC jacket, jeans, desert booties, yellow leather working gloves. jet helmet.

Warm summer weather then long sleeve shirt, linen pants, vans, same helmet, sun glasses. The long sleeves/pant to avoid sun burn.

Last weekend 65 kms mountain rd drive: long sleeved shirt, suede colbert, jeans, booties, yellow glove, pudding basin, sunglasses.

Pottering around in village, between local village would go day clothes no helmet but the latter is mandatory with nigh absolute chance of getting stopped by the brotherhood.

For me a scooter is during summer a easy grab and donning riding gear a gotspe.
It is like cycling in the Netherlands: People use a bicycle for local errants and get on with their day clothes, no helmet, no gloves.
Having grown up in the Netherlands, it is my perspective. Heck when I got my mc drivirs license the ink of crash helmet law was still wet.
Having raced motorcycles for 23 years, having had mc as a life style, do NOT slag helmets AT ALL. Nor protective gloves, hard stuff in clothing etc. The things is that it is horses for courses and a BIG THING is the Peltzman effect*. As such I am conditionally ok with blanket mandatory use of protective gear.


* over here at NSM ye all should be aware of this like few others: vintage Vespas by and large have brakes which are at best iffy in modern traffic.
Driving one around is made safe by YOÚ!
The braking limits make you sáfer on your NSM than you would be on a modern motorcycle because on the latter you will ride at a higher risk level.

Another parallel is with horse riding. Riding a horse cross country without any protective gear is waywáy safer than jumping sports wearing helmet and back protector. In generalno horse rider would jump without. As such the protective gear promotes risk behaviour.

Back to scoots again, I want to point to hi viz gear. Decades ago I was involved in a study by the dutch motorcycle association about hi viz and safety. It turned out that if anything it marginally INCREASED the seriousness of accidents involving cars.
Yes, hi viz is better visible BUT the crux of being seen is the attentiin, the perception of the one looking.
Hi viz gear is again a tricky thing if the wearer thinks he/she will thus be seen.

Bottom line: On the local caminos here (dirt roads), pottering about on an NSM, you need NO safety gear. Cover arms/legs against the sun, light gloves if you like. The rest is yoú!

p.s. ths afternoon going collect rock salt for the kitchen. On the push bikes. Shorts, no gloves. Will wear a crash helmet because of the law.

I wear the same as I would when riding my big touring bike: AAA rated armoured jeans, my trusty old Corazzo leather jacket, strengthened but not fully fledged motorcycle ankle boots, full face helmet, decent gloves. I also use a one-piece waterproof over the top from time to time, but generally avoid wet weather.

I have never ridden without a helmet. My current modular is long in the tooth. I think I will go back to full face.

No sandals, flip flops or anything like that.

99.5% of the time I wear gloves and jeans.

95% leather or ballistic nylon jacket.

If I'm going more than about 100 miles it's all the gear including real biker boots and armoured leather pants.

Full face helmet
Snood under helmet to protect neck from bugs
Kevlar gloves
Armoured jacket
Steel / composite reinforced touring boots
.
Wet weather overgear in the tool/glovebox

That's for anything beyond moving it around the property. I got bitten once decades ago when I thought "it's so.warm today I won't bother with all that and just wear the helmet.... 2 years in a wheelchair and crutches later. I learned my.lesson to ALWAYS dress to come off

As.an FYI... I've always worm and always recommend a full.face.helmet. the Impact.at the time was so great that it broke the front of the helmet and cut my face. No full face would have meant no face

One to ponder about. Why not;
https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle-air-bags

Tons of threads on the subject.

Head case

Full gear?

etc

etc

Sadly an honest answer…
I usually wear whatever I currently have on. So shorts and t shirt sneakers unlaced. Aka very safe.

I do have gloves and a full face helmet though so I'm halfway there. It's just too damn hot and humid here most of the summer to wear pants. I have a summer jacket but rarely wear it.

I also get heat exhaustion very easily so I gotta keep it light

Yup.

That seat is gonna require trauma counseling.

With flip flops?

I always wear a full faced helmet ( Shoei RF1400 ) and gloves. Pants and shoes are a must for me too. I also have this thing about getting stung by bees ( lots of farm fields by me ) so it's rare to catch me without at least a hoodie on no matter the temp.

I wear an HJC full faced helmet, Cortech armored flight jacket, riding jeans w/armor, Alpine Stars riding shoes, and riding gloves. From a distance I look like it's still the 80's.

My eyes! My eyes! Lol

I got the i10. Aside from the chin guard thingy disappearing one day it's been great. Lots of vents which is perfect

Truth.

Thus you wear an airbag vest?


Risk = probability x seriousness of consequences.
Hence the various levels of requirements for crash helmets per example.
Aka horses for courses.

If the subject is too personal, think water. Kids having huge fun jumping in the pool no issue. Now hit it at speed and it will kill.
No neither pavement nor water cares but circumatnces make ALL the difference.

It is like poison. ´Poison´ is all about dosage. Same thing hitting water or having a tumble with the scoot.

Where one draws the line of the ´dosage´ beyond legal requiments is a personal choice.

For mé there is contradiction in my perception of freedom on the scoot and the perception of constriction by the protective armour.
Drawing a graph of the result between the two and my age is

My dad would say "Don't ride any faster than you want to fall down."

I would say "I don't want to fall down when I'm standing still so how does that work?"

Full face
Gloves
Long pants
Sneakers
It's ripping hot here and I'm relatively conservative and choose the safer route

True nuts to butts.

Always: Full-face helmet and leather gloves.
Short rides: Whatever I have on.
Long rides: Add jeans and Corrazzo textile armoured jacket.

The pavement is unforgiving and harder than all your skin and every bone in your body.

Good rule of thumb is to only cover the parts you're not willing to risk losing.

I always wear a Smile when riding my s150
Anything else is just because......

You're assuming the seat's not into it, too.

I only had to come off a bike once without an armored jacket to convince me I needed to get one. The guy who hit me (scooter-on-scooter violence...so tragic...) also wasn't wearing armor and after he slid past me, I could see his shoulder muscle through the remains of his denim jacket and t-shirt.

As to riding gear, it's a modular helmet, armored jacket & gloves, Doc Marten's, and whatever trousers I happen to have on for errand running (i.e. shorts in the summer/jeans in the winter). For touring or longer trips, armored overpants with jeans.

This strategy has worked out better for me some times than others.

Dress for the ride
Not the crash.

I know for a fact that Adidas Sambas are the most popular scootering shoe, yet no one has fessed up just yet here that they wear them

Very popular in England that to be sure.

I have no problem fessing up I like my classic black/white Vans on the scoot with good weather.

For me the NSM is fun compromising safety and asks for a brain adjustment.
I would definitely not drive one into rush hour city traffic. No amount of safety gear makes that safe. Sorry.

Been enjoying ´bikes´ since early seventies and riding them is self organising on the edge of chaos. You cannot depend on the traffic rules or anything.
Like being seen is not depending on being highly visible. You should imo drive like you are ínvisible.
With the NSM I thus shun traffic and even provincial roads.
Ah and buy the best tyres for your use.
Them two; proper grip and broad safety margins in your riding are imo the NSM requirements. For the rest...ENJOY!!!

I've had road rash. It hurts like fuck but I've never heard of anyone dying from it.