Modern Vespa

Not to change the point of this post, because I am really interested in what people have to say about gear, and sorry if this has been addressed in a previous post, but what about why people crashed? I am nervous about the idea of crashing (obviously) and would like to know what has caused people's crashes in general.

my FF helmet (G-Max) shield broke off, but the helmet did its job of protecting my noggin.

Jacket & gloves: Dainese. Both did not tear or pull up or off as I was break dancing.

My jeans didn't tear, but I still got road rash.

I have steel toe boots and I think they helped because they were really scuffed up on top, but every strand of toe hair was still there.

This post has made me very concerned. I am looking to get my scooter first of spring. For some reason I never thought about the risks of ownership and riding while considering this future purchase.

Just switch "motorcycle" with "scooter" and see if your considerations change. They're one and the same. I guess you could include bicycle on the list too... the only difference is the speed at which you may crash, or be hit.

This post has made me very concerned. I am looking to get my scooter first of spring. For some reason I never thought about the risks of ownership and riding while considering this future purchase.

To be cliche, and ounce of protection and "peace of mind" is worth
it's weight in gold.

Expensive & beautiful leather Joe Rocket gloves: poor protection, have not bought anything from them since

Please elaborate. Did the gloves shred on the gravel? Insufficient armor? Something else?

The Corazzo was warm enough, but it was disappointing otherwise. It lost the water resistance it once had, but I wore a water proof cycling jacket underneath to keep dry. It was actually the same set up I had during the Big Wet One this past January. As far as protection though... I wasn't going to mention it, but since you asked. I was disappointed with my Corazzo 5.0. I got serious road rash on my elbow (a nice big hole actually), though nothing broken. The problem was that the armor did not stay in place and the jacket tore too easily. It think the armor was too loose and those velcro things around the wrist came loose during the crash, allowing the sleeve to move up. The material of the jacket tore right through. I'll take pictures later.

My pants on the other hand, did an awesome job both in terms of warmth and protection. They're mesh, but they have a cozy liner that goes with them and really keeps you toasty warm. I was wearing Olympia Airglide 2 Mesh pants. I have very minor scrapes on my knees. This is especially impressive since it was my left knee that seems to have taken the brunt of it. The armor was destroyed on the pants. I can imagine having no knee left if I had not been wearing those pants. Kudos to Olympia Moto Sports for quality protection! I wish I had them still to take pictures of, but they had to cut them off and they're in the trash now somewhere in Fresno.

My helmet (a Shark RSI) did hit the ground, but it doesn't look like it was a bad impact. There's a scrape on the left side and the face shield did fly off because the button got pushed in. Yes, I will get a new helmet.

The equipment that came out in the best shape and is still usable were my Dainese gloves. My hands have no scrapes at all and I slightly sprained a thumb. But they did an excellent job. Also, these gloves are nice and warm and they stayed relatively dry during the rain.

I was also wearing Chippewa motorcycle boots. Other than my ankle, my feet are totally in tact. I would say they did a nice job too.

Just switch "motorcycle" with "scooter" and see if your considerations change. They're one and the same. I guess you could include bicycle on the list too... the only difference is the speed at which you may crash, or be hit.

I broke a rib and screwed up my shoulder. Rib healed Shoulder still hurts. Again I was wearing full leathers, etc.
My rib had a bruise over it exactly the size of the iPod I had in my pocket.