Modern Vespa

Good evening. I'm a brand new Vespa owner, and I'm gearing up to enjoy it. I've been reading some of the posts on jackets, and I'm wondering if people really put on all this body armor, etc. everytime they ride, or only on longer/highway trips?

I guess I'm trying to square the pictures you see of these carefree models who look like they've just hopped on a scooter without a worry against all the cycling safety folks who deck out if full power ranger/body armor look.

Would you be willing to share what you actually wear on short/light traffic trips and on longer trips, or do you wear the full protection all the time?

Thanks,

-George

George,

Get ready for the flood of responses, it may be like taking a drink from a fire hose.

The wise course of action is to only wear all the gear on the day you plan to crash. The rest of the time, have fun!

In all seriousness, none of us knows when we'll take a tumble, and you can get injured at 35 mph just like you can on the freeway. People are comfortable with varying degrees of risk, but the risk is real.

Personally, I ride with full face helmet, leather gloves, jacket with armor (I have three...cold weather, spring weather, and summer. The summer jacket is a mesh jacket.) Around town, I wear jeans and tennis shoes. I SHOULD be wearing armored pants and boots. On long trips, I do wear leather boots, and in the winter I do wear armored pants. I know I am risking a skin graft if I go down wearing only regular jeans.

Have I ever gone to the corner store for a sandwich wearing shorts and a t shirt? Yes, probably about half a dozen times in 6 years, and it seems like an innocuous idea when I take off, but half a block away I'm scared to death.

Having the right gear for the seasons is really key to being comfortable. Getting used to the idea of gearing up every day is part of feeling confident for me, so I really do like to wear the proper gear. I will probably be buying some armored jeans in the near future to be consistent with what I believe I should be doing.

Ride safe, gear up, and have fun! And welcome to MV.

Hi George. Awesome LXV you have!

I will raise my hand and say that I am guilty of not riding atthegearallthetime Toreador Pants. I always wear a fullface and gloves. When I go farther I wear kevlar jeans. When I go out of town, the jacket comes on. Is it a burden? No. Is it lazy? Yes.

Do what you want. You alone can only decide what is best for you....unless you are married, then do what the wife says. LOL

And another point. Maybe you want to outfit your scoot with some crash-bars as well. Chrome is screaming out on that baby!!

On rare occasion--when I know for certain that I won't be exceeding 35 mph or so and I'm feeling exceptionally lazy--I'll omit the armored pants.  (And by "rare," I mean 2 or 3 times a year.)

Other than that, yes, I really do put on all that body armor, etc. (specifically full-face helmet, armored jacket, motorcycle gloves, armored pants, and motorcycle boots) every time I ride, and I ride daily all year round.

It helps to have boots that are comfortable enough to be all-day shoes, and I can't overstate how important it is to have comfortable gear for the weather, hot, cold, wet, or whatever.

Ultimately, though, CafeMoto is right; every rider decides for himself what balance of risk and convenience he is comfortable with.

OK I will be the first..... Toreador Pants is a philosophy of All The Gear All The Time.
and this is an individual choice and I would say it is completely up to you.

I suppose the trade off is that you are betting that you WON'T get in a crash while "just running down to the corner store" VS while on a REAL trip.

The gear dosen't have to be all MAD MAX like , there are actually some really smart looking armored jackets etc...

Our state (NH) does not require Helmets on adults, and at times I have come across lines of what I call "naked people parades" groups of bikes many of them Harleys ( but not necessarily) mostly larger bikes riding two up with shirtless men and scantily clad women. Hey It is your personal choice.
No, I don't want to get in an accident but I choose to be protected to some extent. I feel naked w/o my jacket, gloves, helmet and shoes.

( and no I don't ride pants-less)
hope this helps your decision.
ride safe

When I am "touring" on the highway, I go with a FF helmet, armored jacket, boots, etc.

Around my small town I usually either wear goggles and a half helmet, or sometimes just the goggles.

Yes, I know I should wear a helmet all of the time, but I live in a state that allows me to make that decision to weigh the odds, and sometimes I just want the wind in my hair.

I always wear a full face helmet, armored gloves, and shoes (I never ride in sandals/flip-flops/etc).... however...


.... that being said, for short neighborhood jaunts it might be the above with shorts and a t-shirt in the summer, pants and a sweatshirt in the spring/fall.

If I am going any more than a mile or two I wear pants and an armored jacket, regardless of the season. If I'm hitting the bridges & highways I'll add boots.

It's definitely a personal preference on how much you gear up, and I know full well the risk I take in shorts and a t-shirt. But I never ride without the full face, gloves, and shoes as the bare minimum.

Hope that makes sense/helps...

No.

I wear all the gear I have, probably 99.5% of the time. The 0.5% I don't wear it is when I'm going the 3 blocks up to the nearest grocery store for that last minute dinner ingredient, and I'm being extremely lazy about it. I usually feel a little guilty about it. But that's me. I have experienced a pretty nasty crash at a mere 5mph, and I'm still not entirely sure whether I knocked myself out or not. So I generally go with all my gear nowadays. For me, that's at least a 3/4 helmet, good eye protection (goggles, lately), an armored jacket (Joe Rocket mesh, Corazzo the rest of the time), lightly armored gloves, and sturdy shoes.

I don't neccessarily change what I wear on longer trips, but I do change what I bring. The longer the trip, the more likely I am to bring an extra layer (say, a hoodie or something), a different pair of gloves, and my clear goggles along with the tinted ones. I'll also occasionally switch between just a visor and a full faceshield for my open face helmet, so I'll bring both with me.

The weather around here is completely nuts, so I just make sure I'm prepared if I'm going more than 20 or 30 minutes out of town. Most of my extra gear I just keep under the seat, so I'm usually prepared.

Today it was hot, so I wore a 3/4 helmet with shorts, t-shirt, and sandals. Unfortunately, a bee went up my shorts at around 50 mph and stung my thigh. OUCH! That really frickin' hurt.

Now let me just say, I never used to wear a helmet at all in the heat of the summer, so I feel I've made some progress. I wear an armored water-proof jacket when it is cold and rainy. And I'll usually wear my mesh jacket when I'm going for longer than an hour. The wind beating on my arms for a two or three hour ride starts to get really annoying and the mesh jacket definitely minimizes it.

Shane

Yes, I wear the same thing long or short. I do change hot vs. cold weather.

Great comments, and thanks for replying. Right now I intend to use it mostly for commuting (4 miles... mapped out a route that avoids major roads). I was really wondering if I needed to invest $250plus in a 4 season jacket, etc. Of course, I have a helmet (Vespa Copter... I guess that's a 3/4 helmet?), and good gloves. I also signed up for a motorcycle safety course next week.

So I guess I'll look some more and try to find a jacket I can wear to work without too many wierd looks. At my local motorcycle store, I couldnt find any that did look like my personal trainer was suddenly much more successful.

I'm happy to read any other thoughts folks have.

-George

I wear full face helmeat and Gloves if I ride to the store or across town.

More like the flood gates CAFE Two sides to every coin so to speak. If i were doing sustained high speeds and interstates i would opt for gear. I'm a 2 lane person these days. That being said i don't wear any. I tend not to push the envelope and am MORE careful without the gear. I do wear a helmet but not to get my coffee in the morning but anything longer than that and i wear one. Will it help probably but not in all accidents. Sometimes i think people think just because they are geared up they can't get killed. Gear won't help you in all accidents. I had an accident where a trailer ran over me. Helmet on, still broke my neck, ribs and leg. Gear didn't help then but in the end it's YOUR choice. Ride safe

I'd point out here that failing to escape an accident completely uninjured does not mean that "gear didn't help."  More likely it suggests the opposite.

By all means, make your own choice.  Just please make a well-informed choice, not one based on fallacy.

I wear my full face helmet, gloves, boots and armored jacket on every ride. My pants are NOT armored, but I usually wear thick jeans or heavy work type pants.

I was in a very bad MC accident 20 + yrs ago in college as a passenger in a no helmet law state. I was on the back of a MC being driven by the residence hall assistant. We are riding 2 miles back to the dorm on a residential street (25 mph zone) , when a car turned left in front of us and we T-boned them good. I was thrown 110 ft, broke my back, jaw and had 3 scull fractures. But my feet, hands and legs were okay. I barely remember getting on the MC. I was in the hospital for months. My back recovered okay, but will have jaw and neck pain the rest of my life.

I remember wearing brand new Levis that day! Statistically, more accidents happen close to home! Be careful.

LOSTBOY i'm not going to argue but i didn't post the whole story and see you jumped me and assumed i fell. Didn't just fall down but suffice to say the end result was that i ended up down and not because i had chose to either. Which i might point out can actually happen to anybody. These threads are stupid because in the end it's our OWN choices not what anyone else thinks. We are all accountable for our OWN actions.

Toreador Pants while riding GT200.

FF Helmet
Ear plugs
Mesh armor jacket
HI-Viz vest (military spec'd)
Denim jeans with Kevlar reinforcement
Over ankle boots
Gloves

If I ride the Metro...I will still wear all of the above and sub. a long sleeved shirt in place of the armor...everyting else is the same.

Toreador Pants with a full face helmet. but I do I have different gear for different weather, hot, cold, and wet etc.

each to his own, my uncle lost control and slid under a parked car last weekend. he walked away but he is convinced a full face helmet would have caught on the car and snapped his neck.

I like to try and call up the people that I am going to have an accident with so I know what gear I need for what situation

Judy, I apologize that my post made you feel jumped on.  That was not my intent.  I was not criticizing or challenging your choices about gear.  It is indeed your own choice, and I respect that.

I did not assume that you fell.  The only conclusion I drew (from your report of multiple fractures) was that an impact of some kind occurred at some point.  Given that, it seems plausible that whatever gear you were wearing may have absorbed some fraction of the impact energy that otherwise could have caused even more severe injury, so I pointed out the non sequitur of your (apparent) assertion that because you were injured, the gear didn't help.

I stand by that point, but I mean nothing beyond it.

Sorry Judy, I agree that we are all accountable, but I don't agree that these threads are stupid, even though they do get tiring because of their frequency.

Threads like this let people share facts on which to base their choices ... such as the one about how many accidents happen very close to home. I'm not preaching; I wear gym shorts to the YMCA around the corner when I wouldn't even consider it for longer rides. But when I'm getting ready to ride I often think about a recent story posted on MV. Sometimes that motivates me to dress a little safer.

I've been down twice, once near home and once far away. I'll never know for sure, but I'm convinced that the Kevlar-lined jeans and armored jacket saved me both times.

Aloha! So jealous of your year-round riding weather!

Before you plunk down a lot of money, check http://www.newenough.com
Their closeout and bargain basement has some great deals on jackets and gloves.
I have a Teknic mesh jacket, Teknic leather jacket and Joe Rocket gloves and never paid more than half price for any of them.
As far as what I wear, I always wear a 3/4 or modular helmet, armored jacket (well, almost always), over the ankle shoes (again, almost always.) When I use the 3/4 helmet I usually wear sunglasses or, if not, Birdz Ravens eyewear (also from newenough)
I don't have armored jeans. Gloves usually for cold weather or longer rides.
Like most others have said, everyone has to make their own decision about how much risk they are willing to take.
Ride safe and enjoy your new Vespa.

ps. if you buy from newenough they will donate to Modern Vespa if you check the box for them to do so

Try New Enough and some other internet sites. You can find a jacket for less than $250.

+1 for NewEnough.com.  I ordered both my jacket and pants from them.  Besides very good prices, the customer service is really outstanding.

LOSTBOY no problems. Once down is gear going to help you when you get run over? It seems that with or without gear physics and some luck comes in to play. Depends on how you get run over. Safety is important but so is your mental state/awareness. I guess i see people preaching gear,gear, gear but not so much about using your brain/awareness/common sense when your out there on the roads. Keeping up with your skill levels etc. There's a whole cupcake but we only seem to get pieces.I've suited up and got crunched and not suited up and got crunched in my lifetime. Depends on the planet alignment i guess. OL'GREGG made the point better than i did.

Always ride naked just FF helmet and boots

My choice is to wear all the gear all the time.
That would be:
Full Face (Modular) Helmet
Mesh Armored Jacket
Gloves
Draggin' Jeans with Knee Armor
Motorcycle Boots

Short trip, long trip, I don't care because I can't predict when I'll need it.

I guess I'm so used to donning it that it hardly seems an inconvenient anymore. Choose your protective gear carefully. If your gear is comfortable in a wide range of conditions, you are more likely to wear it.

BOBO not stupid all together but it ends up being a love fest for kevlar. That's not a bad thing but people jump the shark and get all defensive about what they wear and screw the awareness etc. I just think being more aware out there is equal to gear. Have them together and your really doing good. Looking good isn't gonna help you if you are behind a truck and you get rear ended by another truck and then become the sandwich meat Being aware might of helped ya out of that situation. Just throwing it out in the mix. It's 95 today and humid and i'm still in Hawaii not Florida! When are you coming our way to have a meal and ride with us

90% of my riding is short rides (<10 miles) in town or suburbia, and most of the year I wear a 3/4 helmet with face shield, armored jacket, jeans, gloves, and lace-up leather shoes (but not boots... which I can't stand to wear).

HOWEVER, I live in coastal Maryland where the temperature AND humidity live in the 90s for most of July and August, and I sweat like a pig! Under those conditions I forego the long pants and the jacket for short runs in town, but force myself to wear them on longer runs on higher-speed roads.

I fully understand the risk of using MOTGMOTT rather than Toreador Pants, but that is a personal choice... as it should be with you.

Personally, I found that learning to ride was much more excitement than I expected,
so I would recommend gloves, a full-face helmet & an armored jacket
on every ride for the 1st year

But Judy makes a great point--it's not the gear that keeps you safe,
it just makes close encounters with the ground a lot less painful

This is partly because the gear doesn't help you much during a close encounter with a larger vehicle
The best way to minimize that risk
is the stuff they teach you in the MSF classes about how to avoid it

In response to the OP, yes, some of those marketing pics are pretty shameless. mini-skirt and high heels are not the best riding gear, even for a quick jaunt to the local market.

As for me, only when I'm riding around my local town where the speed limit is mostly 25 mph, I will sometimes wear crocs or slip-on shoes and no riding jacket. However, I'm never without long pants and gloves. Riding in shorts is way to freaky for me.

George-

Welcome to Vespa ownership and MV. We wish you years of enjoyable and mishap free riding.

As to the adverts, they are designed to sell a product, not to train and promote best riding practices.

You asked a question that, as previously noted, comes up often. I wrote at length about this last year, and others contributed to the thread.

In short, there is a difference between "Safety" and "Survivability". Protective gear pertains only to survivability, unless it gives one a sense that with gear their driving can be more risky, and then it diminishes safety.

As Judy so correctly points out, gear can only protect us from forces for which it is designed to mitigate, and, for example, crushing forces are not mitigated by an armored jacket. Nor does a jacket protect you from twisting and bending forces, as well as many high impact forces. I'm not saying armored jackets are useless, just saying that they can only protect within their design limitations. Most folks who have suffered and survived a mishap while wearing a riding jacket are more than likely to speak up on how that jacket helped reduce their injuries, as it most probably did. That should speak for itself.

My experience and training would lead me to suggest you should first focus on being a safe rider. You can significantly reduce the risk to you, and to others on the road with you, by avoiding those riding behaviors proven to cause mishap. You can further reduce risk to you by being alert and anticipating the actions of others on the road as best you can. Responsible, alert riding is safer riding, and is within your control.

Totally separate from how safely you ride, you can reduce the level of injury in some mishaps by wearing protective gear. I say "some" not to minimize the value of gear, but to recognize that gear is limited in its protective ability, as noted above. Since you cannot predict the forces that will be applied to your body in a mishap before the fact, only you can decide on what unknown eventualities you wish to be prepared for when setting out on a ride. Survivability gear does indeed contribute to survivability, even if it doesn't guarantee it.

Safe riding protects you and those who share the road with you. As one who shares the road with others, I will always preach safety first, as it protects us both. Wearing gear is a very prudent companion to safe operating habits, but for the wearer only. Since most of us at MV care about others as well as ourselves, you are going to hear Toreador Pants a lot, and that's an indicator of what a nice crowd hangs out here. Or at least we fake "nice" quite well.

There is no "Sterling Silver Bullet" for all of this. Both practices do contain a measure of silver. However, from my perspective, SAFETY contains a hell of a lot more silver than SURVIVABILITY. If I could only convince someone to focus on one of the two, my choice would obviously be SAFETY. And, if wearing gear makes someone a more risk seeking rider, I'd want them to ride naked!

Again, welcome aboard.

Al

I've been riding motorcycles and scooters year round on the crazy streets of So. California now for 23 years without so much of a scratch (knocking on wood). Weather is the only thing that determines what I wear. I spend the majority of the year riding in shorts. I keep wondering if I am just buying my time till I pay the consequences of what most people think is stupidity. I realize the inherent dangers, but love the freedom and convenience. I usually try to avoid the freeways. However, you should have seen the look I received a few weeks ago from a CHP motorcycle officer while riding on the 5 fwy with only shorts and a t-shirt.

However you ride, be careful and ride like you are invisible to other motorists.

Around town, I like riding naked, I like to think of myself as a risk taker, the locals just think I am a pervert and send their kids around to tag my fence.
when on the open road, cruising the freeways I gear up with a black leather jock strap with a fluro skull and crossbone embossed on it.

Some think the fluro is over the top but I reckon the best way to be safe on any scoot is to be seen. Rain shine or at night I always wear my aviator shades.

I always wear aviators too, the big lenses stop the bugs going in my eyes so much 8)

On a 50, bimbling along at 30 mph or so...I wear a helmet, shades, jeans, and trainers. And usually gloves. I know I'm going to bleed if I fall off, but I ride defensively and hope for the best. If I was to go any faster then I'd definately be looking at the Power Ranger gear, but at my current 2-wheel speed, I'll chance it

Hello Neighbor (NJ/PA),

If you're riding year around or "until the first rock salt" hits the road, consider some heated stuff, it makes a world of difference in the Northeast. I road all last winter here in Allentown, used a Gerbings vest and heated gloves, toasty toasty.

Being cold is a huge distraction on the road.

It takes 5-10 minutes to install/wire in. Kinda pricey but worth it.

I always use a FF helmet, I do have 3 jackets and rider paints if its cold, sometimes I get lazy and just do tee shirt and jeans but not often since one jacket is a meash jacket with armor.

I'm new to vespa's too and riding round London I wear an armoured jacket and a reflector vest, full face helmet, gloves, and generally jeans though I plan to get a pair of armoured trousers and maybe some boots. Sometimes I wear sneakers and am aware that this is foolish. I wore converse boots the other day and felt like I had no protection at all, almost felt barefoot, so have consigned them to the back of the cupboard.

I suppose I get some peace of mind with the jacket/helmet/gloves knowing I have done the best I can, but get anxious while I don't have sensible trousers. I see folk riding round london in shorts and t-shirts (and flip-flops! flip-flops for heavens sake!) and it makes me shudder as it would be well nasty if they came off at any speed imo.

everyone has their own idea of what's 'enough' for different kinds of riding. some people are happy riding around in far less than i feel safe in, but that is entirely their choice.

i've always got on an amoured jacket, helmet, and gloves. for city riding i don't usually wear armoured trousers (except in the winter when i wear them for warmth) and i have been known to skip the motorcycle boots and wear cowboy boots or leather converse hi-tops.

for highway riding or spirited jaunts through the twisties, all of the above plus proper motorcycle boots and kevlar jeans or armoured trousers, always.