Ok, apologies first for a seemingly stupid question.
With the acquistion of my Honda Monkey Z125, what safety gear (helmet, jacket, cloves etc) shpould I be looking at and any recommendations for online sellers.
Also, I fancy an open helmet, is this reasonable ?
Would add that I have yet to get my CBT and will be a very careful rider.
Many thanks
Chris
Not quite a pure open face but the Shark evo flip helmets are worth a look. I have one and while I normally use a full face helmet I used it several weeks ago during the heatwave we had - all my biker mates were absolutely sweating inside their full facers.
Can be flipped into a full face if desired in a second.
www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk works for me. Cheap helmets suit me too, then when they get manky just get a new one.
Shox sniper is a good enough and available on ebay or amazon.
Have a look at J& S accessories shops, the nearest to you Im guessing is Maidstone
https://jsaccessories.co.uk/stores/maidstone
You can look at the range offered by both themselves eg own brand and others.
For riding the Monk I would suggest some Kevlar / protection jeans and a casual style jkt with armour. Eg bit like Tony was selling recently. Triumph do nice casual bike wear. Boots wise, again there are some nice crossover boots that look good off the bike whilst offering protection.
Be honest with your expectations, you are not going to ride across continents in driving rain …..yet. So leave the Rukka Klim gear alone and concentrate on comfort and dual use.
Lastly I have some summer weight Dainese gloves, mildly armoured. If it gets cold I use a silk liner. If you plan to ride through all weathers then look at Rukka / Halvarson/ RST etc
Steve
Ps remember if buying off line, you need to check fit whilst sat in the “ monkey “ position. Eg jeans ride up, as do sleeves Jkts shouldnt be tight across the back
Last edited by higham5; 16th September 2022 at 20:55.
I use a Helite airbag jacket now. Very popular with police riders. Expensive but what price less injuries.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
dont try to scrimp on gear for biking, it doesnt matter how careful you are its the others on the road that are the problem , sports bike shop is good but most biking gear sizing is brand specific so its best to try things on if you can (generally i try things on local then price check it against sports bike shop , if the local cant/wont price match it them at least i know what size i need to order )
Definitely would not follow this advice.Originally Posted by Davidh
TBH, I suggest doing your CBT first and then seeing how you feel being exposed on the road in traffic. Look again at the size of the Monkey bike compared to other traffic. And then perhaps make your mind up.
Having ridden for a fair bit, I know from experience that you can snap your elbow off at less than 15mph when I was thinking "just a pootle around the neighbourhood, the bike armour isn't necessary"... oil, manhole cover, on the floor... elbows don't react well against tarmac without armour. Regarding helmets, if you have a £20 head, buy a £20 helmet. Your head (and more importantly your brain) does not respond well to taking a whack against tarmac. At speed. As they say, dress for the slide, not the ride.
I wouldn't necessarily rush out and buy the most lovely gear straight away.
Get by for a while until you realise that
- Biking is definitely for you
- Biking in the autumn/winter is definitely for you
- Biking at speed, or with style, or both is for you
The simple fact is that these (and other) questions will cetainly have a material effect on the gear that you eventually have, and wear regularly, and if you rush in with a loaded credit card on week one, you are likely to be left with some very expensive mis-purchases once you have figured it all out.
Bikers can look like Righteous Bros, Racers, Power Rangers, Hipsters and anything else you care to categorise them as, all with perfectly good gear to match. So choose carefully
I echo the advice of don’t rush into a purchase.
The CBT centre will loan you a helmet (and perhaps gloves). I’d wear some stout boots and heavy jeans/jacket until you’ve done the cones bit to see how you feel then go get some good advice/try kit on in the correct position.
Helmet brands have a different idea on head shape/size so go somewhere that has plenty of choice - expect to take and hour or two to try/swap/try. I personally wouldn’t buy a budget lid just on value - it needs to fit properly to do its job.
Thanks all for the fantastic advice, just what I wanted
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And once you have decided that all this biking malarkey is for you, you’ll then have to decide what type of bike suits you best and get gear accordingly.
You wouldn’t want a one piece leather suit if your bike is a Harley etc.
Unless you decide on a scooter then the gear is a hoodie, extra large tracky bottoms and trainers. No gloves and just the cheapest old lid you can find in a charity shop!
A Honda Monkey Z125 is a good fun purchase. I had a yellow "Grom" MSX 125 and loved it. I've got my 3rd CBT tomorrow and this will be my last.
I'd suggest just going to your local bike store and try jackets, gloves etc on first. Online shopping, especially buying helmets, for bike clothing / protection I've found out you really need to try on.
I'm not sure whether CBT schools still loan out helmets/gloves since C0vid, may want to check first.
A good helmet doesn't have to be expensive. Nor does any other gear. If its BS rated its good to go but make sure it fits properly. The same with most gear. Don't go for super cheap Chinese tat off ebay. SportsBikeShop does returns if you can't find something local. I wear Kevlar jeans and a Leather jacket most of the time. You only need to up your price if you want to buy the best. All weather gear etc. You can get some very good branded used gear on ebay but I'd always go for a new helmet. As has been said. Open faced lids don't offer very good protection. Try a flip front if that's the look you want and you'll get the best of both worlds. Then when you become a bike addict (and you probably will) you can spend a mint!
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