Myths of Motorcycling...

[dhackney]

This a good thread, as many here seem to be interested or pursuing adding motorcycling to their exploration transportation options or daily lives.

As a veteran of more motorcycle get offs than I could count, all I can say is that if I hadn't worn the gear, I wouldn't be typing this (at least with my fingers).

My advice is to:
- start small, on a small, light bike
- read those 12 myths every week for a month or two - they are all absolutely spot on
- invest in training for yourself before you invest in "improving" the bike
- don't get on the bike without all the gear (this includes our esteemed forum founder...)

Here's a shot of our bike's thermometer in the Namibian desert:

Here's me in the same desert:

I'm wearing the same gear hltoppr uses for "winter/foul weather" gear. If you unzip the vents and open up the main zipper for some airflow it's livable in those temps. And actually, the deserts in Africa and the Middle East were not the worst, that was definately Japan in August, with less heat but Houston Class humidity and crawling traffic in the mountain valleys.

When you are out in expedition mode on a bike you can only carry one set of gear and synthetics make a great choice. I haven't worn my leathers in years.

When I'm in Baja I'm usually dressed like this:

Note that since I'm not wearing the full synthetic jacket and pants with integrated body armor I'm wearing a chest protector over my jersey and elbow pads. I've also got roller-blade knee pads on under my pants and full size off-road boots.

I'm also wearing a neck wrap that does protect your collar bone in the case of a big get off. Popular with motocrossers, they prevent the helmet from snapping down and popping your collar bone. After about 30 minutes you forget it is there. Very good for off-road riding, especially for people like me who have a close and intimate relationship with the soil, sand, rocks and cactus between here in San Diego and Cabo San Lucas.

For seven-days-in-the-dirt-bike-saddle comfort I'm sitting on a gel seat and have a kidney belt on.

And while we're talking expedition riding in general and Baja in particular, never go down there without a GoreTex or equivilant jacket (actually, I never go anywhere without one...).

Some expedition relevent bike info from this shot:
The front fender pack contains everything for a flat: wrenches, tire irons and a front tube (which will also work on the rear, just has a few wrinkles). The rear pack contains tools and key spares (levers and controls mostly - things you break when you fall). Every open threaded hole on the bike has a spare bolt with a bunch of spare nuts and washers threaded and locked onto it. Both tubes are injected with Slime (goo that helps stop leaks - really works). All bolts on the bike sealed with Lock-tite. Heavy duty, metal backed handlebar brush guards. Big fuel tank (this shot was along the Pacific coast a LONG way from anywhere). Compression ratio of the motor matched to expected local fuel. Key bolts, plugs & connectors drilled & safety wired. Garmin V GPS. No sat phone because I was riding with some other guys who had one. No EPIRB, but I wouldn't go out again to remote areas without one. Medical air evacutation information in my billfold - and my riding buddies knew where to find all my medial insurance info (the danger in Baja is not getting killed, it's getting seriously hurt with no way to get to medical care quickly). The chest protector pack held my camera, batteries and memory cards. The backpack was 98% full of toys for the kids at an orphanage that we support down there plus some emergency food, space blanket, the camelback system built into it for water, and desert survival info - when you are riding in desert areas, know how to survive in the desert.

Sorry, this is getting way off topic. I'll stop now.

Doug

 

[goodtimes]

It's not too far off topic....and you have touched on a few things that probably don't cross many of our minds (like spare bolts, adding loc-tite to everything, etc). I do the same sort of thing on my jeep (which does the whole rock crawling thing), but honestly havent even given it any thought with respect to a bike (a not to distant addition to my garage).

 

[VikingVince]

Doug...thanks for the additional tips on protection as well as the pics...it's good to see as well as hear. Actually, using roller blade pads for knee protection had occured to me...but then I heard this little voice inside saying "no that's dorky"...lol...so, thanks for reinforcing the safety aspects:bowdown:

 

[dhackney]

Some things I forgot in the Baja shot:
- I'm also wearing riding shorts with integrated padding
- The pants have integrated pads

Notice a theme here?

If you are going to get out there where the interesting stuff is on a bike you are definately going to become one with the dirt, rocks and cactus sooner or later. More protection is good.

On our long distance overseas expeditions the most important thing is finding well padded gear that is super comfortable, vents well, very adaptable for changing weather conditions, rugged and waterproof.

Be wary of anything that requires you to put on additional things for rain, i.e. take off your jacket to put on a waterproof lining. Think about what you put in your jacket pockets for a minute. Now rehearse a sudden rainstorm in an open area. Keep in mind that we have ridden for THOUSANDS of miles without seeing an overpass. Now slow down and repeat the section of the mental video showing you standing in the rain with your non-waterproof jacket off, putting on your now wet waterproof liner over your now soaking body and then adding the now completely soaked non-waterproof outer jacket, including all of the completely waterlogged items you put into the pockets of said non-waterproof outer jacket. I watched my wife go through this dance for a month with a jacket system she used for just that trip. Thank god she had picked it out herself. She went GoreTex when we got home.

For straight up domestic street riding, especially on a sport bike, get a spine protector and wear it.

Another very, very important safety item is warmth. For expedition work, get heated grips and a heated seat. We also carry electrically heated fleece jackets. Cold will really kill you, but you'll never see it on the accident report or in the obit "cause of death" field. Cold slowly robs you of your judgement and reaction time. Stay warm to stay alive.

If you have any doubts about any of this protective gear ranting and raving, attend any motorcycling competition event, desert, MX, SX, dirt, flat track or road race for a day and while you are there walk through the paddock. Check out the post-crash riding gear, especially the leathers of the road racers.

 

[Scott Brady]

I need to take your comments to heart. I often ride with just a helmet and gloves.

And sometimes even without that...

Yes, stupid... I will start adding to my safety gear, starting with good boots and pants.

 

[dhackney]

Scott,

Check the sale racks for last year's designs. You can buy top quality off-road gear for huge discounts if you are not intersted in having the current year's graphics & colors. The place it's hardest to find big discounts is with boots, but it can be done.

We've found the Italian manufactured boots to be instantly comfortable with very little break-in required. We've currently got Alpinestars for Steph and MSR (made by Alpinestar) for me. Again, if you are willing to buy last year's design/model you can save a lot of bucks.

The non-cotton jerseys work better for the heat. Cotton takes forever to dry out and is really clammy when wet and cold.

If you've got old dirt bike gear that doesn't fit or you aren't using there's a non-profit program that puts inner city kids on dirt bikes that is always looking for donations of usable gear. That's where all of our dirt gear is going before we take off.

Doug