South West Bikers | Motorcycle Forum

gravel rash hurts like merry hell and takes ages to heal and having it initially cleaned is like being tortured , years ago a simple low side at real slow speed on an RD350 left me on crutches for weeks even though I broke nothing, I was wearing trainers and my foot got trapped under the bike which wore the skin on my ankle and side of the foot back to the bone, I also picked up bad gravel rash on my hip (which made it painfull to sit or lie down for a good while). If I had been wearing boots and a set of leathers I would have just got up and walked away probably completely unmarked.

If you dont think thats an acceptable risk or something your prepared to put yourself through dont ever step outside the door with out full gear on thats for sure.

but choice is something I like having and something people deserve in what is an ever increasing nanny state (I do ride in leathers 90% of the time and the amount of time I ride in just jeans and trainers reduced drastically after an incident when my son got knocked over and I was the guy on the other side fence going through the worry of whether someone close to me would be ok. It really puts things in perspective ).

keep your bike upright dont worry about other people, everyones perception of acceptable risk is different. hell to a lot of people bikes are inherently dangerous and riding them with gear or without is an irrellevance - for our own safety and to save ourselves from ourselves they would gladly have it that bikes should be banned completetely.

Great comments as always boys and yes sorry Jason You were the the one

No offence though

I guess at the end of the day its freedom of choice.

1 We all choose to ride !

2 Some choose to ride fast !

3 Some choose to ride with lack of protection !

All 3 options are down to you the rider





But if your caught out by some stupid cage idiot, not looking, pulling out, just in a world of thier own twit then the 3rd option if reversed could help prevent some serious injury and the NHS alot time and money waisting scrubbing gravel out your a*se

We are all taking risks but sorry chaps i just don't understand why these idiots are pushing thier luck.

20mph fall and slide along tarmac in shorts and t- shirt is in its self is enough to scare me.

I will say they no longer come at you with a brush to clean the grit out. These days they use a Hydrating cream normally used for burns called Flamizine. It's nuetral so doesn't hurt and you can see the grit floating to the top. Wonderful stuff. But not an excuse to not protect yourself if you so choose.

im one of the "lucky" ones that did have a spill over christmas, a slow lowside but, my foot got trapped under the bike when we slid then i was thrusted backwards into a curb, back of head/spine taking a beating

the fact that i wear full protective gear even when going 4 miles to work (including extra back protector) saved me from alot of pain and uncomfort imho

seeing as before the incident couple times a week would be jeans and jacket trips for convenience, i never mount the beast without full gear else i wouldnt of (luckily imho) walked away with just a bruised hip and palm/wrist

but like has been said, its up to everyone what risk they want to take and i try to keep my opinion to myself
, trying not to impose on other people, they wont get any sympathy from me when they get taught the same lesson i did but come off alot worse...

Blimey wrote:Great comments as always boys and yes sorry Jason You were the the one

I knew I was - you just know I cant resist gear nazi threads

I don't want to get on my high horse or anything but i can't stand it when bikers go out in shorts, t-shirt etc and I have a big thing about gloves too. The gear is there for reason and I know that some feel it's there choice, there body etc but I bet they don't feel so clever when they do come off! I'm not trying to preach or make any enemies but it really is a stupid thing to do.

Totally agree Jaye. It is just sheer stupidity not wearing the right stuff to go out on. Having been off 3 or 4 times and always wearing leathers top and bottom I have managed to avoid gravel rash completely. And I must say that all these idiot blokes who have their' birds on the back with hipster jeans and "pretty" shoes and fashion leather jackets are totally nuts. How attractive do you think she'll be when she's permanently scarred from head to toe? Do you think she'll thank you for it?

I know I'm riling a lot of people out there but if just one of you really thinks about it and starts to take safe riding seriously then job done.

admin can we have a yawn face pls

AbWill wrote:And I must say that all these idiot blokes who have their' birds on the back with hipster jeans and "pretty" shoes and fashion leather jackets are totally nuts. How attractive do you think she'll be when she's permanently scarred from head to toe? Do you think she'll thank you for it?

Don't they choose to get on?

some do and some dont

i remmeber a few years ago in a newquay a guy on a new zx6 with him and his missing both wearing the new arai edwards rep at 500 sheets each. he was only wearing speedos and flipflops and all she had on was a bikini,we loved looking at it but if the car that tried to pull out in front of him had carried on no-one would ever have looked at her again, if she'd survived
dont see the point in myself,went out once in crops and a tshirt,ad to nip to gt's late one saturday afternoon, its only a mile and half round trip but i felt so nervous and vulnerable i'd never do it again
each to their own i guess

I figure wear what you like, especially if it annoys us 'gear nazis', after you're not going to fall off are you?

No, of course not. Neither is Valentino Rossi, or Jorge Lorenzo etc, but then, you're probably a better rider than them. I expect the first thing that runs through your mind when some blind old git pulls out of a visually obscured junction and slams into your bike as you're riding along in your jeans and a t-shirt will be "well at least I've excercised my right to wear what I like and upset the gear nazis".

Or will it be "AAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH SSSSSHHH******TTTTTTTT, I wish I wore my leathers" Perhaps you can think about that one as you lay there in hopsital on fire from your gravel rash.

But hey, it's YOUR choice right? Who the hell are we to criticise and preach about what you should wear. I just hope you never have to test your skins abrasion resistance against tarmac. Been there, done it, still got the scars.

Then the question becomes where do you draw the line? ankle boots, jeans, heavy canvas jacket and gloves? Leather trousers, army type boots and a cordura jacket? specific bike boots, leather trousers, leather jacket? Only equipment with full CE certification (I think that rules out even kit like Dainese )?

It's all very well to say shorts and flip-flops are unacceptable, but the minute you say "mustn't" it has to be followed by a "must" ........ and before you know it we will all have to shell out £1000+ for a leather suit, plus helmet, boots gloves .......

I rarely bother putting on leather trousers to ride to work (rarely ) or to pop into town, when I tend to ride more gently giving me more time to note other traffic around. I have only ever ridden in shorts/T-shirt once, from the camp-site to the beach in France, felt extremely vulnerable, and have never done it since - but thats my choice and opinion ...... spend much time in France and you note that in summer even the Gendarmes on the motorways ride in just shirt sleeves!

Bladerunner wrote: But hey, it's YOUR choice right? Who the hell are we to criticise and preach about what you should wear. I just hope you never have to test your skins abrasion resistance against tarmac...

at last, someone's grasped the point!! who the hell indeed.

criticising and disapproving may be fair enough - people can disapprove and grumble into their horlicks all they like. but when it comes to feeling the need to tell people what they should or shouldn't be wearing - why? do they think that people are too stupid to realise the risks, or just not responsible enough to make that decision for themselves?? talk about patronising and self-righteous. if someone wants to risk ending up with an arse that looks like a surface picture of mars then hey, how is it anyone else's business but theirs?

i rarely go out in less than a jacket, para boots and summer gloves. i only wear leather trousers if I'm out on a longer or faster ride. i've come off in thin trousers before and know exactly whats going to happen again if it goes tits up, whether its through my own fault or anyone elses.

do the people who feel the need to tell people what they should be wearing also feel the urge to advise fast road riders, stunters, or maybe even drinkers or smokers how much risk they are putting themselves at?

people's concern for everyone else's safety is obvious and well meant, but ffs just worry about paddling your own canoe, people

Its all a matter of choice. By the time you are old enough to get a licence of any sort for a bike then you are old enough to make choices and decisions.

I always wear leathers on the bike cos its my choice and I've made that choice cos I've fallen off a few times and know that the right gear helps. When I was younger I thought jeans and a leather jacket were the best protection.

Some of us will be lucky and some of us wont. In my opinion its just natures way of cleaning the gene pool.

If it was my son then he would not be out in non protective gear.

last summer in france i didn't wear my leather trousers (still boots, gloves etc) simply because it was so hot as i figured the risk of deydration was probably more likely than an accident

I would say jacket, gloves and lid is the minimum. Trousers and boots are optional, depending on how much you like walking.

Im really split on this issue, i totally agree people should have the option to choose. But at the same time i think its moronic to choose not to. Meh im confused.


hey, well at least he got to make the choice.