Getting into Your Pants

Getting into Your Pants

Author: Judy Mecham

Part 2 of a 3-part series on motorcycle apparel

From our September, 2007 Newsletter.

Jeans, especially heavy ones, do offer some protection in a crash. They are substantially better than light slacks and a world ahead of shorts. They may also offer a good level of comfort, protecting your legs from wind and sun and allowing some air to flow over your skin. The only way you are going to get better wind flow with protection is by wearing mesh pants over shorts.

Since 1996 the folks at Fast Company continue to create and refine Draggin’ Jeans products to make motorcycling safer, they use tests from the lab and the real world to ensure that they are doing their best to prevent road rash. They’ve added more Kevlar® to entirely wrap the knee area in the looser fit patterns to ensure the safety should that loose leg twist in a spill. At a time when many companies are cheapening their manufacturing processes to be more price competitive, they continue to use heavyweight denim so that the Draggin’ Jeans will be a lasting investment in safety.

If you are buying pants for protecting your lower region, consider the points made in Part I of this series about heavy leather and the need for cuff closures that won’t ride up. I am amazed at how often I see people riding in chaps or pants made from fashion-weight leather in hot weather. You get all the lack of cooling with almost none of the protection of serious leather. Chaps that leave your glutes uncovered also make me scratch my head, since most falls leave you with third-degree monkey butt not to mention road rash.

Instead of chaps, look for overpants with full-length zippers, which make them at least as easy to put on as chaps and provide significantly more protection than open-butt chaps. With chaps, everything that is the first to hit the pavement is exposed.

Decide how you expect to wear the pants before you go shopping. Will they be worn full-time on the days you ride, and have only underwear beneath? Will you put them on and take them off during the day and wear them over jeans? If so, what will you have in your jeans pockets? Take the pocket contents along when trying on overpants. Will you be able to reach things in your pockets? If not, where will you put wallet, keys, etc.? (riding with things is your pocket is another article within itself) Make sure the pants are easy to get on and off if they are to donned and doffed at roadside and that they will roll up into some storable form to strap to or tuck away on your bike. Armor will make this harder, but leaving it out will make falls harder.

Full Coverage

Of course, the best protection comes from a one-piece riding suit. The epitome of street protection and motorcycling functionality is a one-piece textile suit. They are made from heavy materials that provide protection from the elements and in a crash. Armor panels provide some protection from impacts. There are plenty of reports of people who have crashed at speeds over 100 mph and come to rest with their bodies and suits intact. A one-piece suit is almost as easy to don as a jacket—just step into one leg, zip up the main zipper and the other leg.

Buying Boots

Unless you are buying boots with some armor over the anklebones, you probably aren’t getting any special protection with motorcycle-specific boots. However, one of the many waterproof boots can extend your comfort in the rain, and a motorcycle boot’s sole design can improve your riding experience in other ways. Most of all, the sole should provide good traction when you plant it in oil or sand at a stop, to prevent you from tipping over. This is a big problem with cowboy boots on motorcycles; with their smooth soles, they desert you when you need traction on a slick surface. A deep rubber sole can also absorb some vibration. Some motorcycle boots now offer venting, which you might also get with a lace-up style boot.

It’s a good idea to have your motorcycle available while shopping for boots. That’s because the boot should work with your foot controls. Boots with a vertical face on the fronts of their heel blocks can limit your options in terms of foot position on footpegs. A ramped heel block may allow you to reach the brake and shift levers more easily. Short-legged riders may find that boots with thick soles (not tall heels) can help them to plant their feet more securely at a stop. (Some also have thicker soles added.) There is some research that indicates that heavier boots, by increasing the pendulum effect of the foot on your leg, may increase the likelihood of leg fractures in an accident.

I have flat feet, and finding boots that are comfortable to walk in can be a challenge, but they are out there with the other features I want — easy entry combined with secure fit so they don’t fling off in a crash, waterproofing, enough flexibilty to shift and brake, and not too much bulk.

Velvet Fist in the Iron Glove

After a helmet, a solid pair of gloves is the most important protection you can wear while riding. I have heard too many tales of riders who have ground all or part of a finger or thumb off in a crash. A solid glove can at least slow this down.

The best way to have a glove for every situation is to have several sets of gloves. I think the minimum for a serious rider is three sets—a light vented pair for summer, a middleweight pair for in-between weather and a heavy insulated pair for cold rides. I have a box of gloves in the closet, perhaps 15 pairs, and almost every set gets used at some point during the year. Functional motorcycle gear can be fashionable, but it’s harder to make fashion work on a motorcycle.

Features all motorcycling gloves should have in common are substantial materials, rugged construction, a solid retention system and comfort. For lighter gloves, deerskin or goatskin is a supple and comfortable yet tough material that resists abrasion. Look for seams sewn with tough thread material (turning the gloves inside out will make this easier to examine) and a retention system that holds the glove firmly in place once it’s tightened (so that it is not flung off in a crash). If a glove is initially stiff, it will probably soften up and conform to your hand with wear. Gloves that bunch up in the palms will soon become a problem when wrapped around a handlebar. Gloves that are pre-curved—that is, shaped as if they were beginning to grab the grip—are less likely to build up in the palm.

My preference for summer gloves is a perforated solid-leather type. The part-fabric types don’t seem strong enough to stay together reliably in a crash. These days you can also find gloves with armor and wind-catching vents from several makers. Fingerless gloves are little better than no gloves at all. If you have seen the remains of hands of people who have endured crashes in fingerless gloves or just the sun- and windburn on riders who have used them on long rides, you’ll leave them in your weight room. They have no place on motorcycles.

Some middleweight gloves are waterproof, which is a worthwhile feature. As with heavier winter gloves, the extra material shouldn’t make the gloves too stiff or bulk up the palm areas.

Added Warmth

If you want the ultimate in warmth for your hands, consider electric gloves. However, don’t buy the gloves until you have the electric vest. All the brands of electric vests that we have tried make riding in cold weather much more comfortable, and by warming your vital organs they also get your extremities warmer. If cold impairs your riding pleasure or control, an electric vest can raise your temperature dramatically and transform an unpleasant experience back into riding fun.