[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by derek

I should have been a little more specific sorry. My budget is max 20-25k for a pair of these communicators. Damn these little things are expensive! Thanks red liner. Anything specific to my budget perhaps?

Maybe the cheaper cardos? They have a large lineup to suit many pockets.

Else its chinese sets.

[ach1lles]

Hey guys. Gear virgin here. Looking to pick up a helmet, a jacket, gloves, knee pads, a cellphone mount, and anything else necessary for a first time rider. Key limitation: not knowing what to look for and what makes gear "good", what kind of fit, level of protection etc.
Key requirement: protection (duh)

Looking to pick up stuff online and from Delhi. All pointers appreciated.

Please advise on:
What all to pick up
How to find the optimum things (fit, quality, protection, weather suitability etc.)
Where to find them

Not really limited by cost, at least, I don't expect to be, but also don't want to spend exorbitantly.

Please chime in. Thanks.

[roy_libran]

Originally Posted by ach1lles

Hey guys. Gear virgin here. Looking to pick up a helmet, a jacket, gloves, knee pads, a cellphone mount, and anything else necessary for a first time rider. ............
Please advise on:
What all to pick up
How to find the optimum things (fit, quality, protection, weather suitability etc.)
Where to find them

First things first, what will you be riding and what kind of riding use cases you would be likely to do?

[ach1lles]

Originally Posted by roy_libran

First things first, what will you be riding and what kind of riding use cases you would be likely to do?

What will I be riding? Not sure yet. I have test rides lined up.

Use case: Mostly anything and everything to start with. Not sure about this either.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by ach1lles

What will I be riding? Not sure yet. I have test rides lined up.

Use case: Mostly anything and everything to start with. Not sure about this either.

Track riding is very different from dirt riding. Clothing is not interchangeable.

What do you want to do?
Street and road tour?
Dirt?
Track?
Combination? What combination?

What bikes have you shortlisted? List them here.

[roy_libran]

Originally Posted by ach1lles

What will I be riding? Not sure yet. I have test rides lined up.

Use case: Mostly anything and everything to start with. Not sure about this either.

Please give due to consideration to the below quoted post. I suggest that you first decide on at least the kind of motorcycle you are looking to ride and that will give us a starting point on the gear recommendations.

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Track riding is very different from dirt riding. Clothing is not interchangeable.

What do you want to do?
Street and road tour?
Dirt?
Track?
Combination? What combination?

What bikes have you shortlisted? List them here.

[ach1lles]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Track riding is very different from dirt riding. Clothing is not interchangeable.

What do you want to do?
Street and road tour?
Dirt?
Track?
Combination? What combination?

What bikes have you shortlisted? List them here.

Street and road tour. Anything on the roads for now.

Originally Posted by roy_libran

first decide on at least the kind of motorcycle you are looking to ride

But I need gear to test ride bikes properly to see which kind I like the best

Here's my shortlist:
Street Triple R
CBR650R
Ninja 400
RE Continental 650

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by ach1lles

Street and road tour. Anything on the roads for now.



But I need gear to test ride bikes properly to see which kind I like the best

Here's my shortlist:
Street Triple R
CBR650R
Ninja 400
RE Continental 650

I think you will buy the striple. The rest dont even stand a chance.

Since you are in Mumbai, i suggest you first go do a trial of jackets, pants, gloves, and boots. Helmet too. Head to lazy ass bikers, they have a big shop and retail some impressively good brands. Talk to the owner there, tell him you need gear to street and road tour in a street triple. Try everything across all budgets, keep an open mind and understand how different gear across different price points feel on the skin.

Some pointers:
- stick to mesh jacket and pants.
- good boots are imperative after a good helmet
- measure your head and try and stick to the manufacturer recommended size for your head. DO NOT go by gut feel in the shop alone. Helmets will break in.

Once you have had a try on and if you have further questions, come back and write out your dilemma. Then folks here will be better placed to help advice you.

I would never advice online purchases for your first set of gear. Until you get a good and fair understanding of brands and how they fit you, stay away from online purchases for the time being.

Motorcycle gear purchase is like women doing heels. Its a lifelong affair.

[ach1lles]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

I think you will buy the striple. The rest dont even stand a chance.

Honestly Red Liner, there wouldn't even be a list but for the teeny fact that I don't know how to ride a motorcycle.

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Since you are in Mumbai..

Thanks for this, any similar store in Delhi? Won't be in Mumbai for some time.

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Once you have had a try on and if you have further questions, come back and write out your dilemma. Then folks here will be better placed to help advice you.

Counting on it

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Motorcycle gear purchase is like women doing heels. Its a lifelong affair.

To remember, I hope.

[Avinash_R]

At the risk of hijacking ach1lles questions, I have the same dilemma though in terms of gear. Am getting a Ninja 650 and would be using it for weekend rides, very little off-roading what with the gc issue. Occasionally I'll be riding it in the city but mostly weekend rides.

I have shortlisted Rynox Evo and Solace Rival Urban Jacket L2. Any other suggestions welcome. Have a budget of 40k for jacket, pant, gloves and boots. Protection against rain would be helpful but mostly will be riding in hot conditions.

[AJ739]

Originally Posted by Avinash_R

I have shortlisted Rynox Evo and Solace Rival Urban Jacket L2. Any other suggestions welcome. Have a budget of 40k for jacket, pant, gloves and boots. Protection against rain would be helpful but mostly will be riding in hot conditions.

Hi Avinash,

For Jacket:
With Rynox Storm Evo jacket, Both the rain and winter liners are don internally (Main Jacket - Rain Liner - Winter Liner). For riding in rains, you'll have to invest in a rain jacket separately.

With Solace, the construction flow is sorted. (Rain Liner - Main Jacket - Winter Liner) and Solace is launching a new Level 2 jacket on the lines of Rival Urban in this week so keep an eye on it too.

The above jackets are on the lines of a sport jacket.

For Touring jackets, you may consider the Rynox Stealth Evo and Solace Furious V2.

For Pant:
I'd suggest you go for Solace Coolpro V2.0 Mesh Pant, as they're CE Level2 certified with Sas-tec protectors for the hip and knees. Plus there are velcro straps above and below the knee to adjust the armour placement on your knee.
IMO, this offers better safety and comfort.

Regards
AJ739

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by ach1lles

Thanks for this, any similar store in Delhi? Won't be in Mumbai for some time.

Delhi has High Note Performance. They deal in Rev'it and Oxford riding gears.

Dream Sporting Gear [DSG] has a store too somewhere in NCR, you may search and I am sure, there may be other numerous shops dealing in riding gears.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by ach1lles

Honestly Red Liner, there wouldn't even be a list but for the teeny fact that I don't know how to ride a motorcycle.

Originally Posted by ach1lles

Here's my shortlist:
Street Triple R
CBR650R
Ninja 400
RE Continental 650

I really dont want to be that guy who has to say it, but I do believe it needs to be said, these are all highly potent motorcycles that can get you in a world of trouble as a completely new rider, especially on our dangerous Indian streets. My honest suggestion is to first get comfortable of lower capacity motorcycle and then in some time upgrade to a bigger A2 level or even bigger motorcycles.

Do seriously consider scaling down your motorcycling choices and then we can help you decide on what gear to buy for what motorcycle usage you have.

Originally Posted by Avinash_R

At the risk of hijacking ach1lles questions, I have the same dilemma though in terms of gear. Am getting a Ninja 650 and would be using it for weekend rides, very little off-roading what with the gc issue. Occasionally I'll be riding it in the city but mostly weekend rides.

I have shortlisted Rynox Evo and Solace Rival Urban Jacket L2. Any other suggestions welcome. Have a budget of 40k for jacket, pant, gloves and boots. Protection against rain would be helpful but mostly will be riding in hot conditions.

A touring jacket will likely be a better option for you since you be doing more of weekend rides. Keep the Rynox Stealth Evo also on your option list. For gloves and boots, think about what type of gear you want. Do you want half gauntlet or full gauntlet gloves? Do you want ankle length boots or proper full length boots? As you keep exploring the different options, your budget might start becoming a constraint

Just my rough list that stretches your budget cap
- Jacket : Rynox Stealth Evo (Rs 12K) or Storm Evo (Rs 10K)
- Pants : Rynox Stealth Evo (Rs 8K)
- Boots : A* SMX 1R (Rs 18K) or SMX6 V2 (Rs 23K)
- Gloves : Viaterra Grid (Rs 5K)

[Veelubai]

Originally Posted by derek

I should have been a little more specific sorry. My budget is max 20-25k for a pair of these communicators. Damn these little things are expensive! Thanks red liner. Anything specific to my budget perhaps?

I have been using sena Smh5 for the past 4 years. A sena 10c for the past 6 months and I got a sena 10c pro last month. For your use, I'd blindly suggest the no nonsense smh5 as a pair - just charge once in a while and ride on. Speaker quality isn't superb but gets the job done. Don't get fooled by the range of these devices as they are connected only as long you are in field of vision and in bluetooth models (read Non - Mesh communicators) it's a pain to connect. The only perfect communication will be rider to pillion and for that smh5 is the best option. Going up to smh10 or sena 20s isn't going to get you much except marginally better audio clarity. But still I'd suggest you to get a used sena 30k from olx (there are a couple available now for around 14 or 15000 range) , new one is 24k (maybe some shops will give 2 or 3k discount). So that way you can get a premium device in case you want good audio quality, maybe few more software bugs . Keep in mind the mesh communication of sena 30k works only with other sena 30K or 50S/50R, to all other devices including a cardo mesh device - it will connect via bluetooth only, negating any advantage you got with buying a mesh device in the first place. So if you have a really close riding buddy with sena 30k, buy it.
Otherwise just buy a dual pack of smh5 - will do your job.

Haven't discussed about Chinese sets but they do work very fine as my friend is using them for long time. If you are comfortable with the brand image - then you can save money by buying them too
Premium cardos don't come into the budget when buying a pair so have avoided a discussion on that.
Base model cardos I don't have any experience nor do I know someone who has them, so no comments.

I can even help you get brand new sena or cardo at a slightly lower price as my dealer is pretty good with pricing. Please send a DM.

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Maybe the cheaper cardos? They have a large lineup to suit many pockets.

Else its chinese sets.

Most of the online reviews praising cardo are comparing flagship models only. Packtalk bold vs 30k or 50 series. Also jbl speakers by cardo are available only from freecom 4 and above, which are above the budget criteria here. I recently made a friend buy packtalk slim so I prefer cardo over sena in the premium range. But below that IMHO the sena models suit him fine.

[Avinash_R]

touring jacket will likely be a better option for you since you be doing more of weekend rides. Keep the Rynox Stealth Evo also on your option list. For gloves and boots, think about what type of gear you want. Do you want half gauntlet or full gauntlet gloves? Do you want ankle length boots or proper full length boots? As you keep exploring the different options, your budget might start becoming a constraint

Just my rough list that stretches your budget cap
- Jacket : Rynox Stealth Evo (Rs 12K) or Storm Evo (Rs 10K)
- Pants : Rynox Stealth Evo (Rs 8K)
- Boots : A* SMX 1R (Rs 18K) or SMX6 V2 (Rs 23K)
- Gloves : Viaterra Grid (Rs 5K)

You are killing my budget but that is anyday better than falling off the motorcycle while wearing inadequate gear. There's always emis to soften the blow

I definitely plan also to sign up for the superbike riding schools so that I am ready to upgrade to the litre class a few years down the line.

Safety is my first priority having busted my knee couple of back while not wearing gear on a regular city ride. Among Rynox and solace, which is the better brand? Both offer same level of protection.. Solace has some deals going on. Am yet to try them, will be visiting Orion this weekend to try out the stuff.