[TheVaas]

Originally Posted by Mu009

2. Alpinestars Toucan GTX
A top choice as far as ADV boots go from what I understand, but I can't seem to find someone with them in stock. Definitely less protective than the Tech 7s, but that is expected with the comfort on offer. I actually like the look of the Corozals more, but since the Toucans are the better boot, I would rather spring for them.

You can speak to Triumph showrooms (either Pune, Mumbai or BLR since you're travelling there) for their Triumph x Alpinestar range of boots. Triumph Mumbai had a few Toucan GTX and also the Corozals in stock - and some in discount as well.

[Mu009]

Originally Posted by TheVaas

You can speak to Triumph showrooms (either Pune, Mumbai or BLR since you're travelling there) for their Triumph x Alpinestar range of boots. Triumph Mumbai had a few Toucan GTX and also the Corozals in stock - and some in discount as well.

Thanks for reminding me! I had seen that mentioned here somewhere, some time back, but hadn't come across it again in my recent dive down the rabbit hole. IIRC the branding was a touch obnoxious, which is a downer.

However the bigger issue with this approach would be that since I "need" the boots before I start from here, I'd have to trust buying sight unseen from Triumph's infamous dealer network.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by Mu009

Something of an urgent ADV boots query (only via the idiotic lens of first world problems).

Thanks in advance,
Cheers!

If you have the money and the stomach for the discomfort of the tech 7 drystar, that is the boot you should get plain and simple. It is the closest to a dirt boot and is less adventure boot than the rest. Read that as dirt boot = less comfy more protection, and adv boot = more comfy less protection. Choose your poison. Ankles can break in any boot but the chances of it happening in a dirt oriented boot are far far less.

[Mu009]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

If you have the money and the stomach for the discomfort of the tech 7 drystar, that is the boot you should get plain and simple. It is the closest to a dirt boot and is less adventure boot than the rest. Read that as dirt boot = less comfy more protection, and adv boot = more comfy less protection. Choose your poison. Ankles can break in any boot but the chances of it happening in a dirt oriented boot are far far less.

I remember the experience you shared on what I think was the off-road riding queries/tips thread.

The thing is, I already "know" this. Experienced riders invariably say ADV boots are too little protection even for "light off-road". I've seen those coming from touring boots say the Toucans are a fortress, but someone coming from more serious boots will say "they have no ankle protection" and are at best a touring boot.

Am leaning heavily towards Tech 7s to begin with. I just need to hear that they aren't an overkill for the intended use case, and someone to outright push me in their direction. The best explainer I found was from an older gent focused on dirt riding (via YouTube). He had to raise his lever up a bit (not an option on my bike if I'm not mistaken). That's what's really holding me back. Off-bike comfort can be worked around, and on-bike comfort seems fine if you have the requisite space between footpeg and shift lever.

Another aspect is that I tend to ignore discomfort to the point of serious injury - have a tendency to power through pain etc - have a number of chronic musculoskeletal injuries to show for it. So I'm a little worried about going all in on the Tech 7s, only to find that I have fantastic, debilitating shoe bites one evening in the middle of a trip.

Also, any idea about LRL Motors or Orion? Looking for ethical customer service in the rare case of a damage issue, and hassle-free size exchange (willing to pay for it).

P.S: At the rate the BRO is going, there'll be little use for ADVs an ADV boots in the mountains up north soon

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by Mu009

I remember the experience you shared on what I think was the off-road riding queries/tips thread.

The thing is, I already "know" this. Experienced riders invariably say ADV boots are too little protection even for "light off-road". I've seen those coming from touring boots say the Toucans are a fortress, but someone coming from more serious boots will say "they have no ankle protection" and are at best a touring boot.

Am leaning heavily towards Tech 7s to begin with. I just need to hear that they aren't an overkill for the intended use case, and someone to outright push me in their direction. The best explainer I found was from an older gent focused on dirt riding (via YouTube). He had to raise his lever up a bit (not an option on my bike if I'm not mistaken). That's what's really holding me back. Off-bike comfort can be worked around, and on-bike comfort seems fine if you have the requisite space between footpeg and shift lever.

Another aspect is that I tend to ignore discomfort to the point of serious injury - have a tendency to power through pain etc - have a number of chronic musculoskeletal injuries to show for it. So I'm a little worried about going all in on the Tech 7s, only to find that I have fantastic, debilitating shoe bites one evening in the middle of a trip.

Also, any idea about LRL Motors or Orion? Looking for ethical customer service in the rare case of a damage issue, and hassle-free size exchange (willing to pay for it).

P.S: At the rate the BRO is going, there'll be little use for ADVs an ADV boots in the mountains up north soon

1. If you cannot raise the shift lever up, no dirt oriented boot will work, unless you modify your approach to using the side of the toe end of the boot to shift.

2. Discomfort wearing the boots is a question only you can answer yourself.

3. Please also factor in the weight of the boots itself. Dirt oriented boots are more plastic and weigh a hell of a ton more than adv boots. They are heavy enough for me to feel even when riding, I have weak knees so any extra weight is not good.

4. Everything comes to feel when you wear the boots. You have to get out there and try them all before making a choice. Don’t try to order these online etc. go to the shop and try them all out. Orion are good in terms of stock at the shop to try on. Take your own riding socks.

5. If your shift lever does not adjust you simply have to buy an adv boot with the shortest toe box (vertical height) so that your boots can fit under the lever.

[Mu009]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

1. If you cannot...
[snip]
...5. If your shift lever does not adjust you simply have to buy an adv boot with the shortest toe box (vertical height) so that your boots can fit under the lever.

Thanks. That's really crisp and clear

1. I was already prepared for the shifting style change since I found a very good demonstration of the space and movement limitations online. And since that's kind of how I shift standing up (which I do everytime I take the bike out because the first 200m outside my house is a standing up section) - I don't anticipate a problem.

2. Completely get that.

3. While I haven't experienced boots that heavy, I had looked into the relative weights. I don't expect a problem since my knees are pretty well maintained.

4. Therein lies the problem. A return flight to Bangalore or Kochi will cost North of 20k. But LRL seem to have a fair return policy. Will wait and hope someone from the community can provide a testimonial. Have a friend in Kochi who should be able to help out.

5. Best point of all. Will clarify the possibility of shift lever repositioning with the service centre + look up the toe box dimensions now.

[neith]

Originally Posted by Mu009

Thanks. That's really crisp and clear

1. I was already prepa...
...
5. Best point of all. Will clarify the possibility of shift lever repositioning with the service centre + look up the toe box dimensions now.

I have used the TCX from what you have listed. They provide good feedback and are more flexible compared to my Gaerne GX1, which I have used on both street and ADVs.

I can say the vertical height on the toe box is not large enough to cause any discomfort. They are also light compared to MX boots.

[Mu009]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

If you cannot raise the shift lever up, no dirt oriented boot will work

Just remembered I could Google this to check. Found out that it's indeed possible and also absurdly easy

P.S - In case it got buried in my verbosity, the bike in question is a RE GT650. But it's used by a bull-headed moron like a road-biased ADV instead of the faux Cafe Racer it is.

[Axe77]

@MU009:

There’s really no easy answer to this predicament. I’d be quite worried on plonking on an expensive unknown pair of boots without “trying and buying”. But then I can’t even buy regular office shoes / sneakers / running shoes without trying them on first. Unless I’m operating with a previously used brand / model.

The other aspect is that some of these are pretty hard core ADV boots. The more you edge towards the enduro end of the curve, the stiffer they get. I’m just not sure how a tall ADV styled stiff boot will feel when using for extended periods on a cafe racer styled bike.

Are you sure you don’t want to shift your consideration set towards boots that are designed for naked / faired bikes? I get it that the kind of riding you want to do may be up in the mountains but I’m concerned whether these boots (specially without trying on) could be uncomfortable on a cafe racer style bike.

Would help for others to weigh in on this aspect too perhaps.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

These shoes actually look good. Anyone has got these and any feedback to share? I read somewhere, or maybe heard in one of the Motorinc podcasts that TVS makes good gear but don't market it enough.

A friend of mine was wearing the TVS Asphalt jacket on a recent ride. I have a quick 2 minute dekho. The jacket is quite light, despite the level 2 armour. The build quality looks much better than the fly by night Indian gear manufacturers that pop up out of nowhere. Colour me impressed.

Originally Posted by iguana

2. Jacket - have shortlisted - RE Nirvik and Rynox stealth evo 3. Which one would you recommend?

Go for the Royal Enfield Nirvik. Its leagues ahead of the Rynox jacket. A few TBHPian and non-TBHPian friends of mine have bought the Nirvik and only have great feedback on the product.

Originally Posted by Mu009

To finally come to the point - my conundrum surrounds availability and sourcing in addition to product choice itself. In terms of my use case, while I have only just restarted motorcycling, with my truck in just the last 5 years, I have done multiple trips of each Ladakh, Spiti, Kashmir, Gujarat and Rajasthan + 1 trip to the Western Ghats and down south (BLR/Nagerhole/Munnar). The usage of the bike is expected to be along similar lines, just a little less frequent. So far, with only a single outstation trip (Indore 550km away), I have put 8k kms on my bike in 1 year.

Even in city, I somewhat over-frequently stand up on the pegs for potholes, bad roads and speed breakers - being spoilt by my truck + being generally impatient + squats being a regular workout choice for me. In fact, ever since I moved to alloys on my GT650, I've had to slow down on bad roads since I now have to worry about the alloys. No Enduro/Motocross or tough trail-riding type abuse by any stretch of the imagination, but I have a tendency to be very rough on the stuff I own (while using only, I mean - I am meticulous wrt maintenance and upkeep). So I usally prefer to overbudget for my needs.

Mu009, while you want adv boots, I firmly believe that what you need are boots more suited to the motorcycle that you ride. A cafe racer does not go well with the rugged boots that you are looking at. I will suggest that you choose between sports touring boots and race boots.

With sports touring boots, you gain so much practicality while compromising on some protection. With race boots, you gain so much protection while compromising on some (a lot??) of practicality. I've lived with both and to me, sports touring boots are what I will stick to.

Orion Motors is a very well known name in the riding gear scene. Since 2008, I have picked up a lot riding gear from them (everything from my 1st pair of gloves to a full race suit) and even bought my Yamaha R15 from them in 2009. Today, they are one of the most trusted riding gear dealers in the country. In comparison, LRL is a very new entrant into the motorcycling scene. I know of people buying engine oil and other stuff from their online store. I dont expect you to run into any issues with buying from them, or returning through them.

[Mu009]

Originally Posted by Axe77

@MU009:

There’s really no easy answer to this predicament...
[snip]
...I get it that the kind of riding you want to do may be up in the mountains but I’m concerned whether these boots (specially without trying on) could be uncomfortable on a cafe racer style bike.

Would help for others to weigh in on this aspect too perhaps.

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Mu009, while you want adv boots, I firmly believe that what you need are boots more suited to the motorcycle that you ride. A cafe racer does not go well with the rugged boots that you are looking at.

Thanks guys! This is where your experiences are invaluable. It's easier than ever to build castles in the air in the "online world". Looks like I need to go back to the drawing board.

The trouble of course becomes that it's something of a catch-22. Especially now that the angle of the boots fitting the bike is so much of a big deal. I don't want to ride up to a metro without boots, but I can't get boots without going there.

I've been putting off rides for a long time now, just because of this limitation. And paying ~20k for a return flight just to buy gear seems overkill even for me, even though I'm firmly in the check-out before you try "old school". My other reasons for travel recently haven't included going to a metro somehow - especially frustrating as I crossed Delhi about 15 times between 2019-2021

And just to be clear, this import scenario is absolutely locked-down closed? Is there no wiggle room, via small batch importers, say?
Or are we left with options of only already-on-shore stocks and hand-carry with a friend?

I will suggest that you choose between sports touring boots and race boots.

I will change my paradigm but I'm still worried about whether these will handle standing on the pegs. That's a red line for me - whatever I buy has to withstand standing on pegs.

Also, a very common scenario is that I go out close-by, hit the B-roads and will then suddenly turn down a dirt road that takes my fancy and then do something stupid. I don't remember it's a faux Cafe Racer at that point - just that I have 174 glorious mm of ground clearance. Chance of a low-speed spill with the bike landing on my feet are high. I need that aspect of protection. Will race/sport touring boots still offer that? I certainly don't need even medium-speed trail obstacle impact protection.

Orion Motors is a very well known name in the riding gear scene. Since 2008, I have picked up a lot riding gear from them (everything from my 1st pair of gloves to a full race suit) and even bought my Yamaha R15 from them in 2009. Today, they are one of the most trusted riding gear dealers in the country. In comparison, LRL is a very new entrant into the motorcycling scene. I know of people buying engine oil and other stuff from their online store. I dont expect you to run into any issues with buying from them, or returning through them.

Thanks for sharing. That really helps. Also, any idea about high-note performance?

P.S - While obviously a normal shoe compresses, and ADV boot will compress less and an Enduro boot not at all, the height of the boot I'm using (in the shifter area, including the gear shift protector I have on) is about 7cm. It's a little uncomfortable to get it under, but then I haven't adjusted my shift lever at all. Just curious about the ballpark height of an ADV boot's toe-box.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by Mu009

Thanks



I will change my paradigm but I'm still worried about whether these will handle standing on the pegs. That's a red line for me - whatever I buy has to withstand standing on pegs.

An adv/dirt boot footprint will be so large that half your boot will stick out width wise on your spindly pegs. It does so even on the stock dirt oriented pegs of the 390 adventure. Standing up like this will be a excercise in ballet. However, I have done it on pegs about half inch width and within an hour it became muscle memory. Everything depends on YOU.

For standing on the pegs, your adv boot has to be STIFF. This stiffness loads the weight on the boot rather than your ankle when you stand. A weak touring boot will not be stiff either at the ankle nor at the platform (sole area). Your lower leg will take all the weight of you standing and you will be left sore if you intend to stand a lot.

But I think you get aftermarket adv style pegs now.

I would recommend something middle of the line like the RE tcx full height boots to start with. Or the alpinestars touring versions from Triumph.

[Mu009]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

An adv/dirt boot footprint will be so large that half your boot will stick out width wise on your spindly pegs. It does so even on the stock dirt oriented pegs of the 390 adventure. Standing up like this will be a excercise in ballet. However, I have done it on pegs about half inch width and within an hour it became muscle memory. Everything depends on YOU.

For standing on the pegs, your adv boot has to be STIFF. This stiffness loads the weight on the boot rather than your ankle when you stand. A weak touring boot will not be stiff either at the ankle nor at the platform (sole area). Your lower leg will take all the weight of you standing and you will be left sore if you intend to stand a lot.

But I think you get aftermarket adv style pegs now.

I would recommend something middle of the line like the RE tcx full height boots to start with. Or the alpinestars touring versions from Triumph.

The ballet comment is pure gold

In all seriousness though, since my "day job" revolves around either constant evolution of existing muscle memory or creating completely new, alien neural pathways, changing gear shift habits or standing on spindly pegs is not something I'm worried about one bit. I've been hesitant to admit this, but I have easily upshifted standing up in chappals too. Please don't crucify me, but I have been a moron and gone out to the shops like that a few times (and almost always like that to the swimming pool 2km away). Not without a helmet though. And since the road right outside my house is pretty much a mandatory stand-up and upshift zone... *shrugs*
In fact that's how I can understand your point about a flexible sole being a shambolic choice for riding standing up - I wind up standing on my arches with the rear of my footwear soles drooping like a baboon's backside.

Colour me thoroughly confused. But in my experience, the best advice will initially befuddle and overwhelm you before you can arrive at your best decision.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by Mu009

In fact that's how I can understand your point about a flexible sole being a shambolic choice for riding standing up - I wind up standing on my arches with the rear of my footwear soles drooping like a baboon's backside.

Bang on and which is why you should avoid them. You will very easily progress to foot and arch issues over a period of time.

When one stands on the pegs, you stand on the balls of your feet. This gives maximum feel, control, and reduces response time to shift your feet. When you want to leap, you always use the ball of your feet not the arch or your toes or your heel. Same principle applies when standing on the pegs.

I have overstayed my time here...Bye

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Dont touch clan by a bargepole. Look for cabo boots rebadged by RE from TCX. They are quickly going out of stock so look hard online to see if you can spring a pair for yourself.

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Rajeevraj, I have never heard of this brand and hence, dont even know anyone who has considered it, much less used it. The Royal Enfield casual wear with protection options are very good. You can try them out in any Royal Enfield store.

Several TBHPians are happily using them for regular wear. Its a lot better than using Woodlands shoes or regular sneakers!

Thanks for the inputs and recommendation. Ordered and got the RE Cabo from TCX. Was available in the RE Online Store. Looks great and in a quick 10 min wear, seems comfortable enough.

Silly question though, the ankle section top is slightly flared out when I wear it- Is that how it should be.