Video: Importance of wearing riding gear even in city traffic

My KTM 390 Adventure slid sideways on tarmac 2 km away from home.

BHPian Malliketh recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Given anyone who comes to this thread is seeking an opinion on what to buy and at least contemplating on whether they should spend any of their hard-earned cash on gears (instead of a slightly higher budget bike), here's a case in point to make the decision easier.

Background: I am an ATGATT (as much as possible) guy. As a basic rule, in Mumbai, I wear my helmet, Viaterra full gauntlet gloves and Rynox Cypher Mesh Jacket whenever I take my bike within the city. For longer rides, a Mesh jacket is replaced by textile (Rynox Tornado) and full-length boots + pants are added. The same goes for my pillion. As a broken record, I work full-time to get all my family and friends to wear as much gear as possible (accounting for constraints such as storage at the destination. PS - top box is a god sent).

Incident: A week ago I decided to ride to work because of the Monday morning itch to get behind my ADV 390 (recently switched to CityFlo to clawback time from Mumbai traffic). In less than 2 kms from home, I was sideways on the tarmac.

Why? Oil Spill

Outcome? Gashed knee and a major impact on my shoulder muscle.

My mistakes?

I could have avoided the oil, but given the oil spill was under the shadow of the bridge, it was too late by the time I noticed it. In less than 2 seconds of my tyre touching the oil, I was sideways.

I decided to skip my Rynox Cypher Jacket because I had to carry my sweater back to the office (to beat the AC). BIG MISTAKE. If only I was wearing my jacket, I would have walked away with only a knee gash. However because my shoulder was the first point of impact (which my L2 jacket protector would have majorly absorbed otherwise), I was in immense pain with no strength or mobility left for immediate action. I was lucky no bones were broken.

I was wearing my gloves and helmet, hence the skin of my hand and wrist remained completely unharmed.

Please note this happened at <30 km/h (luckily because it happened within a few seconds of starting from a red light).

My case for ATGATT is just underlined by everything that happened. If I was at a higher speed (even 50-60 is not uncommon on the EEH), I would have been worse off.

Fellow BHPians spend that moolah and that extra bit of effort to gear up whenever possible. Indian roads are unpredictable and sometimes all you can do is minimize the impact (and not avoid it). Blame comes later, injuries come first. Hope this helps.

My dash cam cum intercom (The Safe Riding thread) came in handy. Sharing the footage to show how quickly things can go wrong.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.