new rider...looking for best gloves

Hey been worried about you!

kbeers81 said:

Hey guys...I'm going to be purchasing a 2007 Kawa ninja 500r in the spring. I've been doing a lot of research, and i'm starting to piece my riding gear together. I'm looking for gloves now. I'm looking for a real good protective glove, preferrably w/ kevlar and a hard plastic maybe??? Any help would be mostly appreciated. Thanks a bunch guys. I've learned a lot from all of you.

Click to expand...

Haven't seen you around much. Was worried you were spending all your time searching the papers for my obituary! I am still here, still unhelmeted!

After you're done armor-ing yourself, do your research on the latest statistics about rider deaths and the high death and serious injury rate of Sportbike riders in particular.

Even I, the 'stupid' (as you said) old unhelmeted guy with 43 years riding experience, won't ride one of those death machines things!

Since you are so 'smart' & 'safe' imagine how absolutely shocked I am that you are buying one of those death machines aborations!

Maybe sportbikes should be regulated, or better yet outlawed for safety sake? I'll have to write my Senator and Representative in Washington D.C. about that and see if we can mandate something on that.

BTW besides that airbag jacket thing you bought, the kevlar gloves you are looking into, perhaps a set of kevlar panties would be a good choice for you also, with maybe a little kevlar lace on them?

Ride safe & long,
Colorado Fats

CB750F said:

Dude settle down! That incident about you and the no helmet deal happened long ago.

Ever try a sportbike? Ya might like it

Click to expand...

Well I just could not resist a little shaming on him. It was more teasing than beating up on him. He is probably actually a nice little boy.

When he said 'new' rider in his posting title, I really thought he had nerve to scold me for not wearing a helmet when he does not appear to even have a MC!

For Pete sakes he already bought an airbag jacket, kevlar gloves and God knows what else. So now he is thinking it might be good to get a MC to go along with all that stuff?

I am picturing him wearing all this stuff around the house. Ha HA. Perhaps I should have just said 'Yo Mama dresses yo funny' and let it go at that.

Sport Bike, me?

No, even if I was physically able to ride a 'crotch' rocket:

1) I have absolutely no desire to!
2) I am 300 lbs, I haven't even seen my shoes in years.
How on Gods earth do you think I would look folded over and wrapped around one of these death machines as I called them.
3) I get cramps in my groin and legs at times just riding riding my comfy cruiser
4) I really don't see what they are for other than going very high speed for short distances, and doing assnine stunts which is not my idea of riding or enjoyment.
5) I can get more comfortable with my fender fluff on a cruiser.

SO not only NO, but hell no!

Besides I am trying to convince myself that they are just a fad, or horrible aborition, or bad dream and will go away soon!

All said with a smile and chuckle!

Ride safe & long,
Colorado Fats

4) I really don't see what they are for other than going very high speed for short distances, and doing assnine stunts which is not my idea of riding or enjoyment.

Click to expand...

I ride one although mine is a little more straight up. I've done 400 mile days no problems and have rode with guys on those rides with full on sport bikes. I've rode on them many times before but have always ridden standards and cruisers. I bought this one because I wanted a new, simple, low priced bike to ride around on. Since they don't make standards anymore and I didn;t want a cruiser I got this one. I used to think I wouldn't like one but now I don't see me riding anything else but a sport bike or a sport tourer. I'm much more comfortable on this than anything else I've owned, and that's saying something because I've owned a lot of bikes. Besides that you can literally rip through a turn with little or no effort. I ain't the skinniest guy out there either LOL My age is catching up with me in the knees and hips department also.

I still have my 750 standard waiting to be fired up if I choose to ride a standard.

When he said 'new' rider in his posting title, I really thought he had nerve to scold me for not wearing a helmet when he does not appear to even have a MC!

Click to expand...

I'm the type of guy that I don't care if you don't wear a helmet or any gear whatsoever but don't bash me for wearing mine. I may say about someone not wearing gear but i dont care if they do or don't, it's not my choice. I wear a full faced helmet, leather/kevlar gloves ($10.50 off Ebay!) and a jacket either my new leather one or my vented textile one depending on the temperature.

Soap box time

CB750F said:

...I'm the type of guy that I don't care if you don't wear a helmet or any gear whatsoever but don't bash me for wearing mine. I may say about someone not wearing gear but i dont care if they do or don't, it's not my choice. I wear a full faced helmet, leather/kevlar gloves ($10.50 off Ebay!) and a jacket either my new leather one or my vented textile one depending on the temperature.

Click to expand...

My whole point in joining this forum was to promote safety and help new riders. So I can understand folks seeing my not wearing a helmet as a conflict of purpose. But my point is that real safety comes more from rider skill, attention, and experience than from accessories and gimics. And nothing, no technology, mandate, or equipment will save you from stupidity and ignorance.

I believe helmets are a good thing if you choose to use them. Like many I just don't believe mandating them is the way to go. I believe that today with so many new, casual, fad, unskilled riders riding very high powered MC, helmets are really a great aid for many.

I am not happy with the development changes these riders are driving in MC themselves. The new breed of rider is wanting all the comforts and technology of a car, home entertainment center or video game. To me, MCing should very basic. Two wheels, dependable mechanicals, and mental Zen. Heck, I been miffed since they did away with kick starters!

Who really needs ABS, ECUs, licensed MC that go 160 mph on public thorough fares! You tempt the Grim Reaper everytime you ride, do we really need to increase the odds he will ride with us? Do we really need diversions like radios, CD players, adjustable air suspension, etc.

MCing used to be about rugged individualism, unspoken brotherhood and comitment among the few, kinda like the Marines - 'One of the few, one of the proud!'. No more, no longer. The 'life' is very different now than in Days of Yore!

Well I am going long again, and it is 3 a.m., so I'll close for now.

Ride safe & long,
Colorado Fats

Funny you should mention that!

CB750F said:

Me too man! Ever try and push start a 600 pound motorcycle? That sucks.

Click to expand...

In 1966 when I was 16 I had a 1952 HD full dress glide (and a Honda 150). Man I mean that Glide had EVERYTHING that was available at that time. Windshield, front and rear rool bars, Big yellow fog/spot lights, leather bags, huge seat mounted on bicycle springs, 5 inch diameter megaphone exhaust, bicycle pedal kick start, spark arrest, chrome everywhere. Talk about your HEAVY battle cruiser! It was probably 900+/- lbs.

Well, I was having trouble starting it (because of my abuse of the MC). So I push it down the driveway (a moderate hill) and pop it in first gear. Wheel locks up, black skid mark on drive for a couple feet. NO way I could push it back up the drive.

Not one to be easily discouraged, I push it out into the middle of the street where I can try to run with it to get up to speed jump on it, kick it into second this time and hopefully fire it up! Don't know how much it weighed exactly, but it was a heavy MF!

Did not fire for several such attempts! Then finally nearing exhaustion, I tried once more, with a good Looong run, spark advance on full. BOOM! fires up with throttle stuck wide open, megaphones roaring, MC accelerating. Threw me backwards, laying me out flat on my back at full throttle. My feet caught on the front roll bars. So here I am trying to 1) get my self up and get hold of the handle bars, 2) trying to also balance the quickly accelerating MC moving down a street full of parked cars.

Well, finally after about 10 of the longest seconds of my short life, overcame momentum, pulled myself up, got control of the glide just before I would have crossed into the intersection and crosstraffic!

Of course when my heart stopped pounding and I changed my undies... I thought I was pretty cool! Was this an early 'stunting' incident???

Actually perhaps so. It was after this that I started doing crazy, stupid... no, make that idiotic BS on my mighty Honda 150 Dream (easier to balance)l!

Ride safe & long,
Colorado Fats

kbeers81 said:

Hey guys...I'm going to be purchasing a 2007 Kawa ninja 500r in the spring. I've been doing a lot of research, and i'm starting to piece my riding gear together. I'm looking for gloves now. I'm looking for a real good protective glove, preferrably w/ kevlar and a hard plastic maybe??? Any help would be mostly appreciated. Thanks a bunch guys. I've learned a lot from all of you.

Click to expand...

I prefer gloves that have a gauntlet, but I think that anything with leather and kevlar in them is good. Since there are so many good choices, I would go with something that allows you to be comfortable with your bike's controls.

COFats said:

My whole point in joining this forum was to promote safety and help new riders.

Click to expand...

Be honest: when was the last time you took advice from someone you thought was an internet jerk? If you truly are here to promote safety, you might want to lay off of the caustic and abrasive "joking"; it destroys your credibility, and then your whole point for joining this forum becomes moot because no one pays attention to your ideas.. and internet posts can stick around for a long time.

There are much more tactful ways of sharing your opinion and, even then, no one is under any obligation to agree with you. I don't know about this other thread you mention, but I doubt that anyone cares although it seems you are still upset about it; let go of the grudge, rather than hiding it behind the guise of "just joking". I am really sorry because I don't know a way to say that without being offensive... which means I probably shouldn't even be responding to it but I just hate seeing people being ugly to each other.