Dress for the crash, not for the ride.
It's easier to prevent than to repair. That's especially true with our body.
Dress for the crash, not for the ride. When you crash, what do you want to be wearing? When you crash going 70 mph on the interstate, what gear do you want to be wearing? if you were to lay on the ground and push your bike over onto your foot and ankle, what type of boot would you want to have on? This is the way you should think about gear.
Pay for it upfront. It's super easy to want to spend as little as possible on gear. Just remember to compare the upfront cost of gear to the after-the-fact cost of a hospital bill, and to compare the way your life and body is affected by not getting hurt to how it's affected by getting hurt and having to have surgery to be fixed, and possibly having your body affected permanently. Even if it's small, like arthritis or a joint that doesn't fully function, it could still affect your life forever. And that could happen from even a smallish crash. I'm not interested in that, like, not at all! So I buy gear that will protect me from that situation. You can do that and still look great, and chill - it doesn't have to even look like you're wearing motorcycle gear if you don't want it to.
What and Why
With gear, there are two main things to consider - impact and abrasion.
For impact, the more armor the better. Armor protects against impact. For internal pads, C2 is the best, C1 is a step down but also great. For external parts, metal is best, carbon and plastics are also ok.
For abrasion, you want hard, slick parts on the places where your body will hit the pavement when you crash. Leather is always better than any other material, and plastic slides the best.
Other considerations are weather, temperature, and style, but those are lower on the priority list.
Gloves
For gloves, I recommend at least armor on the knuckles, and palm sliders.
Short cuffs are fine for most street riding, but gauntlet gloves, which cover your wrists, are better for the track and high-speed / technical street riding. It's common sense - with coverage, more is better.
It's also nice to have gloves with touch screen capability so you don't have to take them off to use your phone.
I’m currently using Dainese Steel Pro, Carbon 3 Short, and Air Frame gloves.
Helmets
Learn about helmet safety ratings here:
• RevZilla’s Helmet Safety Ratings 101
• AGV’s Which Helmet Standard is the Best? Snell, DOT, ECE, SHARP, or FIM?
• RevZilla’s Best motorcycle helmets of 2021
• FortNine’s What's Inside the Best Motorcycle Helmets of 2021?
You legally have to ride with a DOT-approved helmet. I recommend getting a helmet that is also at least approved by the Snell Foundation, or has an ECE or FIM certification. FIM is the best. Don’t skimp here. It’s your head, for goodness shake!
A list of FIM-certified helmets is here: FIM Racing Homologation Programme - Homologated Helmets
I recommend AGV because in addition to their great safety features and graphics, they have an exceptionally wide field of vision. Shoei, Arai and 6D are also great. I currently use a Shoei RF-1200, which is still one of the best helmets at its price point.
I strongly recommend a Pinlock shield, which keeps your visor for fogging up.
Definitely try on helmets before you buy them, or if you can’t measure yourself very carefully based on the manufacturers’ specs. Different manufacturers fit differently not just with regard to size, but also head shapes. You want to make sure you have a helmet that fits your head shape correctly. In addition to getting one that's the right shape for yourself, make sure you get one that is tight enough. Most people don't! The first helmet I bought was a large, but I actually wear a small (I didn’t know what I was doing back then.) It shouldn't move at all when you shake your head left and right, or up and down. Just make sure there aren’t any pressure points on bony parts of your head after wearing it for a while - like a couple of hours, Don’t judge it based on how much the pads smush your cheeks together! The pads will relax over time. The correct size helmet smushes my cheeks together like a baby. It does for the pros, too. It just is what it is. If it’s ok for Marquez and Rossi, it’s ok for me.
Check out RevZilla’s video for how a helmet should fit, and how to measure yourself: How to Fit a Motorcycle Helmet, Sizing Guide by RevZilla.com
Helmets expire after 5 years from the manufacture date, which is on the inside of the helmet. Helmets also are useless and should be discarded after they sustain an impact from a crash or even a drop from more than 4 feet.
Retailers
For Dainese and AGV, reach out to the Dainese folks directly at https://www.dainese.com. The agents are great over chat via their site, or hit up Carlos at the Dainese Dallas store, who is especially great and can work with you no matter where you live! https://www.dainese.com/us/en/store/dainese-store-dallas.html.
Otherwise, I recommend Sloan’s, RevZilla, or Cycle Gear for shopping online, and Sloan’s or Cycle Gear for in-person shopping at a brick and mortar if you’re here in Nashville. All three have incredible customer service and returns.
Brands
I recommend Dainese and AGV gear when possible. It's well-made, fits well, lasts a long time, holds up after a crash, and looks amazing.
Alpinestars, Shoei and Arai are close seconds. Others can be fine if you want to save money, but make sure you are sacrificing durability and style, not protection and performance.