How much protection will this dirt gear give me on pavement?

New2Moto,

Psssst!!! If you wear a size L, there's a Motoport jacket in the flea market right now.

I am prolly a xl or xxl with the gear underneath

for the knee protection, I just realized that the thor force have no hard armor over the knee cap, where the leatt does. I think i might have to try those. I dunno.

I have seen the aplinestar shorts but other than the hard plastic they look sorta cheapish

Actually, the Thor guards do have a hard protector over the patella. It's just that it's recessed a little so the thigh plastic can articulate over the patellar portion. I think it would take a lot of force for anything to get through to your knee.

Yeah, that was also my impression of the Alpinestars shorts, a little cheap looking. Never held them in my hot little hands, though.

I seen that after I saw the video on motosuperstore :) I ordered them, along with the forecfield pro shorts and leatt hard elbow/forearm guard. Also a cheapo kidney belt. I figured it would help my lower back put up with the stock seat until I get my new one.

Now I just have to get boots, pants, leatt 5.5 armor (which i might order right now), and a jersey. And then a lite weight abrasion resistant jacket of some sort Then I am ready for most anything I would suppose!

Cool! Or maybe hot, depending on the weather! Let us know how the gear works out for you. I'm interested in hearing more about that Leatt 5.5, especially. Good to see a new rider investing in good protection!

Would also enjoy hearing how you like your Honda.

For sure!

I found this Mojave Pro http://www.klim.com/Motorcycle/Mojave-Pro-Jersey.html which seems to be an abrasion resistant version of the regular Mojave jersey with thicker mesh and material etc...i will see how that feels before buying any sort of kevlar mesh outer layer

This review coming from someone who has never had a bike before or ever riden one before...

I love it! I have about 350 miles on it. Only 10 of those or so on off road trails/roads etc. Shifting is very smooth and it takes my 240lb carcass as fast as I need to go on the roads around here and still has a little room for more. Its hefty for a 250 DS bike I have heard but it seems to give it a little more stability on the road. I have had 18 wheelers cruise past me in the other direction on 1 lane roads going 50mph and didn't even have to correct or anything. But its still light enough to pick up several times off road without getting wiped out. I have read in other reviews it is really sturdy and can take a beating. Especially after adding a rad guard and skid plate.

One minor negative is the seat is real crappy for a bigger rider. Needs upgrading of some kind if your gonna be sitting for long (45min+).

Other than that its been great and now that I am pretty confident on the road, I want to start exploring the off road ALOT more after gearing up

Just decided to get one more item tonight, the leatt 5.5 pro HD from Atomic-Moto.com :) really just down to boots, the pants and jersey can kind of wait a few months for it to get warmer

The new CRF250L sounds pretty good for the price. Maybe not as capable as a WR250R but for a lot less money.

Just practice, practice, practice at slower speeds, in safe areas. Especially your braking and swerving techniques. You want to learn to instinctively keep those two things separate so you don't

If you haven't already purchased boots, Atomic-Moto is becoming known as the go-to place for helpful advice and excellent service on quality footwear.

Yeah, I think all the smaller dual sports come from the factory with some version of a padded 2x4 butt-floss seat.
Sounds like Seat Concepts is making good inroads into the market for a lot of different bike seats, not sure about yours.

Crashed a LOT when I was young riding dirt bikes, probably around 1000 times off road over five years. No broken bones I noticed at the time - and in those days, cotton overalls were what there was. They survived *many* dirt spills at lower speeds, but a single spill on the seal was enough to shred them.

Fairly sure the dirt armour will work at sane speeds, but I'm guessing it'll get badly gouged and torn which was the only reservation. It's pretty much what I wear on the commute, impact with gutters and the like being a lot more likely than a long slide at 'in town' speeds.

And as for the bulky boots, it's FAR better to not crash in the first place, particularly in traffic where there's a real risk of being run over after the spill, no amount of armour will save you from that.

Pete

Ya the CRF is not as powerful as the WR but its also like 40% cheaper so is to be expected and I haven't run into any problems where I have 'needed' more power yet.

I took the MSF class to get my license waiver and have been practicing those and other drills every once in a while when I find an empty parking lot.

Funny that you say that about boots, cause i just got off the phone with Brian from atomic moto and it is indeed the go to place for boots and many other things. He was very very very knowledgeable and explained things very clearly. I got a pair of Forma Terrain TX HPS :)

To solve the seat issue I went with Corbin, should be here soon!

Almost all geared up, the leatt 5.5 are out of stock everywhere so instead of boots, that is my last major protective piece to be ordered!

Didn't mean to denigrate your new Honda in any way. I should have said very, very good for the price!

There are a lot of good bikes out there and I think all the modern, reasonably lightweight, fuel injected, liquid cooled DS bikes are quite the ticket for exploring the great outdoors.

I'll also be curious to hear about those Forma Terrains. They look very nice and protective at a very good price for a hinged boot.

No offense taken on the crf, there is no doubt the wr will out preform it, but not in proportion to the price increase in my opinion + the crf was in my budget and the wr wasn't. There is no way I would be able to buy all this gear so soon if i got the wr. once again no offense taken

The terrain TX were on my list along with a few adventure boots as well, but I decided to go MX with Brians guidance (and saved some money too as they were the least expensive option) I will let you know, they said should ship out tomorrow!

I am waiting on a pair one size smaller but from looking at them I can see they are several times more protective than my alpinestar leather street boots (mx vented or something).

walking is way easier than expected, other than major inclines or stairs you very quickly get used to em walking.

I have not rode in em yet but I will get back to you when I do!


As for gear, I ended up going with these: (I have only tried on, so ill mention a few comments but more details to come after riding)

-Forma Terrain TX HPS sole- One size too large, correct size coming soon. First impression are great though!

-Thor Force Knee/shin guards - Seems very protective, kinda like a weak brace as well. I have big thighs and the lrg/xl just fit. will be more comfortable when I lose some weight.

-Forcefield Padded compression shorts - stretches enough to fit, but will also fit when I slim down a bit, feels amazing and very protective on

-Leatt 5.5 hd pro chest protection - (not yet arrived)

-Fox kidney belt -mostly for lower back support, I am larger than I should be and could use some extra support until I lose weight

-Fox V2 given helmet -doesn't fit my head size but seems like a great helmet - chin piece is closer than most, for me it touches my face

-Fox airspc goggles- Seems like great off road goggle but maybe not for the on road commute to the trails. for my face it give me tunnel vision. Almost 0 peripheral vision.

Still looking at an outter abrasion resistant layer for summer riding..leaning towards the klim mojave pants and pro jersey

Wearing all of it I feel much more protected than in my armored touring jacket and kevlar jeans and street boots. I almost feel invincible! I hope that doesn't make my confidence level surpass my skill level

Will update after riding :)

Motoport is not offroad gear. I tried to use mine for everything and didnt like it for anything. The armor always moved offroad, lots of bruises that I wouldn't have gotten with current off road gear. Klim just released a mesh jacket. the axo stone isnt mesh but has zipoff sleeves and neck which is very nice, cut properly for use offroad as well. The dual axis I have and have been very pleased with. I had the matching elbows didnt like them, 3df might be more comfortable.

If youre not going that fast get a cheap dual sport jacket like the stone or something, with sleeves and collar zipped off it has great venting and is s vest with lotss of pockets for what not. Check out the dubinky pants in vendors, probably the best abrasion resistance with excellent 20" venting on both sides of each leg, will be my next pair. The mojave pants would probably rip to shreds on pavement.

Also, i have the mojave pro and will say it only offers extra abrasion resistance to thorns and trees and such. Will not do anything for you on pavement. Personally, i dont think the pro is worth the expense. The regular mojave is just fine.