What gear do you ladies like?

[DaytonaMan]

My best friends boyfriend just bought a bike. I'm trying to help her pick out some gear, but Im about 800 miles away right now. She's about 5'5, maybe 120ish. Could you gals reccomend some good stuff? Got any tips for me to pass along about riding as a passenger?

[R1Gurl]

Gear: Make sure that the jacket she chooses is not too loose, though not too snug. It should have hard armor in the shoulders, back and elbows. Basically any impact point.

Gloves...get leather (obviously) make sure that they have the hard plates over the knuckles and thick leather in the palms. Your first instinct in a crash is to try to stop with your hands, and to cushion the impact with your hands...lots of broken wrists etc because of that instinct.

Pants, same thing: leather is best, make sure that there is hard armor in the knees and make sure that there is extra protection in the seat of the pants. A lot of people slide around on their butts in a crash.

Helmet is a huge one: Recommendation is to get something that doesn't have a plastic shell such as Arai or Shoei. Scorpion, HJC are cheap, but they aren't going to hold up as well in an accident. Make sure the fit is just right. If you can chew a piece of gum without biting your cheeks with the helmet on it's too big. If it gives you a headache it's too small. Also, you shouldn't be able to move the helmet around on your head from side to side or up and down. The local shops are usually really good about helping a first time rider / passenger get the right fit.

As for riding as a passenger, she will need to make sure that she braces herself during braking...don't squish the pilot. Stay Alert! Watch the turns and lean with the pilot into a turn not against it, which is instinctive.

Check out the forums, we have great tips posted all over the place here. I hope this helps.

[ZX14Chick]

I think R1gurl pretty much summed it up! :ok:

[BadKitty]

riding as a passenger, i keep one hand on the gas tank, one on the driver's waist. Keeps you from bangin lids at stops and keeps you from falling off the back. Also, use yourlegs to hold on so your arms don't get tired.

[DaytonaMan]

thanks for the advice, I'll pass it along, Im new to the whole riding thing myself, so I'm tyring to get all the advice I can.

[faerybaby426]

Just added advice from being a passenger, be comfortable talking with the driver. I'm never a driver, but sometimes I squish mine and I don't know, or I'll be squeezing too tight and he won't tell me 'til we've arrived. Better to have a system in place beforehand that shorthands things like "if you squeeze me any tighter I'm gonna puke." Also, depending on how I sit on the back of the bike, sometimes I squish him because no matter how much I brace I still slide a little when he brakes; so we have a "scoot back" system too so I'm not crushing his crotch. The whole balance waltz gets better with practice so everyone is more comfortable. My latest thing has been keys in the front pocket; if I hold on close my weight isn't balanced flat against his back and I find one side of my butt is supporting more weight than the other. I may be the only person with this problem but figuring out why I was uncomfortable was helpful :-)