Proper Clothing and Accessories By Staff Writer
Having a hard time on what clothes to wear and what accessories to use when riding a motorcycle? Here are some helpful tips on must have clothing and accessories. Tips on what to wear and when to wear it.
WINTER MUST WEARS:
1. Head –
- Good wool cap – one which you can pull down over your face
- Parka (with hood) – the jacket keeps you warm while the hood cuts the wind
- Helmet – first, for accident protection and at the same time warms your head
2. Upper Body –
- Right underwear – choose underwear that wicks away moisture and keeps the skin cool and dry.
- Undershirt – use shirts that are made of fleece or a turtle fur shirt (to cover neck and lower face). Use different weights of fleece depending on the weather.
- Parka – use breathable parkas. You can keep matches and candles inside your parka pockets (it keeps your matches and candles dry); in case you need to start a fire to keep you warm. All you got to do is find some dry woods.
NOTE: The first layer must keep the skin cool and dry. Its moisture management is the key.
3. Hands –
- Cream – use Hand Sense cream, it blocks bad things from penetrating your skin.
- Mittens – wear mittens after putting on a hand cream, these two will keep your hands dry and consequently warm.
- Neoprene liner – use a thin neoprene liner. This, as well keeps your hands warm at the same time shields your hands from water.
- Winter Gloves – wear sweat resistant gloves to prevent sweating of hands.
4. Feet –
- Foot Spray – for the first week of winter, spray your feet three times with an aluminum chlorohydrate antiperspirant. After that, spraying once a week is enough. This will stop 50% to 75% of foot wetness.
- Liner Socks – used as first layer for feet. This helps keep your feet warm and reduce blistering. Recommended accompaniments are winter socks.
- Winter Socks – to reduce friction that can cause blisters, choose socks that have fuzz on the outside. When using winter socks, make sure that u turn them inside out so that the fuzz is on the outside.
- Shoes – Since insulated leather boots are too hard to dry, go for thick felt liners and traditional Sorel boots.
Tip: Here’s how to pick the right sock: Stretch it over your thumb and then rub it. If you can see your thumb through the sock, don’t get it.
Note: A lot of people, not only motorcyclists, are not aware of how serious the damage cold can do to their bodies and that wind kills. How? Cold can result to gangrenous flesh caused by frostbite and trench foot, and wind can kill you by dehydration. So better accessorize.
Tips on how to stay warm:
1. On winter season you’ll need more calories. You need to eat fattier, slow-burning foods. Eat greasy food in the morning like doughnuts and other similar food. In the afternoon, eat foods that are rich in carbohydrates. And at night, have again some greasy food.
2. Drink at least one or two quarts of water each day. Dehydration can be as severe in winter as in summer.
3. Know how to dress in proper layers. Everybody wants their skin a little cool (not cold) all the time. So don’t overlay yourself. You don’t want to perspire, right?
SUMMER MUST WEARS:
1. Head –
- Sunglass – use sunglasses that have dark shades. This will protect your eyes from suns rays.
- Sunblock – use sunblock that has high SPF to prevent skin diseases.
- Helmet – never forget to wear your helmets, this will protect your head from serious damage in case of accidents.
2. Upper Body –
- Right Underwear – choose underwear that wicks away moisture and keeps the skin cool and dry.
- Shirt – use shirts that are cotton or any kind of garment that lets the air penetrate. Choose shirts that you feel most comfortable with. Mostly, choose a color that will not absorb the heat like black, brown, or any color that has almost the same shade. The lighter and thinner the garment, the better. You can also wear long-sleeve shirts for skin protection.
- Jacket – if you still want the classic style or look of a rider and don’t like the idea of wearing shirts, then vest or sleeveless jacket is your answer.
3. Hands –
- Gloves – half gauntlet gloves with light insulation is the most suitable on hot summer days.
4. Feet –
- Foot Spray – don’t forget to spray some antiperspirant on your feet to keep your feet dry and odorless.
- Socks – you can wear any of your liner socks. This will also help reduce blistering.
- Shoes – you can also use your daily boots. But the ideal boots for summer are those with ventilation.
Note: Putting on sunblock lotions help prevent skin cancer, premature skin aging, heat stroke, heat exhaustion, dehydration (loss of fluid in the body), heat syncope (sudden loss of consciousness related to dehydration), heat cramps, heat rash (prickly heat), and other host of skin changes.
Tips on how to stay cool during summer:
1. Drink plenty of water. Consume as much as you can. This helps prevent dehydration. It is best to drink before you get thirsty
2. Avoid drinks with caffeine and alcohol while under the sun or heat for these types of drinks stimulate the production of urine thereby promoting dehydration.
3. The best drinks are water or any flavored sports drink.
4. Always wear light-colored and loose-fitting clothing.
5. Whenever possible, take a break in the shade.
PROTECTIVE CLOTHING:
When riding a motorcycle, a motorcyclist must wear the correct clothing that will protect them. A motorcyclist must buy:
1. Clothing that will protect them from the weather (like what I have mentioned on the early part of this article; refer to winter and summer must wears). And for rainy seasons, make sure they wear waterproof clothing.
2. Clothing that help protect them from some types of injury, like helmets, visors or goggles, gloves and gauntlets, boots and visibility aids.
3. Clothing that helps the other road users to see the motorcyclist. This will help prevent motorcyclists and other road users from collision. Wear clothes that have light colors especially at night. If possible, use shirts, helmets and stickers that reflect light.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT HELMET:
4 Types of Helmets for Road Riding:
1. Soup dish – type of helmet with solely decorative functions. Produced in simple plastic, these helmets have a variety of shapes but with no guarantee sticker and no protection. These helmets are only for show and not for use.
2. Jet Helmets or Open-Face Helmets – type of helmets that can cover ears and low part of the head or can have a leather extension for this purpose. They all leave the face part from front to chin open with a movable visor covering the eyes. These helmets do not protect one of the most exposed parts of the head: the front chin. Even in small accidents, riders are likely to go face first as 33% of impacts happen on the chin.
3. Flip-Face-Helmets – These are full-face helmets that open from the chin up. With a locking mechanism that allows face to be exposed. Flip-Helmets are quite practical in the city allowing communication (and other activities) during stops. Riders should never ride with the flip part up to avoid the dangers of open-face helmets and to eliminate the risk of lift-up generated by the drag of the open section. When properly locked (confirmed by sound) these helmets offer full-face protection.
4. Full-face helmets – These are the best protection available as they are structurally stronger under any impact, they cover the entire area of the head/face and are less prone to move.
How to choose a nice helmet –
Selecting a good helmet, with a comfortable fit and good ergonomics is not so simple and it takes time and trials. You must be comfortable, quiet and protected: and these three characteristics can only be bought at a price. Factors that should be consider when buying a helmet:
1. Value or Quality? – The suggestion is to go for middle of the line quality brand in plain colors: in this way one saves money while avoiding any short cut in quality.
2. “Full face, Flip open face, Open Face?” – go for a full-face helmet, it offers more protection and more silence.
Tips: Stay away from open face helmets, they look cool and stylish but when you go down you like to have your cheeks and chin well padded. Stay away, mostly, from cheap, un-tested, un-certified helmets. These lids can be more dangerous than riding without helmet.
3. Safety experts agree that the most important factor in choosing a helmet is choosing one that fits properly.
Tips on how to find the perfect fit:
1. First step – measure your head. Even if you think you know what size helmet you need, it’s worthwhile to take the time to double-check. Get someone to help and a small measuring tape. Measure the circumference of your head from about one inch above your eyebrows in front to the point at the back of your head that gives you the largest measurement. Measure several times just to make sure you’ve got it. Now match the measurement with the helmet sizes on the chart provided, rounding up to the next largest number if your measurement falls between sizes.
2. Second step – try on a few helmets. Don’t worry about colors and graphics yet, our first concern is finding the right fit. Grasp the helmet by the chin straps with the top of the helmet down and the front of the helmet facing you. Balance the helmet with your fingers, and slide your thumbs to the inside surface of the chin straps. Now spread the helmet apart and slip it over your head. You may need to tip it backward or forward a bit to help slip it on. The helmet should go on with some resistance if it’s in the proper size range. Unfortunately, most people tend to choose helmets that are too large, so if the helmet feels snug at first, you’re probably close to the proper size. Don’t reach for a larger size unless you can’t get the helmet on at all. Now that you have the helmet on, go find a mirror for a quick visual check. The helmet should sit squarely on your head, neither tipped forward nor backward.
With a full-face helmet, your eyes should be centered in the opening with the padding of the liner fitting just above your eyebrows. While you’re looking in the mirror, check for gaps between the padding and your head. The cheek and brow pads should be in firm contact with your face, without causing excessive pressure. Now put one hand on each side of the helmet and hold your head still while trying to rotate the helmet from side to side and front to back.
The helmet should not slide around on your head without a lot of resistance. In fact, your skin and scalp should move with the helmet. Remember that helmets will “break in” just like hats, so the helmet that’s just right for you may feel overly-snug at first.
Note: Any pressure points or “hot spots.” If the helmet fits properly, the pressure should be evenly distributed around your head. Make sure the chin strap is snugly fastened and try the “roll-off” test. Reach over the top of the helmet and grasp the bottom rear edge. Try to roll the helmet forward off your head while you hold your head as still as possible. Pull as hard as you can without causing yourself pain. If the helmet moves significantly or rolls off your head, it’s too large.
Think about pressure points again before you take the helmet off. Do there seem to be spots where the pressure is excessive? Remember pressure that may be only mildly irritating at first, can cause a raging headache after an hour in the saddle. Stay close to the mirror while you take the helmet off, and then look for any areas of reddened skin that signal pressure points. If you find any, put the helmet back on and see if you feel extra pressure in the reddened area. When you think you’ve found the perfect fit, try on the same make and model of helmet in the next larger and smaller sizes, going through all the same tests.
Before you make the final decision, put the helmet back on and wear it for at least ten minutes just to make sure you haven’t missed any pressure points. Helmet manufacturers have different ideas about the general size and shape of the human head. If you have trouble finding the proper fit, try a different brand of helmet, or even a different model by the same manufacturer. Be patient, work through all the steps for getting the right fit and you’ll end up with the helmet that’s right for you.
The Quality Control Sticker indicates what test the helmet passed. Normally helmets from a single production batch are tested to check impact and penetration resistance, reaction to cold and hot temperatures, retention of chin strap and visor mechanism, visor optical qualities and impact resistance, response of the helmet surface to acids or solvents.
3. Select the helmet with care, time and intelligence. Try it on bike, on riding position and keep it on for at list five minutes.
Tips:
- Keep helmet with care. Make sure that you know how to remove the visor quickly for cleaning.
- Do not leave the helmet dirty after a ride (the dead bodies of some insect can permanently erode the visor) and always store it in its own bag.
- Do not pace gloves inside the helmet. The glove’s Velcro may ruin the helmet interior.
- During stops always rest your helmet on a flat surface, never on the bike unless properly strapped. Helmets tend to fall down quite easily.
- Never carry a helmet on bike (box or seat) without protective bag.
When riding a motorcycle, the first and most important thing you need to know is how to be safe at all times. In the end, all that matters is you arrive at your destination safely and healthy.