A*jack, Scorp Helmet, Sidi, Olym gloves

I hate reviewing gear like this but these kinds of reviews are why I bought my gear in the first place so here goes.

I crashed on monday---when I finally hit the ground i was going under 25mph. Details of crash:

Squid mistake straight off corner into dirt embankment with grass around. Entered corner at about 50-60, slowed to 25 or below by the time I lost it. Bike fell on left leg, drug me across dirt until I was free (it slipped off my leg, kinda) and kept going on its own. I skidded on my back left side and on top of the arm, feet first.

Scorpion EXO 700. This one is easy...I dont' think I hit my head. Whether I did or not, helmet did its job (especially if I did!) Don't re-use crashed helmets! Helmet didnt' catch on anything and wrench my neck. No visible damage, but its still going in the trash can.

Alpinestars DYNO jacket - this jacket held up to abrasion really well but was super hot all day, which led me to unzip the sleeves a little bit for the airflow. My forearms paid the price. Luckily it wasn't much, because I didnt' slide much on pavement, so it was just scratching. If it was faster / harsher surface, i'd be in trouble. This jacket is hot in the summer, i'd look elsewhere if you ride in the heat. Also, the armor is very hard and didnt' bruise me too badly, but could have. The ground gave way underneath (dirt). The little fins drug and caught the ground, as designed, but taht hurt a couple muscles in my shoulder. They're still sore. I think this is a design flaw in the armor. Again, i'd put foam inserts if you MUST have this jacket. I bought a Vanson yesterday, if that's any indication. My back was fine, but i ordered a back protector (A* standalone) anyway.

Olympia kevlar gloves

These were great---little padding, but no abrasion injuries AT ALL. Gloves look like it never even happened. I'd buy these again. Too bad I broke my finger 2 days later playing basketball. laugh.gif


Sidi Vertebra (2 steps below the big one, has the fins in back ankle protection and toe slider, but not the full out sidi race boot. Not perfed.) These held up great, only got dirty. No foot, ankle, or any other injuries. I worry w/o leathers about ankle support in the loose calf (about 1/8" space total) but they did really well.

Jeans - Gap or levi, can't remember. They're covered in oil anyway. These sucked. I have the nastiest looking bruise on my hip from these bad boys, but they were great w/the fairing combo for keeping the bike off of me / from burning me. Better than shorts! They didnt' tear, but no hip protection sucks alot.

These are a little loose in the calf w/o leather pants (was wearing jeans)

feel free to PM or email w/any other questions if you're not comfy putting them here!

turboLT, Jun 1 2006, 06:30 PMJeans - Gap or levi, can't remember.  They're covered in oil anyway.  These sucked. 

Jeans + crashing = No good however you look at it.

Full Gear is the only way to go! warranty.gif

turboLT, Jun 1 2006, 06:30 PMScorpion EXO 700.  This one is easy...I dont' think I hit my head.  Whether I did or not, helmet did its job (especially if I did!)  Don't re-use crashed helmets!  Helmet didnt' catch on anything and wrench my neck.  No visible damage, but its still going in the trash can.

Glad to hear you're alright and still with us.

With the price of helmets, you shoudl send your helmet back to Scorpion and have them X-ray it. Even if you went down in it, you may not have hit your head, so the helmet could be perfectly fine. Have it X-ray'd then toss it if it's trash. No sense in throwing your hard-earned $$ away, right? wink.gif

...just my $0.02
-vfrngtp

Are you going to get riding pants now? Overpants? to wear over jeans?

Hobie1dog, Jun 1 2006, 03:21 PMAre you going to get riding pants now?  Overpants? to wear over jeans?

yeah as soon as I can afford them i'm going to get some leather bottoms. Right now i'm already in debt getting the bike back up to where it needs to be to ride. I'm thinking the Vanson bottoms to match my new jacket, instead of spending more $$ in the long run (like I did with the jacket) and buying something that's OK but not great, then upgrading in 8 months.

Where these the gloves?

[image: user posted image]


The reason I ask.... I sold my Helds that didnt fit, and I was considering these Olympia's.... they are style 340 Kevlar

no, actually they were very basic kevlar gloves. I've read in several places that you should avoid knuckle guards like that because they could potentially shatter and fragment on impact. I can't find the exact gloves but they're very similar to these:

[image: user posted image]



Mine are like that except they say "KEVLAR" on them (clearly a marketing technique) and they don't have much of a guantlet. They also have no pads on the palms, just double leather.

turboLT, Jun 1 2006, 08:37 PMno, actually they were very basic kevlar gloves.  I've read in several places that you should avoid knuckle guards like that because they could potentially shatter and fragment on impact.  I can't find the exact gloves but they're very similar to these:

[image: user posted image]
Mine are like that except they say "KEVLAR" on them (clearly a marketing technique) and they don't have much of a guantlet.  They also have no pads on the palms, just double leather.

Then I guess it was these

[image: user posted image]

you are correct...nice find. I was about 2 minutes away from watching an episode of 24 when I wrote that post...

Where did you get injured on your lower body? I bought the FG fuel pants and love them, they are textile but have top grade leather on the hips and knees...very comfy.

Rules to live by, No matter the weather, always wear leather. If you don't like road rash, fork out the cash. tongue.gif

I have olympia gloves too, I like them

Um, if you didn't hit your head and your just going to throw your helmet in the trash...What size is it? What color is it? I might consider buying your "used" and "crashed" helmet. I mean, you might as well get a little money out of it... biggrin.gif

fdl3, Jun 3 2006, 10:31 AMUm, if you didn't hit your head and your just going to throw your helmet in the trash...What size is it? What color is it? I might consider buying your "used" and "crashed" helmet. I mean, you might as well get a little money out of it... biggrin.gif

landed on hip about 1/3 down from my butt. As far as the helmet goes, that same day just hours before I dropped the dang thing on a hard floor from hip height. Its not that I don't want to help you out, but i'm not really comfy selling something like that.

Don't buy a used helmet anyway, I could've rolled it down the stairs for pete's sake! And to be honest, I wasn't that impressed with the exo. its really humid here, but the "no fog" shields fogged the first week I had them, with all vents open, closed, whatever--it made no difference. And the lid was noisy as hell.

Will I buy another scorpion? Only if I can't afford the lid/face shield combo of something better / else.


As for the leathers, i'm still thinking i'm just going to buy them, even though that'll be a solid $500 of straight debt on the cc that I can't pay off for at least a month. It seems so stupid to willingly go into debt like that, but equally dumb to ride w/o decent gear. I'm really regretting the VFR at this point...it doesn't have the performance of a sportbike (not that I really need it) but its been a total hassle to fix, and there's still stuff wrong with it. I love the bike, but i'm ashamed to say that I was hoping progressive would total it. I've found more crap wrong with it than I care to even divulge, but lets just say takign it apart revealed a jergan's baby lotion bottle as an overflow tank (not kidding). sad.gif

Will I buy another scorpion? Only if I can't afford the lid/face shield combo of something better / else.
As for the leathers, i'm still thinking i'm just going to buy them, even though that'll be a solid $500 of straight debt on the cc that I can't pay off for at least a month. It seems so stupid to willingly go into debt like that, but equally dumb to ride w/o decent gear.

Very good point I just posted in another thread about how much I have investing in my gear and it was all courtesy of VISA baby.....but I feel better now!

JBY28, Jun 7 2006, 07:00 PMVery good point I just posted in another thread about how much I have investing in my gear and it was all courtesy of VISA baby.....but I feel better now!

+1.gif

I just ordered some more gear on my visa.

My only stipulation is I have to pay it off before I can crash it. That way, I can afford to fill it up again with more gear.

Chev, Jun 7 2006, 10:53 PM +1.gif

I just ordered some more gear on my visa. 

My only stipulation is I have to pay it off before I can crash it.  That way, I can afford to fill it up again with more gear.

between the new jacket, parts for the bike, back protector, boots and some other stuff i'm looking at almost 2500 on the cc right now. (SHUDDER)

And I think i'm just goin to bite the bullet and go all out to 3k+, then go through the hassle of pulling it back out of my house savings to pay it off. I guess its better than carryign a balance