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Is a riding gear good enough for just one fall / accident? I know the question is very subjective. In my case i met with an accident which was not major (broke a few ribs and clavicle bone), thanks to the gear i was wearing.
1. Jacket: Rynox Tornado Pro
2. Gloves: Bikeratti Vind
3. Shoes: Orazo Picus
4. Helmet: Axor Turbine

Since i was completely suited up, i did not have any external injury. Not even a minor scratch. The impact of fall was on my front part of body where i guess, the shoulder would have met a hard rock on the road, thus breaking my clavicle and ribs. I have no doubts, without any of these gears, things would have been quite different that day.

On my jacket, the left shoulder was damaged and the sleeve as torn. My gloves were scraped completely and fully torn. My shoes scraped too, but i guess the steel toes helped. No major damage there. On my helmet, the visor scraped and just a few scratches.







The gloves i know are torn beyond repair. But for the jacket, I contacted Rynox to check if they would mend them. But they have indicated that it is beyond repair and have offered 20% discount on new one if i choose to buy. My question is how much damage is bad enough to retire the jacket? It is just the left shoulder and arm that is torn. Rest of the jacket is fully intact and does not have a single scratch. While Rynox, in their email have mentioned specifically not to get it repaired outside too as it is not safe to wear the jacket anymore. With all the 600DU polyester, Cordura etc.. are these good enough for just 1 bad day? I am looking to buy a new jacket soon, i am not sure which brand to go for.. any advise would help..

Vikash, I like your attitude, you call breaking a few ribs and clavicle bone nothing major :thumbs up Hope you are well and recovered completely now and thanks to your guardian angel there were no other injuries.

Since you have experienced first hand the safety your gear provided, why take a chance with repairing the jacket. Please take the 20% discount which is being offered and get yourself a new jacket. With Rynox proving themselves to you the hard way, why not another Rynox jacket.

Getting proper full riding boots may also be a good idea. Plenty of stuff out there depending on how much you want to spend. Experts here will be able to guide you better on brands and such.

Take care and ride safe.

Cheers

Thank you. I am putting up a bold front as my family doesn’t want me to ride bikes anymore. As i am just 40, i took the conservative approach and the bones healed on its own. It was quite painful during the 1st month and now after 3 months, i am slowing trying to get back to normal. I cant stress enough on how essential the riding gears are and how they have saved me.

I have purchased riding pants (Rynox - Advento) and got a full gauntlet gloves from Rynox (Storm EVO 2). But i was not sure if I should go for a new Jacket as i thought the Jacket is still in great shape except for the tear in the left side. Regarding the riding boots, i did try a few. But since i ride RE Meteor and my sitting position is more of a cruiser (legs stretched to the front) i found that full riding boots sort of hinder my foot movements. Not sure if this is because i am not used to wearing them. Can you suggest any good Touring boots that I can try.

If not already tried, the ideal riding boots would be the RE STELVIO MID RISE BOOTS (The mid-size ones). A friend who rides the Meteor found these ones to be perfect.

Yes if the fall is rough and protection is torn/damaged, time to say thank you for saving your skin and invest in a new one. Most falls on hard ground can tear any riding gear (and that is what they are designed for), only on soft soil or slush do they have a chance to survive.

Mate whenever you are buying riding gears also check the CE level rating (Level 1 and 2) and the type of armor (Knox, D3O, Sas-Tec, etc.). It is preferable to go for CE Level 2 as it is an upgrade over Level 1. Among the types of armor it depends on your choice as all three are good in their own way. Knox is from UK, D3O is from Italy and Sas-Tec is from Germany, if that helps.

If you can up your budget a little bit there are very good options from International reputed brands like Rev'it, Komine, etc. I second with Neil recommending RE riding Jackets as I have been using one and am quite satisfied with the quality and level of protection it offers. It is recommended to invest at least 20% of the money (20% of your Motorcycle cost when you bought it) on riding gears.

Vikash mate like others have recommended, it is better to discard your torn jacket as its integrity might have been compromised as confirmed by the manufacturer themselves. I had an accident in 2019 where I was knocked down by a high speed impact. As I was in my full riding gears I walked away from the accident. My riding jacket (Cramster Eclipse) and riding pant (DSG Nero) did not have any visible signs of major tear or scratch. There were some minor abrasions but nothing that would compromise the integrity of the jacket and pants. I went ahead and changed all the armors with new ones. In your case the tear is in multiple places and it is advisable that you start looking for a set of new riding gears.

I'm using the TVS jacket on a Honda/Yamaha. Never bothered me. The jacket is really good quality & VFM. Yamaha Blue (Banashankari) also stocks some great jackets for 6-7K. I'll also suggest Scimitar

Thanks for your inputs Navin, will sure check RE jackets

I will be checking out TVS Asphalt Neon jacket this weekend, hopefully I find the right size :)

Firstly, very happy to know that the accident did not result in more injury and you are safe and sound with no long term injury.

Coming to your questions:

JUNK IT. The jacket is torn. There is simply no two ways about repairing and reusing. There are three key elements in a jacket that are protecting you - the quality of the material (abrasion protection), the quality of the insert guards (impact protection); and the quality of the stitching of the jacket (does it hold up in a crash to protect you fully).

Once there jacket is torn there is no question of repairing it - it will never revert to the factory condition in which it was sold.

New jacket:

Really depends on the budget. Assuming you want to remain in the ballpark Rynox range or in strike range above that, I would highly recommend looking at both Komine and Held (I’d rate Held a hint better than Komine maybe and both definitely better than Rynox). I’m mentioning purely because I’ve seen these at LABS and therefore have some familiarity with them - there could be other great brands also in the same ballpark. If you want to stay in the same segment, then Rynox is an excellent option too.

Coming to Rynox, my one con qua Rynox is the weight factor - they are really heavy compared to their equivalent offerings from some other brands. But they do give good quality inserts (CE2 protection) in several of their models, which is a good thing).

When judging a jacket, rate it on quality of inserts (CE1 vs CE2 etc), what your level of confidence is in the stitch (online research) and of course fit - a good fit directly aids or impairs your mobility and comfort on the bike. Weight is an added factor worth considering which can also determine how comfortable it is for long hours in the saddle.

You did not mention anything about your helmet. If it has taken a meaningful impact, I would seriously recommend replacing the helmet too, regardless of what the visible damage looks like on the surface. At least that’s what they recommend in a perfect world. You might want to check some online videos or articles on this aspect as well.

Good luck and safe riding.

Thank you

Yes for sure. I already have the L2 protectors for Shoulder, Back and Arms. I would certainly go for L2 and no compromise there for sure having learnt it the hard way. I have never looked at Komine and Held.. Will certainly check it out before i decide.

The helmet visor scraped and has some scratches on it. Otherwise the helmet is in perfect shape. I have already changed the visor.

Today I bought one of the most comfortable shoes, the TCX BLAZE with Ortholite sole. TCX is really in a class of its own. Stylish, Lightweight, and good materials throughout - this should last a long time

In anticipation of an upcoming ride this year, I have slowly been upgrading my riding gear.

Here's a list of the items I've upgraded in the last 6 months or so:

1. Jacket - BBG Xplorer. It is a mesh jacket, build quality seems good. Comes with L2 protectors - at least that's what the company claims. I hope I never get to test this :D. The back protector has a weird shape so getting a 3rd party replacement may be a bit of issue.
Picked it up from Vroooom ProGear's store in Hyderabad. I paid somewhere around Rs. 7600/- as far as I remember. Comes with a bright orange external rain liner and a grey liner for cold weather. The cold liner can be worn separately in a pinch - doesn't look too shabby.

2. Boots - Tarmac Adventure Pro (Brown). Based on good feedback from fellow members (such as this and this), I finally got the Tarmac adv pro boots in December last year. I've been on a few weekend rides with them and they seem comfortable enough with solid protection. Walking short distances seems to be fine. The only grouse I have is that the 'Tarmac' lettering seems to be just falling off - just a cosmetic issue shouldn't affect the protection.
Got them from CustomElements.in for Rs. 11,999. Packing was nice, however the delivery experience by Delhivery was poor. They delayed the delivery for no apparent reason. I had to go and pick up the package myself (and it took them 20 minutes to locate it since it was buried under a pile of other packages). :Frustrati

3. Gloves - Shima RS2. I've added a quick review here. It took some time to get used to them. Initially they were a bit tight, but over the last 6 months they've become really comfortable. Full gauntlet gloves are best worn with jackets that don't have a large cuff - otherwise they become uncomfortable. My older jacket had a large velcro strap on the wrist so these gloves are really uncomfortable with that jacket.
Got them from GTHouse for Rs. 8999.

4. Chest Guard - Alpinestars Nucleon Flex Pro Protector (Large) - picked these up last week. They fit the front pocket in the BBG Xplorer jacket perfectly - almost as if they're made for them. The protectors are nice and flexible. I haven't worn them on a ride however, I put them in and wore the jacket for a few minutes around the house. I wasn't uncomfortable at all - I could barely feel the protectors.
Thank you RiderZone for helping with this decision.
Got them from CustomElements.in for Rs. 2999. Shipping and delivery experience by Delhivery was good this time.

I was considering getting a riding pant as well, but the Bikeratti riding denims have been doing well so I will postpone this purchase for next year.

I'm looking to get a pair of boot covers to protect the riding boots in case of rain, etc. Does anyone have any good or bad experience with these? I'm looking at the ones from MotoTech: https://www.customelements.in/product/mototech-trooper-black-grey-boot-covers/

The Tarmac boots are waterproof ! You don't really need covers for them. I've tried and tested them in torrential Mumbai monsoons and my feet have been bone dry (Normal socks inside). I've also walked across shallow waters wearing them and still the same result.

If you still want feedback on boot covers (RE boot cover in my case) - the main grouse is that the sole portion usually isn't very grippy and most of the time the patterns would be different from the boot. Also, it's an additional piece of gear you will need to wear - becomes cumbersome in stop and go downpour. Since you already have a WP boot - doesn't make sense.

Thank you for the feedback - it helps a lot. The boot covers don't make much sense in t his case. The sole being slippery was a worry I had, it seems this will probably be a useless expense. :)

Congrats on your boots, I recently picked these up for myself. I love how they look, used them on a couple of rides and they seem to be really comfortable.