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| Gear for riding in |
| Having been riding in the UK for a while, we've accumulated a load of bike gear...but that's no reason for not buying more :-) |
| We started off looking for all-weather gear that was going to be warm and dry - and then realised that we'd be riding in temperatures well above what we're used to in the UK - like about 20°C minimum - so our pre-conceptions were probably way adrift...! Then we swung back the other way and decided to ride in Dainese body armour and motocross jerseys, which weren't really suitable as we're trying to be inconspicuous, and being dressed like the front page of Dirt Bike Monthly isn't particularly subtle. Finally, after much discussion, we've settled on the gear outlined below. |
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Lids - we considered Roof Boxers (in Will's experience, build quality not great and tend to let insects through the gap under the visor - though the flip front is very convenient). We also looked at motocross helmets by Acerbis (etc.) before deciding that they were probably a bit too loud. After doing a lot of reading we decided to follow like sheep and get Arai Tour-X helmets as worn by (you guessed it) the LongWayRound guys. Two white Tour-X in medium, please...! In a nutshell, the Tour-X has a peak on the front for a bit of shade from the sun and it has a visor as per normal road lids but also has enough space to wear goggles if required (very useful when it's dusty). And we both have Arai-shaped heads so the choice was simple to be honest... |
Goggles - recommended by David Lambert, Scott Element Desert goggles. They have foam membranes to keep the sand and dirt out from the eyespace and are light and flexible...nice. And they're pretty cheap too :-) These should be useful when we're riding on really dusty or sandy roads - sand and dust can blow up under the chin of the helmet and get in your eyes which can be inconvenient. The Tour-X helmets have a big enough face gap to allow goggles to fit in place with the visor up, which is nice... |
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| Inter-bike comms - we had a long debate about bike to bike radios and their value. |
The disadvantages:
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However, we believe the advantages are more important:
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| The last point cannot be emphasised enough. In all the bike travels we've done within Europe, trying to get a message across is a real difficulty, and even waving your hand for different signals can be confusing, thus it would make much more sense, and reduce the need for continued stopping, to have radios. |
| So. These have to be good to work well on a gusty, draughty bike. We didn't want music, and we didn't need pillion communication. The Autocom equipment, looked great, but was out of our budget. Will sourced a pair of Motorola T6500 radios with 5 mile range and VOX (Voice-activated transmission). These radios are fantastic bits of kit. Small, very robust, and rubberised, and brimming full of useful features like call tone, vibrate, Vox, many channels, encryption, and they take AA batteries including rechargeables. And all this for £20 + £20 shipping off ebay. |
The headsets had to have proven quality. We did not want the hassle and the wiring that goes with PTT (Push to talk) button transmission, but if we wanted VOX, we had to make sure we got a quality headset. It took a great deal of research both on the internet and speaking to people in the know to find a manufacturer that sold QUALITY motorcycle noise-cancelling microphones. The company up to the job was World-wide Comms. We had deliberately picked a popular radio that would be compatible. These guys offered an excellent service, and can tailor the equipment to your needs. We opted for the "Heavy-Duty VOX" headset, incl front-mount noise-cancelling mic with Heavy Duty cable, two velcro earpieces, IMC100 connector break near helmet and straight down lead, with VOX sensitivity control in-line. This will allow us to control the sensitivity of the mic for VOX, depending on the speed / terrain we are on. |
Jackets - we need something waterproof, comfortable, with a load of pockets to keep stuff in, but something that's not going to be too hot. We checked out the BMW kit worn by the LongWayRound guys and apart from being really goddamn expensive (£380 for just the jacket!!! (Rallye 2)) and looking a little too co-ordinated, it looked like it would be a bit too hot as well, especially the trousers. |
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So - after discounting Dainese armour and motocross tops & trousers, we paid a visit to Hein Gericke. Two hours and lots of trying things on later, we decided on the jackets - both from the Hein Gericke Tuareg range. Will got the Rallye Gore-tex jacket (in a subtle black and cream colour), Matt got the Rally Raid jacket (in a fetching black/khaki/orange livery). Both have removable quilted liners, sleeve vents and many, many pockets. They also have built-in loops for water bladders (e.g. Platypus) so we can drink (water) whilst on the bikes. The Rallye Raid jacket has a ShellTex liner built into the outer jacket so it's always waterproof whereas with the Rallye GoreTex only the liner is waterproof - so you can wear it as a waterproof in it's own right. Swings and roundabouts. Now we need to make them look a bit less shiny and new... |
Trousers - the trousers that are paired with the jackets we bought are pretty solid but probably far too heavy and hot for riding in South America. Motocross ones were Right Out - so - we started looking for more casual stuff. We considered army surplus combat trousers with knee armour underneath but, like the Dainese/motorcross idea it's probably too much effort to put on in the morning with a blinding tequila hangover. |
| We discovered kevlar-lined jeans made by Draggin jeans (in Australia apparently) but then found Hood Jeans, based near Norwich, who make kevlar-lined jeans too - and they're British!! A saturday morning trip up to see them proved invaluable - a small family-run business, they tailored our jeans to us individually, fitted custom armour (Knox for Matt, Hiprotec for Will), added pockets and altered hems - in short, a fantastic service - they come highly recommended. The armour fits between the outer jean fabric and the inner kevlar lining and hangs just loose enough to look good off the bike - obviously a major consideration for fashionistas such as us. We'll let you know how they work out... |
| Will got a pair of green army combat-style pants in light polycotton, Matt got a pair of tan cargo-style pants in slightly heavier cotton drill fabric - both are lined with woven kevlar fabric and both should be great in the heat of south america. Neither pair are waterproof so we have additional waterproof gear we can wear over the top if needs be - see the off-bike gear page for details. |