We riders talk a lot about motorcycle safety, or the lack thereof. We hear about crashes, and our buddies tell us about their mishaps. Sometimes, we experience our own.

But those of us who wear gear when we ride have also likely experienced the occasional event, that turns out to be a non-event. And this is the reason I am an ATGATT rider. I’m always in a full-face or modular helmet, armored jacket, decent gloves, boots, pants. I don’t have riding gear, I have a riding wardrobe. And that wardrobe is for one thing: to keep me riding.

Hey, Let’s Talk About Motorcycles

If you’re reading this site, I’m going to guess, like me, motorcycles are one of your favorite things. Riding them, working on them, talking about them, smelling them, sitting around staring at them. Doesn’t matter. They’ve always been my favorite. One of my first words (no shit) was “motorcycle.”

You have probably heard the old “live to ride another day” axiom. I don’t want to ride “another day.” I want to ride this afternoon, tomorrow, and the day after that.

An Unplanned Stop

A few years ago, I was commuting on a warm but misty morning on Route 3 in Billerica, MA. I went to slow down for my exit, and the clutch lever on my KLR loosened suddenly with a “clunk” and the engine did not disengage. I instantly knew my clutch cable had snapped, and there I was in the exit lane, in fairly heavy traffic, in 5th gear.

That engine had some torque, and downshifting without a clutch was not something it wanted to do. If there hadn’t been cars stopped at the end of the exit ramp I think I could’ve turned right and made it through. But there were, and in my attempt to sneak around them, I hit the wet fog line with my front tire at a pretty good angle, and down I went. In a moment I was on the ground and my bike was under the back of a Volvo.

I had time to think “WTF? Am I … crashing?”

I always kept a close eye on the cables at the bars. Lesson Learned: lube that pivot, and pull back the boot to inspect the clutch at the engine side. Photo: Kate Murphy

Sorry, Volvo

The car I’d (only kind of) hit was piloted by a guy who was also a rider, and he was super gracious about the whole thing. It was not a new car, but I’d added a scuff and knocked his tow-hook cover cap loose.

Photo: Kate Murphy

When the adrenaline wore off, and the (very) local shop (shout out to Billerica Motorsports here) came and picked up the KLR, I called a co-worker. She came and picked me up (I was 0.7 miles from work but motorcycle boots are not great to walk in). I was only a little late to work, and had to get a ride home that night.

And that is the end of the story: Because riding gear. No hospitals, no road rash, no recovery.

The bike took a little damage, but that’s what crash protection is for. Photo: Kate Murphy

How The Gear Did

My helmet (a Scorpion modular) was toast. I had hit something (I have no recollection) on the way down. A Volvo bumper? Pavement? My top triple? The chinbar was pretty smashed and I had a fat lip. It had done its job, and I tossed it.

My (Joe Rocket mesh) jacket had a tear on the left elbow, right where the elbow armor sits. I had no injury to my elbow.

My (Joe Rocket Alter Ego) riding pants were scuffed on the outside of the left leg, with tears, again, where the hip and knee armor sits. I had a very small abrasion on my calf, just above my boot, but no injury to my hip or knee.

My left Rev’It glove had a scuff on the palm, and I had no injury to my hand.

My Sidi boots caught the worst of it, as one was under the bike as it slid. The plastic plates on the boot got pretty scuffed up. My feet had no injuries.

These were not new boots at the time of the crash, but the armor was untouched. I do not like to think about what my ankle would have looked like if this protection had not been in place. [Photo: Kate Murphy]

Roll The Next Bike Out

I owned multiple helmets then – still do. I have multiple bikes, and the aforementioned wardrobe. The day after that crash, I suited up and rode to work again.

That’s the key benefit of armored riding gear that nobody talks about: it lets you keep riding. It turns small events into non-events. It turns moderate events into small events, and definitely mitigates large events. That armor means hitting the pavement will hurt way, way less than without it. It means not every crash ends a trip, or even a day. Pick the bike up, straighten the brake lever with a rock and ride on.