After looking at the track day pics, it appeared that many people were wearing 2 piece, lightly armored suits. Not to get onto a soapbox, but I HIGHLY recommend going out and buying a full suit.  Zippers fail, and most 2 piece setups do not zip around the entire thing. They are also generally lacking in the armor department.  My recommendations:


Wear a mouthpiece! I almost bit off my tongue when I went down. I always wear a mouthpiece at the track now. Cost about $2

Back protector. We do not need any Chris Reeves in this group.

Track worthy leathers. I like kangaroo myself. No break in period.

Gauntlet style gloves with armor and a secure wrist strap. Most quality gloves will have a strap over the wrist, and then a larger one at the end of the gauntlet.

Leave the touring boots at home.

A quality helmet that fits properly. If the helmet is too loose, your brain will still get scrambled.


Mos of the people on this forum are probably rolling their eyes right now  I just felt that it was important to bring this up. Gear is not a place to skimp. It is there to save your life.

Thanks for the advise! 

Hey I thought you were going to be there Saturday?  was I dreaming that???

I agree that people need to wear the best gear they can afford to help manage the risk. However, each of us will manage risk a little differently at the track.  Personally, I think that the street poses a greater risk, yet most people will not wear full leathers, etc on the street because the goal (at least for me) is to ride well within your skill limits in the street.  If people go to a track day with the intent of slowly learning and not taking much more risk than what they are supposed to do in the street, I think their 2-piece gear should be fine.  Some people, like myself, do push a little bit more on the track (but still never to the point where I'm scaring myself) so I wear more gear (in addition to your list, I also wear a chest protector).  

Another factor to consider is your accident may not be necessarily caused by you. At the track, we are all subject to other people's willingness to take risks (no mirrors, so we don't even know what someone is doing until they are next to us).  Especially in Novice groups and also Intermediate groups, it's important that everyone also consider how other people in the track manage risk and try to be considerate of that.  If someone is being cautious and seems tentative, then they need to be given a very wide berth.  If one wants to be within inches of another bike, then they really need to go race because in those situations, everyone understands their risks and how aggressive everyone around them is expected to behave.

By the way, I like the idea of a mouthpiece and may try that.

Another piece of 'gear' I use are earplugs. Though not necessarily directly related to impact safety, it still protects your hearing and allows better concentration.

In my opinion though, the best safety gear on the track  is a bunch of riders using their brains to make the right decisions and being respectful of others.

Quote from: ThelmaLou on October 20, 2008, 06:19:59 PM
Thanks for the advise! 

Hey I thought you were going to be there Saturday?  was I dreaming that???

Just dreaming, unfortunately. Had prior commitments

I agree that the street is more dangerous. That is why I wear my leathers on group rides. I would for commuting if it were feasible. Some 2 piece leathes are fine. I should have said that the ones that only zip in the rear are not as good. I do feel that a one piece suit should be used if possible.

It was great turning up to that group ride a couple of weeks ago and have most everyone in track day leathers - inspires me to be more deligent when choosing gear for a ride, even if it is "just across town."

Are you trying to tell me that this may not be track appropriate gear? 

Quote from: BarneePhife on October 20, 2008, 06:51:11 PM
Are you trying to tell me that this may not be track appropriate gear? 

My guess is that there is body armor under that get-up. 

Besides, ain't that a trike? 

Quote from: caffeinejunkee on October 20, 2008, 06:52:37 PM
My guess is that there is body armor under that get-up. 

Besides, ain't that a trike? 

Yeah, but I like his style.  He doesn't sacrifice a stylish outfit for safety.  Gettin' the best of both worlds.

Your helmet should be adorned with feathers!
Your mouthpeace is good, but wear lipstick dog-gone-it!
Your leathers are essential, but who says they can't be pink with tassels and fuchsia sequins!
Boots and gloves are critical - but let's color coordinate people!

[moto]

My f'ed up computer just lost my long winded reply to Zach's thread and I have no idea why. Piece of s#@t high tech crap!! At least you were all spared my long winded bulls#@t. Point is I agree with Zach. I like my Joe Rocket two piece suits but they do zip 360 degrees not just that 8 inch piece of s#@t zipper like some suits. They compare favorably to their one piece suits. Too bad it's so hard for me to get into my nice one piece Fieldsheer suit. It hurts... damn broken neck!! There, end of rant.

Quote from: BarneePhife on October 20, 2008, 06:51:11 PM
Are you trying to tell me that this may not be track appropriate gear? 

If I'm not mistaken, he's wearing full leathers with a t-shirt over them.....He was one of the instructors on the track and was running faster laps than 90% of the novices on that weird thing.  He works at AMS-A and owned that GT1000 SC with the custom red and black paint job.

I am sure that was a humbling experience for many folks. It's never the bike... it's always the rider. Time proven statement of all time. [moto]

That was Mark, he's wearing full leathers in that pic but has an "instructor" shirt on so people know that he's around

Quote from: pipeliner1978 on October 20, 2008, 07:36:49 PM
If I'm not mistaken, he's wearing full leathers with a t-shirt over them.....He was one of the instructors on the track and was running faster laps than 90% of the novices on that weird thing.  He works at AMS-A and owned that GT1000 SC with the custom red and black paint job.

humbling for me no doubt as sparks flew when he would cut the corners around me.    No matter, I was there for technique so I kept telling myself to hell with speed.

Slag, I for one do appreciate your concern for those of us who may not be 'up' on the gear issue. This gives me fuel to do it right. After being in back of Marquez I have to wonder how he would have fared with better gear. So, first hand observation has told me not to skrimp on that.

Derrick said the same thng when I asked him Saturday about the subject of gear. He could not stress enough about how important your hands need protecting. He had an accident in which his hands were tore up pretty bad. The nuerosurgeon told him that your hands move and respond because it takes more than 50% of  your brain to move your fingers. He even mentioned Sir L'Blur's accident and his atttention to protection. (Purely unsolicited Sir I promise!)

Actually Mark and I talked a lot that day. He has taken a regular Piaggio 500 and put a moto exhaust along with other mods had made the bi/trike into a fun full on cross prepped scoot.  Bryant nailed it, he was wearing leathers and the shirt did denote his instructor tag. He helped me out at the grid control a lot.