Motorcycling is one of the most dangerous activity you can engage in. Thoroughly exhilarating and truly breathtaking are the words I use to describe an activity which accounts for 44.5% or 69,240 deaths in India annually according to a report by NCRB in 2021. The next most common cause of traffic fatalities are cars which account for 15.1% or 23,531 deaths,almost 1/3rd of the number of deaths caused by two wheeled vehicles.
Unlike a car most motorcycles do not come with safety features like airbags. If you are lucky,all you will get is a simple ISI certified helmet which absolutely isn't enough when it comes to your safety while riding. If you are a beginner about to buy your first motorcycle,try to buy a second hand machine so you can invest in safety gears. That doesn't mean a more seasoned rider can be free of safety because arguably an experienced rider will make mistakes by simply being too confident.
This is a brief guide for fellow riders who are confused by the everchanging market of riding gears.
Helmets -
Helmets,perhaps the most important piece of gear you can buy is cursed by largely different safety standards. ISI,ECE,DOT,SNELL,FIM are few of the common safety certifications a helmet can have so which one to buy?
As of today (10th august 2023) ISI certification is necessary for helmets in India to be legally used on public roads. If you have an ISI marked helmet,it is arguably better than outdated DOT certification which has not been changed for dacades. Look out for ECE 22.06 sticker on helmets,manufacturers are allowed to sell ECE 22.05 certified helmets till 2024 DO NOT buy them. SNELL is perhaps the most dumbest certification for motorcycle helmets,do not break you bank over this unnecessary certification. FIM on the other hand is identical to ECE 22.06 so unless you are planning to race in events which require FIM certified gear there is no need to buy expensive FIM certified helmets. Stick with ECE 22.06 and save your pretty penny for jackets.
My personal recommendation would be to buy Ignyte IGN-7 ECE 22.06, this particular helmet ticks off almost all of the boxes in my list - light weight, sun visor, ventilation, safety standards, comparatively affordable, double D rings (always buy helmets which have double D rings) and it is widely available in India.
Jackets and pants -
Jackets and pants are the only pieces of gear which covers maximum surface area on your body. To keep your skin from shedding and bones from breaking, invest in a jacket and a pant which is CE certified. Most brands in India provide CE certified armours but the gear is never certified. Even the most popular brand Rynox doesn't have CE certified jackets or pants in it's lineup. There are 3 levels of CE certified gears, 'A' rated, 'AA' rated and 'AAA' rated. 'A' rated gear meets the minimum requirment for both impact and abrasion resistance, 'AA' rated gear is middle of the class in both impact and abrasion resistance and 'AAA' is the best gear money can buy when it comes to protection. Since there is a lack of CE certified gears in India, the only option riders are left with is to check the material used in that piece of gear. Be on look out for a body constructed with 600D or higher denier fabrics with 1000D or higher denier fabrics laminated over the most common impact zones (shoulders, elbows, knees, hips). Make sure the laminated patches cover wide area around the most common impact zones. Always buy a gear which has CE level 2 armours included and invest in armours which are not included with your gear,like adding a chest and back armour to your jacket will definitely improve the level of protection even if chances of you taking a fall on your chest and back are much lower than shoulders and elbows. Make sure the armours are not bulky and restrictive. If you are buying a CE certified gear then make sure that there is a tag on the gear like the one below.
Any CE certified gear and armour which is tested for motorcycle use will have a tag with pictogram of a motorcyclist on just like the one above. The only exceptions are helmets since it has a sticker which states its certification.
Gloves -
Gloves are perhaps the most required piece of gear since a rider is most likely to push out their hands while falling off their bikes. Beyond that, any damage to fingers and hands will instantly render a rider incapable of riding their machines.
A good rider never skimps on the gloves they buy.
There are two categories of gloves, Gauntlet and short cuff. Gauntlet gloves reaches lower than the wrist and helps in restricting wrist movement to some degree in instance of an accident and also provides protection to a much larger area compared to a short cuff glove. There are 3 types of CE certification for gloves, level 1, level 1 KP and level 2.
Level 1 and Level 1 KP are the same except the 'KP' stands for knuckle protectors. Level 2 gloves are the best gloves in terms of protection and they always have knuckle protectors.
The Indian market is cursed with unaffordable CE certified gloves so look out for -
glove which is made out of sheepskin leather
TPU sliders on scaphoids and wrist
TPU or metal knuckle guard
CE certified knuckle armor
pre-curved fingers
palm grips
touch screen compatible finger tips
pinky bridge (a piece of fabric which joins the little finger sleeve to ring finger sleeve).
If a glove ticks off first 4 things from the above list, it is good enough for daily short commutes.
Footwear -
Footwear is the most overlooked piece of equipment. Wearing it can be the difference between crushed ankles and a minor foot pain. There are 3 basic types of footwear, shoes, boots and tall boots. To understand which one to choose, a rider must understand how riding footwear works. Riding footwear decreases injury caused by an accident to a rider's foot by restricting the movement of their ankles and rigid shell diminishes compressive force experienced by the rider's foot. There are armours underneath the hard exterior to dampen any big impacts from transmitting all the force straight into bones. Riding shoes are good for daily use as they are discreet but they lack in any sort of protection to ankle and above. Boots on the other hand grips the ankle and helps in restricting ankle movement. Tall boots go beyond the ankles and covers a rider's shins which keeps the shin bones intact in case of an accident, these type of boots also prevents a rider's legs from being mushed and burned when their leg is trapped under their motorcycle.
There are two levels of CE certification for riding footwear, level 1 and level 2.
Be on look out for-
TPU or metal toe box.
Metal shank
Made with leather
Rigid shell
Protector on shin and ankle
CE certified armor
Sliders on toes
If a shoe meets ticks off first 4 things on the list then that footwear is good enough for small distance daily commuting.
Tip - Wearing a base-layer underneath jacket and pants will help to prevent skin shearing.
Wearing riding gear is a necessity and every rider from 125cc motorcycles to 1000+cc supersports should invest in good quality gear. I have only covered the basics of riding gears without delving too deep into the terminologies. Ride safe!
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