How To Choose The Right Motorcycle Riding Gear For Winter?
With the winter right on top of us, you don’t want to be caught unprepared while going on a ride with your friends. The most important thing about staying warm in the winter is be completely insulated and prevent the cold air from getting inside your body. For that, you are going to need the right set of motorcycle riding gears in addition to a high-quality motorcycle helmet. Speaking of helmets, compared to open face or half face helmets, full-face helmets are the best when it comes to blocking air and keeping your face and neck warm on your rides. You can also check out modular helmets which allow you to convert the full-face helmet into an open-face helmet with just a few clicks of the levers conveniently placed on the sides of the helmet.
Here is everything you need to know about purchasing the right good quality branded motorcycle riding gears for your winter rides.
Focus on safety first
Start by focusing on the safety aspects of the motorcycle riding gears and check for all the necessary certifications and trust marks placed on the product before making your purchase. Never compromise on the safety aspects just for the sake of style or looks because at the end of the day you want the motorcycle riding gear to protect you from injuries and make you look cool! While looks are important, that can never be the first aspect when you decide upon which motorcycle riding gear you should purchase. In case of motorcycle riding jackets, it might be carbon-fiber reinforcements placed on critical locations which come in contact with the tarmac first in the event of an accident. The same goes for motorcycle riding gloves as well. While purchasing a full-face motorcycle helmet check for the dot or ECE certification mark if you are in America or Europe, and for the ISI mark if you are in India.
Prepare for the worst
Always go one step beyond the worst you expect to happen during a motorcycle ride. This way you will be over-prepared, which is a good thing than being under-prepared. Make a little more investment in purchasing a higher quality product which will give you better safety in the event of an accident then under cutting your expenses by purchasing something cheap which might not do any good even in a minor accident. It is always the smartest plan to be ready for the worse and then a little! The key thing to remember about purchasing motorcycle riding accessories is the protective features that are placed on the product.
Get the size right
If the size of your motorcycle riding gear isn’t right, you won’t get any winter insulation from them because tiny little gaps in the product will allow cold air to seep in and chill you down to the bone! Also, a loose-fitting helmet does no good because there is a very high chance it will fly off your head as soon as you hit the ground! A general rule of thumb about purchasing winter motorcycle riding accessories is to have all of the different parts overlap one another. What we mean by that is that the gloves should overlap the sleeves of your motorcycle riding jacket, the boots must overlap the end of your riding pants. The same goes for the helmet overlapping the collar of your riding jacket.
Multiple layers vs. One thick jacket
The temperature in a tropical country such as India, the temperature changes quite a lot during the winter and you might not always be riding in an arctic-like condition. What that means is that you might not always need a very heavy winter riding jacket on you at all times because it will eventually lead to the formation of sweat and you don’t want that during winter. The best way to deal with the changing winter temperatures is to layer up your apparel by putting on several thin pieces of clothes rather than depending on one thick jacket that you can’t play with if the temperature gets warm.
Windscreen & handlebar guards
In addition to the gloves and jackets, you also need some additional protection against the chilling wind. And you can get that with aftermarket windscreens and handlebar guards. This will give you the adequate wind protection and help your winter riding gear to do its job properly.