[Anonymous]

Motorcycle boots are specific in many ways.

1. Protection up front over your shin for road debris
2. solid ankle protection
3. sometimes rain protection (gortex in mine)
4. a sole designed for traction in rain and to help with moving your bike (for instance, mine has better grip on the tippy toes)
5. usually a indentation on the soles to keep you feet in good peg position
6. shift pad
7. on racing boots, the extra protection is designed for a lowside where your front outside toes would hit first
8. They're wicked sick looking and are essential for non-squid folk



(personal choice price/quality) S-MX3

http://www.alpinestars.com/_lp/moto_boots_road.htm

of course.... you really can't go wrong with SIDI

I went to a motorcycle shop so size me up for different brands and then went ebay!

[zleviticus]

I went to a motorcycle shop so size me up for different brands and then went ebay!

the problem i have is that the local dealerships don;t have much of selection to try stuff on.. I need to find a large place to go that is fairly close.

[Haggisman]

always ride with good BOOTS, the amount of money that you spend will not compare to the amount of pain that you will go through if you don't wear somthing with good protection

[KatDan]

hey Z, if you're ever up around Dayton, OH Competition Accesories has a pretty good selection of JR and Alpinestars boots. kind of a long way to go, but it might help you out.

[woobie]

There's a crash vid on the net of a guy blowing a wheelie, The first thing you see as he hit's the ground and starts rolling down the road behind his bike is his tennis shoes flying off and his sock feet showing as he slids by .

I wore combat boots last year, but grabbed some Alpinestar SMX boots for this season and they are awesome.

[Reece]

interesting article on gear

Personally, I'm not sure if I'd buy boots before a jacket, but an interesting read, non-the-less:

http://www.ixion.org.uk/Leather2.html

"The Good Doctor tells me that, statistically speaking, you want to protect yourself from the feet up. He tells me about this idea of a rating of the frequency with which an injury occurs (over, say the UK in a year) and the dehabilitation caused by the injury. Turn the statistics into betting odds, and we're talking about your chances of not being able to walk after a crash. Now, the Good Doctor says that this rating DECREASES as you go up the body, ie.fewer people are dehabilitated from chest injuries or back injuries than from foot injuries. Yes, I found it hard to believe too, but he's got the st atistics ! That means, protect your feet first, then your legs, then your body. He admits that there's a peak at the head, ie. the head causes more dehabilitation than the body, but from there down, this rule holds.

I openly admit that this all came as news to me. I told him all sorts of scenarios - chest injuries from upper body impact : ruptured kidneys from back impact : broken back from back impact - he told me that statistically speaking, they just don't happen. Back injuries seldom happen to bikers - and those that do would not be prevented by back protectors. "How so ?", I ask him. Well, statistically speaking, all back injuries in bikers (and they're few and far between) involve bending or twisting of the back - like when you r shoulder or chin hits the ground hard, with resultant detrimental effects on your back. Back protector won't help there, pal. He tells me that broken ankles are the most common injury you can imagine. Compare them to broken backs and you're talking mountains and molehills. Surprising stuff. Time to revise my ideas on protection.

Okay, so what can we draw from all this. Polynorbonene is the only padding to have. I don't know of anyone in the US supplying the stuff, and only three in the UK. Please e-mail me for details, if you want. On the other hand, I'm sure you're going to turn round and tell me that the stuff has been in the US for years, and how come we haven't heard of it?

The next point is very interesting - you need more protection to your feet and legs than to any other part of the body (apart from the head). How many salespeople have you heard saying that ? "None" is my answer. So don't believe the salespeople.

So to sum up, my advice to anyone thinking about leathers would be as follows :-

1-Before you do anything else, go out and buy yourself a decent pair of boots, with built-in ankle protection. By that, I don't mean armour in the boot, what's more important is that the boot grips the ankle so that any twisting or bending action is prevented. Take a look at a good quality pair of mountaineering boots for an example of this. They're built specifically to protect against this, since it's easy to break an ankle on uneven ground and it's then a big problem getting home.

2-Then buy yourself a good pair of leather jeans, double-layered in the right places, and padded (in the same places) with Polynorbonene (if you can find it).

3-Lastly, buy a jacket with the same double-layering and padding rules."

[Kat600noob]

DVS mechanic shoe/boot.

I didn't want to wear motorcycle cross looking riding boots that I couldn't wear with jeans and look like a goon, but I was surely not going to wear tennis shoes, so I bought DVS mechanic shoes. They are above the ankle, have a rubber toe cap for shifting, and are very thick and durable, and also have water proof linings between the tongue and shoe, and supposedly are quick dry (I haven't tested this theory yet) Comfortable and practical. They look good with jeans, khakis, whatever really. They are like riding shoes inspired by skate shoes. I love them.

[92xjunker]

I wear full race boots with shin protection.

[rschlegel]

I have a pair of Joe Rocket boots. Before those I used my Keen work boots and they worked well. It just took a bit to get used to because externally they are much larger than MC specific boots and had one close call when the lace loop caught on my foot peg and did not let my foot down. Luckily I was able to lean the bike toward the foot I could get down.

[KAT TOY]

I didn't want to wear motorcycle cross looking riding boots that I couldn't wear with jeans and look like a goon, but I was surely not going to wear tennis shoes, so I bought DVS mechanic shoes. They are above the ankle, have a rubber toe cap for shifting, and are very thick and durable, and also have water proof linings between the tongue and shoe, and supposedly are quick dry (I haven't tested this theory yet) Comfortable and practical. They look good with jeans, khakis, whatever really. They are like riding shoes inspired by skate shoes. I love them.

+1 on shoe laces causing issues.

[cupofresh]

So are you all wearing your riding boots and jacket if your making a quick 5-10 min trip? (those of us without a cage). I usually wear my jacket and boots along with carharts for my 5 min commute to work, but yesterday I was heading out to play frisbee with some friends and it was a nice day, so I didn't put on my boots and just left the jacket at home. My ride was 7 min max, and I understand that I took a risk by not wearing my gear on the way there, I just want to know what others do in that situation. Do you wear full gear for a put around town?

[rockat]

I am too worried about destroying some part(s) of my body, so yeah, I wear jacket, gloves, helmet, pants and boots probably 97% of the time. I do it so often that I feel exposed and foolish whenever I go and I am missing even one of those items.

[rschlegel]

So are you all wearing your riding boots and jacket if your making a quick 5-10 min trip? (those of us without a cage). I usually wear my jacket and boots along with carharts for my 5 min commute to work, but yesterday I was heading out to play frisbee with some friends and it was a nice day, so I didn't put on my boots and just left the jacket at home. My ride was 7 min max, and I understand that I took a risk by not wearing my gear on the way there, I just want to know what others do in that situation. Do you wear full gear for a put around town?

The store is about 1.5 miles away I will leave the jacket and will wear jeans. I still wear boots, gloves and helmet.
The dumbest thing I do is after doing a little work on the bike and then wanting to check it out, I will ride it up and down my street with whatever I'm wearing while working on it. I know I at least should throw a helmet on. I live on a culdesac and don't speed up and down the street. An example was checking it out after a clutch adjustment to see how it felt.
Other than those times it jacket and riding pants with all the other gear.

[loneraider]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwu7MMdXQEc

These are great riding boots!! I picked up a pair on Kijji Toronto
for less than half price. They fit like a glove, very comfortable and gives
you some of the best protection you can buy for your feet ,ankles & shins.

[5point0guy]

i wear tennis shoes...i do know the dangers...my buddy came off his cbr wearing tennis shoes...i now know what a tendon on the top of your foot looks like.

i would like some nice riding boots...but i do so much short riding i dont need them as often..

of course a boot would stay on and protect better then shoes...

i will NEVER wear flip flops though...thats a definat no no..