What does ATGATT mean to you? What gear specifically

Bilko

Bilko

Joined
Jun 15, 2015
Messages
22
Location
Utah
Bike
2008 ST1300A
I'm looking to return to the sport later this year and have been building my "hit list" of items to purchase. In the past, I've pretty much just had a helmet, leather jacket, and normal jeans with tennis shoes.

Now I'm thinking of more protection and plan to wear ATGATT - but certainly that means different things to different people

To me, ATGATT includes the following as basic elements, with the specifics I'm considering in parenthesis:

Helmet..........(Shark EVO 3, I like the idea of full face or easy transition to 3/4 )
Motorcycle Jacket..........(Xelement Men's Black Pistol Pete Buffalo Leather Armored Classic Biker Jacket)
Leather Pants, Chaps or Kevlar Jeans..........(Big Mens Draggin' jeans - maybe Xelement Men's Classic Loose Fit Leather Pants)
Gloves..........(Aerostich Elkskin Roper Gloves)
Boots...........(Belleville Waterproof Black Safety Toe Flight and Flight Deck Boots, or TCX X-Square Sport WP Boots)

The question I have is what about Hip, Knee Armor, or Kidney belt, are these elements you consider a basic part of ATGATT? I'd also have rain gear available on board.
 
I can say from experience that ATGATT is the ONLY way to ride. I got totaled out from behind Oct 14, sliding 150 on my back. All the gear did its job. I had Olympia Moto-X jacket, Moto-X pants (zips to pants, many spots melted), HJC IS-17 Hi-Viz helmet (not much left), Tourmaster boots (still able to use them), and IRC gloves.

I have replaced all the gear with new. Same jacket, pants, HJC IS-17 Genisis helmet, Tourmaster Air boots, and can't remember what gloves. The jacket/pants have armor in all the right places and the boots have good padding.

Just the other day I was going for a ride on my Wee and had put a pair of blue jeans on. Then I thought, you dummy, you have the riding pants in the closet so took the jeans off and put the riding pants on.

So without a doubt, I will ONLY ride ATGATT!!!
 
For me, ATGATT is...

  • Full Face Helmet, modular in my case (Shoei Multitec)
  • textile or mesh jacket with elbow, back and shoulder protection
  • textile/mesh pants with knee and hip protection
  • boots
  • gloves
I wear all of this 99% of the time I ride. In winter, I add warmer boots, heated jacket liner and heated gloves. And sometimes snow pants if it's really cold. ;)
 
Yep... what they said. ATGATT is where it's at.

Motorcycle specific jacket, with CE armor in elbow, shoulder and back. Semi mesh in summer, leather in colder weather.
Motorcycle over-pants, CE armor in hips and knees. Again, semi mesh in summer, leather in cold.
Full face (modular) helmet. Only open it if I need to talk to someone or sneeze.
Motorcycle specific gloves, with knuckle protectors.
Motorcycle specific boots with ankle and shin protection, full height.

Twice I have tested my gear. Tested the mesh on a corner slide, tested the leather when I was cut-off on the highway. Dislocated my shoulder on the first round with a slight bruise on my hip, had a cut needing two stitches on the second get-off along with a bruised chest and sore wrist. Ambulance workers were very happy to work hard and not cut my leather. It worked and they wanted me to keep riding with it.

Leather still looks good considering I hit the pavement at 50+ mph, mesh needed a few patches where it was ground on the pavement probably around 40 mph.
 
I have crash tested my skin and I have crash tested my "gear". I prefer the gear!
 
The minimum ATGATT for me is a helmet, abrasion resistant jacket, boots, and gloves. I'll wear jeans which do significantly better than skin in low speed spills (I've tried both :cry:). For trips longer than around town, I add an armored jacket and pants with armor. For dual sport and offroad riding, I add offroad boots, more offroad armor, and a Leatt neck brace
 
ATGATT for me is:
Shoei Quest helmet
Joe Rocket Ballistic jacket with armor for winter
Joe Rocket mesh jacket with armor for summer
Joe Rocket over pants with armor
Gloves are mc specific usually. I have 2 pair of Held gloves with gauntlets. I do wear a pair of mechanics brand gloves when its hot.
Shoes are either Danner with safety toe or Red Wings with safety toe. Both are gore tex.
 
To me ATGATT is like wearing a condom when you were a kid 75 cents prevents a life time of grief.

Nolan N104
multiple Olympia jackets and pants depending on the day and situation. All with armor
Gloves full leather one with armor and gantlet and another without.
alpinestar grand torismo boots.
And ear plugs

I seldom ride without gear, on occasion blue jeans.
 
Shoei Neotech Borealis helmet - hi-viz yellow
Motoport kevlar jacket and overpants - matching hi-viz yellow stripes
HD waterproof boots
Kevlar vented gloves for summer
Kevlar lined gloves for cooler temps
Heated liner for winter
Heated gloves for winter
 

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To me, ATGATT means 'All The Gear, All The Time'. What does it mean to you? :4is:

Ok, ok...
Helmet, armored jacket, armored gloves (motorcycle specific), armored pants, boots.
'Armored' to me means at least having replaceable padding or built in abrasion-resistant structure at bendy or bumpy points on the body (knees, hips, elbows, shoulders, spine, knuckles, ankles)
 
+ 1 on your list and hearing protection. Nobody mentioned eye protection yet. I don't think the plastic visor blocks uv rays because I've gotten sunburn on long rides on the slab. So, yes, I almost always wear sunglasses (prescription - which makes the almost meaningless - or clear glasses if its thunderstorming or evening)

Armor? Not purchased specifically. My First Gear jacket came with hard elbow cups and a back pad, and my pants came with knee and hip protection.

I wear deerskin gloves - not enough protection - and I'm looking for heavier duty gloves such as Held Steves or something similar. What I really think I need is some sort of butt protection (smile - just kidding) wouldn't want to become half assed.

At a rally this weekend, some of us rode out to get breakfast at a GA airport about half a mile away. I wore normal pants - not the MC First Gears. Got there and discovered that the cafe closed in the last year and we had to ride farther to find food. I felt naked. This was the first time in a long time that I did not wear the MC pants. I won't forget the feeling for quite a while. And I wont get on the bike without them.
 
Same as most here. I've tested my gear on a low side get off. Not as fast as some but the gear did its job.
All The Gear: helmet, jacket, pants, boots, gloves. All have armour except the summer gloves are lighter so mostly just leather for those.
All The Time: Yep, even the ride to the corner gas station just to fill the tank. Of course that is 1.4 miles but still. I know many riders who don't want to be troubled with putting on the gear for such a short ride. I figure better to be bothered than to spend any amount of time with a doctor or in a hospital getting stitched up and mended. Any accident can happen at any distance from home be it 100 miles or 100 feet. My driveway is only 40 feet to the street. BDC is out there on that street. If it's too short to bother with the gear then it's short enough to walk there. :)

Oh, and yea, I do wear ear protection too when I even just might go farther than around the block. The music sounds better through the ear plugs anyway. :)
 
With the ear protection, I guess it's a trade off if you want to use bluetooth communication? I was thinking of the Sena SMH10D-11, but have zero experience with any sort of modern communication with the pillion or does the bluetooth unit help filter noise too? For freeway I have been using ear plugs.

My first bike was a 1978 Yamaha DT400 - it's a two stroke, tons of fun and very loud. I remember my ears buzzing after being on it for any extended period of time.
 
I think you already know the answer to your question.

BTW- jeans give equivalent protection to a pair of Speedos.
 
Bilko said:
With the ear protection, I guess it's a trade off if you want to use bluetooth communication? I was thinking of the Sena SMH10D-11, but have zero experience with any sort of modern communication with the pillion or does the bluetooth unit help filter noise too? For freeway I have been using ear plugs.

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Don't know what you mean by "trade off" if you want to use BT. I use BT and it works fine with or without ear plugs. Just turn up the volume a bit with ear plugs. My Sena unit has plenty of volume level for that. Many BT units do filter noise coming through the mic, but that's more for others listening to what you speak into your mic, that doesn't really do anything for you (other than possibly a little feedback) for the wind and highway noise that is around you otherwise. Without the ear plugs music and talk put out by the BT unit sounds a bit tinny but with ear plugs there is better quality of sound IMHO :grin: Still a long way from audiophile quality since we are talking smallish speakers and being on a motorcycle with all kinds of other noise being cancelled.
 
I have made an off hand comment to a couple of non gear users that the road was just a giant belt sander waiting for you some day, and they never rode without gear again.
 
Cut off jeans, a tank top, and flip flops, while wearing a German type helmet, while going commando :rofl1:
On my metropolitan at least...
 
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