Do you wear all the safety equipment you are supposed to?

Merlin III

New member
ATGATT.

Full riding suit (Olympia mesh suit)
Full face Helmet (HJC RPHA Max)
Gauntlet gloves (Joe Rocket)
Boots (Bates Talimenas or Dainese Fulcrums)

Takes just a minute to suit up - the one-piece suit is super easy to wear, and in addition to protecting me in case of an off, it keeps the road grunge off my clothes too! And since it's 80% mesh, it flows plenty of air for the SoCal weather.

I have been slipping lately with temps near 90 degrees. I have gone out with just helmet and gloves on occasion. The problem is that it takes me probably 5 minutes or so to suit up and when I get to my destination it takes 5 minutes or so to take it off and of course I have to pack it away in the top case. So, I guess I am a 90 percenter, but I always wear a helmet.
 

Shanghai Dan

New member
Try just a mesh jacket and knee pads (offroad type). That is really good protection and should take no more than 1 minute to put on/take off... And a mesh jacket can be cooler than just a T shirt as it flows about the same amount of air but keeps the direct sun off your skin. I have a Joe Rocket Phoenix 5.0 that has amazing air flow.
 

Steven

Member
I need this but I need it to be able to handle the cold too, at least down to below 30 degrees. I'm thinking layers, but I need to research it.
 

Shanghai Dan

New member
When I ride in the winter (including my trip to CES - Los Angeles to Las Vegas, two mountain passes and snow last year), I use the mesh for the base layer, then put rain gear over that. It's 100% waterproof - and thus windproof! A nice warm sweater underneath the jacket and I was toasty to 30 degrees and snow last winter, for 5 hours. Some waterproof gloves and boots and it was no problem.

Even some nights coming home from LAX it is a bit cold at night along the ocean so I will just put on the rain jacket. That really toasts up nicely... :)
 

Shanghai Dan

New member
Yep! And I always have the rain gear in a saddlebag - you never know when you need it... :) I have some Fox offroad rain gear, very heavy duty, no problem crumpling it up and packing it away for months at a time.
 

Merlin III

New member
I concur with Dan's rain gear usage. It makes a great wind breaker. I used it as my outer layer going around Lake Superior. In fact, as was stated by others, It got so cold that I layered up using everything I had in the bags from double winter underwear, multiple tee shirts, etc. IMO, unless you ride all four seasons, there is no need to have 4 season MC clothing. The only jacket I have is my BMW mesh jacket and optional liner.
 

Steven

Member
I went over the front of my bike once (a small patch of gravel on pavement - using front brake) and landed on my chest sliding. I was wearing a wool jacket and it didn't get damaged at all. I never got it clean again, but it was completely intact. The other time I went down I was wearing leather gloves with cloth inserts and the leather wore through very quickly. I decided then to not do that again, it was 40 years ago.

The other day I was riding in the country and the asphalt road turn to gravel (not a problem), but then it turned to thick sand (problem). I lost almost all control of the steering and was a moment away from a major tank slapper, it was like riding on ice. Fortunately I got it stopped before I went down, I was only going about 20 mph or less. Even 5 mph on this stuff was too much. I learned that there are just some places the CTX just cannot go with street tires.

The moral of the story is that no matter how careful I was, there is always the possibility that I could go down. Now I'm seriously considering the Crazy Russian crash bars.
 
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Merlin III

New member
I went down during college because of my own immaturity. The scrapes on my knees were intense and very painful It prevented me from walking for about six weeks. It kept me socially isolated because of the smell of infected scrapes. It amazes me to see a video like this one of someone sliding on blacktop and receiving no road rash.
 

randy1149

New member
The moral of the story is that no matter how careful I was, there is always the possibility that I could go down. Now I'm seriously considering the Crazy Russian crash bars.

Me too Steven, the Russian Crazy Crash Bars. I'm holding because... I know for a fact (don't ask) the full face of my left saddle bag hits the ground when dropped... thanks for those painted side panel accessories... also with sanding and polishing can get most of the lower scratches out.

I've been looking for some info on those crash bars but I can't find out pix of videos of what they protect. It looks OK for the front but what of the rear? I have saddle bags & a 43 LTR top box loaded up which changes center gravity of this bike significantly between both items.

Can't seem to find across the WEB any pix or videos on the full protecting these bars provide. Without something like a rear loop for rear protection, it's not worth anything.
 
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MJC

Super Moderator
Me too Steven, the Russian Crazy Crash Bars. I'm holding because... I know for a fact (don't ask) the full face of my left saddle bag hits the ground when dropped... thanks for those painted side panel accessories... also with sanding and polishing can get most of the lower scratches out.

I've been looking for some info on those crash bars but I can't find out pix of videos of what they protect. It looks OK for the front but what of the rear? I have saddle bags & a 43 LTR top box loaded up which changes center gravity of this bike significantly between both items.

Can't seem to find across the WEB any pix or videos on the full protecting these bars provide. Without something like a rear loop for rear protection, it's not worth anything.

Are these the bars you are talking about? f6138-1 (1).jpg
If so you can find them at: http://www.motea.com/en/crashbars/crash-bars-fehling-honda-ctx-700-n-14-16-black-i3463-44841-0.htm
 

randy1149

New member
mjc, thanks for the reply. Russian Crash Bar seems to be flavor of the month for CTX700 crash bars. Essentially they pretty much do the same thing including not mentioning about the rear of the bike. Below is another, Google Image for the CTX700 Russian Crash Bar and you'll get lots more. I'd be interested any of them if they have an answer for rear protection.
 

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Steven

Member
Randy, I ordered the Crazy bars because if I were to go down it might be able to protect the plastic in front which could get very expensive. Besides, if I were on a trip and there were bit's and pieces hanging off the bike from a fall, it could end the trip. As for the back, as long as the bags would survive with cosmetic damage that's better than nothing. I got bags like DevilsFan (Viking) ( http://www.ctx700-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=361 ). Between the bars in front and the saddle bags in the back there is the possibility that they could keep the bike off my leg during a fall.

And... Now I have a place to put highway pegs, or wind defectors, or lights, or....

There... I think I've fully justified, to myself, that this was a worthwhile purchase. :p
 

randy1149

New member
Steven, thanks for the reply... my bike drops differently than your. I have 2" offsets on my floorboards, the boards are lower and farther back as the pegs or "normally" mounted boards, so when the bike falls the boards touch the ground much earlier as stock, resulting no fairing touches the ground. I've posted them on this forum, (HERE).

The bike falls on 3 contact points, the end of the handle bar, the floor boards and the full face of the SB's probably because of the bags and the top box gravital inertia. So I guess I'm at the same point as you as far as hardware in jeopardy concerns. I'll keep looking for rear protection.
 
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Steven

Member
Apparently you've given this far more thought than I have. My bike fell over partially when I installed the center stand. When I pulled it off the center stand for the first time I forgot to pull up the side stand so when the bike came down, the side stand landed on my foot and the bike began leaning away from me coming to a rest on the right side foot peg. I was still pulling on the bike so it didn't go down hard. I can't remember if I let go of the bike at that point so it might be that it could stay in that position (or not). If the bike had fallen faster, I'm sure it would have pivoted over the foot peg.

If you look at the two photos it appears that front would be protected fairly well by the Russian bars.

View attachment 419ctx700_crashbars_.jpg


I remember reading about people dragging their foot pegs/boards around corners and if I remember correctly the next thing that dragged was the tail pipe or it's fittings (right side of bike). Of course, the left side is a different story. If the bike fell over completely on it's side, pivoting over the foot pegs, my side bags would hit first and then the crash bars. That's all conjecture. My side bags stick out the furthest from the bike so they are probably going to hit first after the foot pegs and/or muffler.

Needless to say, it all depends on how hard the bike falls over. I guess that all we can hope for is that the bike get's minimal damage in a minor fall over. I did look at the bars that mjc posted and I thought that the Russian bars looked beefier. I could be wrong. However, they look like they would offer better protection if they didn't bend.
 

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ponydrvr

Member
To comment on the OP's question; I never ride without All The Gear All The Time. I did once many years ago, I was so nervous riding naked I had to turn around and go home to get dressed with ATG.
 

MJC

Super Moderator
mjc, thanks for the reply. Russian Crash Bar seems to be flavor of the month for CTX700 crash bars. Essentially they pretty much do the same thing including not mentioning about the rear of the bike. Below is another, Google Image for the CTX700 Russian Crash Bar and you'll get lots more. I'd be interested any of them if they have an answer for rear protection.

Randy1149, wait on the front crash bars, I am working on making some rear bag crash bars, they will protect your bags and stop the bike from totally going over. I may use the German designed front bars and make the rear work together with them. The Russian ones do not protect the bike at a lower point the bike has to go way over before they start working. So to be clear, I am working on crash bars for the ctx700 with rear bags, front foot broads, full fairing, and top case. They will stop the bike at about a 40 degree angle and the bike will not fall over. This is if you are going slow or at a stop, if riding fast nothing is going to stop you from high siding the bike. If you want I can keep you posted but should be done for next riding season.
 

randy1149

New member
mjc, yes keep me posted. I'm only interested in rear protection as my floorboard mod has protected the front. With rear protections that clears the SB I should be good to go.
 
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