Which piece of gear do you wish you had never brought or own and why?

Nelly

International Liaison
Elite Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2007
Messages
8,945
Reaction score
125
Points
63
Location
Co Offaly, ROI
Visit site
Without doubt the worst piece of gear I own is my current helmet.
The Caberg konda.
It was designed to use with Cabergs Bluetooth system which is an added extra. There are two large holes exactly where your ears sit.
I don't want the Bluetooth gizmo and I always use ear plugs. The holes act like a boom boom box for the wind.
I have fixed this to a degree by using some padding from an old lid to reduce the wind noise.
The worst features is the visor, if I ride with it just barely cracked open rain runs down the inside and collects right in front of my line of sight, I have tried everything to fix it to no avail. It is such an issue that I have to pull over and remove the helmet to remove the water.
I really like this helmets modular functions, drop down Sun visor easy to open with one hand, however I will not buy another. Tell me about your worst bit of gear.
Nelly
umy8y2um.jpg


Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
 

Botch

I.Y.A.A.Y.A.S!!
Elite Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
Messages
3,946
Reaction score
44
Points
0
Location
Ogden UT
Visit site
I kinda went overboard on trying different pannier and rear bags; there was nothing really wrong with any of them but I couldn't find a set I really liked. I have a beemer for long trips now so its a moot point (guess I should take a few pics and see if anyone here could use any of them).
 

JKJ-FZ6

Junior Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2012
Messages
19
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Minnesota
Visit site
Not exactly motorcycle gear, but tuning up my old bicycle brought back memories. Cycling shoes :(
To fit in with other riders with their silly shorts and Pompadour helmets I felt I had to have the fancy shoes too. Painful to ride with, impossible to walk... (CLACK CLACK CLACK!). I do well enough with sneakers for the bike now, and boots for the FZ6 thank you very much.:Flip:
 

VEGASRIDER

100K Mile Member
Elite Member
Site Supporter
Joined
May 5, 2007
Messages
6,495
Reaction score
127
Points
63
Location
RENO, NEVADA USA
Visit site
Anything made by Joe Rocket, it has ripped every time from normal wear, in less than six month of use. Specifically gloves and jacket.
 

paperpirate

Junior Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2013
Messages
55
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
leeds/ west yorkshire
Visit site
one of them anti-fogging screens, I ride with a snoode on all year except mid summer when its red hot, pretty rare for us! anyway with the snoode and anti steam combo i can never see where I'm going!!

luckily nothing more expensive than that so far, tend to have one set of kit and stick with it
 

Flat_FZ6

Junior Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2013
Messages
125
Reaction score
1
Points
0
Location
Royal Oak, MI
Visit site
Joe Rocket textile jacket, it's way too long for a Sportbike riding position.

Fieldsheer gauntlet gloves...I quickly bought Held Phantoms after realizing how little protection they offered.

Basically, I regret buying cheap gear because I always end up replacing it with better gear.
 

greg

UK Luchador
Moderator
Joined
Aug 3, 2010
Messages
1,771
Reaction score
12
Points
0
Location
Stockport, UK
Visit site
Spada "waterproof" boots. They appear to be made of some kind of mesh, wore them for about 1 year, now I have some proper gore-tex boots which I wear for commuting.
 

Recluse420

Junior Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2011
Messages
216
Reaction score
1
Points
0
Location
Seattle
Visit site
GMAX POS! Suckered into one of these because I didn't want to drop $450 on the sweet ICON lid. $110 toy for my son now, but whatever he thinks it's awesome, pulled it out for him last night I think he was more excited when I gave him that then his sweet Power Wheels Dune Racer for xmas. This turd foggs up at the snap of a finger, even a 3 year old in a warm room fogged it up. It also run's to big and pull's wind like a mother.
 

odachi13

Junior Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2013
Messages
123
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Nottingham, England.
Visit site
It seems with most manufacturers the term waterproof doesn't really apply to our weather. I would like to see a "British Weatherproof guarantee" on products.
My Akito "all weather" suit leaks around the zips and arm seams, and my Oxtar/tcx boots only just ever seemed to fill up with water.

Weise gloves and Frank Thomas boots do seem to keep the water out just fine. No luck on a jacket yet short of dropping £600 for some Rukka gear.
 

Recluse420

Junior Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2011
Messages
216
Reaction score
1
Points
0
Location
Seattle
Visit site
It seems with most manufacturers the term waterproof doesn't really apply to our weather. I would like to see a "British Weatherproof guarantee" on products.
My Akito "all weather" suit leaks around the zips and arm seams, and my Oxtar/tcx boots only just ever seemed to fill up with water.

Weise gloves and Frank Thomas boots do seem to keep the water out just fine. No luck on a jacket yet short of dropping £600 for some Rukka gear.

This x100. I live in Seattle so I can relate to the rain. Only gear I have bought that is truly water proof has been from Frogg Toggs. My cheap Tourmaster $99 leaked if it rained to hard, my $229 all season Tourmaaster does the same, First Gear Gloves x2 pairs, my Tourmaster All season pants took about a year, and the ICON PDX rain jacket only lasted one year before it leaked out. It's so hard to find good solid reviews on gear that has been used in extreme rain, sure it will keep you dry in a drizzle but can I make it 30+ miles in a down pour. It keeps me away from buying expensive gear.
 

Flat_FZ6

Junior Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2013
Messages
125
Reaction score
1
Points
0
Location
Royal Oak, MI
Visit site
GMAX POS! Suckered into one of these because I didn't want to drop $450 on the sweet ICON lid. $110 toy for my son now, but whatever he thinks it's awesome, pulled it out for him last night I think he was more excited when I gave him that then his sweet Power Wheels Dune Racer for xmas. This turd foggs up at the snap of a finger, even a 3 year old in a warm room fogged it up. It also run's to big and pull's wind like a mother.

Did you pick up a variant? I kind of like mine, but it pulls like crazy on a naked bike and when looking over my shoulder.
 

Recluse420

Junior Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2011
Messages
216
Reaction score
1
Points
0
Location
Seattle
Visit site
Did you pick up a variant? I kind of like mine, but it pulls like crazy on a naked bike and when looking over my shoulder.

No but I would really like to, what keeps me away is that it sounds like I could get equal or better performance for half the price. I just love the look of it, wish more companies would get away from the standard shapes.
 

turbid

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2009
Messages
649
Reaction score
11
Points
0
Location
malta
Visit site
Yes unfortunately i bought some lemons too.

major one was the vemar jiano helmet, it was a modular with built in sunvisor. the modular chin stopped wanting to stay locked in the upright position after a few months use, and the fabric tore open just after a couple of months. it was expensive too. when the shop i bought it from wrote to vemar about this particular dismal helmet, no reply was offered.

i had a set of nitro boots that claimed to be waterproof. at the sight of a puddle they got drenched! and the sole started to part company from the upper after a couple of uses.

i also have a HELD waterproof jacket (given to us by the employer). it barely keeps you dry in a drizzle, let alone a downpour!
 
Last edited:

xyy81t

Junior Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2014
Messages
29
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
North Oxfordshire
Visit site
My Weise Boots and Frank Thomas suit has kept me dry in all wet conditions i've exposed them to (I do Clean and wax the boots after every wet use) except for the time I wasnt thinking and tucked my pant legs into the boots, Water found its way in then!
 

Ohendo

Site Supporter
Joined
Jan 29, 2012
Messages
596
Reaction score
125
Points
43
Location
Downingtown, PA
Visit site
...Basically, I regret buying cheap gear because I always end up replacing it with better gear.

On that note...
My first jacket was a cheap Xelement jacket from Leatherup.com - liner zippers broke first week, stitching frayed after first ride. Waste of $70. Bought a much higher quality First Gear jacket later, still going strong.

Also: Cheap lids from eBay. Just not worth it - went through two of them. Cheap glue used to hold pads in, falls apart quickly. And the visors always have some sort of distortion in them. Ended up getting a Shoei and haven't looked back.

Cheap gear might meet the basic needs for a short while, but if you can afford it, get quality gear right out of the gates.
 

yamihoe

Professional test dummy
Joined
Nov 16, 2011
Messages
937
Reaction score
7
Points
0
Location
kennesaw, Ga
Visit site
My scorpion helmet, noisy, chips wayyyy to easily and last week the strap broke :eek:

interestingly my Joe rocket stuff is for the most part held up very well (KOW)
 

Cloggy

Euro Mod
Elite Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2007
Messages
4,886
Reaction score
113
Points
63
Location
Alkmaar Netherlands
Visit site
I recently picked up a Shoei Neotec helmet. I guess for that kind of money I had expected much more. The chin vent is a rocker type, but it's really easy to accidently close it by knocking it whilst taking off the helmet or opening the visor. Both vents (chin & head) directs (cold) air directly onto your face and forehead (my Nolan N101 would circulate the air more). If it gets any colder (and it is a warm winter at the moment) I will have to buy a balaclava instead of the neckroll I now use.
The absolute worst thing from the chin vent is that last week during one of the (many) winter squalls the rain was being blown through the vent and onto the inside of the visor, :eek:, with a damp liner (and no circulation) the visor also steamed up at the next traffic light :(
Also the noise levels are rediculously high (again in comparison with my Nolan N101), I've had ringing ears on more than one occassion.
 
Last edited:
Top