Reference: ATGATT

Have a question or suggestion on gear? Then it goes here.
FinchR88
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Nov 15, 2015 10:58 pm
Location: Valley of the Sun AZ

Reference: ATGATT

Postby FinchR88 » Fri Jul 08, 2016 9:34 pm

From the TWF site - if you are the author please take credit and I will cite your work! Again, if this is in the wrong place, needs to be edited for any reason, etc. . . . let me know and I'll move it to the right place. :) -finchr88 (Aimee)





Importance of Gear
ATGATT as defined by TWF

A lot of new riders ask, what is ATGATT? The easy answer is that ATGATT stands for All The Gear All The Time. In reality, it goes a bit deeper than that.

While most riding schools deem it acceptable to wear a long sleeve t-shirt, blue jeans, and over the ankle boots (hiking boots) for a basic rider course, TWF does not agree that these items are appropriate motorcycle gear for the open road. Indeed, they are only marginally appropriate for parking lot practice since even a tip over at slow speeds can cause a lot of preventable injury.

Both pants and jackets intended to be worn while riding need to at least provide abrasion resistance throughout the product. If we are not wearing abrasion resistant protective attire on both our upper and lower body, we cannot consider ourselves ATGATT. At best, we might consider ourselves MOTGATT (most of the gear all the time). That however, does nothing more than confuse the issue as we attempt to justify which parts of us are worth protecting and which parts of us we are willing to sacrifice.

There are certain items that you may notice did not make the list, fingerless gloves, half-helmets, motorcycle shoe and boots without ankle protection, etc. Wearing these items is better than nothing, just as wearing jeans is better than wearing shorts. In reality though, the protection offered may give a false sense of security. It is for this reason that only items providing more complete protection are included in TWF's definition of ATGATT.

What follows is a list of options that give you the freedom to choose your gear knowing that you are ATGATT, and safer for it.

Brain:

Wait, what? It is very simple. If your head isn't in the game, it doesn't matter how much gear you wear, you are still a danger to yourself and to others.


Levels of ATGATT from more protective to less protective:

Helmet:

Appropriately certified full face helmet
Appropriately certified ¾ helmet

Jacket:

Motorcycle jacket with armor and an airbag vest or jacket
Motorcycle jacket with armor: Textile or Leather
Motorcycle jacket without armor: Textile or Leather

Pants:

Motorcycle abrasion resistant pants with armor: Textile or Leather
Motorcycle abrasion resistant pants without armor: Textile or Leather
CE approved Kevlar jeans with chaps
CE approved Kevlar jeans without chaps
NOTE: not all Kevlar is created equal. Look for kevlar or kevlar blend that is CE approved to get the best quality
NOTE: a one-piece suit may be substituted for separate jacket/pants for a greater level of protection

Boots:

Motocross or Race boots with built in hard parts for greatest protection
Motorcycle boots with ankle protection and shin protection (traditional boot height)
Motorcycle boots with ankle protection but no extra shin protection

Gloves:

Full fabric textile or leather gloves with knuckle protection
Motorcycle mesh gloves with knuckle protection
Full fabric textile or leather gloves without knuckle protection
Motorcycle mesh gloves without knuckle protection

Eyes:

Full-face helmet
Shatterproof eyewear


So all this gear costs way too much for a new rider to afford, right? Well no, not when you consider that the cost of the average hospital emergency room visit runs about $650 and that isn't including any medical procedures, just the visit itself. As LT explained in the thread "Gearing up for the first time," you can buy all the gear for about $600, and it will last you for a few years.

ATGATT just makes sense.
__________________________________________________ ___________
User avatar
VStar
Posts: 144
Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2015 12:50 am
Location: Willoughby, OH

Re: Reference: ATGATT

Postby VStar » Sat Jul 16, 2016 1:38 am

That so sounds like LT. Hope she's doing well.
I've been there before. Can I get there, again?

Return to “All Things Gear Related”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests