I've been riding street bikes for about 15 years and just recently bought my first dirt bike. I have all of the street gear--helmet, jacket, gloves, boots.. and I even have a full leather suit with boots for when I do track days. It would seem to me that my street gear, particularly the helmet (a pretty-nice Shoei in my situation), ought to do a more-than-adequate job protecting me while offroading. But then again, I don't want to crash and find out the hard (painful) way that I've made an incorrect assumption.

I plan on doing some trail riding and probably some MX track riding. Do I need to buy dirt bike specific gear, or can I continue wearing my street bike gear while offroading my dirt bike? And why?

(I realize that dirt bike gear is relatively inexpensive compared to street bike gear, but if I can save money doing double duty with my street gear, that's more money I can spend on other bike-related goodies.)

Thanks!

Yes, you can but there are a couple of issues. The generally lower speeds and higher physical demands off road riding means you are going to get awful toasty real quick in your street gear. The street gear will provide superior protection except in the area of boots. Street boots are generally pretty flimsy compared to off road boots. They just are not designed to kick rocks around etc. Other than that just watch our for the fashion police.:busted:

You will over heat in your street gear... Go get a cheap set of gear from one of the big online parts place.. They have sets ..boots, pants, gloves all that..

I also added dirt riding when I have many years of street riding. First, if you use some of your gear in the dirt, then don't plan on using it for street anymore. It will get dirty and torn up quickly. Your helmet can be used, but you will get hot. You can remove the face shield and use goggles to help with this. Get dirt boots. Your street boots will not protect you well in the dirt.

just get some cheap dirt gear u will be roasting in street gear and u will be miserable. Even in mx gear i get very hot if its over 85 f.

I think you will find the street helmet to be a bit too closed off for comfort. I have used my street helmet (also a Shoei) for a quick dirt romp, and found it to be way too confining. The large open area of a moto helmet does wonders for air flow. As others have said, the street boots will not offer much at all in protecting you feet from rocks, etc. Even the cheapest off road boots will be a major upgrade.

New to dirt? Have motorcycle gear of some sort? You have a leg up on the average guy new to the sport. Most show up with a borrowed, poor fitting helmet, maybe some sort of hiking/construction boots, a pair of garden gloves.
Wear what you have. Determine what you need. You do not need a full kit on day one. Some of the gear, you may never need, depending on where and how you ride. The stuff can be very expensive and going out and dumping a lot of money into is not a wise idea. Go riding, see what others are wearing, ask them how they like it, advantages/disadvantages.

I rode for about six months during my latest re-introduction to the dirt before I started getting any dirt specific gear. Everything I got, I am pleased with. Careful shopping.

Sadly, MX gear is way too fashion conscious. Here to day, new styles the next. If you actually look fashionable and can ride, no on can see you as you are a blur (or covered in mud), so what's the point? I swear some people spend way more on outfits and bike graphics than they do on basic maintenance. Don't be one of them

I hate to say it, but yes you will need new gear. You will not need the latest and the greatest, but when it gets hot you will die on a dirt bike wearing a full leather suit.

I'd me more concerned with tearing up that expensive Shoei street helmet. One good soil sample and you can trash that helmet. Expensive lesson learned. You can get dirt helmets fairly cheap. I picked up my hjc for $100. It's perfect for me.

The cool thing is, you're getting into the dirt thing at a time when a lot of places are running specials on dirt gear. Anything you decide to get can be had at some pretty good discounts/ closeouts, saving a lot of $. That's what I did when I got back into this a couple years ago. Rocky Mountain was running a closeout sale, and I got pants, jersy, and gloves for less than $50. Not that you need or want all that, but , the deals are there right now.

I'm pretty sure I would LMAO if I saw someone on a trail in leathers. For one, you will totally ruin your street gear riding in the dirt. You'll tear your leathers, scratch your helmet, etc.

There are many places with very affordable closeout gear. The least you should have are: Helmet, boots, gloves and goggles. You can get away with jeans and a long sleeve shirt, or t-shirt if your arent riding real tight stuff. Also check out Ebay. I buy leftover or slightly used gear real cheap. A HJC helmet is good quality at a great price to get you started. Try not to skimp on boots though.

the bare essentials are helmet, boots, goggles, and gloves. Go for a pair of off road boots, you'll see what we mean the first time you hook your toe in a root while riding.

You DEFINITELY do NOT want to be wearing Leathers in the dirt.
They would be WAY too hot even on a 50F day, and they WILL be ruinated to an un-respectable appearance in no time.
I'm a "minimalist" kind of guy when it comes to gear and find the absolute minimum to be decent MX boots, ANY fitting off-road/MX helmet (street helmets will NOT provide enough ventilation or visibility), decent goggles, and a pair of MX type gloves. I wear an off-road/MX riding jersey and pants due to "breathability", but one can get by in sweatshirts or long sleeve T-shirts and jeans. I often wear my jersey with plain old blue jeans.
I think anyone that says a kidney belt, flak jakket, and neck brace are essential off-road/trail gear is nuts. The vast majority of the time that stuff is just un-needed bulk and weight. RACING is a different story and justifies that stuff.

Almost forgot! :prof: You should pick up a hydration pack too. If you don't get one online, I just saw Target sells them for $39.00 near the bicycle water bottles.

Thanks for the advice, everyone. The consensus seems to be:

--getting a dirt helmet for comfort and visibility reasons
--getting dirt boots for safety
--getting dirt gear instead of using the rest of my street gear so I don't tear up my street gear

Those sound like good reasons to me. I'll do some shopping around for some hot deals, but if anyone can link me to vendors who have sales, that would be much appreciated too!

Also, I noticed that some people just mentioned a long-sleeved shirt or didn't mention any upper-body gear at all. My street jacket has shoulder and elbow "armor"--should I have that kind of protection for dirt riding?

TheFleshRocket said:

I think we were all under the aasumption you wanted to "low buck" some riding gear. We listed the absolute essentials, but there are alot of other forms of protection from various braces (neck, knee, wrist), to padded underwear, to socks. You get the point.

Your best bet is to call the following websites for a free catalog so you browse/learn some of the gear offered. Find what fits you and your wallet at the same time.

www.motosport.com
www.denniskirk.com
www.rockymountainmc.com

TheFleshRocket said:

Not so sure about that. $550 for a pair of boots :eek:

markgoodall said:

"A" pair of boots is right if you're referring to that monstrosity of a boot put out by Scott. You can find a great pair of boots between $100 and $250 depending on where you look.

There are some very good sales going on right now at rocky mountain atv. I just picked these up for cheap, note two shirts and two pairs of gloves:

Answer 09 Syncron Pant 38" Orange 1245670040 $35.99 1 $35.99
________________________________________
Answer 09 Syncron Jersey Large Orange 1245790025 $13.99 2 $27.98
________________________________________
Answer 09 Syncron Gloves Large Orange 1245800023 $9.99 2 $19.98

You can also pick up a scorpion helmet for cheap and they fit fantastic IMO. I own 3 of them, and all my friends bought them and love them. For $91 at extreme supply on sale.

Do a Google search on the websites to find them.

A few months ago KTM held their "demo day" at Cross Creek so I jumped on the 650 and rode over to check it out. I was the one wearing the Joe Rocket and the Scorpion EXO!!:p :lol: :lol: :banana: :busted: