My Favourite Motorcycle Gear

[00:00:13]Welcome back all. Today I'm going to do something that I've been wanting to do for about 2 years, but for some reason I've never got round to it. And I woke up this morning, I thought, feels like the perfect opportunity. I'm going to walk you through my favorite bits of motorcycleycling gear, top to bottom. I've been lucky enough over the past probably five or six years to be able to try out a huge range of different motorcycleycling gear from different brands, and I've slimmed down my collection to my favorite pieces. I personally pick my riding gear initially based on passion. It has to be something that I actually want to wear. That's the most important thing for me. I remember I used to have eight different helmets, maybe even nine. And again, slimmed it down to these three that are my favorites. One, second, and third in no order. Let's start with this. The Daytona custom helmet. This is an Americanstyle helmet.

[00:01:13]Low profile, DOT approved. Why have I gone gone for an Americanstyle DOT approved helmet, not ECE approved? Well, this will be very controversial, but DOT approved helmets, the American stuff, is a slimmer fit because they don't quite have the European safety standards. And what that means is you don't have to have quite the same mushroom shaped helmets, which I think is especially important for the open face stuff. This is only about 140, 150 quid. You can get it from loads of places, eBay and things like that. It's very simple. It's not the first word in luxury quality or anything like that, but I really like the way it fits and it's just a good solid helmet. It's actually my only openf face helmet now because I spent a time with openf face helmets trying so many different ones and thinking why do they all look like mushrooms on me? And then I realized, apart from maybe a few exceptions, it is almost impossible to make a motorcycle helmet that conforms with European safety standards that doesn't look like a mushroom because they're getting bigger and bigger with all of the new safety regulations that have to come in. So that's why that's my favorite at the moment. Next up, I've had this helmet, the DMD75 for maybe 5 years now. Italian helmet, very, very elegantly designed with that brilliant grill on the front. And this has been so good, especially for the the off-road riding, the dirt riding that I've been getting into. So, I've been wearing this more than ever because I've got this. All of the padding is removable, so just chuck it in a wash.

[00:02:50]40° perfect. And honestly, I like this just as much as when I first got it.

[00:02:55]I've never found a helmet that I would prefer more than this. And a lot of people ask for this. I can either put my ski goggles on, which I wore in Spain, or you can buy this. It is the DMD75 specific visor, and that just in some circumstances makes life easier.

[00:03:14]And now the newest helmet in the range.

[00:03:18]This is the John Doe one helmet. Came out about a year and a half ago. Again, at prices 140ish, you know, you can pick these up for under £200. Now, that is a really I think it's even made in Italy.

[00:03:30]Unbelievably good helmet for under £200.

[00:03:33]Shop around for that. You can get a bargain. Even this one, the brand new helmet from John Doe, the one. This is only about £230. This is called Frozen Titanium. And I wanted this helmet specifically because of the color and I have loved it. Removable padding, space inside for your intercom system, lots of different visor colors. You can have a peek on the front. You can blank out the side bits if you want to wear goggles.

[00:03:59]And it's 1970s style. Slick, simple, elegant. Love it. Tell you what, before I get to jackets, I'll do accessories quickly. Let's start with belts.

[00:04:11]Triumph.

[00:04:13]They do an incredible range of stuff.

[00:04:16]It's called Triumph Heritage and it's all stuff inspired by 50s60s7s.

[00:04:22]Incredible quality. And this belt is a perfect example of that. If you've never if you've never taken a look at Triumph Heritage and you got a Triumph motorbike, I highly recommend it. The quality is superb.

[00:04:36]And this is a Gold Top one. Really like this. I wear this all the time on and off the bike. Gold top, my friends at all of their stuff is great. Again, beautiful quality belt with that lovely brass finish and they just work with everything. And always the heavy duty belts I find just suit the biking style and vibe so well. Under Armour from Bex.

[00:05:04]This type of stuff is really good. I think it's B French I think French company. Really really nice quality and it's great if you just want to wear your normal gear and put the armor underneath it. I actually use this type of stuff a lot, but it's never obvious because it's slotted under normal clothing. I'm sure these are about £200 or something. They are expensive, but they're brilliant quality and it's triple A rated, the highest possible safety rating. Although sometimes if you're going somewhere really warm, the it can get a bit hot because it's very close to the skin and then you've got the extra layer of the jeans on top.

[00:05:43]So, in essence, you're creating a double layer. So, if you're getting to plus 28° or something, a single layer pair of trousers could suit better so you don't overheat. But in the right situation, they are very useful. The best neck warmer, neck scarf I have ever come across. This is from a French company called Age of Glory. And they brought this out, I think about 2 years ago, and I thought when it came out, that is the coolest looking neck scarf I've ever come across. It's so thin and comfortable to wear in all situations and I love the unique pattern on it. Age of Glory. I've met the owner a few times. Very, very cool company and a cool guy that owns that. I only really wear two sets of gloves. I used to have about 25 pairs of gloves. You all know these. I wear these all the time. These are from a German company called Throttlesnake. And these are the glove trotter gloves. They're £70.

[00:06:47]They are so simple.

[00:06:50]Almost no actual protection if I were to describe protective technical elements other than they're a very good quality pair of leather gloves. Easy to take on and off. 95% of every single ride I have ever done in the past 5 years is those.

[00:07:06]And they just get better with age. I love them so much. That's gloves for life for me. And then if I'm going somewhere cold, for example, the Arctic Circle, I will wear these.

[00:07:18]These are from a time when I was working a lot with Excel Moto. And they've got a brand called Coarse. And Coarse is really good value. These are only, if you can believe it, about £40.

[00:07:33]These waterproof kind of thermal style gloves. And you could look at it and think, £40? God, will the quality be good enough? I wore these to the Arctic Circle day after day of minus degrees riding. They are incredible. They're so good. I don't need any inner liners with them or anything. For $40 to get such a good pair of winter gloves is phenomenal. They are very, very good gloves. And I've cut out the model of them. If I can find the model, I'll let you know. I think they're called coarse touring gloves. This is another item from Triumph Heritage. It's their jile.

[00:08:09]Again, check out Triumph Heritage because they're always changing their line every season.

[00:08:18]This is such a good layer if you just need that extra bit of warmth for the body. I'm 6'1, 80 kilos.

[00:08:27]Sorry about the sound there. And this just fits snugly. It's much better as a snug fit. And sometimes put this over a jumper or just over a t-shirt like this.

[00:08:36]and it's a really nice additional layer to add. Next up for layering, the only two other bits that I would ever need and the things here that I'm about to show you, they're really the only bits that I would I would even consider taking if I were to do the Arctic Circle road trip again, for example. First up, Unilo minus 20° rated thermal leggings.

[00:09:00]These were about 25 to30. That's it.

[00:09:03]They've got a really nice thick layer on the inside and it is unbelievable how good these are at keeping you warm.

[00:09:11]All you have to do, wear your normal jeans or whatever you wear while riding.

[00:09:15]Either wear these at the start of a ride if it's cold or if you think it may get cold later on in the day, just pack these in a pia and pop into a local toilet and you can put these on and you are sorted. It doesn't matter how cold it gets, they will keep you warm. Total revelation. Next, another gold top thing here. This is the gold top zip up thermal under layer. I think it's marino wool. Something like 80% marino wool.

[00:09:44]And marino wool is really good because it doesn't stink. So, if you start overheating and sweating loads, this won't end up stinking and it keeps you really nice and warm. The quality is superb on that. Gold top. Sounds like I'm sponsored by Gold Top. and not at all.

[00:10:02]Gold top. This This sounds so simple, but this can be such an important thing.

[00:10:08]Again, I wore these all the way up to the Arctic Circle. Gold top socks. I think again, these are a large chunk made with marino wool and they are by far the best motorcycleycling socks I have ever worn. Buy one or two pairs of those, you'll be sorted. £18 a pair for that. And finally, from Gold Top.

[00:10:30]See, the reason I've got loads from Gold Top, we did the Arctic Road Trip and they were kind enough to kit all of us out. And you realize how important good quality gear is. This is the Gold Top, best name ever, Submariner jumper. This is 100% marino wool. It's made in England, and I wore this for every single mile into the Arctic Circle. I'm 6'1 180 kilos. This is the perfect size at a 42 in. Just to give you some idea what you'd be looking for, don't do what I did and wash it at 40° because it will shrink in half. I wash that at 30° and it's perfect, but never any more than that. Next, for waterproofs, I think these are £60, not specifically motorcycling waterproofs. They're from Berg House. These are from Go Outdoors.

[00:11:19]Just go to their their waterproof section. And the reason these are so good, of course 100% waterproof. Burg House is a good solid middle middle of the road brand. Nothing premium or fancy, but they do good stuff. It's got along the side here poppers and a zip, meaning it opens up all the way, the whole thing. And then once you've put your your legs through them with your jeans, just zip it all down. So the zip goes all the way to the top. They're the easiest pair of waterproof trousers that I've ever had for putting over my big boots. When you're at the side of the road and you're in floods of tears because you're so cold and wet and you just want to layer up, that's perfect.

[00:12:05]This is now really rare and hard to find. I saw this about 4 years ago. It's called So, it's from Fuel Motorcycles, Spanish company, and they do so much cool stuff in their tabernac desert and Moroccan off-roading on incredibly cool bikes. Very, very cool company. This is called Fuel Motorcycles Duster. And I think they actually did the original marketing photo shoot.

[00:12:32]I think they did it in the tabernac desert with an incredible, incredible photographer and biker called Ricky Pulker, who sadly died a few years ago.

[00:12:40]But I remember the marketing campaign for this thinking that's the coolest thing I've ever seen. It's an over jacket, so it goes over your motorcycle jacket. It's completely waterproof. Adds an extra level of warmth. God, did I take it to Morocco? I've taken this to a lot of places. The quality is excellent, but they don't make it anymore, so you have to go online and try and find it.

[00:13:01]You can pick them up either secondhand or new for £100 if you're lucky enough to find one. Beautiful, beautiful quality in a dark brown. If you're looking to pack pack light, this is useless because it's massive and it's heavy. But if you want something that's cool and makes you feel amazing, highly recommended. Although there are plenty more practical things than that if I'm being completely honest, jackets.

[00:13:27]Now, let's start with probably I think the alltime probably the all-time favorites just because they're such a classic. And I'm going to do two at once here. You'll all know that.

[00:13:42]Bellstaff Brooklyn's jacket. Take a look at this and soak it in. In fact, I'll show you this first. This one I got when I was living in Tenneref probably 4 years ago now. And it was my first taste of Bell Staff motorcycleycling gear. And it's uh the time when I understood how incredible the quality and the fit is of these very special jackets. The reason I'm showing this first, this is the pre203 jacket. I think that's when the changeover came, maybe 2024. The reason I say that the cut is very different to the 2024 onwards jacket.

[00:14:25]So you can see here it's completely flat and cropped at the bottom, meaning it stops at about the belt line. And this is how you'll know it's the pre2324 model. It has a removable thermal lining. So you can just unzip that if you want to be a little bit cooler. The new jacket doesn't have that. And the new jacket has more safety features, meaning it doesn't crop there. It goes a little bit further down for extra safety. So, this is the new 2024 Plus jacket that's slightly more curved at the bottom. And no thermal lining. thermal lining now comes in a completely separate item that you buy for extra from Bell Staff, which is very interesting. So, this is this is actually a little kind of stealth recommendation that people don't realize. If you want the jacket which is more cropped at the back and with a thermal lining, look for one that's older than 2024 and you'll know it because it's got that thermal lining in it. Both are superb quality, about £550.

[00:15:42]Although you can get these old ones, I've seen them as cheap as £300 brand new if you look online. This is my favorite color really and what's sold me on the new one. That's a kind of sand color and I think it may be it's certainly one of the most beautiful looking motorcycle jackets I've ever seen. And the great thing about Bell Staff, I really feel every time I wear it, I'm going to have this for the rest of my life. You know, it's just got that classic style and that name and that heritage and the pedigree that makes you feel you feel phenomenal. You feel very, very special every time you put on a Bell Staff jacket. £550 a pop each. But look online, you can get some deals on those.

[00:16:30]The second motorcycle jacket I ever bought.

[00:16:37]First off, passed my test. Didn't understand anything about biking gear.

[00:16:42]Didn't know what type of rider I was.

[00:16:45]Didn't know anything full stop. So, I went out and bought some biking gear.

[00:16:49]And two weeks later, I realized, damn it, this isn't me at all. This bike isn't me. This gear isn't me. None of it's me. I don't like any of it. I blew my budget at the time. I went to JNS Accessories and I bought this. The reason I bought it is because I just watched my old friend Tony, the Irish biker. He told me to watch The Wild One with Marlon Brando. I watched it. Well, I had to immediately go out and buy that. I thought, there you go. That's the style I like. So, that's why I bought it. This is still I think you can still get this. It's Frank Thomas. It's actually quite a budget brand. I think these are still well under £200, maybe £160. I believe the name is the Frank Thomas Patrol jacket. Incredibly heavyduty. I'll have this forever. It's just classic. It's like one of those things you buy one of these jackets, you keep it forever. Triumph Beck 2 jacket.

[00:17:45]Ridiculously heavy duty. This is if you're going somewhere and you know it's really going to be very cold for a prolonged period of time or just torrential rain, wet weather. Brilliant weather protection, removable lining inside, beautifully finished. I think about £350.

[00:18:02]Size large for me in that. And that is the perfect size. Loads of pockets.

[00:18:08]Classically styled. I like the Union Jack logos and stuff like that. That is the first word in quality. Seriously good. Every bit is good quality as the Bell Staff stuff. And it feels like it weighs, I'm not joking, about 7 kilos.

[00:18:22]It's the most heavy duty jacket I've got. Oh, for the Bell Staff jackets, I'm size medium in the black one and size large in the sand. Both are good. It just depends if you want a slightly snugger fit or a slightly looser fit.

[00:18:36]And in reality, I'm probably somewhere in between the two. So, both fit perfectly.

[00:18:42]Next, my French friends age of glory.

[00:18:44]This is the Craftsman jacket. When I saw this two years ago, I thought, I've never seen a biking jacket that looks this good, that looks this non bikerish.

[00:18:55]You can genuinely wear this on and off the bike. Such a beautiful, beautiful piece of kit. I find French stuff always comes up small. Key thing here is this is an extra large, so I've had to fold up the sleeves to make it the right sleeve length for me. I could have gone large. They didn't have a large in the shop. However, it is also quite a slim fit. So, if you do uh towards a tighter fit, you will notice that in the body.

[00:19:28]So, this is a really nice fit for me.

[00:19:30]It's just I do have to roll that up. I would pick the XL for my size. Again, I know it sounds crazy for my size, but I do like sizing up with that jacket, and I would recommend you do the same. Very hardy jacket, though. I've worn that a huge amount. It wears really well. This Swiss company, I love this. I only just discovered this about 10 months ago.

[00:19:55]It's called On Route. It comes allin-one, but that is the under arour.

[00:20:02]And that is such a good quality bit of Under Armour that actually buckles and pops in to this jacket. It's just I've taken out so you can see it. Full armor protection. Really good safety rating pocket for the back armor there. This is the Under Armour I wore when I did the Bardennis Realis on the Yamaha. And then I put my riding jersey over the top of it. The reason I like this one, it's very, very thin and it's nice and loose so you get a good airflow going through and it's just the style and quality is superb. This is the real deal. This is made in Switzerland. Can you believe it?

[00:20:38]They did not they didn't kind of move away from a production point of view. It's a Swiss company and they actually make their jackets in Switzerland, which I think is to be hugely applauded and respected.

[00:20:54]And the fit on these is is just superb.

[00:20:56]This is a size large. Again, it's such a unique jacket. You don't even need to wear it just for motorbiking. It's got an almost fashion brand level of cut.

[00:21:06]It's so nice. Oh, the quality though.

[00:21:09]Multi-environment shell, waterproof, windproof. Yeah. Quality, quality product. You have to pay for it. All that quality. That is £750.

[00:21:19]And one more just final shout out. This was very, very kindly given to me by a gentleman who's got a story in the Lost Biker Stories Volume 2. Don't discount the older stuff from the likes of eBay, for example, cuz you can pick jackets like this up. I've been quite blown away by the quality. It's got a thermal lining inside. It's got that incredible 1990s vibe. I just love all of the colors. '90s were very, very good for pops of color and things like that.

[00:21:47]These are actually quite expensive now, but I think they're excellent things to have. Trousers and then boots. See if I can actually get past all my stuff.

[00:21:57]Two trousers here because I really only wear two. I wear my hood jeans selection in different colors and I'll show you that first.

[00:22:08]And then I wear one other pair and that's it really. So, Hood Jeans K7, easy fit. I've been working with Hood jeans for god, five or six years, and I just really like them because the quality is excellent, and they are classically styled jeans that get better with age. The more the sun hits them, they get little bits of patina. They're the highest safety rating. That's hugely important to the team at Hood. And I think they're fantastic. I'm a huge fan of them.

[00:22:40]They're the easy fits K7.

[00:22:43]£180 for those. And my new discovery, Silk Road Riders.

[00:22:53]This This is a Balines company, which is incredible, and I kind of get it with the the style and the vibe they go for.

[00:23:00]They took a long time to get the cut of these riding trousers right. And it's a really nice straight cut that goes straight all the way down through to the ankle, which is very, very rare. Single layer, so excellent for warm weather.

[00:23:18]About £250 and worth every single penny of the of that. These are some of the most stylish motorcycle trousers I've ever come across.

[00:23:28]Finally, boots.

[00:23:31]I did a video.

[00:23:34]God, this would be I think this was one of the first videos I ever did. I was in the apartment in Belvadier and I laid out It felt like it must have been about 12 pairs of motorbiking boots. I've since now just got one pair because again I I just try and buy something, own something that gives me something from a passionate level. And I ended up falling onto these. They're not even proper out and out biking boots, but I I love the style of them. I love the history of them. I love the heritage. I love the way they make me feel. They are the Redwing logger boots. This is a really old model that Redwing had. I think it was back in the 30s, something like that. And just from last year, I believe 2025, they reintroduced it. And I saw these at Uniform Buffalo, a shop in Chelmsford. I wasn't planning on buying any boots at all. And I looked at them and they're £350. And I thought, "Oh god, it's, you know, you got to pay for quality." And I tried them on. I thought, "Yeah, okay, fine. Look, that's what you get if if you're willing to pay the money. They're just so heavyduty, so solidly made. Made in the USA. They've got that classic little Redwing logo in there. Viram soul. Look at how chunky that is.

[00:24:59]That nothing has been overlooked here from a styling and a quality point of view. And I love going into Redwing shops as well. Like just you feel part of a community with with Redwing.

[00:25:11]again. I'll have these for life. These are proper proper boots for life. Very very proud owner of Redwing. Final item.

[00:25:18]New to me from probably Yeah, from March. New to me from March 2026 because of the Yamaha. The Yamaha is really getting me into a lot more different stuff that I've never tried before. City X power boots around about £350. I got them because yes, I like the look of them and they are ridiculously hear the mic there.

[00:25:41]Heavyduty boots. And because they're so heavy duty, but also they look good, it it gives me more confidence than I've ever experienced before doing off-road riding. And because I've got more confidence that my ankle and my legs are completely protected, it means I can push the bike harder and have more fun.

[00:25:58]And that has materialized in a real way.

[00:26:01]And a large part of that is thanks to these. I was comparing them to Matt and Danny's off-roading boots. And this isn't to say they're better. It's just an observation. These definitely had the most amount of protection and padding out of all three of them. Completely waterproof, made to last, an apocalypse, and I love the look. And the absolute final thing I'm going to do, I've just seen these hanging up on the wall. I think it's really good to show these.

[00:26:29]something that I couldn't have lived without.

[00:26:33]German company, Epco and Becca panias that just slot onto the side of my Bonavville. I can't remember the names of them, but you'll easily find them. H Heep Becca's website. The quality is so good. I've had both of these now. I think it's well over six years and I can tell exactly how many miles I've done on this. It will be 43,000 miles mixture of this and this on the Bonavville and they're still perfect.

[00:27:08]Not one buckle has ever broken. There's never been any visible sign of wear anywhere. Especially these, it's so easy. Chuck stuff in, open, close, open, close. You can lock it there. I can't tell you how superb they are. They're really very very very good luggage solutions.

[00:27:30]That's it. Top to bottom all of my gear.

[00:27:32]I think it may be the first time I've ever done it. Let me know some of your favorite gear pieces. I hope in some way you found this video useful. Thank you so much everyone for watching. I'll see you in the next one.

[00:27:47]Hey,