The main reason why riding gears apart from helmet are not considered as NORMAL in india is because of our Culture. I lived in Aurangabad a small city all my childhood, and there in 2006 the Helmet Rule was implemented. Many people were caught for not wearing helmet:

Why people dont wear helmet:

Hair style is spoiled.
Sight is limited only the front view is there
One told when he wears helmet he cant listen to comming vehicles.
Where to keep helmet when not riding??


In india bikes , two wheelers are used for almost anything right from buying daily vegetables to gas cylinders to tables , chairs and what not.

Also most tours covered by members are very short and not by main roads so many people dont care to wear helmet.

As far as riding gears, jackets, knee pads, gloves are concerned, for short rides i.e to the nearby tea stall 3 kms away or to the beach with your friends 5 kms away the storage of these riding gear becomes a problem. Because no guy will keep a DICKEY / STORAGE BOX in their bikes??
Does any biker keep dickey or storage box in their bikes???????? Reply ???

but the balaclava is used by many gals, they use their dupatta and fully cover their face while going out, with only eyes uncovered,, cant even see their face ;( ..


Another problem is heat, climate even I wear daily jacket to office and my colleagues ask how can you wear this jacket in hot chennai weather, and really the jacket makes my whole shirt wet. Actually the reason for my wearing of jacket is that the shirt doesnt get dirty. Also marketing persons who wear tie, n in shirt will have to remove the jacket, knee cover, gloves every time they stop at the clients place, etc....

I feel the riding gears are very useful in long distance rides, and in cool weather.

Also as mentioned by other members whether you wear riding gear or not you should have LUCK

+1!!

The thinking of people is same here. They think that they're meant for styling. And, moreover, a friend of mine was caught by police because he was wearing protective gloves, a nice dirt race helmet and knee guards. They said "haaaaan! stunt man banega?"

And, that Pulsar + chappal thing is too common

Where in Delhi did you get them bro?

Or was it an online purchase?

In the former case, I would like to have a PM from you about the individual costs of all these and from where you got them.

On full riding gear people around me are looking in a such manner that i am thief who is going for bank robbery(Because in most films here the thief wear full riding gears and hero will have only a RayBan glass chasing him)
For eg look at the case of 1st chasing scene in dhoom john(thief) and his team on full riding gear and abhishek bachan even without a helmet)
watch it>>>>

I'm glad people have started looking up to geared bikers in a normal (for that matter respectfully) these days...some might be surprised but most of them back here in mumbai are catching up with the trend...

Hope the same scenario comes to Delhi also

But, I never saw anyone riding with gears ON... except a P220F rider @ Dhaula Kuan... The guy was wearing a armored jacket of YAMAHA, some gloves and Knee Guards. But, we was speeding so much that I couldn't even think of watching which gloves and knee guards he's wearing But, riding with such speed in traffic (yeah, usually the speed is high at that stretch, but that time is was quite slow) is wrong and the impression he left on others was: An old man riding with another old man said to his pillion "dekh saala Bhen****... biker ki aulaad"

Mumbai Police.. Tussi Gr8 ho....

Few days back .. I and My friend nikhil were returning from Malad on Our Pulsar 220fs with Normal Jacket, Elbow & Knee guards, gloves and helmets.
We were stopped by Mumbai Traffic Police (1 officer & 2 Constables) @ a signal... They asked us where were we going with all this Gear... I told them that we wear them for safety while riding. Also, advised them that how its necessary to save you from scratches and Bruises. They asked us the cost for it. They appreciated us for this and said its wise to invest money in gears Might be they know its use well as might be observing several accidents daily.
Next incident... we just followed our way towards home.. and again stopped By Mumbai Police this time with all Naka Bandhi... They were so much alarmed seeing us that they thought we would be hiding guns inside our jackets and might shoot at them... They checked all our papers and bags...
And when they found nothing otherthan a few books in the bag.. they started saying..."Tum log kidhar Race karke aaya. jab tak tum log batayega nahi, hum log chodega nahi".. I tried explaining them for 10 minutes about why we were wearing the gears... but those Stupid @$$ es were not ready to hear and repeating the same thing again and again... At last I was pissed off ... and had to call my Uncle whos in Mumbai Police.. and let them have a word him...
The next Moment the same officer was saying "Its good you people take so much safety... BTW, U should have told us earlier and we would have let you go..." I just smiled and started my bike...

i know there are some stupid errant riders like the one you mentioned...defaming responsible bikers like us...hope they will learn a lesson themselves..

you bet...but that seldomly has happened with me...actually only once when i was out at 4am for a tour...it was obvious for the policemen to halt us as its a rare sight someone riding with all the gears at 4am in the morning...i co-operated with them...they didnt bother me and infact appreciated

Dude, although you are riding with them and I have all praises for this step, but city riding demands more safety & visibility...for city rides, you can get a protective-jacket to wear...which will give you spine protection as well...buy a pant with kevlars...investing on just knee & elbow guards, are really for stunters as that keep many parts of your body unprotected [gloves & helmet are default counted]...ofcourse it saves your money, if that was your idea...hope you don't get me wrong in this.

I would like to share a similar incident. I had got my new riding jacket from a fried of mine who had got it from US. So out of curiosity, decided to check the jacket for the protection from cold and how it would react in the sun. So left for ride on the highway the day I got it delivered. I was stopped at the NICE road junction(most bangaloreans should be aware of this spot) by cops and was asked wheather i was up to stunting at night. it was so disgusting to hear their views. They were not ready to let me go and I was not ready to bribe them. I did not mind waiting till morning till they get tired seeing my face every now and then. By then the inspector who was on rounds arrived and enquired what was going on. On proper explanation and producing all the necessary documents he let me go after having a cup of tea.

completely agree with you..

Other bikers never wear a jaket as they can not show their 8 pac figure. Knee guard is far away they won't even wear shoes.

And helmets, normally they use to protect their arm.

But we do the opposite.

Safety is Paramount

Just came across this interesting thread
Would like to add my two cents
I got my gear before i got delivery of Despoine (my 2010 Pearlie White Busa)
aka : Sparx PAW Helmet
Joe Rocket Gloves
Joe Rocket Hayabusa Jacket
Joe Rocket Gloves

I use the busa for extensive city riding as well as those long sunday rides
Have done 8200 kms in 8 months now
Have always ventured out only with my gear even if its a 2 km dash to the pump next door or a 10 km ride to a clients meeting
Due to the Mumbai climate, i am not able to use the jacket often
SO LID, Gloves and Shoes
Sometimes its funny, me in formals and a nice chunky Joe Rocket Riding boot
But now all my clients and colleagues know that safety first and then business etiquette.
But its a different scene on the road. I get so much strange looks and even snide remarks
Today on way back from the Durex safety ride, on a signal, some bikers small talking : "Apne aap ko Racer samahjtha hai kya ? Chal tujhe dikhate hai "
And even before the signal turned green, they were off on the horizon.
I just started normally, and after around 2 kms see all of them waiting for me and then start stunting, cutting lanes when i reach there.
Wow what a way to prove their point
But who cares.
Safety comes first
No GEAR NO RIDE
How i wish mumbai climate would be more benevolent to let me wear my jacket all days

+1 for that Sir!!...i always wear jacket when i m on bike. Its not armour jacket, but is very thick to protect me from small incidents

me too need a new jacket

I plan to get an all weather jacket too
In fact my gloves have started to worn out
So time for some gear shopping now

Couple of days back, one dude noticed me with riding gear stopped besides him at the traffic light. I don't know what it is with these people. Survival instinct or just gets spooked by guys in riding gears, but when the lights went green, he blasted off. Poor guy forgot that there was a speed breaker just a couple of meters ahead, saw his legs flying, but the guy braved on full throttle .