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Pit tootsie
Im pretty sure the only item I cheap out on is socks. I cant think of anything else that is acceptable.
Ya know, its funny you say that. For years we ran nothing but dunlop but recently switched to Michelin. We wont be going back to dunlop.....
Tyres.
When we went to Supermoto, we used cast offs from the quick guys, paid £60 for a used tyre that was £120 new, quickly sussed out that you could be the guy who got to use the first £60 of the tyre , and not the second, and it was worth 2 secs a lap.
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
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DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Love my Tech 10's. Damn they're stiff when they're new though. Get ready for some break in time
If anyone is like me and rips there pants all the time this stuff is a life saver, it will somehow glue that thin mesh type material on pants I have a couple sets of pants that have been glued for a season or two and its still holding up.
I pretty much buy all my gear on closeout ill buy a few sets a season when I see a deal pop up.
I'm on the opposite side of this coin. Having experienced high-quality wool socks from skiing / general outdoor activity, I pretty much only buy bougie socks now, but have been going with the cheapest option for googles all this time. Maybe it's time to step up my game.
All protective gear. but mainly the helmet.
You can't go cheap on anything, if you do it will more than likely cost you more in the long run.
In Dutch they say, Goedkoop is duur koop.
In Afrikaans we say: “Goedkoop Koop is Duur Koop”, which means that sometimes when going for the cheapest price eventually costs you a lot more!
Helmet
Gate fees
Post your favorite set of moto socks. I’m wanting to step my sock game up for sure. I’ve got tons of nice socks for running that I refuse to ever go away from now but my moto sock game is lacking.
Lol, does the “younger generation” even know what these are?
Great off-season topic OP
What I will "cheap" out on:
- Base bike (I don't need the latest and greatest, I'll take last year's discounted model and put the money I saved to the suspension upgrades over having the latest year bike)
- Pants & jersey - even the base model gear these days is pretty good and often lasts longer than the highest end model anyway. Same as bike, I'll take last year's stuff on discount for gear as well
- Lube, tubes, filters, plastics - I haven't had many issues buying the cheaper brand in these areas and it means I don't try to stretch them to last longer. Fresh lube of any brand is better than high-end lube that you haven't touched in the last year.
- All the extra stuff you bring like chairs, tables, trailer, etc. I don't have an RV or fancy trailer and it allows me to spend less time maintaining that stuff and leaves more money for riding
Stuff I won't even touch unless needed:
- exhaust - yeah, aftermarket sounds cooler but every 450 these days makes more power than I need and I can play with the ECU if needed
- custom graphics - I have 4 kids who all want to ride, that crap adds up quick. We still rock the old school numbers you have to apply yourself.
- triple clamps, ti-bolts, wheels - I can't tell much of a difference and even if I can, I'm not going much faster with them anyway
What I won't cheap out on:
- Protective gear like helmet, boots and chest pro, but I won't just get the most expensive, I go by fit as much as by reputation. I'm very picky on helmet fit.
- Tires, grips, bars, chain & sprockets, tools, suspension (in control is safer)
- Track time - yeah, it adds up paying for races and practices, but the whole point is to get to ride the dang thing.
Go big on boots and helmet.
Rest of the budget goes to gas and stroopwafel.
I use 6D and I replace them when they tell me that it’s not rebuildable. Have only had that happen once in 6 years . They must have felt so sorry for me when they saw it. Talking about looking like shit , I get my moneys worth when I buy a helmet 🤣 I definitely would not have finished the race if it wasn’t for that helmet and neck brace. Not only were the isolators compromised, the outer shell was cracked as well. All I had was a bruised head. Hitting hard enough to bruise my head pretty severely and not getting a concussion is priceless. This is coming from a guy that has had seven of them and can’t get this riding stuff out of my blood. If you don’t have the 7 bills , post the size you want on here and get one for half price.
If you wear knee braces, I’ve been happy with my ethika stuff. I buy when they have sales, like $15 a pair and long enough to file back down over most the brace. Have a set of 100% as well, but they seem to run a bit small. Both these pair are pretty thin though.
I hurt my foot/ankle pretty bad as a beginner with some $100 MSR boots.
Later on after getting some Tech 7’s, and later on Tech 10’s, it’s crazy the things your feet and ankle can take while wearing quality boots.
Pit Row
Tires and chains
We're trying to buy our first house and growing a baby so I'm over here trying to justify buying anything hahaha. I also cannot justify making my wife the caretaker of a child and an adult male vegetable because I was too cheap to pay for head protection.
I'm certain my VFX-Evo is not compromised but I also feel a pull to replace just from a safety perspective. (That's talking out of both sides of my mouth twice in one post for you). I really need to try some on. I've never worn anything but shoei but their prices have gotten too high compared to the competition that appears to produce a better helmet at this point.
Coaching! My technique needs all the budget it can get.
Never used tire paste, nor actually heard of it. I don't use soap either because I used to struggle with tires rotating on the rim. Tell me more, what do you like about it?
Tires. Helmet. Beef Jerky.
Everything else, I'm a cheapo.
I wear asterisk knee braces, and like the Klim socks the most. Main material is like under armour, but the feet are thicker for padding. Elastomer band has silicone inside to keep them from sliding down too.
Race gas.
Most premium: tie downs, coaching, track/gate fees - I don't compromise anything
Cheapest: not much, maybe a gear bag? Cheapest thing big enough that I can find when I need a new one.
The rest of it I'm somewhere in the middle. Gear sets on sale, never full retail. Not the cheapest boots but not the most expensive either. Helmet requires ECE 22.06 but that doesn't need to be $800 (and there's some $800 helmets that don't meet ECE 22.06). I stick to tool brands I know but don't do crazy expensive alternatives.
I suppose another question would be what are you too cheap to buy? Knee braces and neck brace took me a long time to overcome my cheapness.
Super plush colored cotton briefs, tighty whites look like turn 4 of the Dayton 500 after a day riding 😎
Tie downs - me too. I don’t understand having a 10,000 dollar motorcycle, $30 a month in insurance, and $8 tie downs.
Not to be that guy but I bought a nearly identical gauge from harbor freight for $17 a few weeks ago. The motion pro gauge looks very nice though.
Fox V3 is a very similar spec to their V3 RS premier model and much less expensive around $400 for the V3 while the V3RS is almost double. Worth checking out.
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