What's a moto item you won't go cheap on?

I sure hope that this is the jerky you are referring to. When empty, the bag works great for holding small tools.

Actually helps in two ways - it's easier to mout the tire and get the bead to pop / seat correctly when airing up, and it also dries slightly tacky to help keep the tire from spinning on the rim.

I'm not super fast at changing tires, so sometimes it tacks up before I get it all the way on. A little spray bottle with water makes it slippery again.

I get 10+ tire changes out of one little tub.

I don't spend premium on anything...I'm the opposite, I spend as little as possible on pretty much everything, with the exception being helmets and boots, but I'm far from top of the line on those...I have an LS2 helmet (I think it was $225 maybe, but far from the cheapest on the market)...some Sidi boots (that are 10 years old, and were probably the most expensive dirt bike thing I've ever purchase besides the bike)...Tusk tires and chains/sprockets (and anything else I can buy from them)...clearance gear (cheapest I can find), cheapest goggles I can find,  cheapest gloves I can find...I only replace bike parts when they break...

I just see no point in all the expensive stuff?  Seems like a huge waste of money to me.  But if ya'll have money to burn!  More power to you...thanks for supporting the sport!

I do run bib mousse's...so I have a rabaconda in the garage...and I get a new dirt bike about every 100 hours though...

Boots. I have a fused ankle haha

No complaints with SG12's. They have a hinge system unlike astars which allows range of motion but acts as a brace so you don't hyperextend your ankles. Good feel and they're seemingly bomb proof. I don't know anything about the newer SG22

As someone who grew up reading all the moto magazines drooling over all the new top of the line gear and now is finally making an OK living. I buy all the expensive stuff, gotta make that inner child happy. I will add a good exercise AND stretching program, the best pads and braces you can put on are muscle and flexibility. Other than a helmet and boots. 

I’ve started to not go the oem route for many of the engine bearings. Because you know they use koyo/NTN or similar quality and you can get most of them at bearing online shops at good prices. So no headaches there. 

What about linkage/swingarm bearings? OEM worth it?

Helmets.

When I started riding/racing I always bought what was on sale (cheap). Then one day after a race I put the helmet on the bars by the strap and was catching my breath on a nearby seat, when my girlfriend came back to the pits she tried to take the bike off the stand and it fell over on the helmet side and the helmet split in two (it was cheap plastic or composite and broke at the seam). I swear she saw a ghost as she couldn't believe her eyes and immediately said how could you buy such a cheap ass helmet to protect the most important part of your body. As soon as we got home that day she ordered me a Shoei, and swore she would kill me if I ever bought a cheap helmet again.

Soft compound half waffle grips and a high quality throttle tube with a bearing. The tube is more expensive and I tear grips decently often. 

But good god did everyone get hoodwinked with lock on grips. They’re terrible! 

Not even thinking of heading to the track without a dump truck. If it’s moto, I’m taking a dump.

The tech 7 has slightly more peg feel than the Crossair, but it isn’t a huge difference to me.  The crossair is going to give you better lower leg feel for the bike though because of how the upper part of the boot is made. Instead of a mix of tpu and hard plastic it is rubber over fiberglass so it is pretty thin. If you go Crossair X you lose that extra feel because it uses hard plastic like other boots. Crossair has better protection and will not break down/get soft nearly as fast as the Astars. 

The newest tech 7 sticks to foot pegs better than the older version of the tech 7 or the Crossair. It is similar to the tech 10 that way but the 10 is sometimes too sticky. 

I'm actually pretty stoked with my lock-ons. I run the Renthal tapered soft version and they're almost as good as a regular soft grip for feel, plus there is absolutely zero spin, which is a big no-no for me. When I used to run the glue-ons, I would prep, glue and safety wire my grips but I'd always get a little bit of slip after a while. (I must grip the bars like an octopus with abandonment issues.) The lock-ons are solid as a rock, which I appreciate.

I've never tried a bearing throttle tube, but if it does what I think it would, then you're on to something. I got an aluminum tube once and hated it. Add a bearing though? Sweet. (Probably.) 

If you are talking knee brace socks the Oneals are actually the best, ive probably worn mine 50 times with no tears or anything.

100% knee brace socks are the worst Ive tried, they rip and they are shaped too small after riding all day in 98 degree heat spending 5 minutes rolling my socks off my feet is terrible. 

That's what I'm talking about more.  I know I did my son's 125 not all that long ago with A/M and they are shot already 

I just wish there was some higher standard, scientifically tested and established by an independent source, of safety that a $800 helmet met that a $250 didn't meet. Say a "Snell Pro" or "ECE 22.06 Pro" rating (whatever) the $750 helmet met that the $250 could not meet. There is a test (puncture) that a Snell helmet can pass that a DOT helmet cannot. It's basically an irrelevant test (they drop a helmet on a nail, or something...) but the fact a DOT helmet can't pass it means I will not buy one, Snell or no go. 

Right now, you can buy two different helmets with MIPS and identical DOT/Snell/ECE safety ratings. One costs $800 and one costs $250....I'm supposed to believe I'm truly safer in the $800 helmer because it cost a lot more? 🤨

If a $250 helmet has MIPS and a Snell/ECE22.06 rating, can you reasonably prove the $800 protects you better? 

We know people can regurgitate manufacturer generated and spun information, but a guaranteed, testable, provable higher standard of safety, not so much.   

We do have third party helmet testing in the u.s.   The Snell Foundation is  a non-profit organization that creates its own voluntary, more stringent standards than the government's minimum DOT standard.  

FWIW, helmet pricing tiers have more to do with weight reduction while meeting safety standards than being more protective.  Lighter weight = higher cost (generally.)

  There is a school of thought that lighter weight helmets are indeed more protective in that you have less mass in motion. 

i buy the best helmets in the worst colours. you can get 2 for the price of the best colour if you shop hard. 

And i buy a cheaper one for MX , than i wear for Supermoto, just cos tar is harder.

I subscribe to the notion that it's better to replace helmets more frequently than less, as the foam does break down with use, and to call out that helmet fit is an important variable beyond certifications and cost. 

I ride about once a week and race a local series, so my helmet receives a lot of wear. 

I found the fxr helium prime and the fly racing formula fit my head well and are "mid range" in pricing.  At the price point, both are considered by me to be light.  Full disclosure they are not Snell certified, which I am ok with.   

What do you mean by "neutral third party helmet testing organization"? We have ECE and Snell. Helmets either have the certification or they don't. People still buy helmets that don't have it. Retailers still sell them. Manufacturers still make them.

If either of those don't float your boat, then what are you seeking?

Virginia Tech Helmet Lab said they would test moto helmets, they need like 10 of each model though.

Again with the helmet threads... since you asked: There are several issues with reporting impact testing.

What is the medical direction behind the testing? What is the goal? Why? What are the medical implications of the test results? The original single goal was to prevent death (current standard 275g acceleration). With a second goal of protecting against concussions - what acceleration results in a concussion? 6D designs for around 60g, Leatt designs for 120g, the ECE 22.06 "low-speed" standard is for 180g with different speeds respectively. What is the correct threshold? If a test results in 39g for one helmet but 40g for another, does that mean that the first performs better? Or do neither result in a concussion and therefore the goal is achieved? If one helmet does better at a 13 mph impact but another does better at 9 mph - which one is better?

The same helmet model does not absorb the same impact with the same acceleration for different weights/headforms/helmet sizes. There are six different ISO standard headform sizes and weights, with different helmet sizes. One helmet can perform better at a specific impact speed for a large weight head while the other helmet would perform better for a small weight head at that same speed.

With six different head sizes/weights, and two to four different impact thresholds = 24 helmets to drop test for one impact point. Add different impact points, oblique/rotational impacts, different temperatures... then do that for multiple helmets for comparison! This hasn't even addressed lab repeatability.

The best independent impact test results I've seen do not even address multiple impact speeds OR multiple head sizes/weights. They just publish the one test that makes their helmet look the best at that size and impact speed of their choice.

The certifications cover all this. That is the best we have available. Check the sticker or chinstrap for the certification!

wearables->bingo. Bike->chains.

I've read anything over 250g will typically kill most people over the age of 50. I saw tests years ago where they were hitting over 450g. I'm effing lucky I ever made it to age 50.

Any high rollers lurking about? 😆

I spend way too much money, especially considering my riding ability. That is all 

I used a Bearing throttle tube and I had immediate arm pump. It felt so much harder to open the throttle comparatively over time (as in cumulative effect). Happy to stick with simplicity.