Buying motorcycle safety equipment - part 1

A major expense after purchasing one's first bike is safety equipment.  In Brazil only a helmet is legally required; however, considering the sad state of Brazilian infrastructure and the dangerous and aggressive driving style of Brazilian motorists (especially taxi and bus drivers), I figure you've got to be nuts to use only the helmet.  As such, I needed, at the very least, a helmet, gloves, and a decent armored jacket.

Getting the helmet was easy, of course - seeing as they're required, there's no shortage.  Of course, the prices are low enough to be doubtful - I've seen helmets for sale for R$40 (that's about US$20).  They're all certified as safe by the relevant government standard - or at least they all have labels claiming that they are.  How would you tell if the label is fake too?  Cynic that I am, I reckon the more expensive helmets are equally likely to be counterfeit goods with lousy quality.  The cheapest helmets could be cheap because of cheaper materials, or just mass Chinese production, or because the seller "found them" after they "fell off a truck".  All the helmets, as far as I know, are Chinese - it's entirely possible that the R$250 helmets are made in the same factory, using the same materials, as the R$40 ones.  I picked up my helmet in Mangueira, a favela near my house.  I paid R$85, and got a nice black helmet with a perfect fit, reflective strips, and three vents.  I hope it's the "fell off a truck" price and not the "you'd be better off with a watermelon jammed on your head" price, and hope like hell I never find out.

Gloves were another necessity - I had a small loss of balance one of my first days getting on the bike and cut up my hand a bit (bike's fine).  A bike shop down the street gave me a decent price on some gloves that look acceptable - nylon with rubber armor on all the knuckles and the back of the hand.  Leather would be too hot - the only vented leather they had was unarmored, which I figured was a poor trade-off for gloves.  I don't mind R$65 gloves being good for one fall only.

I know I should get real riding trousers and motorcycle boots, but there it gets tricky.  The only dedicated MC trousers available in Brazil are nylon/cordura, and they suck.  I don't trust nylon to last past one fall, but they're expensive - R$300-400 for the ones I saw - and extremely hot and non-ventilated, albeit armored.  So I'm going with my Levis, and next time I'm in Europe I'll get some armored denim or a kevlar/denim blend.  (I have an unusual ass for a guy, and finding pants that fit is hell - buying online is not an option).  Boots - for a small fortune you can get racing boots, otherwise you're out of luck.  I'm using my hiking boots, but the metal on them scratched my bike tank when getting on one day (dammit!).  I've been looking everywhere for safety boots with elastic or velcro closing, but can't find them in normal stores - boots aren't usual apparel here.  With a little luck I can get them issued from work. (safety boots are required for some personnel at my job; I'd be happy to pay the company for a pair for personal use out of the mass purchase they're making anyway)  Otherwise, that's another thing I have to get next time in Europe.  For the interim I've also bought some cheap leather zip-closed boots - no armored toecap, but it also won't scratch my bike like the hiking boots.

The final, most difficult, and to me 2nd most important issue was getting a decent jacket.  Again, I don't like nylon jackets - here the prices start at R$290 (for which you could get leather in Europe or the US) but are more typically around R$400; often not vented (cripes!  Summers here regularly pass 40 degrees C); and the armour never fit on me.  I've yet to see a mesh jacket for sale - mesh is also only good for one fall, but at least they're the best for hot weather.  I definitely wanted a leather jacket.  Specifically, a leather jacket with air vents, and preferably armour - even just extra padding on the shoulders and elbows would be acceptable.  Would you believe that such an item apparently doesn't exist on the Brazilian market?

After much searching, I found my best bet for a leather jacket online was an online store based in the south of Brazil which I shan't bother naming.  They sell knockoffs of MC jackets from movies - Dr. House's black leathers from "House MD", the Brad Pitt "Fight Club" jacket, and ripoffs of the Perfecto jackets from Marlon Brando's "The Wild One".  I think I saw a Wolverine (from "X-Men") jacket too. The jackets don't appear to be armored OR vented, prices start at R$350, and the shop doesn't answer emails.  The Harley-Davidson shop in Recreio and the Honda shop in Barra don't answer email or the phone either, nor did the organisers of the Harley Days where a bunch of vendors would be represented.  So what can a man do?

I went to Jafrum.com - they answered emails quickly, had functional live chat with Indians who tried their best to be helpful but had no more access to information than users viewing the site (hey, at least it's better than no answer at all, and more than I'm unfortunately accustomed to).  I got a vented leather jacket for me, which was also supposed to be armoured, and a vented and armoured denim jacket for my wife, for US$148.99 plus US$85.90 shipping and handling - less than the cost of two of the cheapest motorcycle jackets of any type evidently available for sale in Brazil.  Then the package got caught in customs and I had to pay an extra 60% import tax (60% of stated value of goods and shipping combined) - a ripoff, basically, but it's the law.

OK, when I opened the package it turns out that the leather jacket for me wasn't armoured as their original listing and chat support claimed.  So I sent off a polite email, also explaining that I couldn't really do a return because it would cost more than a new jacket in shipping and taxes.  Unbelievably, after some back&forth, Jafrum offered to simply send me any other jacket I'd like, as long as I paid for any price difference compared with the first, and I could keep the original as well!  Amazing service.  My second jacket - brown vented and armored leather - is on its way.  So well done Jafrum for excellent customer service.

Incidentally, the first jacket is actually very good, it's just not what I thought I was ordering.  It's thick buffalo leather and seems VERY sturdy.  I'll definitely use it on runs within town, and use the armored jacket more for longer-distance/higher-speed runs.

Stay tuned for my next post - on how these experiences illustrate systemic economic problems in Brazil!