Boots


It starts with your feet.  When you first sit on a motorcycle, what’s the first thing that touches the ground?  This simple action sends a strong message from the bottom of your feet to your brain telling you either “Oh X@#%^!” or “Oh Yes!!!”

Maybe you’re a new rider, or maybe you’ve been struggling on a bike that you know you can ride/manage but could use a little extra help. There are two key features that a pair of protective motorcycle boots can give you over your favorite pair of casual boots:

1) Protection:

Armor, Reinforced soles providing shock absorption and impact protection, reinforced in key impact points: ankles, toes, heelcup, shin.

There are 2 key differences in the way that a protective boot is designed that differentiates them from any casual/street boot:

  • Staying on your feet. You’ll find that most riding boots have a zipper/velcro system to keep the boot from coming off your foot, no matter what happens. And you’ll notice that this system is often on the side of the boot, not on the top like a casual shoe.    Velcro and zippers are a girl’s best friend. Have you ever driven by an accident scene and see shoes lying on the road, nowhere near the feet they came from? There are certainly many factors involved in an accident, and it’s not always the case that your shoes will fall off if something happens. But, that’s just one of the risks we take as riders.

 

  • Keep (parts of or all of ) your foot from being crushed. We don’t have to be doing very much for a 400lb bike to sprain, fracture or break your ankle. Just imagine backing your motorcycle out of the driveway, with slippery pavement or oil and losing your footing and dropping the bike just while moving it? What is there to protect your ankle bone from being crushed by the weight of the motorcycle?   Now add a little velocity and force to that in the form of riding anywhere from 5mph-50mph and see what happens. 

 

 

2) Traction

The traction you can gain within the ball of your foot can be more than what you’ll get in the entire sole of a casual shoe. You’ve also probably been told that you “must” flat foot with both feet on your motorcycle. Well, I don’t know who wrote that rule but I’ve never flat footed any motorcycle or scooter I’ve ever ridden. However, that’s not to say that you should be attempting to ride something beyond your experience level. But, it is possible and it can be done, if you go about it the right way.

For me, that was starting on a 50cc scooter that only weighed ~200lbs and then a motorcycle that weighed 325lbs, and then another motorcycle that weighed 450lbs (very top heavy too) and finally back down to a gentler 438lb beast  with a much lower center of gravity (’03 Suzuki SV650S. *swoon*). I never flat footed both feet on any of these bikes and I couldn’t have ridden any of them without wearing a great pair of boots to offer me the added traction.

I never imagined that they would help me  ride better and more often.

3) Function

What can a protective boot offer you in addition to protection?

  • GORE-TEX® liners to provide breathability, waterproofing and
    insulation. There’s something amazing about the way GT can insulate when it’s cold and allow just enough breathability when it’s hot.  I’ve worn my Daytonas between 35 and 100 degrees fahrenheit (no humidity).  Of course, I’m also wearingsmart wool socks in the winter and moisture wicking socks in the summer  to help manage the temperature of my feet (cotton doesn’t cut it).
  • Adjustable Fit; Some boots have larger calves to accommodate pants and different leg shapes. Or, we might have leather pants that are tapered for tucking into boots.
  • Zippers and Velcro; are one of the best manmade inventions, ever! Besides making it really easy to get your boots on and off, and at the same time they’re going to provide a very secure fit. You’ll also find some boots have a velcro zipper pull that attaches to the top of the boot where a velcro flap secures around your calf. You might also see a velcro flap over the zipper so the zipper cant become undone on its own in the event of an accident. Generally, you’re going to see laces on more casual looking motorcycle shoes/boots that are fine for local/city riding, but not the best option for freeway/weekend riding speeds.

4) Fit

So how should your riding boots fit? Well, they should fit snug, just like everything else. One thing to be remember is that most likely, your boots are going to be made of some sort of animal hide, most commonly cow.  Cow hide stretches out after you break them in, so initially you want to find a boot with a snug fit so that when they do break in, they will fit just right. If your boots are made of Lorica (like most of Sidi’s boots), that’s a manmade material that won’t stretch very much. You’ll want to buy them as is, knowing that the fit isn’t going to change.

On the Bike

  • Your foot position is going to change while on the pegs, off the pegs, breaking and shifting. See how your foot feels while doing all these things.
  • If you can feel your foot moving sideways inside the boot, consider going down a size.
  • It’s normal for your heel to move around a little bit, because you need a little bit of wiggle room there when you move your foot from the pavement to the pegs.

Off the Bike

  • Take a step and then see if the boot is wrinkling too much above the toes, similar to when you try on a pair of shoes that are one size too big.
  • If that looks fine, make sure that you can’t move your foot side to side. They shouldn’t be squeezing your foot but just know that they will stretch out in WIDTH and never in length.
  • You should also notice that when you walk normally, your feet don’t move around from front to back like they might in a normal shoe.