Hein Gericke - getting discounts on a complete set of gear?
Discussion
When I've completed my CBT (which I will do 
), I'll be looking to buy clothing and safety gear so I can start my training for my DAS and test.
The closest clothing shop to me is a branch of Hein Gericke and I've spent a while perusing their catalogue
I reckon I'd spend something around £1500 on clobber to start me out and wondered what people's experiences of getting a discount at HG are?
Surely if I wander in with £1.5k and want to buy all my kit to start with, they would offer a discount - or if I paid for cash? If I'm spending that kind of dosh, I'd expect something to sweeten the deal!
Or would I be better off waiting for a bike show and getting kitted out then?
), I'll be looking to buy clothing and safety gear so I can start my training for my DAS and test.The closest clothing shop to me is a branch of Hein Gericke and I've spent a while perusing their catalogue
I reckon I'd spend something around £1500 on clobber to start me out and wondered what people's experiences of getting a discount at HG are?Surely if I wander in with £1.5k and want to buy all my kit to start with, they would offer a discount - or if I paid for cash? If I'm spending that kind of dosh, I'd expect something to sweeten the deal!
Or would I be better off waiting for a bike show and getting kitted out then?
Sossige said:
Or would I be better off waiting for a bike show and getting kitted out then?
yes (in my opinion).Get a good lid and gloves now. Boots and leathers can probably wait until you decide what kind of bike you want to buy.
If you're spending that sort of gear, personally, I would go to Hideout, Crowtree, Manx, MW, etc, and get a cheap bespoke suit made, as the quality (and hence burst resistance and abrasion protection, etc) will be FAR superior to any alpinestars, die-easy s
te you can buy off the peg in the shops. You can easily get kitted out with decent kit for £1500. PS Held make fantastic gloves which offer both a lot of feel on the bars and great levels of protection. If something feels flimsy in your hands, imagine what will happen when you hit the deck....
PPS If in doubt, sak club racers what they use, as a) they crash a lot and b) can't afford to keep buying new kit.
PPPS Although the pros seem to use some of the brands seen in the shops, they are nearly always handmade suits, made with far more attention to detail than the retail stuff!
Each to their own as to how much to spend. My 1st priority was to buy a decent cordura jacket and trousers for training in different weather for £150 for both in a sale (Akito). Next a Caberg lid for £75 just to get me started. Then a set of Sidi Vertigo Air boots for £120 and finally a set of Axo gloves for £60.
After passing my DAS, and as I'm collecting a new GSX-R600 next week, I have since bought a Dainese Wave Back protector for £89 and Shoei X-Spirit Vermulen helmet for £399 - bit the bullet and spent a bit more cash on a quality lid as the Caberg was a bit loose size wise once I passed my DAS and went on some 600 test rides.
You won't need to go for leathers during training (something all weather would be) but for the other essential items, budget at £1k for the first lot of gear. Leathers in 1 piece or 2 you can always get later.
After passing my DAS, and as I'm collecting a new GSX-R600 next week, I have since bought a Dainese Wave Back protector for £89 and Shoei X-Spirit Vermulen helmet for £399 - bit the bullet and spent a bit more cash on a quality lid as the Caberg was a bit loose size wise once I passed my DAS and went on some 600 test rides.
You won't need to go for leathers during training (something all weather would be) but for the other essential items, budget at £1k for the first lot of gear. Leathers in 1 piece or 2 you can always get later.
Edited by amare32 on Thursday 27th March 17:14
Not sure of the logic in spending more on kit when you have a more expensive bike. An 80mph crash will be the same on a £2k bike as on a £38k desmodici ducati....
However, after spending in the region of £6-8k on a new bike, I wouldn't necesserily try and 'save' money on kit. Coming off your nice new £6k bike is likely to hurt more in cheap gear than with quality gear.
Personally, I think you're better off in HG's off road type touring suits (the type of stuff won in Long way round, etc), than in cheap leathers.
£100 helmet for a £100 head and all that. I'm not suggesting that a £500 helmet is better than a £100 one, before that debate gets going.....
I'd personally go for gear in the following order:
1) get a helmet that fits well, and is comfy and well ventilated. Ignore the noise for now, you can get earplugs for 99p
2) decent gloves. If you fall off, the first instint is to put your hands out. Cheap gloves will leave you with your palsm tickling the tarmac
3) boots. Get some with good ankle protection and also abrasion resistance. Waterproofing isn't important, as there as lots of cheap aftermarket products to get round this
4) jacket and trousers..
PS I'd ignore 'fashion' type kit, as I don't think anyone would give a t0ss how cool you liked whilst sliding down the road....
PPS most 'fashion' type kit is ste technically anyway....
However, after spending in the region of £6-8k on a new bike, I wouldn't necesserily try and 'save' money on kit. Coming off your nice new £6k bike is likely to hurt more in cheap gear than with quality gear.
Personally, I think you're better off in HG's off road type touring suits (the type of stuff won in Long way round, etc), than in cheap leathers.
£100 helmet for a £100 head and all that. I'm not suggesting that a £500 helmet is better than a £100 one, before that debate gets going.....
I'd personally go for gear in the following order:
1) get a helmet that fits well, and is comfy and well ventilated. Ignore the noise for now, you can get earplugs for 99p
2) decent gloves. If you fall off, the first instint is to put your hands out. Cheap gloves will leave you with your palsm tickling the tarmac
3) boots. Get some with good ankle protection and also abrasion resistance. Waterproofing isn't important, as there as lots of cheap aftermarket products to get round this
4) jacket and trousers..
PS I'd ignore 'fashion' type kit, as I don't think anyone would give a t0ss how cool you liked whilst sliding down the road....
PPS most 'fashion' type kit is s
te technically anyway....Edited by fergus on Thursday 27th March 17:52
I'm entitled to do whatever I like with my cash thank you very much.
The gear I buy hopefully won't be put to 'proper' use and be able to get good use out of it for the next few years whether it's for the Gixxer or Desmosedici/R1/Fireblade etc etc. I honestly don't have a problem spending a bit more money on a lid - what price would you put on your head? Yes, the race rep lids is a bit frivolous but for £100 extra, it ain't gonna break the bank - if I were thinking rationally I would have bought a pushbike and save myself the £8k for the bike, gear and training.
The gear I buy hopefully won't be put to 'proper' use and be able to get good use out of it for the next few years whether it's for the Gixxer or Desmosedici/R1/Fireblade etc etc. I honestly don't have a problem spending a bit more money on a lid - what price would you put on your head? Yes, the race rep lids is a bit frivolous but for £100 extra, it ain't gonna break the bank - if I were thinking rationally I would have bought a pushbike and save myself the £8k for the bike, gear and training.
bimsb6 said:
amare32 said:
I'm entitled to do whatever I like with my cash thank you very much.
don't ask for peoples opinions then ! HG are franchises so you may be able to get a deal , if you don't ask you wont get .
Sossige said:
bimsb6 said:
amare32 said:
I'm entitled to do whatever I like with my cash thank you very much.
don't ask for peoples opinions then ! HG are franchises so you may be able to get a deal , if you don't ask you wont get .
as someone said above, you can get a HG card which gives you a bit of discount i think. spending that much id expect them to help out somehow, they activated my card quicker than normal so i got the points (i think it was a while ago) when just buying £150 of boots.
i dont think ive spend anything near £1500 on gear since starting though, doesnt seem that much better than the cheaper stuff to me. not until you get to the silly price custom stuff anyway. i think ive got
calberg lid £100
lewis textiles £150 (jacket & trous)
akito 2 piece leathers £80 (almost new off ebay)
HG rallye boots £150
old franky (useless) thomas boots £120? that leak like a seive
£10 summer gloves (sprayed with fabsil)
£20 winter gloves (sprayed with fabsil)
Lidl openface lid £15 (yes really, i use it on my old bonnie)
Lidl back protector £15 (my textiles didnt come with back armour)
neck muff £5
Lidl (see a pattern yet?) waterproof socks & thermal balacava £5 the lot
i dont do trackdays or warp speeds (often) so i dont expect very high speed crashes so im happy in that stuff.
tbh id say the best crash protection is a clean visor, good tyres & working brakes.
i dont think ive spend anything near £1500 on gear since starting though, doesnt seem that much better than the cheaper stuff to me. not until you get to the silly price custom stuff anyway. i think ive got
calberg lid £100
lewis textiles £150 (jacket & trous)
akito 2 piece leathers £80 (almost new off ebay)
HG rallye boots £150
old franky (useless) thomas boots £120? that leak like a seive
£10 summer gloves (sprayed with fabsil)
£20 winter gloves (sprayed with fabsil)
Lidl openface lid £15 (yes really, i use it on my old bonnie)
Lidl back protector £15 (my textiles didnt come with back armour)
neck muff £5
Lidl (see a pattern yet?) waterproof socks & thermal balacava £5 the lot
i dont do trackdays or warp speeds (often) so i dont expect very high speed crashes so im happy in that stuff.
tbh id say the best crash protection is a clean visor, good tyres & working brakes.
I sometimes by stuff at Hein Gericke and I ALWAYS ask for 10% off even if spending £50 so you should expect that as a minimum.
Personally I'd be pushing for 15% .... don't forget to shop around though. Go to Hein Gericke and try on all the kit ... note the sizes then buy everything from the cheapest supplier.
When I got all my kit I bought boots second hand as realistically what can go wrong with them?
Personally I'd be pushing for 15% .... don't forget to shop around though. Go to Hein Gericke and try on all the kit ... note the sizes then buy everything from the cheapest supplier.
When I got all my kit I bought boots second hand as realistically what can go wrong with them?
10% should be no problem at all. I got that from HG because I’d been to their stand at the NEC show. I was told by the shop manager in Norwich though that there are certain lines that they are not allowed to discount. (Orders from HG high command in Germany) When I was buying my kit in December I was told that they could give a bit of discount on the Cruise jacket and trousers I was looking at but they couldn’t give any discount on the Master series. It would be worth asking if there is different discount options for different lines.
- and an engaged brain!
Hooli said:
tbh id say the best crash protection is a clean visor, good tyres & working brakes.
- and an engaged brain!You can get a lot with £1,500.
Whilst it's generally true that off-the-peg suits are perhaps not as well constructed as custom stuff, it's probably quite harsh to assume that the second they hit the ground they'll burst into their component pieces. The higher end Alpinestars kit, for example, is manufactured in Italy whereas their lower end stuff is manufacturer in China. The Italian stuff is exceptionally well made.
The only brand I particularly dislike is Dainese. Partly because my arms aren't long enough and partly because some of the stitching I've seen has been a little dubious to say the least.
So yeah, nothing wrong with off-the-shelf stuff but, like helmets, make sure you try it on first because all manufacturers make different sizes and shapes.
Whilst it's generally true that off-the-peg suits are perhaps not as well constructed as custom stuff, it's probably quite harsh to assume that the second they hit the ground they'll burst into their component pieces. The higher end Alpinestars kit, for example, is manufactured in Italy whereas their lower end stuff is manufacturer in China. The Italian stuff is exceptionally well made.
The only brand I particularly dislike is Dainese. Partly because my arms aren't long enough and partly because some of the stitching I've seen has been a little dubious to say the least.
So yeah, nothing wrong with off-the-shelf stuff but, like helmets, make sure you try it on first because all manufacturers make different sizes and shapes.
fergus said:
amare32]I'm entitled to do whatever I like with my cash thank you very much./quote said:
I completely respect that, but when you crash in cheap gear where the seams burst, etc, don't come crying on here!! 
Cheers. I'll try not to 
I wouldn't say the Akito Desert jacket and trousers is cheap gear in anyway - does the job for all weather riding. Will invest in a decent set of leathers soon for the summer. I'll need to pop into Hein Gerrike for a look to see what they have available.
If you look at it the other way, no amount of exepensive armour will help you if a HGV decides to use you as a mobile speedbump so try and not to crash would help also methinks
HG stores get discount vouchers to use for deals at the start of every month, but its up to the store manager whether he uses them.
I went in last week and was ready to spend 1700 quid but they were less than helpful and refused to offer discount, so I bought it all from powersport bikes (www.powersport.co.uk) for 600 quid less.
I went in last week and was ready to spend 1700 quid but they were less than helpful and refused to offer discount, so I bought it all from powersport bikes (www.powersport.co.uk) for 600 quid less.
- but that's a new thread methinks Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff