Wearing a Kilt while riding a motorcycle, What do I do?

**Kagetora0511** · 15th June 09, 11:31 AM

Hello again, gettin my bike soon, then after that, building my first Kilt.

However, as much as I wanna show off the goods, I don't want to get tickets while I ride. Any advice on how I keep the Kilt from flying all around?

**BruceK** · 15th June 09, 11:34 AM

Sorry but there's no way in the world I'd wear a kilt when riding my motorcycle. I've had very minor road rash from putting a bike down, and that was while wearing appropriate gear. But to each his/her own...

**McMurdo** · 15th June 09, 11:36 AM

What do you do?

Don't wear the kilt on the motorcycle. This is coming from someone with over 20 years experience riding a motorcycle. I just would not do it, since you ask that is my answer. I'm sure others will chime in, however for me the two just do not mix.

**Kilted_John** · 15th June 09, 01:43 PM

Like everyone else, I'm gonna say, don't. If you want to ride a kilt while on something with two wheels, do it on a mountain bike or road bike, but I wouldn't do it on a motorcycle. That said, a UK with the modesty snaps (or, in the case of the survival, the modesty toggles) might work, but I wouldn't try it on a trip where you're exceeding 25 mph.

-J

**ForresterModern** · 15th June 09, 01:46 PM

What do you do? Put on pants.

**Zardoz** · 15th June 09, 02:00 PM

Bikes and horses are what p@nts were made for.

**BroosterB1** · 15th June 09, 02:28 PM

Well,

I ride my bike all the time with my kilt(s). Why? Same reason why every one rides in shorts: cause I'm stupid. The difference between the road and nothing and the road and 8 - 10 oz denim is lets say....NADA, zip, nothing. The only thing that is going to save you from road rash is a full set of leathers, pads, grieves, gloves and a full face helmet, when (not if) but when you drop your bike.

Ok, so the road rash thing behind us, what else? I use a tuck and go approach. Tucking the front apron under my self and ride on. A nice heavy sporran also works well. The pleated back part, I can not control nor do I care.

I do recommend that you really do not ride at freeway speeds, as the wind gets really problematic. But around town at speeds less than say 50, it really is not much of a problem.

There is nothing ill-legal about riding kilted, although some of the looks I have gotten from police are priceless. If you do choose to ride kilted, beware of the looks, honks and stares you will get. Also, I've found that regimental is very problematic....hot seats, I say no more.

**Cavebear58** · 15th June 09, 03:05 PM

I certainly wouldn't ride in one, but I suppose that there would be scope for someone to do so with 'chaps'. You could go for a pair of Motorman breeches with the kilt on the outside. And, I've never done so, but you could wear the kilt under a touring suit (like my Olympian Phantom (http://www.olympiamotosports.com/phantom/phantom.htm) if you just wanted to get somewhere in your kilt and not have to change.

Graham.

**O'Callaghan** · 16th June 09, 12:05 AM

Originally Posted by BroosterB1

Well,

I ride my bike all the time with my kilt(s). Why? Same reason why every one rides in shorts: cause I'm stupid. The difference between the road and nothing and the road and 8 - 10 oz denim is lets say....NADA, zip, nothing. The only thing that is going to save you from road rash is a full set of leathers, pads, grieves, gloves and a full face helmet, when (not if) but when you drop your bike.

That may be somewhat true at, say, 130 mph, but it isn't true at speeds up to, say, 80 mph, IME. At normal speeds, denim does provide a heck of a lot more protection than nothing. I've slid down the asphalt at 70 mph on my a*** in a pair of jeans, so I KNOW!!!! I won't say the jeans didn't get torn, but I didn't tear the a*** out of them.

It was raining, which may have helped me slide a bit better! The slow lane of the M1 was closed and marked off only by an upturned 'Keep Left' sign on a dark and rainy night, and I had to ride another 100 miles with bent handlebars and the forks twisted in their yokes to get home. The bike hit the sign after we parted company. (ETA: The sparks as the bike slid down the road in front of me were like a firework show) With hindsight I would have done better to have ridden into the roadsign, but for all I knew it could have marked a deep hole! That was a long time ago. I hope the road workers would not be so bl**dy irresponsible today.

I switched to a full face helmet after I got a choke lever stuck through my lip!

Originally Posted by BroosterB1

Ok, so the road rash thing behind us, what else? I use a tuck and go approach. Tucking the front apron under my self and ride on. A nice heavy sporran also works well. The pleated back part, I can not control nor do I care.

I do recommend that you really do not ride at freeway speeds, as the wind gets really problematic. But around town at speeds less than say 50, it really is not much of a problem.

There is nothing ill-legal about riding kilted, although some of the looks I have gotten from police are priceless. If you do choose to ride kilted, beware of the looks, honks and stares you will get. Also, I've found that regimental is very problematic....hot seats, I say no more.

I've never ridden in a kilt, but it's a long time since I've ridden a motorcycle. If I was to do so, I would only do it over short distances, away from traffic, and at very low speeds. Rather like the time I brought home a full length mirror on the pillion, LOL! The (bike) cop who stopped me accepted it was OK when I told him I was keeping to 20 mph!

Chaps seem like a good idea in theory, but if you come off you may well slide along on the seat of your underwear (if you are wearing any). Unless your underwear is at least as strong as denim (!) I couldn't recommend that. I don't know, maybe you wear leather underwear? If you ride a motorcycle in a kilt with leather chaps and leather underwear you might risk arrest for soliciting, LOL!

I've met gazillions of motorcyclists who say that nothing less than full leathers is any use, but I've no time for that PoV, because IMHO it's Bull! If you cover all your exposed skin with SOMETHING it will help you to a large extent at normal (including somewhat illegal) highway speeds. Trust me.

**BroosterB1** · 16th June 09, 07:32 PM

Hey I said it was not the brightest thing in the world to do, but it is fun. I used to have a couple of nurses as tenants in a condo I owned, who worked in the head trauma unit, both rode bikes...no helmets of course...and they smoked like fiends. The whole point is we tend to do what we want to do dispite the considerable drawbacks.

So, ride a bike in a kilt? Don't..................but it is fun.