The Garage

Riding gear

First-ride checklist

What a new rider needs before the first ride, and where to check the rules for your state.

Before the first ride

Head: a helmet with the DOT certification label on the back, sized from the maker’s chart.1

Feet: riding boots. Check the label for EN 13634 if you want a boot tested to the European standard.2

Body: a chest protector or roost guard, reading the label for EN 1621-3 (impact) or EN 14021 (stones and debris).34

Hands and eyes: gloves and goggles that work with the helmet. Check the label for EN 13594 on gloves and EN 1938 on goggles if you want ones tested to the European standards.56

The bike: a model that suits the rider’s size. Seat height is listed on every bike page in the Garage, and the seat height finder compares them all with the rider’s inseam.

Check the rules

Helmet and age rules for off-road riding vary by state. The before-you-ride checker and the state pages list what each state’s law says, cited to the statute.

Starter kit at MotoSport

One product for each line of the checklist above, from the brands' own lists: the Tech 3 is the boot Alpinestars names for New & Occasional riders (Alpinestars Tech Boot Comparison Guide: Tech 3, Tech 7, and Tech 10); everything else is on Fox Racing's best-seller lists (Fox Racing: Best Sellers; Fox Racing: Moto best sellers), read Oct 1, 2026. Fox's R3 Chest Guard is listed at MotoSport as the R3 Roost Deflector (same Fox style, 40594). Check each label as the checklist says; we have not tested these.

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All seven together: $834.65 at MotoSport's lowest in-stock price for each, before you pick sizes and colours.

Prices and stock from MotoSport's product catalog on Oct 19, 2026; they change, so check the price at MotoSport before you buy. Prices change; the total is a sum of today's lowest prices, not a bundle price.

Sources

  1. Choose the right motorcycle helmet, NHTSA (U.S. Department of Transportation). Read 2026-09-25.
  2. CE / European safety ratings, EVS Sports (protective gear maker). Read 2026-09-25.
  3. EN 1621-3:2018, motorcyclists’ chest protectors (standard summary), iTeh Standards (CEN catalogue). Read 2026-09-25.
  4. EN 14021: stone shields for off-road motorcycling, SATRA (test laboratory). Read 2026-09-25.
  5. EN 13594:2015, protective gloves for motorcycle riders, SATRA (test laboratory). Read 2026-10-01.
  6. BS EN 1938:2010, Personal eye protection. Goggles for motorcycle and moped users, BSI (British Standards Institution). Read 2026-10-01.

General guidance. Standards describe how gear is tested, not what it will do in a particular crash. The products shown come from a catalog rule or a brand's own list, not from our testing.