Motocross riding gear: the complete guide from beginner to racer

01The six essentials

1. Helmet (€150-600)

ECE 22.06 required. Ideal weight: 1,100-1,300 g.

• Entry level: Airoh Twist, O'Neal Sierra (€150-250)
• Mid range: Airoh Aviator 3, Fox V3 (€300-450)
• Top end: Arai MX-V, Shoei VFX-WR (€450-600)

Weight is not a racer's affectation. Three hundred extra grams on the end of your neck, multiplied by the impacts and the thirty minutes of a moto, is paid for in neck fatigue and increased injury risk. It is the one area where paying more buys something other than comfort.

Replace a helmet after any heavy impact, even with no visible mark: the shell absorbs by deforming, and that deformation does not show from outside. Replace the shell after five to seven years regardless of use, as foam and adhesives age on their own.

2. Goggles (€30-120)

Roll-off or tear-off for mud. Scott Prospect, 100% Racecraft 2, Oakley Airbrake MX.

The choice comes down to weather. Tear-offs, stacked films you pull one at a time, are light and quick but end up on the ground, which is frowned upon and sometimes banned. Roll-offs feed a continuous film on demand: heavier, dearer, unbeatable in thick mud.

Goggles must fit the helmet, not just the head. Bought separately they often leave a gap at the brow, exactly where you wanted a seal.

3. Boots (€150-500)

Ankle and shin protection, rigid, with metatarsal cover.

• Entry: O'Neal RSX, Fox Comp (€150-200)
• Benchmark: Alpinestars Tech 7, Gaerne SG-12 (€350-500)

After the helmet this is where the price gap shows fastest. An entry-level boot protects against impact and burns; a hinged boot also limits ankle twist, which is the most common injury mechanism in amateur motocross.

4. Gloves (€25-60)

Leather or synthetic, good grip, knuckle protection. Thick gloves are tiring: the harder you have to grip to feel the bars, the sooner arm pump arrives. Off-road favours thinness over protection, unlike road riding.

5. Jersey and pants (€60-250 the set)

Light, ventilated, tough. Not protection in themselves; the armour underneath does that job.

6. Body protection (€80-300)

• Roost deflector: the bare minimum (Leatt, Alpinestars)
• Knee protection: Leatt Dual Axis, EVS (€80-200)
• Back protector: integrated or separate
• Neck brace: Leatt GPX, Atlas (€200-400)

On knees, the useful distinction is not the brand but the type. A simple cup protects against impact. A hinged brace with a hyperextension stop also limits the movement that tears cruciate ligaments. The price difference pays for itself with the first knee saved.

02What to buy used, and what never to

Boots, jersey, pants, gloves: used is reasonable, just check seams and fastenings.

Helmet: never. You do not know its history, and a helmet dropped off a handlebar onto concrete is already compromised with nothing to show for it.

Impact-absorbing armour: with caution. Those foams compress permanently after an impact and do not recover.

03Buying order on a tight budget

1. A properly fitted, homologated helmet 2. Boots 3. Roost deflector and back protector 4. Hinged knee braces 5. Goggles 6. Textiles, last

The order follows the severity of injuries, not their frequency. You can ride a season in a sports jersey; you cannot ride a lap without a helmet and boots.

04Looking after it

Gear lasts twice as long if it is washed. Textiles go in the machine cold with no fabric softener, most modern helmet liners come out, boots get rinsed and dried in the shade, never on a radiator: direct heat hardens and cracks leather.

05First-kit budget

Set that against the annual running budget: gear is an entry cost spread over three to five years, where machine servicing comes round every season.