Help Your Boots Help You
HELP YOUR BOOTS HELP YOU
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ONE OF the most important, yet most taken for granted parts of a motorcycle rider’s gear is his boots. Boots aren’t necessary to ride a motorcycle, but in competition they are required for safety. Even if they weren’t mandatory apparel, to try to race in anything but the proper type of boot would be foolish.
Boots provide support for the ankle, protection for the foot and lower leg areas from branches, exhaust pipe burns, etc., act as vehicles to transmit the motion of the rider’s feet to operate the gearshift lever and rear brake controls, and aid the rider in controling his mount in the dirt.
Dropping a foot at the right time can save damage by keeping the machine
from falling over, and the boot can be used as a ski while sliding around corners. When the machine is leaned over, the rider’s outstretched boot becomes, in effect, the third leg of a
tripod, helping him maintain his balance and control of the machine.
But a boot that is not properly cared for can fail prematurely, necessitating expensive repairs or replacement, and a boot that is not properly configured can cost valuable seconds a lap in competition and perhaps serious injury.
The accompanying photos show some simple and effective modifications which can be performed on a boot to make it more comfortable and more effective as part of the rider’s competition and/or pleasure apparel.
Almost any shoe repairman can perform the modifications. We were lucky in being able to get flat track skidshoe maker Ken Maely to perform the modifications and explain why and how.
