[Bubba68CS]

Personally, I'm a big fan of work boots for new riders. They're cheap, they'll cover the ankles (which is important), and offer decent protection in a fall.

The thing with gear is, you don't know what you need or want until you start riding. I rode with a pair of Carhartt boots for about a year before getting a nice pair of Sidi's (sport touring...not full on race like those $400 boots you found). I've just now upgraded to a nice pair of gloves...I also started with a cheap helmet and a jacket I had laying around before upgrading to nicer stuff.

So get whatever will do the job first...then as you start riding, you'll figure out what bothers you most...change or add stuff as you go. Trying to get it all in one shot will leave you disappointed (in my opinion).

 

[Bubba68CS]

Those seem like a nice pair of boots & 100 isn't bad for them if you buy them now. But if you bid then anyone could swoop in & buy them, that would suck. Your saving at least $30 + shipping by going w/ebay.
IMO everything I have is A*. I have the stella 2-piece suit & the s-mx 5. I haven't had a problem w/any of it except for the fitting. The boot size were accurate but the suit was a little off. So again try stuff on. So w/that I think they are great in quality. Price is a little stiff so go w/ebay or a discount place.
To each his own about what Bubba68CS said. I'd much rather get what I need now then go down & wish I had it. If I wasn't wearing my leathers, glove & boots when I had my first crash I would've definitely had some broken bones & such. But I came out with only a scrape where my knee rubbed in my leathers.

Whoa, I'm not saying to go riding without any gear on at all, not at all, sorry if it came across that way...I'm saying, get something that works, and don't worry about getting the perfect set until you figure out what, exactly, you want or need. Plans tend to change once you start riding, or they did for me anyway. I changed the type of bike I ride, I rode in VERY cold weather, VERY wet weather, VERY hot weather...and no one piece of gear is going to cover all of that.

As a newbie, you really don't know what you actually need, or want to put up with on a daily basis. I could easily get a 1-piece Dainese kangaroo leather racing suit, $400 heavily armored boots, and $300 heavily armored gloves to go with and be as safe as possible...looks great on paper. But what happens when you just want to cruise around? Or the weather turns cold? Or you want to use your bike to get somewhere (like work, a friends house for a party, the store, etc). On the flip side, are you comfortable with just wearing jeans and a jacket without armor? Do you REALLY want to avoid rain? I actually enjoy a ride in the rain every now and again (just not the cleaning after :mrgreen: ).

My only point was, once you figure out how you want to use your bike, you can make better decisions as to the type of gear you need. You won't know how you want to use your bike until you experience the feeling of riding your bike in different conditions. Paying full boat now, for gear you think you need will most likely leave you disappointed. But you should still get SOMETHING to cover everything up...