Are You An ATGATT Rat?

What is an ATGATT Rat, anyway?

What does that mean?

What's ATGATT?

I've been asked this question since I assumed the monicker "Atgatt Rat" and began the blog.

ATGATT is a well-established term, a mantra for the safe rider, and an acronym for "All The Gear, All The Time". It's been described as a philosophy, an ideal.

ATGATTers abound. We're the quiet minority in moto-culture. I don't know the percentages; someday when I'm bored I'll take to doing informal surveys of riders I see on a sunny day. How many are wearing helmets? How many are wearing gloves? How many are wearing boots? How many are wearing long pants (for starters). How many are wearing pants with some level of protection above mere denim.

If "moto-gear" is a continuum, on one extreme we have the pure SQUID. This, too, is a well-established term in moto-culture.

Squids wear no protective gear. They don't even wear appropriate attire. Sandals, flip-flops, shorts, tank tops, no shirts. I've seen it all. They hop on a bike dressed like they would walk to the refrigerator, or walk to the beach.

On the other extreme, are the hard-core ATGATTers. There are those among us who would not dream of throwing a leg over a motorcycle without donning every article of protective clothing. Boots offer more protection than sandals or flip-flops. Motorcycle-specific boots have special abrasion resistance and armor in strategic locations.

So it is with pants. Blue jeans offer more protection than shorts or cutoffs. They offer more protection than a pair of Dockers. But motorcycle-specific clothing would take this the extra step, by adding padding in the butt and knees, abrasion-resistant fabric, or armor.

Leather Jackets are iconic motorcycle wear. Even a jacket worn for its good looks, if it's made of leather, offers more protection than a tank top. But for true protection, it has to be motorcycle-grade leather, or another abrasion resistant fabric such as kevlar, nylon, or cordura. There are mesh jackets for summer and quilted padded lined jackets for cold-weather riding.

Helmets, too, have a wide range, from the minimalist beanie, to the full-face helmet.

So, we have the Squids, and we have the ATGATTers, and everyone in between. Most folks who ride fall somewhere in between; we may tend toward true pure ATGATT, or may tend toward Squidishness.

What's A Rat?

Okay, I understand ATGATT? But where does "Rat" come in?

In moto-culture, a Rat Bike is a beat-up old bike. Technically, it takes more than age or signs of wear to make a bike a "Rat". It needs to be modified. And by this, I don't mean "customized" with expensive after-market parts. I mean modified, cheaply, to serve some function. An example of a Rat modification would be patching a hole in the exhaust with an aluminum beer can. Rat bikes might have missing covers, dangling wires. The emphasis is on getting the bike running on the cheap. Function over form. Sort of the antithesis of the chromed and polished "custom bike" which has lots of expensive modifications which enhance the appearance but do nothing to enhance the performance or the function.

When I bought my first motorcycle, at the tender age of 38, it was a 20-year-old Ratty looking bike that I bought for $900. Rusty tank, duct tape wrapped around the broken stubs of the turn signals holding them on -- all it lacked to be a true rat bike would have been a broken mirror or a beer-can exhaust patch.

Immediately after buying it, I geared up. Before I ever rode it, I bought a helmet. I found gloves. I wore boots. I would tell my friends about the jacket, or the pants, or the boots I bought as "motorcycle gear."

One friend made the observation "Holy Crap! You're going to spend more on gear than you did on your bike!"

I thought about it, and thought, "Yeah, I probably will. And what's so bad about that?"

ATGATT RAT is born

So, I made up this term...ATGATT Rat. I combined two already-existing terms in our moto-culture lexicon, and made a new term.

Strictly speaking, an "ATGATT Rat" spends more on gear than he does on his motorcycle.

More broadly interpreted, it means an emphasis on safety over image. It might be cool to evoke Brando in his blue jeans and leather jacket, but it's safer to wear abrasion-resistant pants and jacket, gloves, and a full-face helmet. You can't wink at the girls at the stoplight as readily wearing a full-face helmet, but you'll fare much better in case of an accident.

At its core, the ATGATT Rat philosophy says, "It doesn't matter what you ride! Just put on your gear, and let's ride!"