Have I made some newbie mistakes? (30/11/2012)
by
, 16th January 2013 at 14:07 (10360 Views)
As per this thread: http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...post1130441101
I had to kind of wing it and hope for the best when I got my gear. As my post says, I didn't really have anyone to ask as I was still "hiding" it from "M" at the time and although I was told to, I really didn't feel comfortable going in to stores to try on the gear and wasting their time since I was going to get it online anyway.
Everything above came from fc-moto in Germany (I think?) except for the jacket which I got from ridersdiscount.com as fc-moto said it didn't have it in stock. As you'll probably see in the thread if you can be fagged reading it, the jacket got "snapped" by customs and I got slapped with about $120 (?) in GST, Customs Fees etc. It would have been cheaper buying the jacket in NZ. Luckily the gear from fc-moto didn't get caught up at customs, no gst no other anger inducing fees etc. Luck of the draw I think it is.
Got the gear, all of it fit except for the helmet. I don't think I will ever buy a helmet overseas again - it's not worth it. Stupidly, I didn't even read up on proper helmet fit or even watch any youtube videos to find out how they're supposed to fit what they should/should not do etc. I ended up getting a HJC CLST 2 from Cyclespot Honda in Takapuna and am very happy with it apart from the neck strap. If/when I get another helmet, I think I'll get one with a better strap, not the "clicky-in-thingy" one. Here's a helpful link I since found for some more info on helmets http://sharp.direct.gov.uk/ .
Anyway been wearing the gear about a month now and am so happy, think it looks great, fits me very well. If I had a complaint about the clothing itself, the only one would be that the velcro strap on my pants isn't long enough and the zips won't go down over my boots all the way. Actually I lie, they CAN but I feel like my pants are a part of my boots, I can't move my legs properly i.e. the pants don't move up or down with my movement, makes for difficulty throwing a leg over my bike...
The jacket, pretty awesome... I still have the standard padding inside it although i did just buy an alpinestars back protector from Cyclespot Honda to put in the back ( http://www.alpinestars.com/bio-armor...or-insert.html ), feel a little safer-er now.. If I had any complaint about that? F*ck me it has SO many pockets, I shit you not. A minimum of 8 pockets for storage... maybe more?! Well... that's not quite a complaint I guess.
Boots, SO COOL.
Gloves, ALSO COOL.
Uhh... I think that's about it. Have attached a picture of me in my gear, have since been told I made a fashion error by putting the pants inside the boots. Rest assured this has now been rectified....
If any of you ladies have any questions give me a shout, personally I found it really hard to find much info about women's gear on the net. I wanted to look fashionable whilst parading around on my ginny 'ya know! And I've yet to buy exactly what I want to wear under my gear, which is skins at $100+ a pop for a top and leggings well.. it can wait..