Newbie looking into gear...

[hm6]

Hi there,
I'm just getting into looking around for gear in Wellington, and I wanted some advice from other ladies about what gear you use? I've just got a bike - picking up in 4 weeks from up north - & I'm not looking so much at commuting, but more going on trips...

The quotes I've got from different places range between $750 to $1500-is this quite on the cheap side/reasonable? I've been liking what I see with the Cordura, but can anyone give me a bit more advice on this compared to leather? or Kevlar?

The RevIt stuff looked quite good. At the mo, I'd probably splash out on the jacket in RevIt because it was so damn comfortable (and quite styley), and being able to zip out the inners and having air vents seem like big pluses to me.
Thought I'd try and save a bit on pants (but get ones with armour), and look for upgrading in summer. I've just got some cheap boots - RJays - with the thought of buying some more solid ones a bit later.

I have a pretty small head - are there any brands in particular that suit smaller heads? - at one place I was recommended getting a kids helmet (!).

Any advice much appreciated. Thanks :-)
Hannah

[Nasty]

Hey Hannah ....

Gear is the thing that will help to reduce the amount of injury you have when it comes to an accident .. it will also protect you from the wind and cold .. and in Wellington we got a lot of both of those.

I have a varity of gear ... I wore draggin jeans for the first year of riding ... not armounred and now I have armoured gear I wear that more often. Revit is great I have coduara pants from them and they are lovely - armoured and very good wearing. Jackets .. don't skimp. Boots when you skimp you get wha you way for .. which is fine ... my cheap ones leaked that was their only issue - they still protected my feet and ankles. Helmits - the only advice for this is buy the one that fits you well - don't buy something that "will do" this will protect you head and brain .. its the most vital piece of sately gear I can think of. Check out lots of them .. and go to a few shops and get their fitting advice - try and lots of sorts and sizes ... they all fit differently ... that way when you find the one that works .. you will know.

Oh well hope that helps some .. the other ladies and guys will have plenty to add i am sure.

[Quasievil]

Hi, As above get some good gear and dont scrimp, especially on Boots nothing worse than wet feet

If your interested I can sell you a set cheap from our 06/07 clearance gear.
We also have some new gear in now 08 range which might interest you, for example 100% waterproof Cordura/Leather suits, best of both worlds and very very styley.
Also have some cool Pink/White fitting jackets and Baby blue/white fittting jackets in next week as well as a hard arse style Ladies racing Jacket (the new Vengeance) with awesome external TPU on shoulders, pants to match on all above.

there is lots out there to choose from so have a look around, if we can help drop us a line and I can send you some pictures, we will be down in Welly soon with a bit of a gear clearance sale so that will be another chance for you.
to give you an idea the clearance gear will set you up with pants and Jacket for around $500, and it is top quality gear as many on KB will testify

cheers
Quasi

[Rosie]

Hey Hannah!

Welcome!

There is heaps of gear out there, and more and more women's specific stuff, so it can be confusing figuring out what you want.

I've got cordura gear at the moment - a tecnik sequoia jacket and a pair of Rjays voyager pants (actually men's pants, but they were cheap and fitted well).

They have proven to be very versatile, which is a real advantage when it's your first (and only) set of gear. Both jacket and trousers have thermal liners, so they are nice and cosy in winter, and the jacket has lots of vents you can open, so it's cool in summer. They have proven to be fully waterproof so far, but I haven't been out for more than an hour or so in moderately heavy rain, so I haven't fully explored their waterproofing abilities.

The jacket has hard (CE approved) armour, the trousers have foamy padding on the hips and knees. I have a set of off-road type hard knee armour I often wear underneath, instead of the foamy stuff.

As far as I understand, one disadvantage of cordura is that after one crash/slide it will most likely need replacing.

Another thing you may want to think about when buying gear, is how visible you will be. My jacket is black and red, and my helmet is plain silver, which is apparently a very visible combination, without me looking like a multi-coloured fashion criminal. Some people would argue that anything other than plain black constitutes multi-coloured fashion criminality, so it's a matter of personal taste.

Good luck with your gear shopping!

[Coldrider]

I am not a lady, but when trying out Helmets, ask if you test ride them, go up to 100kph to get wind noise & buffering, the characteristics of helmets is different on different motorcycles. Also good skid lids are lighter and less fatiguing. I have a Shoei which is really light and slightly oval (egg) shaped, the difference it makes over my previous Shoei is incredible. See how quickly the helmets can fog up & clear also, if possible.

[LardEmbargo]

hiya - my girlfriend had trouble finding a hat that fit her properly too. Getting one to fit right must be the most important thing when it comes to hats - I guess if it fits it'll protect your head better and you don't want one that's going to be uncomfortable. Different brands seem to target different shaped heads too, I found, rather than maybe suiting different sizes.

Anyway, we struggled to find anything in Wgtn, and ended up getting ours from Phil Turnbull Motorcycles in sunny Bahamaston North, who had heaps of different hats to try on, and were generally happy to spend ages helping us get the right one and making sure they fitted well.

If you happen to pass nearby I recommend a visit anyway. They had a bigger selection and a better range of sizes, took the time to explain about how your hat should fit and were friendly and helpful (in marked contrast to at least one shop in Wgtn where they never, ever, show any interest in fscking talking to us at all)

Good luck finding some nice gear anyway! let us know how you get on

[Draco]

Hi hm6,
Welcome to the world of motorcycling
I've had a selection of gear over the years, and it's great that the volume and variety of womens gear is improving all the time.

As others have said, spend your dosh wisely on a good helmet and don't skimp. You can never repair/replace a mushed brain. I'm small and have found helmets hard to get. A junior (kids) HJC wasn't too bad, but the best by far is my Arai (Astro-R). The fit is supurb, it has a small shell so it won't get too big with wear, it's fantastic for wind buffering, the venting system is the best i've ever had (which is important when you wear glasses). My only criticism of it is it's bad for wind noise, but with so many other great features that can be easily ignored with a pair of earplugs. Keep trying on helmets until your sick of the sight of them, they're all made for different shaped/sized heads.

Cordura is great for commuting, and the most comfortable for wet winter riding, but you can never beat the protection and wear of leather. I have a Revit jacket currently, the fit and comfort is supurb but it didn't hold up well to a crash. Check the thickness of the leather in places like the shoulders.

If your worried about image, black is so old!!! Everyone's wearing coloured leather/boots/gloves. Go for visibility. Anything white on your gear/helmet will ensure cagers see you for miles!

Happy shopping and enjoy your new bike

[hm6]

drop us a line and I can send you some pictures, we will be down in Welly soon with a bit of a gear clearance sale
cheers Quasi

Hi Quasi,
That's great, thanks for the offer. Will be interested when you come down to Welly, so please let me know. I'm going to get some gear for now, but I'm also going to be in Waihi in 3 weeks, so I may even be able to pop over and have a look then.

Thanks again :-)
Hannah

[hm6]

Thanks for helping me out in this task!

I'm definately aiming for colour in my gear, but why is it that every shop has the majority of plain black??

Am steering away from the black helmets as it seems obvious they aren't seen at night, and I want to be seen! But this helmet is proving the hardest to find, and the help I'm getting from sales people seem to differ slightly, or I don't really feel I have the information to judge myself how it's meant to feel on my head.

Some helmets feel kinda tight around my forehead and then not at the back.
I'm not sure how much 'wobble' - if even a cm - there should be when I've got it on.
A 1500g felt too heavy but a 1350g helmet felt pretty comfortable weight wise.

I'm trying on more helmets, jackets and gloves again tomorrow, so will keep in touch with what I may end up deciding on...

Hannah :-)

[ApriliaRS]

Have you been to TSS cycles yet? I've found them great and offered good advice on helmets etc and they don't mind ordering stuff for you

[Draco]

Some helmets feel kinda tight around my forehead and then not at the back.
I'm not sure how much 'wobble' - if even a cm - there should be when I've got it on.

The advice I was given when fitting a helmet is:
1) It should squash your cheeks a little
2) There should be a gap of about 10mm between the top of your eyebrows and the start of the forehead interior padding
3) It should feel firm, but it should still be comfortable (ie not digging in to you anywhere as you've got to be able to wear it for a few hours)

Don't forget to check if it has a small shell, not just small padding internally so that it will last you for ever(ish).
Good luck

[kaz]

Thanks for helping me out in this task!

I'm definately aiming for colour in my gear, but why is it that every shop has the majority of plain black??

Am steering away from the black helmets as it seems obvious they aren't seen at night, and I want to be seen! But this helmet is proving the hardest to find, and the help I'm getting from sales people seem to differ slightly, or I don't really feel I have the information to judge myself how it's meant to feel on my head.

Some helmets feel kinda tight around my forehead and then not at the back. I'm not sure how much 'wobble' - if even a cm - there should be when I've got it on. A 1500g felt too heavy but a 1350g helmet felt pretty comfortable weight wise.

I'm trying on more helmets, jackets and gloves again tomorrow, so will keep in touch with what I may end up deciding on...
Hannah :-)

Hi Hannah, I had the same trouble trying to find coloured gear. I think black is standard because it doesn't show up grime so much as other colours and it's also somehow ended up being considered a cool (non)colour.

I got a white Shoei Raid II helmet which has been great. Wellington Motorcycles and Motorad stock them. I did a lot of internet research and there is actually very little research on helmet colour and safety but what I did find says go white or yellow. It seems logical to me that you'd make the highest and most visible point - your head - as visible as possible (accepting that it can't eliminate the risk of other drivers not seeing, nothing can do that, but it can reduce that risk). But I did find that some shop assistants seemed very resistant to helping me get a non-black helmet. But hang in there, they can order in different colours for you.

I have a light blue cordura, armoured Revit jacket (I think it's the Sun model) but I got that at Motomail on a visit to Auckland. I have not seen them in Wellington. It fits me perfectly and, well, it was such a lovely colour that I had to get it

If you get most of your gear at the same time, from the same place, you should be able to get a decent discount. And if more of us ask for coloured gear, they might start stocking it. Happy shopping.

[SDU]

there are a few brands with coloured gear- pink if you're into it seems to be the main alternative though. I've just seen some Joe Rocket gear for gals that has a few options. But black is practical.

http://www.joerocket.com

[scootnz]

I scored a silver-grey leather alpinestar stella jacket on trademe for $320, as new - still had the silicon packs in the pockets. Nice to finally have a womens fit jacket, rather than the shapeless old black jacket I had for several years. Apparently the Stella comes in two colours - silver, and pink.

Currently have a Shoei Raid which is ok, but have tried on an Arai Astro, and it fit perfectly for my head shape. Just can't scrape together the $900 odd to buy one. I've found that some helmets suit some head shapes and not others. The Shoei leaves a red mark on my forehead on long trips.

[sweetp]

Hi, I highly recomend TSS in Cuba Street Lower Hutt. Brenda is brill, I was in the other day and she said they have a number of XS helmets in at the moment. They also have a really good selection of womens wear. Brenda is a biker too, so she will sell you what works best for you rather what looks good. (not that I am saying you wont look good as they have some very nice stuff). Although the best gloves I have are Revits from Wellington M.C.

Welcome to the world of biking, and just to stick in a plug, come join us on the cruisy sunday morning rides. We leave from Caltex Rimutaka at 10 every Sunday. Really good way to build up your confidence, we explore good cafes and have cruisy rides and I always follow up the rear so you should have no concerns about being left behind!