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View Full Version : Lots 'o gear questions, esp. for the ladies


LS1Bandit
06-28-2007, 01:58 PM
This is a follow-on to my earlier post about gear for 2 girls that want to be passengers with me. (http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=206404)

I took one of them shopping yesterday and now I have more questions. First, props to Scuderia for selection and knowledge of ladies gear - all the shops I visited were good, but Scuderia definitely gots the nod for ladies. :thumbup

Second - I'm wondering if I'm being a little too narrow-minded. My preference is for leather, primarily because my perception is that it's more crash-worthy, and I've also found my perforated leathers keep me reasonably cool. However every single shop tried to steer me toward textiles, even after telling them my order of priorities was 1) safety 2) comfort 3) cost and that I tended to prefer leather. They all said the textiles would be more comfortable, especially when it gets hot out, and that for "single crash" use, they're just as safe as leathers. On the comfort - when I've ridden with others wearing textiles, it seemed like my perf leathers kept me cooler - but maybe I just handle the heat better?? I also found that there really aren't many options for perf leather for ladies and none of the guy's jackets fit properly. So should I reconsider textiles?

Next question - the gear that fit best (and also looked pretty darned cute) was the Rev'It Allure jacket and Marryl pants: http://store.proitalia.com/fjl28blkxx.html

But I don't really know anything about the Rev'It brand. Is it a good brand in general? Does anyone have experience with the Allure jacket and/or Marryl pants? The one downside I see is that it's all black and not perforated. There are stretch panels on the sides and under the arms, but I don't know how cool that keeps you and I also don't know how those panels affect crash protection.

The one jacket I was really hoping she could try on was the Icon Pursuit jacket, because it's a perforated leather jacket, and you can get it in white/pink so I'd imagine it would keep you relatively cool - plus newenough has really good prices on them. But none of the stores had the jacket (Scuderia, Motostrano, Cycle Gear SJ, Road Rider). I'm half-tempted to just order the jacket and if it doesn't fit then sell it.

Anyway, here are the options we've narrowed it down to and I'm looking for advice/opinions.

Jacket

1) Rev'It Allure - had the best fit, and if we get the matching pants, then the jacket-pants zip is taken care of, but is black and not perforated.
2) A* Stella TX-1 - 2nd best fit, seemed to have a little better protection and *some* (small) perforated sections.
3) Shift Siren - 3rd best fit, but has a white option so might be cooler.
4) Icon Pursuit - unknown fit, must order online, but is fully perforated and has white option, so probably coolest, but no matching pants, so a zipper will have to be added.

Pants

1) Rev'It Marryl - best fit, seemed to have at least decent protection.
2) A* cat - 2nd best fit, but seemed more on the fashion side than protection and no zipper option.
3) A* bat - somewhat unknown fit - they didn't have the right size for her, but it could be ordered, and seemed to have better protection than cat.

Boots

1) Sidi Jasmine - best fit, seems like a decent boot
2) Rev'It Jade - 2nd best fit
3) Oxtar Sunray - fit very close to Rev'It
4) A* SMX3 - 3rd best fit, but seems to be a bit better 'protected'.

Helmet

Scorpion EXO700 - best fit, plus can change out liner if needed to fit her sister better.

Gloves

On speculation, especially with the low price, I went ahead and bought the Olympia 335's that were on closeout as mentioned in another thread. Turns out they fit her perfectly and seem to be a good glove.

Sorry this was so long, thanks for making it all the way through, and thanks in advance for any thoughts/opinions.

silver types
06-28-2007, 02:55 PM
saw this one

http://www.motostrano.com/shwom1leja.html

and the one you have looks pretty warm for the summer

LS1Bandit
06-28-2007, 03:02 PM
Yeah, we tried that. It didn't fit as well as the Shift Siren. We tried pretty much every ladies leather jacket at Motostrano, Scuderia, Cycle Gear and Road Rider. The sale price of the M1 is definitely attractive, but if she rides less because the gear is uncomfortable, that's not worth the $$ savings.

LS1Bandit
07-01-2007, 11:39 AM
OK, well I suspect my message was a little too long for most to get through. :) Let's shorten it a little.

Jacket: Rev'It Allure or Icon Pursuit? Allure is known to fit well and seems like a decent jacket, but it's black with no perforations, so probably pretty warm. Pursuit is perforated and can get in white or light blue so probably cooler, but fit is unknown (no local shops have it) and we'd have to add a zipper to connect to whatever pants we get.

Since we're probably going to get the Rev'It pants, it seems to make some sense to get the jacket that goes with it. I'm just concerned about comfort - I don't want her to decide she doesn't want to go riding because she gets too hot, and my suspicion is that the passenger has a tendency to be warmer because the driver blocks a lot of the wind. Yes/no?

silver types
07-02-2007, 12:35 PM
My wife has pursuit jacket. It is very nice for the summer. If you are not going to the track, I will not worry about connection zippers. Without it, you are pretty safe anyway.

V4
07-03-2007, 12:44 AM
I cannot recommend the Alpinestar Cat pants cuz they are more targeted to the cruiser/boulevard scene rather than the more sporty oriented type of riding...

the Cat pants lack proper knee armor and only offer a "pad"...

the Astar Track pants have knee armor and hip pads which I tested out on a supermoto and it protects well for street use but if intended for the track , look elsewhere...

as for the jacket, go for what fits best cuz the ones listed are all in the same price range and quality/finish...if the cheaper one fits better, then go for it cuz you aren't getting more from the more expensive one...

scorpion helmet is very impressive for the cost and commendable...

Im not a big fan of oxtar products: whille they'll do the job, in the long run the material falls apart on their own...

sidi will outlast most but a bit more expensive now but has the best finish...

get what fits best though..some people can't get the sidi past their calves or too narrow while astars seem bulky/cumbersome...

jake28
07-04-2007, 07:43 AM
The Allure jacket isn't actually as hot as it may seem. It is the women's version of the Ignition which is in my opinion, one of the best jackets around for urban riding.

The Allure doesn't have any liners and the sides are a textile weave as opposed to leather. Your passenger might find that at night when riding, she is actually a little cold rather than too hot.