Woman's Gear

I'm hoping some fellow female riders here or other member's wives, can help me out to get some information regarding some woman's riding gear.

My wife rides a Honda CBR125,

Honda CBR125

She has most of the riding gear, except some leather pants. She is not very pleased with her jacket (I have no idea what make or model it is). So essentially, she's looking for a good leather jacket and pants that fit her properly. As I'm sure, some of you guys know, women are very picky about their clothes and how they look. My wife is 5' 2" and because I like where my testicles are currently located, attached!, I will NOT reveal her weight. So she is accepted the fact that she will most likely have to have the pants shortened to fit her short legs.

Because I'm an anal hard-ass with regards to ATGATT when we're riding, we want to get her the gear before our riding season arrives....most likely May this year. :frown: I (and my wife) would greatly appreciate any recommendations, suggestions regarding some leather riding gear for the shorter female rider.

We do live in Canada but it's not a problem purchasing gear in the U.S. as her parents live in VT.

Thanks!

 

One suggestion: Firstgear Kwik-Dry Leather Pants. Women's sizes 6-16. You can order them online.

Also, don't overlook FirstGear's new TPG line of textiles.

 

I don't personally own riding leathers, but there are lots of manufacturers that make them specifically for women. Depending on your wife's build (not weight) she might even fit well into mens. It would be best if you could find some in a store to try on.

Good luck in your search.

 

Any of the European companies, Spidi, AStars, etc... are going to fit skinny European type people. For the rest of us who aren't 6' & 160lbs, that means we need to look elsewhere.

As far as the availability of women's specific gear, most of the OEM are now offerings women's gear. My Wife has a mix of gear from about 8 different OEM's. Her favorite is from a company called POLO. It is the German euivalent to Dennis Kirk. They have EVERYTHING you could possibly need for a bike or to wear on a bike. Since you are in the Great White Frozen North, POLO isn't going to work for you.

I would steer clear of Joe Rocket's women's line. Every single Joe Rocket anything my Wife has ever bought eventually becomes ignored & sold on EBay. I love my JR leather jacket & actually have 2 of the exact same ones.

Olympia is great stuff. Problem is, they don't make leather pants for men or women.

TourMaster makes the Apex & Apex Air specifically for the ladies. Since everything I own by TourMaster/Cortech is top-notch stuff, I would recommend them to anyone.

Icon aggresively markets to the ladies so they have all sorts of gear designed & decorated for them. The Wife & I both own Icon jackets. Icon is not the best product on the market & you can tell a quality difference when you compare them to the top-shelf stuff like Alpinestars. Hell, you can tell a quality difference looking at the same exact jacket in two different colors.

Spidi has some of the best ladies gear on the planet. You're going to pay extra for that priviledge, but they are some of the best.

Finally, Vanson. Bar non, vanson is the best leathers on the market. I know for certain they will tailor/alter any product they make on a one-to-one basis. If you can afford it, Vanson is the way it goes.

KC-10 FE out...
lane: :usa2:

 

Bates in SoCal

 

Thanks a lots folks! Great feedback. Much appreciated.

The only reason I'm focusing on leather is for the best protection. We haven't ruled out any textile clothing but we are focusing on leather....for now. But yes, textile is always an option.

Now we have some work to do. And the fact that we live in a small city in Northern Ontario, means will be making some trips to Toronto for some shopping trips and of course....the internet. If all else fails, we'll make a trip to her parents in VT.

Thanks again.

 

I prefer textile over leather any day. Not only is my textile gear waterproof but it also has removable insulated liners that make it perfect for both cold weather and hot weather. My advice is NOT to purchase on the internet unless you have already been able to try on the exact same piece of clothing at a store. I've purchased different jackets from the same company and had to return a few of them because the sizing was not the same even though they were from the same manufacturer. I would also check Craigslist to see if you get lucky. I've seen lots of people selling jackets and boots that are brand new because they got them on clearance off the internet and they ended up being the wrong size or different color than what they expected and they are unable to return or exchange them due to the return policies on discontinued items.


Your wife has a cool bike BTW!!! I'm sure that thing is a blast to ride around town!

Regards,
Rollin

 

You make a very good point. And that is exactly what we are doing. We're using the internet for gathering information/sales etc. And when she finds something she likes, we start looking for stores that have it etc. I know what your talking about...I had to send back both my Alpinestars pants and jacket because they were definitely the wrong size. Fortunately, the dealership here was very accommodating and was able to send them back.

And YES, she does have a very cool bike. I've been caught riding it a few times grinning and laughing like a little school boy. :tongue: It so damn light, it feels like a dirt bike....good ole memories. The only problem with it, is when I have my fat ass on it....not only do I look like a gorilla fucking a football....she's a little sluggish. It only has 13 hp. It wasn't meant for someone my size. But it's still a blast to ride. :biggrin:

 

Thanks Derst. I will definitely check them out.

 

I got a custom made pair of leather pants from a company called WomanBiker. Unfortunately, I can't find their website anymore. I sent them my favorite pair of Levi's, and they made the pants using them as a pattern. Very thick, high quality leather. I'm 100% satisfied, if you can find them.

 

I once owned a pair of Joe Rocket Alter Ego riding pants (which are very lightweight), but I eventually got rid of them because I found their overall construction and design to be rather shoddy, for several reasons:

1) The Velcro, 'chinch' waist straps routinely broke loose, as did the front waist buttons. (In my opinion, the front waist clasp of a pair of riding pants, either leather or textile, should always be a metal 'hook-and-clasp' design, rather than just 'button' type clasps. The Alter Ego pants have buttons that will easily pop open, and the associated Velcro waist 'cinch' straps would often give way and fail as well.)

2) The Alter Ego pants are meshed, and very light-weight in terms of protection. While they may feel cool and well-ventilated when riding in hot weather, they are woefully underpadded in critical areas such as the tailbone, hips, and knees.

3) As I've come to discover with a variety of Joe Rocket's textile riding gear, the Alter Ego's numerous zippers also have an annoying habit of repeatedly snagging and jamming. When you finally resort to brute force in order to free-up said zippers, the end result may be a damaged and useless zipper. In my opinion, this is but one of many examples of Joe Rocket's poor design and shoddy worksmanship, ie, JUNK.

In the event of a slide (been there) while riding during the hottest of days, I believe that mesh gear in general provides marginal skin protection at best, but it's certainly better than wearing nothing more than jeans and a sweat shirt. That said, I've found FirstGear's Mesh-Tex (hot weather) riding gear to be superior in many ways. Excellent overall design and construction; significant padding in key areas, as well as excellent clasps, zippers, and worksmanship. YMMV.