Categories
Clothing/Protection Gear Reviews

Womens Motorcycle Clothing – Motogirl Irene Dungri Review

Womens Motorcycle Clothing - Motogirl DungriWhat is worse than riding your bike and feeling the telltale slide, the moment when your trousers slide down, your jacket rides up and your arse is left glinting like the moon above some clouds? The cool rush of air as you are riding along, just coming up to a lovely sweeping bend and you find yourself distracted trying to pull your trousers up and your jacket down. And now it has started raining too, great!

There are many solutions available on the market; braces that one attaches to the offending trousers, bib and brace leathers and winter textiles with a similar arrangement. Many of these lack the comfort of stretchy textiles for lighter and warmer weather. Biker braces, on the whole, tend to be made for tall men and not for short women, leading to painful chafing on the neck rubbing one raw where the metal adjustment clasp inevitably ends up. There are zip together two-piece suits, but unless you’re that ideal size for women’s motorcycle clothing, it can be tricky to find a matching top and bottom pair that fits well. One answer which is designed especially for women is the Motogirl Dungri’s (yes, that’s Dungri’s and not dungarees!)

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Clothing/Protection Gear Reviews

Cherry Red Spada Pilgrim Grande Boots Review

If you are an old fart like me and hark after a simpler time where dressing to go for a ride didn’t take hours and you didn’t feel like your legs were encased in lead pipes then the Spada Pilgrim Grande Boots are for you. I still don’t like wearing full-length boots, even though I know that they give better protection. However, proper motorcycle ankle-length boots are a good compromise. In the event of an off, they will provide support and protection to your feet and ankles whilst not feeling as restrictive as full-length boots. They allow you to walk around and get lunch without feeling like you are walking up the hill to the cafe in moon boots. I have worn these Spada boots for a few months now and they are still comfortable and hard-wearing. They also work well as a chunky alternative boot off the bike too.

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Clothing/Protection Gear Reviews

JTS Biker Clothing Bella Evo Textile Womens Motorcycle Trousers

JTS plus size women's motorcycle gearJTS Biker Clothing is a British company based in Leicestershire with 30 years experience in the business. Their own brand JTS features a wide range of leg lengths and sizes in leather and textile for both men and women, making them a go-to brand for plus size women’s motorcycle gear. I purchased the Bello Evo textile women’s motorcycle trousers in an extra short length which is listed as suitable for 27-28 inches in length. The size range for these trousers is a versatile size 8-30, with leg lengths short, extra short and regular, so most women will find something to fit them. For the price of £129.99 (plus size extra), there are a lot of features which make these an excellent value pair of trousers. There are often special offers and sales on JTS motorcycle clothing, so you may be able to get these cheaper (Editor: at time of writing they’re reduced to £80 – bargain!)

Categories
Clothing/Protection Gear Reviews

Modeka Manda Women’s Motorcycle Jacket Review

Commuting in the winter makes for a miserable time on the bike if your gear is not up to scratch. Rain, coupled with frost and the odd bit of snow means that good warm and waterproof motorcycle gear is essential for winter commuting. As I work shifts, my commute is conducted early in the morning and late at night when it can be very cold.

A textile jacket and trousers can be the ideal purchase for the winter commute and those with removable thermal liners are more flexible for daily use. For cold wet days, liners and waterproof material protect the rider from the worst of the elements. During warmer weather, thermal liners can be removed to make jackets and trousers a bit cooler. In addition, some jackets come with ventilation zips that can be opened to make them cooler.

As women riders, we can sometimes struggle to find motorcycle gear that fits our shape. Things have improved massively since I started riding in the mid-1990s when I used to wear a cut-down man’s leather jacket and denim jeans. But as a short plus-sized woman, today I struggle a bit to find good fitting plus-size women’s motorcycle gear. In the end, I opted for the Modeka Manda jacket and JTS waterproof trousers (see here for a review of the JTS trousers). The matching Manda trousers were far too long for my 27.5 inch inside leg (yep you read that correctly!)

Categories
Motorcycles

Triumph Street Twin – 6 Weeks / 1.5k Miles Later

I have wanted a Triumph since I was a teenager, which is a long time ago now. I used to knock about with some bikers who had old Bonnies and I have loved the aesthetic, the slim lines, the torquey twin-engine and its ability to negotiate those country twisty roads which we all love. The old Brit engineering with the oil-bearing frame and the total loss oil system? Not so much.

Triumph Street Twin
Currently, only night time riding whilst commuting in the lockdown

The Triumph Street Twin encapsulates the best of both worlds. It is a bike which captures what is so attractive about the older Bonnies, the tidy lines with the attractive tank that flows straight into the comfy seat, the neat twin engine with bags of torque which sits tidily underneath and that lovely thud as it runs. It does so with the reliability of a modern bike which I view as essential – it starts without complaint on cold and damp mornings, it is smooth and intuitive when ridden.

Categories
Motorcycles

A New Bike in the Stable – Triumph Street Twin

Exciting news – I have finally bitten the bullet and upgraded from my old Honda CBF500 to a new Triumph. I’ve always been fond of Bonnevilles and their retro styling from my formative teenage years when hanging around with classic Bonneville owning bikers in Shropshire. Although this Triumph Street Twin deviates more from the Bonnevilles of old, it won my heart.

I have test rode several bikes before settling on the Street Twin.

  1. Ducati Scrambler 800 – Great bike, but more money than I initially wanted to spend. Also, some of the finish was questionable, e.g. exposed wiring going into switchgear.
    • £7700 new (with some tempting 0% deals on) or £5k+ second hand
  2. Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 – Again, a good bike, but I struggled height wise when not wearing built-up boots. I needed something I’d be comfortable in all scenarios. I’d also heard too many conflicting reports on reliability, especially from local trusted garages and motorcycle rental shops Arthur had visited.
    • £5500 new
  3. Triumph Bonneville 900 from 2012 – Chosen due to cast wheels and lower seat height, it was a decent bike, but the particular instance I test rode had an awkward gear change I struggled to get my boot under and some questionable cosmetic additions…
    • £4500 second hand (9k mileage)
  4. Triumph Street Twin 2020 – I took this out for test ride initially on a whim at Arthur’s suggestion whilst the Triumph dealer and I simply fell in love with it. It was slightly lower than the Bonneville and I just felt far more confident on it.
    • £7300 for the 2020 demo bike (+£500 free accessories!)

Test riding the 2020 Triumph Street Twin
Test riding the 2020 Triumph Street Twin

Categories
Riding

Mid Wales Motorcycle Ride Out – The Abergwesyn Pass

Wales Motorcycle Ride, Powys
Welcome to Wales, Powys

This is a route I rode in May 2019, back then I could not have imagined what is happening now one year on. I find myself now looking back at the freedom we had to ride where ever we liked. Enjoy my reminiscing and stick this route on your to-do list for when lockdown restrictions are eased.

This route offers a short loop taking in some of the best roads Wales can offer, beginning and finishing in Newtown (because I was staying with family in Welshpool, the next town north, and using this as my base). All in its about 130 miles and about 3.5 – 4 hours of riding time, factor in a couple of coffee and food stops and you have a chilled out day on the bike.

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Clothing/Protection Gear Reviews

Dainese Clutch Evo D-Dry Unisex Gloves Review

Small hands? Check. Get pretty cold in the winter? Check. I would love to have heated gloves- but the pennies don’t stretch that far at the moment. So to keep the winter chill at bay I use these Dianese Clutch Evo D-Dry gloves in combination with heated grips.

I have had these gloves for about 18 months now- I purchased them in February 2016 at the Excel Bike Show. They have been through all the weather the sky can chuck at them- snow, gales, sun, heavy rain, drizzle, hail. They are a good quality short glove and are well insulated against the cold. For those of us who have shorter arms and struggle to find longer gloves to fit, these gloves fit well with jacket sleeves that tend to be longer than they should be. In the frost and snow my fingers can feel a bit cold but putting some Merino wool glove liners in can help and the heated grips keep off the chill.

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Clothing/Protection Gear Reviews

Richa Nomad Waterproof Unisex Boots Review

Being Wide of Calf, buying new boots that fit me is generally a pain in the arse. I am also very short so I usually have the added complication of longer boots impeding my knees. I had heard good things about the Richa Nomad boots and with winter approaching I needed some new waterproof boots to replace my Furygan boots. For £80, they are a good value boot and I decided to give them a go.

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Clothing/Protection Gear Reviews

EDZ Ladies Merino Wool Base Layers Review

EDZ Merino Wool Base Layers - Long Sleeve TopWhen a girl asks her partner for some underwear for Christmas, most would have in mind a nice bra, some matching knickers, or perhaps a negligee. Not for me, however. For Christmas, I want some more EDZ Merino wool base layers.

Last February at the Excel Bike Show I purchased an EDZ ladies’ merino wool base layer, a long-sleeved crew-necked top made out of 100% merino wool with some 100% merino wool base layer leggings. I have worn them pretty much constantly when out on my motorbike ever since.

EDZ Merino Wool Base Layers – Top & Leggins

At the Bike Show, the EDZ stand was offering a small discount, which was great as these items do retail for quite a lot when compared with other base layers. Especially those made from artificial fibres, but then merino wool is not a cheap material.