Last month I started the process of getting some bespoke made to measure Hi Pro textile trousers from Hideout Leathers. This week they were ready for a trial fitting, where I could try on an early first cut to test for size and see what further tweaks are required.
Trying to find motorcycle clothing that fits well can be a real struggle. Nobody wants ill fitting gear, making you worry if armour will remain in position in an off or just looking naff. I’m fairly tall and slim, so finding trousers long enough in leg and with slim enough waist is not easy. My wife is somewhat the opposite and similarly finds it tough to hunt down gear short enough – it’s not so easy to turn up leathers. This is where Hideout Leathers really corners the market with their custom motorcycle gear tailor made for you.
Tucked away in the Essex countryside a short distance from Saffron Walden, Hideout Leathers have a small store and workshop, where they sell many decent brands off the peg from the likes of Rukka, Dane, Halvarssons and Lindstands. But uniquely they offer their own range of custom tailored motorcycle gear, an alteration service for off the peg item and an repair service for older gear.
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.
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.
When 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.
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.
When you were a child, did you ever have a favourite pair of trousers or a top that you would wear to death and never take off? Well, my MotoGirl leggings are mine. I bought them in February and I have worn them pretty much constantly since.
These MotoGirl Leggings are stretchy and come with knee armour and optional hip armour. They have pockets, loops for a belt and more importantly are completely lined with Kevlar. This is unlike some biker jeans which only have Kevlar lining on the main impact areas of the groin, hip and knees. Definitely reassuring if one ever has a tumble.
So, I went to the London Bike Show at Excel last week. The Man says “Get a new helmet for your birthday”, so I did. I went to the Helmet City stand and stood there for a few minutes. Being a shorter female I noticed that men who arrived after me seemed to get served first, until I performed a rather phlegmatic stage cough. Such is the required attention-seeking methods I have had to resort to on occasion.
Men who arrived after me seemed to get served first until I performed a rather phlegmatic stage cough…
I suppose if I had been wearing tight leggings and a chest-enhancing top advertising Carole Nash or MCN I may have gained more attention (although I suspect for all the wrong reasons). Anyway, once I had the nice Helmet City man’s attention I did receive good customer service.
Having fairly wide calves, I have found it difficult to find motorbike boots to fit, especially higher ones. Having had no luck on eBay purchasing cheap second-hand boots I bought these Furygan Jet Lady D3O shorty boots from the MCN London Motorcycle show back in February.
The Furygan Jet Lady boots are a comfortable ankle boot, and although they do not provide the protection of a full-length boot they are a good compromise, being both comfortable and having CE armour protection. They feature a waterproof and breathable Sympatex liner and a flap that Velcros over the upper part of the laces to stop them from catching on the bike. I have worn them on long ride-outs and also off the bike, finding them comfortable and easy to walk in. They work well with textile trousers which sit just over the top of the boots. The boots are low enough that they also work with leather trousers.
Somehow, I managed to break one of the clips for the inner sun visor on my Schuberth S2 helmet (same visor for C3 and C3 Pro). Despite using duct tape to secure it, invariably it would come free and start flapping around whilst I’m in the middle of riding. Less than ideal.
Today I finally got around to fitting my replacement sun visor. A little bit tricky as the pins on the hinges that go through the visor are slanted to ease the visor slotting in and prevent it from coming out. I managed to gently push one pin from behind with a piece of wooden dowel, then prise the visor out. The visor having broken on the other side negated the need to repeat on the other pin.
No matter how hard you try, you inevitably cover it in fingerprints…
Fitting the new sun visor was a bit easier, but required some coordination to slide both sides of the visor into both hinges at the same time whilst keeping them and the helmet still. No matter how hard you try, you inevitably cover it in fingerprints… 🙁
The replacement sun visor cost £35 from SportsBikeShop. Note it comes in two sizes for different helmet sizes.
Search for Schuberth S2 / C3 / C3 Pro visors at SportsBikeShop
Smashed her up pretty bad. Fairing number three trashed!