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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

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!)

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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!)

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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.

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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.

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Clothing/Protection Gear Reviews

Ladies Kevlar MotoGirl Leggings Review & Long Term Test

Motogirl Leggings ReviewWhen 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.

MotoGirl Leggings Review

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.

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Clothing/Protection Gear Reviews

Schuberth C3 Pro Woman Helmet – Initial Review…

Schuberth C3 Pro Woman Helmet - 6
Schuberth C3 Pro Woman Helmet

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.