This is my second video for Revzilla.com!
In this vid, I give you all my recommendations for women's jackets with the longest sleeves.
But in case you missed my last Geek Speak video for Revzilla.com, you can watch that one here too:
1-piece Womens Leather Motorcycle Suits
Shopping for a 1 piece leather suit? Here are some off-the-rack options available for women riders looking for a good sport fit suit.
Unfortunately there aren't as many options for 1 piece suits as there are separates, so here's what you have to choose from if you're not able to purchase a custom suit.
Spidi Mantis Women's Wind Track Pro Suit
$1,399.95. The fit profile on Spidi suits tend to be a bit longer in the torso, and slightly narrower in the shoulders. Check out my friend India in her 2-piece Poison suit. The fit is fabulous and great if you need more length in the body.
Dainese Racing Women's Suit
This suit is perfect for the extremely petite riders out there. Pictured below is my coworker Sokrady, in a size 40 (5'3", <105-110lbs). She usually has a hard time finding anything that fits her right, and typically rides around town in her Tornado Jacket in 34. She recently acquired this suit and it fits her perfect!
Alpinestars Motegi Women's Suit
$799. I love the Motegi suit, it has a nice relaxed fit to it. I would say this one is the curviest fit overall but with a slightly shorter torso/arms/legs with a similar fit to the less expensive AXO suit.
AXO Women's Talon Race Suit
$600.00. The Talon Suit is on sale, $200 off MSRP! The fit is similar to Alpinestars, a tad on the curvier side with shorter limbs / torso overall.
Spidi Poison 2 Piece Suit
I wanted to share this fabulous pic of my friend India, sporting a brand new Spidi Poison 2 Piece Leather Suit. It's the perfect 2 piece suit for your next track day, or day ride along your favorite twisties. Everyone should have a 2 piece textile, and a 2 piece leather in their closet.
I would say that Spidi for the most part runs a little leaner, similar to Dainese in fit. I haven't tried this one on in person, but am very hopeful that we will have some Spidi gear in the near future as well.
She's sized in a Euro 46. If you're interested in this suit, send me an email through the contact link on the left and I'll help you get sized. :)
Back Protector Issue
Reader Emily wrote me recently about a back protector issue she's having while riding 2-up. Check out what she had to say along with my reply:
Hi there, I live in Berkeley (I know you've decamped to Philly) and my b/f and I ride a BMW 1200GS Adventure with me on the back. We recently upsized from an 800GS. Because I found it hard on my lower back to not have no backrest, when he got the new bike he had a box put on the back with the backrest cushioning installed.
Now I am getting a bruise mid-spine from the top of the box (even though it is cushioned as well). I have a FirstGear Kilimanjaro Air jacket that I've liked but the back armor goes down just to the place where the top of the box hits. I went into the BMW dealer in SF yesterday to try their jackets and found they have the same problem. I am 5'8" and long waisted and BMW jackets for women don't come in long sizes, though their men's apparel does. Kent in the BMW store suggested I try Rev'it because they make better apparel for women then BMW (actually he suggested I start my own company making women's motorcycling appa rel).
However, I note in looking at the Rev'it website that the women's gear also does not come in long sizes. Do you know how long the back armor is in the women's jacket (I wear an 8 in the BMW GS Dry) or do you have any other suggestions? We're taking a two week trip in Montana in September and I've got to have this figured out by then or I will be be super uncomfortable.
-April
I have a couple ideas for you:
1) Rev'it Levante Jacket + Seesoft Back Protector
This combination gives you two things including a longer cut in the torso and sleeves as well as a back protector that's fairly long. It shouldn't be taller than your shoulder blades but I think it'll alleviate the issues you're having with the top box. This jacket is one of the only ones that work well for women who are looking for a jacket that's multi season (removable thermal layer with a mesh shell) and have a longer torso fit as well a sleeve length. Unfortunately you have to use Seesoft with the Levante because the pocket is specifically cut out for Seesoft. Alternatively, you could also use D3O instead, you'll just have to trim the sides to fit. To find out more about this jacket, check out my tall co-host's review here.
Keep in mind that all back protector inserts will never be higher than the shoulder blades because it's just too uncomfortable in riding position and the jacket just won't fit right. It would really restrict the driver's ability to fully turn their head from side to side.
2) External Back Protector
If the previous combination doesn't work, try wearing an external back protector underneath like this one by Spidi. I like this one because it's pretty long but really thin. You can also adjust the waist belt to your height via velcro. I think this would fit perfectly underneath the Levante as well.
