Mesh Women's Motorcycle Gear for Hot Summer Riding

I love reader emails. The questions are always great and I know everyone can benefit from some free advice.  My latest email is about summer mesh/textile riding options.

Here's a recent email from Nataly in Chicago:

First off, I think your website is great. (Thanks!!)

I started riding about two years ago and the same summer I learned how to ride I purchased my baby, an '09 Yamaha V-Star 650. As of now, a helmet is pretty much all the gear I use but I think more safety gear is probably a good idea. I am 21, 5'4" and 125lbs. Most of the riding I do is commute which includes to work and school. I don't really want to be walking around campus in motorcycle boots and jacket.

I am looking for something more casual as well as light weight for Chicago's hot and humid summers. Being a college student I don't have a very big budget to work with so I thought I'd ask someone more knowledgeable. I'm hoping you can lead me in the right direction. 

Right back at you, Nataly. Your attitude is great and I'm so happy you've decided to make the investment. 

So Nataly, your biggest challenge is not only the hot, humid Chicago weather but lack of secure storage on your motorcycle. I'm not worried about you going to work since you have a place to change and you probably don't have to wear your gear all day while working. But I am worried about commuting to school without any kind of locker or place to stash gear.  

Since your commute is local, I'd recommend first getting knee guards to wear over your jeans if you aren't considering overpants or textile meshed riding pants:  

I would highly recommend going over to the D-Store Chicago.  They will have a large selection of women's gear, especially mesh/textiles for Chicago summer weather for you to try on in your size. I would go there first and if you can't find anything you like, then I would consider some of the options below. But since they have a lot to try on in person, that would be my first recommendation to consider.

Otherwise, you could do a lightweight overpant like these Airwaves: 

REV'IT Airwave Pants $189

What I also like about these are the zippers all the way from hip to toe so you can easily wear them over shorts or jeans and then take them off and roll them up in your softbag. 

Here are some other jacket ideas for you too, under $200. All of them offer elbow and shoulder armor (which you need at a minimum) and lots of ventilation / air flow. They certainly come in other colors too, and I'd order the smallest possible size in each.

Alpinestars Rebel Air Flow $179

Don't worry, it comes in black and red if you're not a camo girl! 

REV'IT Airwave $199

(click here to find a dealer in your zip code for Revit).

Taichi Sport Mesh $129.95 

Unfortunately you would have to mail order this one from TaichiMoto.com.  

As far as boots, I'm going to recommend boots with a GORE-TEX liner, because they will have the Most breathability. Something that will also help greatly with this are athletic socks that breathe and wick moisture away (running socks are fantastic).  

Check out my boot recommendations post from a couple weeks ago. These are all really comfortable (great for walking all day) and lightweight.  All of the ones before the "Need More Protection" section would be ideal. 

I also hope you will consider Gloves. You can easily find some perforated, short leather gloves in time for summer.

Here's an idea of what to look for:

RS Taichi Armed Leather Mesh $69

(The size "Ladies" is an XS.) All mesh on top but sueded leather on the palms. It's not as strong as a standard leather palm like these,  but should hold up in any kind of slow speed accident.  They're well ventilated, so if your hands start to sweat, they will definitely let the air flow through. The last thing you want is your hands meeting hot pavement!

I'm sure the Dainese store will have shorty women's vented gloves for you to check out too.

I hope that helps for now, please let me know when you find something!

REV'IT Ignition Jacket and Gear Pants

[gallery link="file" order="DESC" columns="2"]

I went out riding on Sunday and who knew that Victoria would show up wearing her Ignition and Gear outfit.  I had to take the opportunity to get a photo together, showing the new vs. old versions.

As you can see, I'm on the left, wearing the new version and Victoria is wearing the old. They both look great, don't they? But you can see some subtle differences between both pieces. They've decreased the textile panels on the front of the pants and changed some of the styling on the jacket.

My review is coming of both pieces, so stay tuned!

One Piece Textile Suit for Women

Do you know who makes the only fully custom one piece suit specially designed for women riders?

TeizMotosports.  www.teizms.com

You can buy other custom one piece textile suits, yes. But they aren't going to offer the kind of fit that many women need (hips, waist, thighs!).  Featuring great armor, front cargo pockets, waterproof zippers and more.  The price point is definitely high ($899), but certainly appropriately priced for a fully custom suit measured to your needs and fit for a woman, not a man.

Even the SAS-TEC Armor that they used are sized and shaped specifically for women. No detail has been spared!

I haven't had any personal experience with one, but I do know that every effort has been made to make this suit truly fit and work for us.

Plus Size Jacket and Pants

My friend Chris needed some help finding gear. She met me at Scuderia the other day and we got her dressed! She's a ~US 10 on top and ~US 14 on bottom and has a 31" inseam.  Her immediate needs were a pair of boots and riding pants.  She's making the transition from a cruiser to a dual sport bike (woo hoo!), with an upright riding position. But she also likes to borrow her man's sportbike and wanted something that would be comfortable on that bike too.

Chris is a real woman with real curves and she needed real gear. She wanted protection in the knees and hips, no mesh/ventilation (since she's commuting on the freeway) and enough room in the hips and her inseam. Although we couldn't get her into the Ventura pants like I wanted, we did get the unisex Horizon Pants, XXL Standard (see photo gallery) on her and they fit perfectly.

What Fit?

The Horizon in XXL (standard length) were perfect (see photo gallery). As you can see, they fit her real curves nicely. The inseam is just right, the armor fell at the knees in the right place (although they are adjustable). They also come in standard, short and long.  They don't have full length zippers, so they're supposed to be worn as pants. You could wear them as overpants without the thermal liner. You'd just have to take off your boots every time you needed to change in and out of them. Chris is wearing them over jeans in these photos.

   

Unfortunately the Ladies Tornado 46 was a little too tight (without the thermal liner, over jeans), so we tried the men's 48 (over jeans, without the thermal liner). The rise (bottom of the crotch to top of the waistband) was way too short so she couldn't even get them on comfortably.

We also figured out that the Horizon and Axis had the best female fit, meaning a slightly higher rise in the waist, room in the hips and thighs but a nice tapered fit at the knee.  The problem with the Axis was that the legs didn't taper enough at the knees and just weren't as protective and fully featured as the Horizons.

The Jackets

Although she didn't leave with one of them, here are two jackets that she tried on.  Unfortunately I didn't have other colors in her size so you can see the difference between the two. She's wearing size 42 in both which translate to a 14-16 or L/XL.  They're very similar, but slightly different in terms of price point and features.

The one one the left is the Ventura. Read my review here. The one on the right is the Indigo (also available in hi viz). The Indigo doesn't have some of the features of the Ventura, and it's also a little bit longer in the torso and falls below the hips.

Both of these would be great options for commuting, touring or everyday riding.