I'm going to be giving a series of workshops next week at the Women's Motorcycle Summit in Durango, Colorado the week of June 8th. The workshops will be hosted at the local Harley Davidson Durango Dealership.
My workshops will be taking place Sunday the 9th and Monday the 10th.
Visit the website for a full schedule including various registration options for just the 2-day workshops or the full week of activities.
Tuesday, April 24, 2018 — Dainese presents Custom Works, a service for fully-customized and made-to-measure Dainese motorcycle racing suits and jackets for race and street enthusiasts.
The multi-channel experience begins online with the new 3D Configurator and continues at the store where the personalized garment is delivered to the customer. Custom Works is an engaging process that combines the practicality of digital configuration with the craftsmanship of a unique, handmade product.
With Custom Works, Dainese offers all bikers the quality and know-how it has acquired with more than 45 years of experience in the production of personalized leather suits. For nearly half a century, Dainese has grown, collaborated and shared its goals with the greatest riders of all time, from Giacomo Agostini to Valentino Rossi. Over this same period, Dainese has always pushed the boundaries of innovation.
With Custom Works, anyone can have a tailor-made garment and create his or her own unique design, choosing from a vast array of leather colors and accessories, with the option of adding words and images.
The new Custom Works is a fully updated multi-channel experience. Accessible via the Dainese website, the brand-new 3D configurator allows each motorcyclist to personalize his/her leather suit, jacket or pants in real time, with a simple, engaging and interactive digital experience. The customer can see a preview of the garment, change the colors of the various parts, select accessories (plates, sliders), and upload words and images that are immediately visible on the 3D garment.
Once the design is complete, the biker saves the model and books an appointment during which sizes are taken. The purchase is then completed at a Certified Custom Works Center - a network of stores authorized and certified by Dainese to offer the Custom Works service.
The 25 anatomical measurements needed for the personalized garment are taken with the support of a specialized consultant. Special consideration is also given to the customer's specific needs and the expected use of the product. At the Store, customers can actually touch the technology, materials, finishes and accessories that give life to the most advanced Grand Prix leather suits and that are also used to create the customized garment.
With Custom Works, every customer can wear an absolutely unique Dainese garment.
When I clicked on the configurator to see what options were available for women, I found two track suits:
If I chose a custom design/color, it was an additional $629. After that, I could pick a custom shoulder slider which is available in fun colors ($47.95) or the flag of your choice for an additional $94.95. These are all costs in addition to the MSRP of $1299.
Lastly, there's the additional cost for a fully custom size. Just an additional $795. Generally you'll spend anywhere from $1500-$2000 for a great custom suit anyhow.
Currently there aren't any separates option for women. But there aren't many for men either, just one jacket (Racing D1) and no pants.
If you're interested in setting up an appointment, Click Here to visit the configurator and submit a request. The closest location to Philadelphia is the Dainese New York store.
Happy Track Day'ng!
Awhile back, I had a post about replacement knee armor options. And at the time, Forcefield still made an option that is now discontinued.
So here are some new recommendations, no matter what brand of pants you wear. A lot of knee replacement armor options also double as elbows, it just depends on the size/length/shape you're looking for.
Above is the Seeflex family from REV'IT ($39-$44/pair). I like the RV14 and RV12 options on the far right for pants with really long armor pockets. A good example of this is Dainese.
Their stock knee protector pockets are long, for their older knee guards. I find them to be too stiff, and lacking in shock absorption. The awesome thing about Seeflex is the entire piece of a shock absorber. This is far more comfortable to crash on and they're more ventilated as well. Additionally, they're CE Level 2, not Level 1 like the Dainese knee guards. More flexibility, protection, ventilation and comfort. Well worth the upgrade.
Keep in mind the shape of Seeflex is deeper, so the space in your pant needs to accommodate a deeper knee space. They also wrap around your knees more which is great for me because I have skinny knees.
Rukka D3O Air Knee
What's challenging about Seeflex is the width, if you're a woman and you're looking for replacement knee armor your pants may need a narrower piece of armor. RV10 may be too wide, depending on the brand. Keep in mind that RV12 is for exceptionally long knee armor pockets and won't work in most pants.
Another option for Dainese pants that I also recommend is the Rukka D3O Air Knee Protectors ($39/pair). Thee are also CE Level 2, but it's a flatter piece so if you need a wider piece over your knee vs a more cupped/fitted piece (for smaller knees/pants) then you'll love this option from Rukka.
Also great to match the length of Dainese knee pockets, super soft, flexible and ventilated.
Here are a couple other options to consider; I like these because they're softer to begin with. They don't need time to warm up to your body. And, they're great options if you have smaller pockets:
Armor should always fit so comfortably that you don't know it's there. If it's bugging you, it's usually because the gear isn't fitting you right (incorrect size/fitment/etc.) or it's cheap/fake armor that isn't molecular in nature (soft like these that harden on impact).
If you need help figuring thiings out for your body/gear, please send me a message.
Learning to ride is something that takes more than a few days/weeks/months. It's 15 years later and I'm *still* learning.
Imagine learning to drive a car for the first time and your mom/dad offers you:
Yes, you could theoretically learn on both but which one is going to give you more confidence, self esteem and increase your driving skills? Most of the time when I've thrown a leg over a new bike (either mine or borrowed) I've gone in with some self confidence and some actual riding ability. But riding ability alone isn't enough for me to ride something I've never ridden before. I need the confidence too. I need to feel like I can do it because if I don't, I won't even try.
I've been getting a lot of questions lately from new riders or potential new ones and I wanted to repeat what I've been telling them here. I know not everyone's experience is the same, but I can guarantee you that learning to crawl before you walk makes a HUGE difference. But ask anyone who started on a small displacement motorcycle or scooter before moving up to a 600cc-1000cc-1500cc option how much they learned. Too much? Not enough? Why or why not?
Think of learning how to ride this way:
When my husband took this photo of me back in 2004, we just took our new Ninja 250 for a spin (because that was the *only* small sportbike/naked sporty you could buy in the US) and he basically taught me how to shift up to 2nd and 3rd. I rode around the parking lot a bit to see what it was like. My MSF class was the following month. I never took it on the street, I just did a few laps, nothing special.
Me in the Presidio Parking Lot, San Francisco. We didn't have iPhones back then, but we did have Motorola flip phones :0
But before all this motorcycle business, I rode my awesome 50cc 2Stroke Aprilia Scarabeo Scooter.
I rode her A LOT in my first year of riding (Sept 2003 - Sept 2004). 3,599 miles all in San Francisco to be exact.
I loved her for the short time I had her. But as soon as I threw a leg over the Ninja (it was his but I needed something to ride so....) I knew it was meant to be. And I figured out how to ride her to work (across San Francisco) in a couple days.
If you see my pic above on the Ninja, I'm on my toes. Did I care? Nope. Because I was already riding my scooter on my toes.
2006 Kawasaki Z750S
Contrary to popular belief, scooters can be a lot taller than most motorcycles. The Scarabeo had a 30" seat height. But my learning curve was far far less steep than if I forced myself to throw a leg over something like my next bike, the Kawasaki Z750S for the first time (instead of the Ninja). It was taller, heavier, taller and heavier. Did I mention how much heavier it was? Almost 500lbs wet. Ugh.
2003 Suzuki SV650S
The higher center of gravity on this thing would've been ridiculous. If I had to learn on this or even my SV, I doubt I would've had the skill to move up.
When I chose that Z750S, it set me back 3 years in my riding development. Everything was suddenly harder: parking, cornering (imagine driving a tall, heavy truck on a twisty road instead of a convertible), uturns. The only thing that was easier was accelerating on the freeway merging into traffic.
For perspective, this is how much that bike choice affected my riding. This list is in order of when I owned each one and how much I rode them::
Remember, riding is supposed to be FUN! Not stressful, not frustrating and not miserable. When you get off that bike you might be in a little pain from the seat time but you should be HAPPPPPPPY. Ask yourself these questions:
How do you feel when you look at your bike, or think about riding it? How do you feel after? Confident? Excited?
As soon as I bought the SV, my learning curve flattened and it was so much easier to ride. So much so that I rode it everywhere/everyday/constantly. I learned so much in that first year and felt like it should've been my second motorcycle. This is a photo of the first "curve" I ever took on the SV when my seller delivered it to my house (from 300 miles away, there are still GOOD people left in this world!). It doesn't look like much but just taking this little bend, I felt a huge difference in what I had been missing for the last 3 years. I felt confident, happy, excited, and most of all HAPPY!
All I learned on my Z750S was how to manage a taller, heavier bike. But it didn't teach me anything about advanced cornering techniques. Improper cornering is an extremely common factor in solo motorcycle accidents aside from DUI. I firmly believe that It doesn't matter how long you've been riding, it matters how well you can ride.
Your bike choice will greatly impact how well, how much, how confidently you ride for the next 6-12 months. So make the EASY choice that benefits you in the long run.
Because are you planning to ride the same bike for 50 years? Not me..... I'm 3 years in and will probably get itchy in a couple :D
A quick caveat to this post. Learning to ride isn't easy like taking a bite out of a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. But you can lighten the load a bit and bring down the level of difficulty down from a 10 to a 5. Struggling is definitely part of the experience and you will learn through your mistakes because you have to in order to learn. But when it's so hard that it starts to make you question your ability to ride or the decision to ride in the first place, then it's time to rethink some things. I hope this post does just that, helping you rethink some things. Please post a comment or two below....
