Leather Motorcycle Gear

When people hear the words “biker chick” one of two assumptions leaps to their minds. Either they think of the abused women associated with biker gangs of the 60s and 70s, or they think of weathered old ladies in black leather. While both those types of biker chicks do exist, most of us female riders are relatively normal.

Of course, being a biker chick takes a certain amount of grit. Not every girl wants to zoom around on back roads wearing leather chaps and motorcycle boots. Those of us who do ride aren’t weird or trouble makers. We lead normal lives; we work in the corporate world, we attend PTA meetings, we may even own a mini-van. What it means to be a biker chick is to love the open road and to cherish the freedom it affords you.

Kristie is a good friend of mind. We met when she started dating my best guy friend. The more I got to know her, the more impressed I was with how she lives her life. After graduating from college, instead of going into the corporate world she decided to become an emergency first responder.

She lives out in Las Vegas now and works as an EMT. Kristie always has the most interesting stories to tell about her work, which isn’t totally unexpected given the location. When she’s not working she loves to work on her motorcycle. This summer she’s hoping to go on a cross country ride. As a way of contributing to her dream, I sent her ladies motorcycle gloves that are black with the words ‘Lady Rider’ embroidered in white.

My wife and I are both motorcycle enthusiasts. As a birthday present this year, my wife gifted me a tricked out motorcycle jacket by Xelement. This riding jacket literally has everything, including certified armor on the shoulders, elbows and back, reflective piping, and a collarless neck with snap closure.

The best part of this motorcycle jacket is the three way lining. The first layer is a zip out quilted vest inner liner. The next layer has full zip sleeves that are 100 percent waterproof. The third layer is a breathable mesh lining. For comfort and fit, there are adjustable Velcro side waist straps and a lower back kidney belt that attaches to motorcycle pants. The folks over at Xelement have really outdone themselves; I couldn’t be happier out riding with my new jacket on.

Hawk Helmets is one of the best manufacturers of motorcycle helmets on the market today. Whenever I go riding with my fellow motorcycle enthusiasts we always sport a Hawk helmet. I recently bought a new helmet, as I am prone to do every couple of years, and decided to go with a dual visor open face helmet.

I wasn’t too concerned about making the switch from full face to open face because all Hawk motorcycle helmets are of the highest quality. My sleek, new silver helmet features an inner dark tinted visor to keep the sun out of my eyes. On top of the tinted visor is a clear visor that lifts and drops with a flick of a switch, located on the top of the helmet. The helmet comes with hawk’s unique shell design, advanced ventilation, and impact absorbent liner and comfort padding to help protect me if I should ever crash.

For most of us, when we went out to get our first bike we probably weren’t entirely aware of all the stuff we’d have to buy to go along with it. From helmets and weatherproof jackets to special accessories and more, the list goes on and on. The most important products we’ll buy, though, are accessories and gear that help keep us safer when we’re enjoying the open road. Gloves are no exception. Keeping your hands warm is only one among many advantages to wearing gloves when you’re riding.

Gloves can help protect your hands when it’s cold and can help keep them dry in rainier climates. When traveling at higher speeds, rain can feel like needles impacting your skin and this can make for an unsafe situation very quickly. One problem with gloves, however, is the fat that they can often restrict hand movement. Fingerless motorcycle gloves are not as restrictive as standard gloves and they can help you keep better control of your bike. You can keep all the comfort and safety of gloves without losing your dexterity. Try a pair and see for yourself!

With the holiday season upon us it’s getting more and more important to get our shopping done. If you’re anything like me you’ve got a very long list, and very few of the people on it are easy to shop for. This is the one thing that can make holiday shopping so tedious and frustrating. You spend hours in traffic, fight crowds and stand in line only to get something that doesn’t really seem to let them know that you care.

This has happened to me on more than one occasion but I won’t be letting it happen again this year. Since I know so many motorcycle riders and enthusiasts I’ll have an easy time picking up great cycle gear this year. My brother has always been the one most difficult to shop for since I didn’t really know anything about his interests. But with the growing popularity of motorcycle riding it’s become difficult not to know someone who enjoys this favorite past-time. Thankfully I can avoid the frustrations this season and get my shopping done in convenience and comfort!

By their own account, Bell Helmets got its big start when Cal Niday hit a retaining wall and fractured his skull way back in 1955. Fortunately for him he was wearing a Bell that saved his life. Ever since, Bell has been saving lives everyday all around the world. With more design patents than any other helmet manufacturer on the planet, Bell continues to be an innovator in high-quality helmets for everything from bicyclists to Formula One racers.

Bell motorcycle helmets have always been a big part of Bell’s culture. As the first company to design and distribute a full-face motorcycle helmet, they’ve revolutionized the industry more than once. It used to be said you didn’t have a motorcycle helmet until you had a Bell. With one of the highest safety ratings in the industry, and as one of the world’s largest manufacturers of helmets, it’s easy to see why.

Everyone drips stuff on their clothing every once and a while, but it can be more difficult to get drippings off motorcycle leather jackets than it is to get out of a cotton shirt. If you notice that you’ve dripped something on to the leather jacket, quickly remove the substance with a gentle brush and then clean the surface with a mild soap and warm water.

Some things that you should avoid using on your leather jacket are any waxes, silicones, and any leather preparations. Also avoid cleaning the jacket with anything that contains an alcohol substance, turpentine substance, or mineral spirits as these can severely destroy the leather jacket.

A leather motorcycle jacket can be a true priced possession for any motorcyclist and taking care of your leather jacket should be done just as much as you take care of your motorcycle. If you feel there is something you can handle on your own, don’t try. Take your leather jacket to someone who can do it without chancing your leather jacket from being destroyed.

When a little touch up needs to be done to your leather motorcycle jacket, taking it to the cleaners can be quite frustrating. So instead just find a cloth that is very gentle to the touch and a spray cleaner that doesn’t contain chemical substances and wipe your jacket down. This will help in getting all the dust off the jacket’s outer surface.

For those that own leather processed jackets you can simply use a gentle soap and water to clean your jacket. When you are doing this though ensure that you use a gentle cloth as it could damage the outer layer of the leather. Brushed leather is hard to come by, but when you do cleaning, it can be done with the use of a mohair brush or a shoe brush like the old fashioned kind. By using either one of these tools, you should have the ability to get good results every time.

What you wear makes a difference-especially if you’re riding a motorcycle. Wearing biker clothes can really help you create the image of a “tough guy”. From your helmet to your motorcycle chaps, each article of clothing you wear should make a statement as well as protecting you from any injuries you may suffer in an accident. Chaps were invented to protect a person’s legs from scrapes and burns.

When purchasing chaps you should make sure they are loose enough. You should be able to move freely when wearing the chaps. Choose a pair that is lightweight and comfortable. Try on the chaps before buying them. Durable materials like leather will last longer and offer better protection.