The new RSV is pretty damn sweet, but geez they're a bitch to ride. I rode an RSV-4 with the APRC gizmo thing a few years ago. It was savage at traffic jam speeds, but livened up nicely when the roads opened up.
I'm signed up for the rider course Monday and Tuesday. Looks like it might be a wet one Monday though :/ Only gear I had to get for the course was gloves, so I went ahead and got some good-ish ones from a cycle gear shop. Sedici? http://www.cyclegear.com/SEDICI-Diav...orcycle-Gloves Seems to be a Cycle Gear exclusive re-branding or something. Reviews seem that they are pretty good except for reliability, as they tend to start falling apart. But they have a lifetime warranty, lots of protection, and were reasonably priced, so oh well.
Fit was tough. I tried on a couple different short cuff lines from each of Alpine Stars, Bilt, Sedici, and Dainese. None fit *perfect* unsurprisingly. I have long thing hands, so they were either too short or too lose feeling. I was between a L and XL for all except this one glove I got was a medium, heh, go figure. If they seem too small over the two day course, I can bring them back, providing I don't damage them. The best pair I tried were these from Dainese: http://www.cyclegear.com/DAINESE-4-S...orcycle-Gloves, but at $180, I think I'll pass.
I figure these will get me through the learning period until I'm ready to get something more serious, and maybe try out some track days and invest in some full HARDCORE!!11 gauntlets.
Now once I complete the course, Cycle Gear offers a 15% one-time discount for new riders, so I'll get the whole rest of the kit at once. Helmets are going to be tough. Based on what I've read, and past experience with helmets, I'll need something long oval shaped, which I hear is Arai's territory.
TLDR: Nothing ever fits my dumb shaped body.
Last edited by Freude am Fahren; November 8th, 2014 at 02:09 PM.
FWIW, that's how motorcycle gear's been for me too. For gloves, I'm a medium with AlpineStars (which have weirdly long thumbs that suit my normal palm/thumbs and stubby fingers), small with Icon, between small and medium in FirstGear. With helmets, an Arai RX-Q fit well but $$$, Shoei fit in one direction but not in another, Scorpions are a great value but hot spot my forehead. You also can't necessarily trust manufacturer sizing charts; Bell lists medium as being a hat size of 7 1/8th-7 1/4th, and small as being 6 7/8th-7. My hat size has been measured by a tailor as 7 1/8th, but after trying on a Bell helmet in a store, I'm definitely a small in Bell.
I try to stick to certain brands where I know the sizing accommodates me, but then you get thrown for a loop when replacement models change things. My Nolan N-85 fits me pretty well, but it's successor N-86 has a different internal shape, so I'll have to look to another brand for my next helmet.
I'm a bit of a dianese fanboy. But nothing from any manufacturer fits me right. Being 6'2" and 160lbs, I usually need a euro 48 jacket, but the length is all off. I haven't even tried to look at the pants yet. When I go for a track suit, it will need to be custom tailored. No question. You really need to try everything on and remember that leather stretches, textile doesn't.
The 4stroke gloves are essentially the dianese full metal pro gloves with a short cuff, which I have and I love my full on gauntlets.
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