(Part II of II): A recent West Virginia Weekend jaunt provided a chance to
test some new (and not-so-new) gear, and visit some lovely spots.
Part II: Gear
Pegs: I owe a belated
but rave review to Ilium Works for its passenger gripper pegs. When Jeff got the new BMW R1200GSA last year,
it came with the stock passenger pegs of course. They were narrow metal pegs covered with a
rubber sleeve that was anchored by a piece of rubber that protruded through the
peg and out the bottom. They were rather
small, so when mounting, all my weight had to be balanced on the very tip of my
foot, on a peg that was roughly just over an inch wide and a few inches
long. After a few months, the rubber on
the left peg (the side I mount from) began slipping free of where it was
anchored and twisting around the peg.
This created a hazard because it would happen just as I was mounting. Thinking my foot was resting securely on the
peg, I’d put my weight on it and then the rubber would start sliding, taking my
foot with it, until the rubber had slipped away and the middle part of my foot
hit the metal underneath. The first time
it really gave way I slipped so badly I wrenched my back and shoulder and hurt
Jeff’s shoulder too, when I tried grabbing him for balance. After repeated efforts to re-anchor the
rubber or to try to mount and dismount without letting the rubber slip (unsuccessful),
it was clear we had a problem. The GSA
is a challenge to get on to anyway – it’s very high, and the side and top cases
limit the space in which to maneuver.
So, after the MD 20/20 rally, when getting on and off fast was hampered
by the peg hazard, Jeff ordered the Ilium pegs.
These are perfect!
They are much wider, allowing a firmer surface for mounting and
dismounting. They have teeth, so even if
it’s wet or my boots are muddy, I never slip.
It’s made the challenge of getting on and off much easier. While riding, the Illium pegs are more
comfortable too, because there is more choice on where to rest my foot. And
they look pretty sharp besides. Yay Illium Works! Thank you.
Clothing: After some
trial and error in my effort to find summer-weight gear, I ended up with a
Revit jacket and Olympia Cordova pants.
Both have a lot of mesh, weigh a lot less than my Klim gear, and fit
far, far better than Klim. An aside here
on Klim: In my experience, Klim is built
for long-waisted women with wide shoulders, extremely long arms, and no butt or
hips, which unfortunately is pretty much the polar-opposite of my body
type. With all the body protection in
it, it weighs a ton, and it’s very scratchy around the neck and wrists. So, in
the two years I’ve been wearing Klim, generally, the best part of a ride is
when I get to take off the gear. In
terms of three-season performance, however, it can’t be beat. The Gor-tex outer shell is water resistant;
you don’t need rain gear. After a really
soaking rain will you feel damp, which is pretty much unavoidable, but short
showers just roll right off. The jacket
has four exterior pockets, which are reasonably sized and placed, although not
as good as the ones on Jeff’s jacket – the man’s version. ( Why do women’s
clothes never have really good pockets?)
It also has interior pockets. It
repels dirt really well, and overall performs as well as I could want – except
for fit. It is also very well vented, and
even on hot days it’s reasonably comfortable when moving at 70 miles an hour. But given its overall weight and density, even
a stop light in the summer can be torturously hot. Hence, the lure of mesh gear.
This was the mesh gear’s first test ride and overall, I
liked it, but it has limitations. It’s
light – it rests easy on the body. The
breeze flowing through the fabric was just right, very cooling yet the jacket
deflected enough wind that even at highway speeds I didn’t feel like I was
being beaten up by too much air. And
when we stopped, even to get off the bike and walk, it was more than
bearable. Joy! Happiness! All this and it fit too!
Now the drawbacks:
With all the mesh, there are only two highly-inadequate exterior pockets
in the jacket. No space for more. Further, it’s not water-resistant. The sales clerk who convinced me the Revit
jacket was for me pointed out that if it’s hot enough to wear mesh, you
probably don’t mind getting wet. And it
does come with a lightly lined removable liner which provides both warmth and water
resistance. The Olympia pants also came
with rain pants that can be worn under or over.
With our first rain shower, I had to agree, that getting a
little wet was fine. I cooled off and
dried right out after it was over. But
when it started to rain the second time, much more heavily than before, we were
at a higher elevation and the temperature dropped too. So, when pulled into a gas station I pulled
on the rain gear – pants and jacket liner.
The rain gear worked great, especially when worn as the outer
layer. But the rain jacket, in
particular, is warm, and it’s not vented.
Further, having to stop to take on or off layers, rather than just
zipping or unzipping vents is a pain. On
the upside, Jeff (wearing three-season Klim) complained that after getting
soaked on Saturday, his gear never completely dried out for Sunday, whereas my
lightweight stuff was completely dry and ready to go on Sunday.
So, the upshot on the pants and jacket are: great for when either (1) it’s hot and highly
unlikely to rain; (2) so hot I really want the light gear and I don’t mind
being wet – knowing I’ll dry fast once it stops; or (3) I expect pretty steady
rain and the temperature is somewhere between mid-70s and high-80s, such that
the liner/rain jacket will be comfortable and the rain gear will just stay on
most or all of the time. But for most
longer trips when the precipitation is less predictable and the temperatures
more likely to vary widely, the Klim’s versatility is hard to beat. It doesn’t require stopping to pull rain gear
on or off and the venting allows a wider range of temperature adjustment.
Gloves! I upgraded
these this year too. When I bought my
first gloves, I really didn’t know what I was looking for but now that I’ve
somehow ended up with four pairs of gloves, I have some clues for newbies on
the options: Depending on the weather,
you may want ones that are vented for hot weather, lined for intermediate
temperatures, wired for heat for cold weather, and/or waterproof. Vented ones won’t be waterproof, although one
of my four pairs has a vented “grip” side and a side that's waterproof. While the waterproof side keeps my hands dry
in the rain, the grip side gets soaked, so while it seemed like I was getting
two gloves in one, after it rains it’s pretty apparent I have only one set of –
very soggy –gloves. As a result, I’ve
found three sets are pretty much necessary
– hot weather; waterproof and mid-temperature (useable in hot weather
too, just not as comfortable); and wired for heat.
Riders have a somewhat more expanded list of concerns because
they also have to consider the grip the palm covering will provide and take
into consideration if they have heated grips or not. Not so important for passengers. But, lastly, both passengers and riders will
appreciate the little squeegee on the finger of their waterproof gloves for
clearing their visor of raindrops!
Alaska Leather seat:
Before I ever sat on the GSA, Jeff had changed out the stock seats for Sargent
after-market ones. The Sargent is cushioned,
but it’s still shaped more like a plank than a seat. The RT (the old bike) had
more shape to it and was much more comfortable.
After the first few rides, in an effort to relieve my aching
“sitz” bones, I purchased an Alaska Leather skin. While it provides a bit more cushion, that’s
not the problem with the Sargent seat, so the Alaska Leather when used as
intended didn’t really solve the problem. However, I’ve found that by rolling the Alaska
Leather under so that it only covers half the seat, I can reconfigure the seating
area to give a bit more lift under my legs and change the pitch of the seat, which
helps tremendously. It looks a bit odd,
but I’ve now ridden well over 6000 miles on it, and they were far more
comfortable than the first 1000 miles or so on the GSA without it.
Temdan waterproof iPhone case: Yes!
It works. You can even talk on
the phone without taking it out of the case and it wasn’t very expensive. Only drawback is that the control to flip the
switch to silence isn’t very effective so either I can’t silence it or I’ve
silenced it and can’t get the sound back – unless I take it out of the case
which is not all that easy. But
everything else – touch screen and the other controls – work just great! I can sit on the back of the bike, even in
the rain, and use the phone.
Little by little … I’m learning!
