[tomespo214]

Well I just treated myself to a bunch of gear for the new season. I ordered it all from www.HelmetHarbor.com. Some pics of the gear can be found at:

http://photos.yahoo.com/tomespo214 -- Click on the Gear Album

Here are some opinions:

Helmet - I tried it on in the store so I knew I would have the size right. So I had to figure out how to use the features. The lining is very nice and the cheek pads come out. I will need to puchase some thinner ones. It is a little to tight around the cheeks. My lips are so puckered, I feel like I am a fish on a motorcycle (hmm....maybe an idea for a new Guinness commercial). The visor change is very quick. If your good it, 10 seconds will be the longest it takes you to change it. The ventilation is great too. The only thing I didn't like was the weird aerodynamic shift when you look turn your head while riding. Makes me want not turn my head when I am going fast into some tight turns. I am sure I will get used to that though. Overall, I love it. Gonna get a pair of those ducati oakley's to go underneath.

GPU 2-Piece Fully Perfed Suit
It rocks. Pucks are a little low on the leg for me, but otherwise every pad is in its place. The liner is very comfy too. Suit vents very well. It will feel really nice in the summer going down a steep mountain curve. Leather feels very thick and I can tell it will form well to me later. All zippers seem heavy duty and are made with thoughtful materials. I ordered the 56 and I am 6'1 195. Overall, I love it.

Effex Boots - Boots are very stiff. It will take some time to break these in. They are really hard to shift with. I will need to adjust my shift lever. They are a great excuse to get rearsets if don't already have them. Very solid construction. They zip up from the ankle and then fasten over with 2 extremely sticky velcro. Very please with these as well.

Have a nice day.
Tom E.

 

[BRSimmonsMD]

Awesome, thanks for the reviews. I'm planning on getting the GPU one-piece perfed for trackdays. What's up with that darn gray leather though?

 

[tomespo214]

What do you mean? There is nothing wrong with it. It is bada$$. Matches my anthracite rf-1000 pretty good.

 

[BRSimmonsMD]

Meh, I would have preferred all black vented.

 

[tomespo214]

All black is very nice too.

I almost got the dainese luce

 

[BRSimmonsMD]

Very nice suit as well, somebody had a link to the Luce 2 pieces for around $500 I believe...I still like the Alpinestars gear better though (aesthetics-wise).

 

[jj]

Looks awesome! I'm 6' about 180lbs, would you say your on the verge of going to a 54 or is the 56 perfect. None of the dealers in town carry suits unless I drove an 1 1/2 to Dennis Kirk so it's hard to try anything on ???
JJ

 

[tomespo214]

I am 6'1.5 195 and I fit perfect into this suit. In the past 10 weeks I have dropped 20 pounds and bulked up muscle wise (I am on the body for life plan). I don't think I would fit into this if I was still 218. When I stand straight up the suit feels a little tight around the chest (i think I am 44 inches there). But the minute I get into riding position, it feels so nice. The suit does not feel cheap at all even though it is the cheapest A-stars suit. It was $150 less online then it was at my local dealer. Alpinestars stuff tends to run small so people are encouraged to buy a size larger than they expect. I bought a large in the SP-1 gloves and now I have to return them and pay the $15 restock fee. I guess that is the gamble we take when we order online and don't try it out first. Let me know if you have any more questions or if you would like to see more pics of the gear.

Tom

 

[Mojak]

I sold my Effex boots precisely b/c they're so hard to shift with.. still haven't found a replacement.

The Luce suit can be found at www.motorace.com They have the all black and the white on black still in stock (the owner said he had 15 of them when I ordered mine a month ago..). He's been trying to offload them on ebay so, although the list is $500, ask for the ebay price of $450.. [smiley=wink.gif]