scuderia west

Streaming live, Motorcycle Gear 101

womens motorcycle gear seminar information how to shop fit features protection

Join me for a Gear Seminar in San Francisco 

Tonight! Monday, February 25, 2013

6pm Pacific / 9pm Eastern

Piston and Chain Motorcycle Club

Follow along with me by downloading a copy of my Shopping Tips

I'll be at Piston and Chain motorcycle club in San Francisco to share my knowledge, passion and love for motorcycle gear. Basically it'll be an in person overview of my shopping tips and gear 101. Samples (courtesy of Scuderia West) will be shown from my friends at REV'IT, Alpinestars, and Dainese. Of course, I'll be bringing ALL women's gear. This isn't a women's specific seminar, I'm simply bringing goodies for women to ogle and look at it since well, most women will never see this many samples in one place :)

And I'll be streaming it LIVE on Youtube! If you can't make it, it'll be available to watch/download afterwards!

At 6pm Pacific / 9pm Eastern, log onto http://www.youtube.com/gearchic and you'll see the link for the live video. Fingers crossed for zero technical difficulties. See you then. 

PS, for those of you who show up in person, a small token of appreciation will be handed out courtesy of Scuderia West. 

 

Back to Work I Go.

scuderia west san francisco motorcycles scooters

Motorcycles Scooters San francisco Scuderia West ktm aprilia brammo kymco

 

As many of you may know, I've been a part of the Scuderia West family for almost 5 years now. Mostly part time, a Saturday or two here and there, and most recently Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

I'm thrilled to announce that as of last week, I've officially joined on full time and will be working in a social media / marketing capacity. Of course, I will keep dedicating time to apparel and helping women of the San Francisco Bay Area shop for motorcycle gear as well!  I will definitely continue to run GearChic as is and expect nothing much to change from this new adventure.

I'll be setting up personal shopping appointments during the week so that you can get my full one on one attention and you can find exactly what you want/need for your motorcycle or scooter.

I have had many offers over the years to work at various dealerships / shops in the Bay Area. But Scuderia has always been my home. It's where me and my husband bought our first scooter before moving onto motorcycles.    

aprilia scarabeo 50cc ditech lemon acid scooter san francisco Women's motorcycle Gear Scuderia West san francisco

By working full time, I can not only continue to help Scuderia increase their presence in the Bay Area, but make myself completely available for all the women riders searching for gear. Wouldn't it be great if someone could actually look at you, know what size you are and recommend at least 2 or 3 gear options for you to try on? I promise that if you shop with me, I'll do my best to make the experience as quick and painless as possible. You'll leave the store knowing exactly what size you are in what brand, what fits and what doesn't.

I won't work anywhere else because the women's gear we have helps me fit a variety of women from the smaller, petite gals to the fuller figured, curvier gals. Knowing that I can help 99% of women that walk in the door helps me do my job. 

To make a shopping appointment, or if you have any questions and need help shopping, please drop me an email or call me anytime during business hours. Of course you can always reach me via my website if I'm not at the shop. 

I look forward to hearing from you!

Contact Info:

www.scuderia.com
joanne@scuderia.com
415-621-7223 phone
10am-6pm, Tues-Sat

 

 

Women Rule the Motorcycle World

Jennifer Bromme, Owner at Werkstatt SF

At least in the San Francisco Bay Area anyway :) Did you know that all of these local shops are owned or managed by cool women who ride? Let me know if I missed any...

Brammo Enertia Electric Motorcycle San Francisco Scuderia West

Crystal Gurr, Owner at Scuderia West/SF

 

mission motorcycles daly city

Wendy, Owner at Mission Motorcycles/Daly City

 

Aleks (right), Owner at Moto Shop/South San Francisco 

 

helimot fremont custom leathers

Linda, Owner at Helimot/Fremont 

 

dainese san francisco nicky hayden

Shelli B. (2nd from the right) with Nicky Hayden, Store Manager at Dainese San Francisco

 

We're also lucky to have so many women involved in the motorcycling community in one way or another, such as:

And so many friends of mine who are actively involved in track days, road racing, clubs, organizations and more.

The Bay Area is definitely one of the best places in the world to be a woman and ride a motorcycle. 

 

What's it Like to Ride an Electric Motorcycle?

Brammo Motorcycles San Francisco New Used

One word. FUN. SO much FUN.

 

Meet Betty.

Recently, I took home this sexy Brammo courtesy of Scuderia West and Brammo to share my experiences riding the Enertia around San Francisco. As a city resident and worker in SF, it's the perfect option. I could say the same about a little DRZ400, they're both light and nimble and super easy to ride (Betty is fully automatic, however). The one thing that sets them apart is this whole electricity thing, which I find to be really convenient.

Less stops at the pump! I can fill up so to speak, in my little garage. My SV is feeling neglected, as the only time I've taken her out for a spin was on Sunday when my husband and I rode up to the Marshall store and back.  Since then, it's been me and Betty. 60 miles down, many more to go! 

I'll be sad to see her go when our time together is up (as this is just a temporary loaner), but I know this much is true; that I foresee a supermoto or sexy naked streetfighter in my future. I've never ridden a bike like this before, I'm having so much damn fun.  I think I'm sold on the supermoto riding position and hope to find something in the future that meets my city livin', vertical height and long distance traveling needs. We'll see.

If you're wondering what I'm wearing while on the Brammo, it's the same gear that I wear on my SV (ATGATT with my Arai, Sidis, REVIT jacket, pants and Racer gloves). Nothing has changed in that sense. 

Follow me on facebooktwitter, or instagram (gearchic), as that's where I'll be posting photos of our dates.  If you see me around SF, please feel free to introduce yourself to Betty. She loves meeting new people!   

 

Motorcycle glove recommendations

Ok, from time to time I have to give advice to the men of this world too!

This email just came in from Bill K.:

Motorcycle Glove fitment by brand question.... I have fat hands with short fingers. My last two purchases of higher quality gloves went poorly. I got some alpinestars based on finger length, and they were so tight around the palm the actually burst a seam. So I got a set of Lee Parks gloves ($ouch) based on girth around the knuckles (where they fit perfectly), and they are too long for my fingers. I'm hoping after a few good rain rides, they will shrink shorter to fit, but who knows...can you recommend a brand that caters to the "fat hands and short fingers" market?

Actually, I have found a few brands to fit wider hands and shorter fingers.  My favorite quality glove with this kind of fit and shape is Held. (http://www.heldusa.com

And the fit is not as narrow in the wrists/palms as other brands that I've seen (for men and women).  For an all around glove, I'd recommend the Steve Classic:

Held Steve Classic Gloves

Not only does it start in a size 6 (perfect for teeny tiny, XS hands. I'm a 6.5/7) but you can order this glove in short or long sizes! I havent' seen any other gloves on the market that offer this option. 

If you want a glove with more protection, Held has a great line of sport gloves with stronger gauntlets and more armor too. Unfortunately those aren't offered in short/long. 

Also check out Olympia Gloves (which is different from the Olympia Motosports Apparel line).  

 The Kangaroo Curve is a slightly shorter, but well ventilated glove for summer: 

They have over 80 types of motorcycle gloves, so hopefully they offer something that you need!

And I almost forgot,  2 more brands to consider, Cortech and Tourmaster. They tend to have a wider stance in the palms and shorter fingers. 

Bluetooth motorcycle headsets

Sena Bluetooth Motorcycle Headset

SMH-5 by Sena

The one thing that really makes the Sena standout is the intuitive dial/button. Something that's easy to operate while riding and with your gloves on.

Update 4/12/12: I just found out that these aren't available from the distributor just yet. They should be available for shipping in May / early June. Can't wait to get my hands on these!

This is on my wish list, because it's a smaller, more compact version of the popular SMH-10. The difference between the SMH-5 is that it only allows for rider 2 rider communication, so only 2 people.  The SMH-10 will allow you to connect up to 4 total riders, after a firmware upgrade.   The price point is also nice at $129 for one or $249 for two!

Previously, with the SMH-10 you had to buy the pair.  Now you can ride solo with the freedom of no one else talking to you, unless they call you first. :)

The SMH-5 is on my hitlist to replace my aging BlueAnt headset from way back.

Where to Buy: BuySenaBluetooth.com, Scuderia West/San Francisco