Okay, finally made it down to Ride West in Seattle today.. what a place! The good news-- their crew (especially Omar) was awesome in helping me out, and patient beyond words. I also lucked out because the RevIt rep was in store when I was there. Ride West rocks even more because not only are they dog friendly (I drove the cage w/beast), beast was so psyched with all the attention he did not want to leave. I left with a much lighter wallet but some awesome gear.
The bad news-- not bad really, at all, but different-- I did not leave with RevIt gear. I was a royal pain in the ass and tried on literally almost ALL the women's RevIt gear, and it just didn't work, sizing wise. RevIt's template for gals seems to fit a boxier shape than mine. The pants weren't far off, but they didn't have any longs in stock to try, and the regulars were a hair short. The jackets were gorgeous-- beautiful construction, styling, and shape, but not my shape. Any jackets that fit in the waist didn't fit in the chest, and constricted under the armpits. Jackets that fit my chest were huge in the waist, even with adjustable straps. I was crestfallen.
Just when I thought it was going to be a wash, I walked by the sale rack of women's BMW gear. There was ONE Santiago jacket (in the yellow/ sand/ black) hanging there, at almost 1/2 off, and just for the hell of it I put it on. Fit like a glove, baby! It was amazing. Granted, it's a different styling than I was going for, but the material,cut, fit, protection, and versatility are awesome. Next stroke of luck were the pants-- they fit like they were custom made (long, tailored waist, booty room), and also on sale. Got the gore-tex liners for both and left the store having spent about the same (perhaps a touch more) as I would have for the Rev-It gear.
Again, huge props to the staff there, and the RevIt rep. I wish the RevIt gear had fit, but I left with some incredible stuff that I never thought I could afford or would have tried on otherwise.
Okay, this post was waaay too long, especially being about gear. I love motorcycle gear the way some women love shoes.
