My Initial Gear

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my first few weeks in i bought some gear. this is just a quick list with general impressions. most everything in this list was purchased from union garage, they were very helpful.

Gloves

Revit Striker gloves were recommended to me. it was the middle of the summer and they are supposed to be very breathable, and most importantly, they have iphone compatible fingers :)  ok ok most important is they are protective. they have knuckle guards and feel great. my only gripe after a few months of owning them is they seemed to have stretched a little in the palm area which gets annoying on long trips.

http://uniongaragenyc.com/shop/index.php/gloves/rev-it-striker.html

http://www.revitusa.com/en-us/#/products/FGS078

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Boots

i needed something i could wear to clients and not look like a motorcycle racer. i opted for these great casual boots that are well protected. they are navy blue, with steal toe, ankle protection, a reinforced heel, and they are water proof. they also have a nice rubbery grippy sole. after a few months, i have no gripes, i love them. they are great.

http://uniongaragenyc.com/shop/index.php/boots/tcx-x-street-wp.html

http://www.tcxboots.com/eng/prodotti-dettaglio.php?prodotto=57

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Jacket

again, middle of the summer, i needed something very breathable but i didnt want to have to buy another jacket for spring or fall, and maybe even winter. i loved the revit jackets at union garage but i had to find the right one at the right price. so i looked in to 3 season jackets, one that breathed the most, but still had a nice removable thick liner for the other seasons. it also had to match my bike and my style. i went with the Revit Levante in silver / black. it happens to match my bike (and helmet) great. its extremely breathable in the hot nyc summer, with huge mesh areas on the jacket. its got a great warm liner thats water proof, and it has protective padding around the elbows, shoulders, and some minor back padding. i can add a real back pad insert later when im ready to spend on it. its late september now and starting to get a little chilly so im not really sure how it will perform in the cold, but so far i love this jacket. great buy. Union Garage didnt carry this specific jacket, so they ordered it for me. they did have a lot of other very similar revit jackets that i got to try on in the shop i knew what size to order.

http://www.revitusa.com/en-us/#/products/FJT152

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Helmet

i really wanted a matte white helmet, but they dont seem to exist. i looked around and could not find something i liked. i didnt like the normal round style helmets. i found a really interesting one by AFX at… Union Garage. they had it in black, i tried it on and it felt great. it had a lot of room in front of the mouth area so i wouldnt feel claustrophobic, which happens to me easily. it also has great venting for the summer…. im not sure how great it will be in the winter though. time will tell. so far i still love this helmet after months of us. its not on unions website, but i did buy it there. they only had black in stock, but ordered me the white one. it was around $120. i got a small, because i have a small head. i took off the visor on top after a week of using it, im not off road so.. not much mud flinging going on.

http://www.afxhelmets.com/helmets/dualsport/fx-39ds.php?show=pearl

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Bluetooth

possibly my most appreciated piece of gear, as i use it constantly. i bought it with the helmet, as advised by union garage, and they isntalled it in to my helmet for me. i got the Sena SMH10. its so easy to use, modern, and good looking. a great rotary dial on the side that lets me easily control volume and change the song. it works great for phone calls at low speeds, music, and also really helpful, GPS. i use it with my iphone, and siri is finally really useful. she reads me text messages, lets me reply, gives me directions etc. love this thing. zero complaints. and its got a great battery. looking forward to riding with someone else that has it so we can use the “intercom” mode. union garage doesnt show it on their website, but they did have it, recommend it, sell it to me, and install it free with purchase. it was around $175 i think? helmet with bluetooth at the end was under $300 so that was right in my budget.

http://senabluetooth.com/product/intercoms/smh10/

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Plate Puller

sounds lame but it is helpful. when parking in metered spots for 20 minutes or so, i just pull my license plate out. risky as it can get towed, but its good for quick run ins. otherwise when parking ill go find legal parking which usually isnt far, and park between two cars.

http://uniongaragenyc.com/shop/index.php/accessories/union-garage-platepuller.html

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Top Case

BMW gave me $500 towards accesories when i financed the bike. i opted for the top case as the side cases would have made my bike too wide for city driving. i do really want more storage these days, but thats not to say the top case isnt awesome. it holds my laptop bag, helmet, gloves, ezpass, random tech tools and a sweat shirt. not all at the same time, basically the laptop and helmet trade spots through out the day. its an original BMW top case, and BMW even keyed the lock to match my bike key. easy peasy. its also easily removable so i can take it off anytime in under 20 seconds.

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a shot of me and my gear very soon after i got it all.

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Sun in my eye!

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wow, if i knew then what i know now, i would have considered a different helmet…..

not that there is anything wrong with my AFX, but wow the sun can be dangerous. riding to jersey one day on the turnpike the sun was blaring so bad i just couldnt see at all. my eyes were tearing, i couldnt make out anything. it was dangerous. i stopped at the first rest stop and got raped for a pair of plasticy aviators, $25. they did the trick and i was able to get home. after that i kept a pair in my top case for those rare moments.

the issue is, my helmet is a SMALL, and i can barely fit sun glasses in the helmet with my head in it at the same time. i now remember Union Garage showing me a helmet that had an internal flip down tinted half shield for sunny days. what an amazing feature i now realize i might want on a future helmet.

i researched and ended up buying a few helmet accessories. AFX makes a flip up external tinted half shield, they also make a snap in tinted “fast shield”. i ordered them both, along with a chin curtain from motorcycle superstore.

outer flip down half shield:

 

fast shield:

Chin Curtain:

The fast shield is cool, but doesnt seem to work with my helmet, even though its made by the same company and claims to work on all helmets even outside their brand. so that was $10 down the drain. its also not as tinted as the outer half visor i got.

the chin curtain was to keep the wind out while riding in the cold. it seems to be made of shit, yah i think thats the actual material. shit. and i cant figure out how to install it. ill have to research it some more but it might have been $7 down the drain as well.

the outer half visor made by afx spefically for my helmet modem seems to be a win. when down it blocks the sun enough so if its blinding out, i can still ride safely enough. when flipped out, it doenst get in the way… so far. i like it.