Gear---What to Wear and Bring?

Some people have asked us about clothing, gear, packing, etc. The gear that we have chosen worked great in the cold weather, but as we have gotten into the hot weather we decided to switch some things out. Here's what we have learned: We researched a LOT of places and types of gear. The absolute best, hands down place to buy clothing, helmets, etc. is motorcycle superstore (www.motorcyclesuperstore.com)They have free shipping, a liberal return policy (it is only $6.99 to return anything) and have the widest selection and lowest prices of all of the gear that we have seen. After much angst, shopping and advice, we are really happy so far with what we chose. For me: Sidi Jasmine waterproof boots, Tourmaster Flex Pants—these are great….they are a mesh pant zip-in panels to cover the mesh and block out the wind, and they also have a thermal waterproof liner. Great, versatile pants. Jacket: The Tourmaster Transition series jacket which is waterproof and has lots of pockets; best of all it has zippered vents all over for hot weather. It also has a zip-in thermal liner. Dan Gibbons recommended a heated vest for really cold weather…….it actually plugs into the bike. I used that on the coldest part of the trip and it worked great. Socks- since the motorcycle boots are a bit heavy, blisters sometimes result. I got some great socks called 'Tech Sox' which are padded in all of the right places, wick away moisture...very comfortable. Those I found on a website called 'heridessherides.com'. Helmet—went a bit wrong here. I got the Shark Evoline helmet, which is a great, versatile modular helmet. The jaw-piece folds up so that you can wear just the plastic face shield. The face shield also folds up, and it has a built-in sunshield. This can be either a full-face or open face helmet which is great. Only problem is it is built for a perfectly round head shape, and if your head is slightly oval it just doesn’t work. I found this out on a previous trip we did along the Blue Ridge Parkway and I got a big goose egg on my forehead, so I sold that helmet and got the HJC Sy-Max II modular helmet, which I love (the only thing is---in cold weather I would recommend that you use a chin curtain as a lot of air gets up inside this helmet.) Chris also has Sidi waterproof boots which have worked great for the just-completed part of our trip. He of the round head shape loves his Shark helmet. He has Firstgear Kilimjaro Pants and jacket.
After riding from Mammoth through the heat, we decided to switch out some of our gear, especially with the trip to Baja and rainy, humid Central America coming up. We went to motorcyclehelmets.com, a retail store in Fullerton, and found great mesh jackets, Joe Rocket Brand, on sale for $75.00...can't go wrong there. They have a removable waterproof liner, and work great in the hot weather. We also shipped our motorcycle boots home as they were very, very hot in the summer weather and are now using Gore-Tex hiking boots. Chris did get his mesh pants so we are good to go to leave for Baja on Wednesday.
Tomorrow the bike goes in for service, and Chris will change the back tire to get us through the rough roads of Baja.
Regarding packing--- many of my women friends have asked about this, and are aghast that I can pack in my Zega bag that goes into the pannier, and the BMW duffel we each have, which is basically full of sleeping bags, etc. I got the small zip cubes from Eagle Creek and pack my different types of clothes---shorts and t-shirts in one, sox etc in another, etc. They compress your clothes and you can organize by color so you don't have to root through your duffel looking for something. Chris has his own system: he rolls everything and puts rubber bands around them to compress them. A pain in the neck but his bag is much thinner than mine!