Didn’t have a great start the other morning. Should have known better.
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A case of cold tyres, rushing around, late for work and too eager on the throttle. Literally the second left turn after leaving the house, trying to gas it to make a gap in the traffic and back wheel just span up, low sided and off the bike went sliding down the road. Gutted.
Most of the articles that you will come across about getting ready for a long motorcycle ride tackle the kind of equipment that you need to make sure you don’t leave behind, but almost none of them will tell you what you have to do with your body before touring.
It takes a lot of physical stamina, as well as mental focus, to ride your bike for a whole day. It can’t even compare to spending several hours behind the wheel in a car. You get uncomfortable, sweaty, too hot or cold, and you always have to make sure you maintain the correct posture so that you can ride for even more hours. Furthermore, motorcycle riding requires more strength, mostly because you constantly have to manoeuvre it.
The lowly motorbike jacket is an underrated garment we all take for granted, yet it has a tough role to perform. A good jacket must first and foremost keep you well protected from impacts, slides down the road and whatever the weather throws at you. On rough days, it should keep you warm and dry, and on hot days keep you cool. Finally, it needs to be comfortable to wear and crucially, look good. No one is going to enjoy a jacket that’s badly fitting or looks a bit naff. Some of you may splash out on a jacket for each season, but others starting out on two wheels will likely be on a tighter budget and will be after a single all-weather jacket. Similarly, if you’re planning a long tour or just commuting at the mercy of the British weather, then you really need one jacket that can cover you from all eventualities.
The Rev’It! Sand 3 jacket aims to tick all the boxes and provide an all-seasons jacket in the mid-price bracket for around £360. Provided for review by Fortamoto.com (the well regarded Amsterdam based motorcycle store), I’ve put it through its paces over the last few wintery weeks in London. Read on to see if it lives up to promises.