After 6+ years, Vicki's Tourmaster textile gear was finally "down to the cords."

On Saturday we visited a few Peninsula motorcycle accessory shops looking for new kit.

Requirements: 2-piece textile, comfortable enough to wear over street clothes (Vicki commutes on the bike), sturdy construction and substantial soft armor. Price target? Less than Aerostich or BMW gear.

First stop: Motostrano http://www.motostrano.com/

Located only 2 miles from our home, near 101 and Woodside Rd., this shop has built a local (and national) following among supermoto riders, offering a lot of supermoto conversion parts. It is also one of the larger local dealers of Alpinestars gear.

I think they carry nearly every item that Alpinestars makes, including casual wear (t-shirts, beanies, ballcaps). They have some women-specific stuff, particularly leather, and some girly casual things too.

Ann, take note: they even stock several pink leather Alpinestars jackets!

They also carry Icon brand gear and some very interesting Suomy helmets. A good selection of boots, and Racer brand gloves (good stuff) were also on hand.

We didn't get a chance to experience their customer service, but the vibe was "local guy hangout." Felt very much like a group of buddies opened the place for fun as much as for business....it's likely this is how this shop got started.

Although I could buy my entire "non-work" wardrobe here, and blow several paychecks on cool A* leather and swag, the selection of textile gear was pretty slim, and nothing really suited Vicki's needs.

We were dreading a trip down to Road Rider. http://store.roadridermca.com/ We've purchased most of our gear here, they have the largest selection of gear in the Bay area, multiple brands, and decent prices. But it's a long haul from home for us and the selection/sizes of popular items can be hit-or-miss depending upon the time of year.

I recalled hearing some good stuff about Fieldsheer gear. Even though the name sounds like hunting accessories, the quality is supposed to be good an the prices very competitive.

So, after a quick Google search, we visited Santa Clara Cycle Accessories in Sunnyvale. http://www.santaclaracycle.com/ They claim to have the largest selection of Fieldsheer gear in the area, and I've heard very good things about this shop.

They do indeed have a large selection of Fieldsheer gear. We met the owner, who was friendly and helped us find the right sizes without being overbearing.

I must admit: I'm impressed with Fieldsheer. The textile overpants that Vicki choose appear to be very will built, with a nice waterproof liner, heavy zippers, tough Cordura and high quality armor. Better than the Tourmaster pants I wear and at least as good as I've seen from other manufacturers.

Best of all: regular price around $130 and on sale for $99. What a steal! The Tourmaster overpants are $179 and aren't nearly as substantial.

She also found a new short jacket. Equally well constructed, with nice features like a built-in back protector and snaps on the sleeves to cinch up the armor. All the little deails are"just right" too: velcro rather snaps to seal the front over the zipper and good pockets. Could use some arm vents, but other than that a solid piece.

Again: $99. The Tourmaster jackets are over $200.

So, for less than $200 Vicki scored a full set of new, quality gear. Time will tell how they hold up, but the initial impression is very positive. I'll miss her old blue jacket, it's been our riding companion for as long as we've been riding together. But I take comfort in knowing her new gear offers better protection than her old.

Fieldsheer also sells a 1-piece suite similar to the Aerostich. It's likely not quite the same quality, but at $239 on sale, including a removeable warm liner and stylish black-silver fabric, it's a very attractive piece. If they had my size I would have brought one home....and still might if they get an XL in stock...

Check out Fieldsheer here: http://fieldsheer.com/05/

So did you see my helmet?!
http://aciurczak.smugmug.com/photos/30434223-L.jpg
Was it cute? Is it worth driving up there and trying one on? Did they have in XS? Do tell! The website says in stock and XS is a choice...

i think i saw the helmet, but to be honest, we were focused on specific gear and wanted to find what we needed before the shops closed for the weekend.

it might be worth a visit if you're in the area....

update: the '04 version of the fieldsheer suit can be found online for $149

http://www.brocktoncycle.com/eshopprod_cat_1137-9170_product_95322_keyword_fieldsheer.Textile_Moto rcycle_Suits_Fiel.htm

edit: oops...only if you're very big....4xl or 5xl...

Thanks for the gear report Colin. I just had my first experience with Motostrano, and was really impressed. Froogle pegged them as cheapest for the boots I wanted, and I ended up buying a bunch of other Astar swag. I got a note from one of the guys saying that a jacket I got ran large, and to just trade it in for the next size down if needed. In eBay parlance, AAAAA++++++++++ seller!!!!!

Vicki's been riding almost daily in the Fieldsheer gear for about a year now.

Our long-term impression is less positive than our initial thoughts.

In actual use, the fit of the pants and jacket isn't as good as it seemed in the store. The shapes just aren't designed as well as the textile Tourmaster gear we typically use. The jacket also catches a lot of wind and balloons up at freeway speed.

With daily use the zippers have been finicky as well. They get stuck often and one has broken.

Worst of all, we realized post-purchase that the gear cannot be machine washed.

So, while the Fieldsheer pieces seem to be a good value, they're difficult to live with for frequent use. Vicki's starting to look for a better replacement.