5 Jan 2020

Schuberth C3 Pro Women’s Helmet

by Cherie-Lynn | posted in: Gear, Reviews, Women Who Ride | 1

Let me start out by saying – buy the damn helmet because it’s that amazing!

After wearing this helmet for only a week Andy made a flip comment that I will never ever be able to go back to any other helmet and if it wasn’t true it would have been funny. As you know we ride a lot so the fact that so much research went into the weight as well as acoustics was a huge draw for me. The research was not wasted because this helmet is unbelievably quiet and light. Not once have I had any neck or shoulder pain for the weight – I can not say this about other helmet that I have wore. One other thing that I truly love about this helmet is how reflective it is making it very visible for night time riding. I’m not lying when I say you will want to wear this helmet constantly!

Although the helmet does accommodate it’s own communication unit I did not purchase it or use it. That being said, I can’t imagine that it wouldn’t be amazing because everything with this helmet is AMAZING!

Like other helmets this one comes with an internal sun visor and clear outer visor. Unlike a lot of other helmets the outer visor comes with a pinlock visor. Which you guessed it – IS AMZING! Nothing can make me grumpier than having my visor fog up so yeah a pinlock system is pretty cool. As you can tell from my photo I choose an iridium visor because hello – IT AMAZING! Yes us riders are all about the safety but don’t let anyone tell you that we also don’t want to look cool because we completely do. The other thing that makes me grumpy is being hot so the fact that is helmet is a modular it’s a life saver.

You will get people that say all helmets are made the same and high cost helmets aren’t worth it. Well to that I say bullshit. If you think all helmets are made the same you really need to go try on a premium helmet. From the minute you put it on you will know the difference. This helmet is worth every damn penny. The amount of research that went into making this helmet is mind blowing (you can read all about it in Schuberth’s site). I have a brother that lives with a sever head injury so I completely get the importance of protecting your head/brain – after all we only get one so I’m taking care of it.

I get asked what makes this a women’s helmet. So here it is;

Optimized for smaller head shapes
takes into account the particular female face shape
higher positioned padding in the cheekbone area
more padding in the in the area of the cheeks
the lining is also easy clean for those of us that like to wear makeup while we ride.
he outter shell is the same as a regular 3C Pro and it is just the lining design that turns this helmet into the C3W Pro.

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This helmet is safe, quiet, light and downright sexy!

Name: Schubert 3C Pro Women’s Helmet

Review :

21 Aug 2019

Moto Guzzi California

by Andy Buchanan | posted in: Bikes, Blog Post, Reviews | 0

I always have liked things that were a little different. I gravitated towards the weird looking dog at the pound when our family went to look for a pet, I hung out with an eclectic group of people growing up (maybe that wasn’t entirely my choice but more of a mutual decision), and I liked possessing things that were not usual, even if they were not valued by the rest of my peers. When I first saw the Moto Guzzi California 1400 Touring, I instantly developed a liking for it. It has a no-nonsense muscularity that hearkens to strength developed through hard labour and not scientifically designed body building exercise in a gym. It looked to be capable without flash, confidence without arrogance. The hard bags, comfortable seating position, powerful engine, modern electronics and basic wind shield checked all my boxes. But still, I did not consider it a contender for my next bike. While I thought the showroom price was reasonable (a little less than the comparable Indian Chief Vintage/Springfield), the thought of an Italian motorcycle with a limited dealer/service availability sent my risk averse and cheapskate soul skittering. It was as though I was back in grade 10 staring at posters of exotic foreign cars that never appeared on the streets of my Northern Ontario home town.

When I saw the same bike listed for sale as a 2014 used bike at a local HD dealership I went to see it and I started to consider my objections and deal with them one by one.

Cost to buy: As I said before, a comparable Indian Chief Vintage (a bike I also adored) was more $ as a new bike and far more expensive as a used bike (if you could even find one, they are currently holding their value quite well). So as a used bike, buying from a dealership (so it has been certified and inspected) it is definitely good value for money.

Cost to maintain: With only 2 licensed service sites within 60 km of home (Guelph and Vaughn), I have little hope of repairs on the cheap. However, I have a similar problem with Indian (Oakville and Barrie). Except for the Big Japanese manufacturers with local dealers, I would have to travel a bit. Hourly shop costs: MG-$105 in Vaughn – which seems comparable to dealership rates for new bikes. I try to do regular maintenance myself (oil and filter changes, minor repairs).

Reliability: This has been hard to get a handle on. Italian bikes have a reputation for needing constant attention and leaving riders stranded. However, as I have looked into the newer bikes, this is not raised as an issue nearly as much for the newer bikes as it is for the vintage bikes. I consider myself easy on my bikes and will treat this one like a queen in the hopes that it will be well behaved and reliable in return.

Parts: Very little stocked in Canada but ordering from Europe or the US seems to offer little obstacles (other than the wait). Cost for parts does seem more expensive for some things (top case: >$2000) and less for other (rear rotor <$50). So I am only really concerned if I need some major pieces and I have reconciled myself to the fact that some things will be more expensive when the time comes.

Meanwhile, I have a few leads on unofficial local Guzzi experts and I have changed my own oil/filter without unexpected complications. So far, so good.

I’ll let you know at the end of the season what else, if anything, comes up!

18 Jan 2019

She Rides

by Cherie-Lynn | posted in: Blog Post, Safety, Women Who Ride | 0

The internet is all kinds of fun when it comes to peoples opinions, high horses and women verses men riding motorcycles!

I don’t know many men that dress differently when they do a solo trip – some women deliberate dress less feminine as too not attract attention to themselves. Which is weird because doing a solo trip is suppose to be empowering and character building. We shouldn’t have to fear for our safety just because we are women. Hell we already need to ride as everyone is trying to kill us shouldn’t we be able to stop and not have to worry about our safety while have coffee or lunch or just running in to pee!

I have seen this one first hand – I had a guy go ballistic on me just because I was riding in front of him and i guess not going fast enough. He proceeded to scream at me as he flipped out and raced past past me and when we got stopped – at the same light he continued to rage at me. Had I been a man I highly doubt he would have done this to me.

There are times that I’ve walked into motorcycle shops, looked around for a while, tried things on, sat on bikes only (if even) to be approached and asked “what does your husband ride”. Women are still sexualized in motorcycle ads even though female riders are growing by leaps and bounds (and we out spend men). yet, here we are still being treated as second class citizen. Let me say it again for the people in the back – Us women have our own money and we want to spend it!

These are just random comments I’ve seen in the last couple of days;

“We both share the same piece of road .. doesn’t matter who you are..”
It shouldn’t be girl or guy it’s just a rider, no matter what you ride. Peace
Are female riders really that rare?

It’s not that women riding is rare it’s that it’s just different sometimes. It’s great that there are people that feel there’s no difference between a male/female rider but not everyone feels that way.

US women also have a lot of allies in the male community. We have some that go out of their way to help just as they would the men they ride with – we are looked at as equals from them. Just riders that are also out there enjoying the wind and to the I say a huge thank you and shiny side up!

6 Sep 2018

Bancroft Brew Pub

by Cherie-Lynn | posted in: Fuel (in our bellies), Reviews | 0

As you know – We love to eat good food! The Bancroft Brew Pub did not disappoint. We were a little sad that we didn’t get to try the local beer however. As much as we wanted to we are sticklers for not drinking and riding. Hell when we’re riding early the next day we’re careful about drinking the night before as we both feel the risk isn’t worth it.

I grew up in this area and for years have heard stories about the area hotels. I didn’t visit that many of them before I left home so decided that on our Ride The Highlands tour we would try to visit a few. The Bancroft Brew Pub use to be the hotel. Mind you with the updates you wouldn’t know it was the old hotel if it wasn’t for the little bits of history mementos spread out throughout the restaurant.

Andy and I both opted for a burger and fries, surprise surprise, and they were so good. Both were made from scratch and just so good. I’m not going to lie the gravy for my fries tasted like rink gravy and for those of you that don’t know rink gravy it is so frigin good – it’s a huge compliment.

This weekend we had heat warning upon heat warning and well we were feeling the heat. What goes well with a hot day – and ice cold beer! Seeing as we were on the bikes and had a couple more hours of riding ahead of we decided to forego the local craft beer and chose a Budweiser Prohibition brew non-alcoholic beer in a frosty glass (which was really good). After dinner we visited the brewery and store next door and had a great chat with the owner. All said that when we are back in town we will definitely visit both places again.