Spidi VR6 boots and some cold(er) weather riding..

Hi Friends,

      Came home to a nice, expected surprise!

My brand new Spidi VR6 boots were delivered sometime around noon by UPS.  Throwing keys, wallet, lunch container, and water bottle in every which direction, I ripped the box open and pulled out the boots.  Immediately I noticed how soft they are, which was surprising because I thought they would be very tough, similar to a ski boot.

Once I put them on, I noticed they were very roomy, perhaps too roomy.  I wear an 8.5 street shoe size, and I worried these may be a tad bit too large.  Then I realized that I should tuck my jeans (and in the future, leather pants) into the boot and, voila, much better fit.

The zipper travels all the way down the boot, making it easy to put on over pants.  The leather around the zipper area is almost suede-like, and plush.  The white leather is typical everyday leather, and the back is perforated leather, which I'm assuming is to allow for airflow.  There is hard plastic on the heel to protect the back of your foot from damage. The front has a shin protector to also protect the front of your leg.

Then there is a patch on the top of the boot to protect the white leather from getting marked up by your gear shifter.  And finally there is a toe slider so you don't chop your toes off! Always handy to have, in my opinion!

So what's the final verdict?  Well obviously there isn't one until it is used on a ride!  So I put on all my gear, warmed up the Ninja a bit, and hopped on.  First thing I noticed on the bike, the boots aren't as easy to touch the ground as regular shoes or work boots.  Since they are a bit more bulky, the pegs get in the way.  This probably isn't a problem on supersport bikes since the pegs are back and upwards a bit.  Not a big issue though, and at least the soles are high gripping rubber.  

Trying to take off and leave the parking lot, I noticed that if you ride perfectly straight up, it's hard to access the gear shifter.  Perhaps I just haven't gotten used to them, but they seemed kind of clunky!  Once riding at a quicker pace with a bit of a lean, this problem was history though..having toes point slightly downwards cured the "glitch" and it was easy to ride once hunched a bit.  

I got a first little taste of windy cold weather today.  I definitely felt like I was getting blown in certain directions a slight bit, battling through roughly 20mph winds.  I was traveling along some back roads at 40mph and noticed it was indeed quite chilly.  What I didn't realize until I got home was that I was colder than I thought, which can be a huge concern if you ride for extended periods of time in those types of conditions.

And finally, the fun part, I did a little bit of in lane weaving using countersteering and WHOA! People were right, the bike is "flickable" and feels extremely light once it's moving.  I also am starting to feel more comfortable in corners, leaning the bike even further than before.  It's hands down the best feeling going around sharp turns, and on this Ninja, it feels SO COMPLETELY NATURAL!  I also gave it some extra throttle and it accelerated pretty quickly.  Still need to work on being more smooth with the clutch, and starting quicker, but that of course will take time.

I'll leave things there for now.  Tomorrow if I feel warm enough, I might go exploring on some windy rural roads, and if there is somewhere safe to pull over, I will take a few pictures!

Have a great evening!

- Pandabear