Klim

All posts tagged Klim

New Boots and Panties

Posted by Richard on 2 April 2024
Posted in: Diary. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

I mentioned a while back that I’d bought some new Klim riding gear for Alison and me. I’d held off from buying the matching Klim Latitude Jeans for me and Klim Altitude Jeans for Alison as we both already had waterproof trousers, but Alison’s didn’t really fit and my Alpinestars ones were waaaaay too big and the Triumph Taloc leather jeans too big (but not massively so).

Klim Latitude Pants Klim Latitude Pants Klim Altitude Pants Klim Altitude Pants

I’d been using a pair of Alpinestars J-6 boots for general riding – as seen in this photo – but as I found out after a long walk in Gran Canaria to collect a bike from CanaryRide, they caused the odd blister after a while.  Now I could use my crashed-in but waterproof Alpinestars SMX Plus boots but they’re a bit heavy for walking around off the bike, so I decided to get another pair of boots that are waterproof, will go better with the light grey trousers, and should be comfortable off the bike. So I bought myself some Alpinestars Fastback 2 Drystar boots and at the same time bought Alison some Alpinestars Women’s J-6 boots, both of which are waterproof and should be good to wear off the bike.

Alpinestars Fastback 2 Drystar Waterproof Boots Alpinestars Ladies J-6 Waterproof Boots

These were all ordered – again – from SPORTSBIKESHOP but on their ‘try before you buy’ option using their Reading store. This was because the Klim sizing can be a little strange, apparently, although I’ve not had any problems.  We set off to Reading on Bank Holiday Monday to try the gear on.

We had followed the sizing guidance and had ordered my trousers in a 34″ waist on the basis that the feedback was they were a little smaller than that. They weren’t. Even with the thankfully adjustable waist cinched up small, they looked like a schoolboy’s first set of school trousers that you’d grow into eventually.  So I tried on some 32″ Klim Badlands Pro trousers and they seemed much better, so we ordered the Latitude trousers in a 32″ waist.  They arrived today – yes, the day after ordering late on a Bank Holiday! – and are fine; I can even cinch the waist up some more if I feel the need to before walking around. It looks like all my exercise might be paying off.

Oh and that noise you can hear? That’s my wallet crying…

 

Running-In

Posted by Richard on 24 November 2023
Posted in: Accessories, Diary. Tagged: , , , , , , .

With only 105 miles on the clock after the weekend trip to Angry Minge, running-in for 310 to 745 miles was going to take quite a while over the winter period.

But family staying over rectified that: when they left, they left behind their suitcase with a load of stuff in it that they needed, and a cunning plan was hatched, given a look at the weather forecast for the following day which was showing dry and bright but quite cool.

Perfect!

We tried to get the carry-on into the top case, but its wheels prevented that, so instead we filled the top case liner bag with the contents of the suitcase, wrapped up warm in our Klim jackets, Keis heated vests (and gloves for Alison)  and our ‘proper’ riding trousers.  Mine are now a bit loose but will probably still do the job, but I am contemplating buying the matching Klim Latitude trousers in the New Year as you can at least cinch the waistband up a bit (I’m currently around a 33″ waist, so I fall between two stools in terms of waist size).

Herself was also trying out her new Shoei Neotec 2 crash helmet that we bought at the NEC motorbike show last week (with a price reduction because they’ve just updated it).  It’s a flip-front style which she prefers for getting it on and off and which should also allow her to be able to take a drink on the bike once I source and fit a suitable cupholder and strawed water bottle.

Shoei Neotec 2

Shoei Neotec 2

With everything switched on we set off nice and toasty warm despite the temperature being an indicated 10-13ºC and supposedly with around 10 miles’ ‘buffer’ on our journey distance before we’d run out of petrol.  Or at least that was the plan.

It transpires that ‘making good progress’ gulps down the fuel and the dire reserve fuel warning light came on a few miles short of our destination so we popped into the next petrol station on our route to fill up.

We’d been chatting away merrily on the Cardo PACKTALK BOLD (why is the name all capitalised?) but I wasn’t receiving navigation prompts or indeed hearing music through the Cardo from the bike, despite it being paired and connected. Oh and saying “Hey Siri! Play some music” to the Cardo meant that the iPhone dropped both the Bluetooth and the WiFi connection to the RT – I have no idea why the Connected App has to connect that way for maps to be cast to the RT display when Apple CarPlay should be set up on BMW’s bikes as well as their cars – and took a while to reconnect, but at least it did all by itself.

Within two hours we were in Somerset and enjoying a cuppa before heading back.  The lights were excellent but then it was only dusk rather than fully dark when we got back.

So we’re now up to 311 miles – just within the lower limit for its first service – but I’ll probably wait until the New Year for that, when they can also look at why the emergency SOS system is now producing a warning.

As to the lack of voice prompts, the RT was paired with my iPhone 15 Pro  and with the PACKTALK, which was  then paired with the iPhone on channel 1 and the RT on channel 2.  The Cardo and my wife’s identical unit are on a mesh intercom system which works fine.  I’d previously paired her Cardo with the RT, but then she’d have to listen to the satnav and my choice of music rather than hers. so I deleted that pairing.

This morning I spent some time in the garage resetting the Cardo pairing completely. I then only set the pairing between the RT and Cardo on channel 1, ignoring the iPhone which I’d left paired with the RT.  And it seems to work: satnav voice prompts now work and I can play music from the iPhone via the RT to my Cardo.  Sadly the volume dial only brings up the middle setting but doesn’t actually adjust the volume, so I have to do that manually on the Cardo.

Here’s a gratuitous photo of the RT parked on the (vacant) neighbour’s drive – as in, there’s no neighbour yet, rather than they’re a bit vacant – while it was parked there for a delivery of a fridge/freezer to the man cave.

Parked Up

All The Gear, etc.

Posted by Richard on 30 October 2023
Posted in: Accessories, Diary. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

With the new RT on its way and with plans already made for a couple of long rides in 2024 – well, three, actually – it was time to consider what kit we’d need to update and/or put in place.

The RT is intended to be used as a workhorse, so my trips will be working trips for my photographer and nascent videography ventures, so one of the obvious choices was a new camera.  The other videos on my YouTube channel over the last few years (not counting the early ones with camcorder footage) have been shot using a Garmin VIRB Elite, but although that’s great for capturing video with all the GPS data embedded, it’s quite old now and bulky and the tech has come on in leaps and bounds.

So whilst I will still use the VIRB for pushbike stuff, for on-bike/in-car footage I’ve sourced a GoPro Hero12 Black Edition which I will be mounting – initially at least – on my Arai Quantic helmet.  The RT’s setup means that I would need to do some mods to the handlebar bracketry to mount it on the bars, but maybe that’s for a second camera in due course?

In the meantime, we also wanted some up to date protective riding gear.

I went to Gran Canaria at the start of October with some friends and was riding a Ducati Multistrada hired from the lovely people at CanaryRide and it was waaaay too hot as there was a calima and I was wearing my old Alpinestars leather jacket, which is black and padded.

Now I used to have some Triumph leathers that were water-resistant to go with some Rukka Ceres shorty gloves, but when I got killed (temporarily) by someone knocking me off my Triumph Sprint GT1050 my jacket had to be cut off and due to two of my fingers being “de-gloved” the resultant mess in my Ceres gloves was not for the faint-hearted to deal with so again they were disposed of in A&E.

So that just leaves my venerable old Rukka Gore-Tex jacket: totally waterproof, removable lining, but next to no ventilation.  Similarly Mrs Me also has a nine year old Dainese textile jacket and trouser combo that is also great for cold and wet but not so good for dry and hot conditions:

I’ve been researching jackets for quite a while now and the Klim ones looked exactly what we needed, but which one to go for in their line-up? Well I don’t need to go top of the range touring with the Kodiak as I already have a duck down jacket that might do well as a mid-layer and of course both of us have heated Keis waistcoats with accessory sockets on the RT to match. So the best choice looks like the latest version of the Klim Latitude for me and the ladies’ version, the Klim Altitude, for her.  And of course I needed replacement waterproof gloves to go with my Alpinestars race gloves for guaranteed dry days, so a pair of Alpinestars SMX-1 waterproof shorty gloves have been sourced as well, all from SPORTSBIKESHOP online.

Of course as the RT is white with grey or black bits, the Klim gear and gloves are similarly coloured: “Cool Grey” for the jackets and black and white for the gloves.  I’ll let you know how we get on with them in due course.

Alpinestars SMX-1 Drystar Gloves Klim Altitude Front Klim Latitude Front Alpinestars SMX-1 Drystar Gloves Klim Altitude Back Klim Latitude Back