Alpinestars GP PRO Review

I thought I'd take the opportunity to review some of the gear I've used to pass on info to any others that might be considering it.

First on the list is the newest piece of gear that I've acquired. My Alpinestars GP PRO gloves. A friend of mine told me that he'd tried every kind of glove out there and found the GP PRO to be the safest, and most comfortable of the gloves he tried on. Long story short, I ended up with a pair. For street riding, I was using my Icon Merc short gloves and for track, I'd wear a pair of Joe Rocket GPX gloves (I'll review each of these in the future, maybe) Tracks require you to wear a gauntlet style glove, (a glove that covers over the wrist) The GP PRO was designed for racers. After trying a pair, I feel that they're far more protective than any other glove out there, definitely more protective than any glove I've tried.

I've looked around for gloves quite a bit, and Alpinestars are the only ones I've found with a "bridge" that connects the little and ring fingers. Many racers have lost pinky fingers in crashes, the most recent I'm aware of is Troy Bayliss. The bridge between the ring and little finger should give more support to the little finger in the event of a crash. Also Alpinestars states this will keep the fingers from rolling and prevent injury. I thought it would restrict movement and take some getting used to, but it doesn't I haven't noticed it unless I was trying to.

The GP PRO Has plastic armor at the knuckles and the fingers, but also the outer palm of the hand. This helps the glove/hand to slide in a crash and not wear through the leather. Keep in mind these were designed for racers who fall off their bikes at high speeds and slide a long distance on asphalt, the more material you have to wear through the better.

For example Max Biaggi's crash in Phillip Islands turn one.

Or Dani Pedrosa At Sachsen Ring on Sunday. (Please excuse the horrible music on this video, when I can find a better clip I'll edit it.)

You wouldn't expect to get up right away from a fall and slide like that, but with the right gear, you can. Imagine if Max were some squid riding in a t-shirt and shorts.....

Now, back on topic. The GP PRO includes it's plastic armor to cover the wrist also. Wrist injuries are common in just about any sport. Every bit of extra armor in that area helps. The GP PRO wraps plastic armor almost around the whole wrist. I thought this would hinder mobility, but I've yet to notice it.

Continuing with the safety features. There are several areas that are reinforced with leather, the

palm for example has second layer of leather covering it. Also, Alpinestars uses Kevlar reinforcements under the leather. The leather used in the glove is much thicker than the leather used in my Joe Rocket Gloves.

The GP PRO has two wrist closures on it, one wrist strap and a gauntlet strap. You wouldn't want these coming off right? Seeing the speeds involved, if your hand were to get pinned between your body and the asphalt, at the right angle, it could get pulled off if not on tight.

Now for the comfort. These are the coolest gloves i've ever worn. The GP PRO has several ways of getting air throughthe glove, and it works. The first time I tried these gloves was in April. I rode down to MMP to have my suspension adjusted by Corporate Suspension. I brought my ICON gloves with, just in case. My hands were freezing by the time I got ot SLC (about a 30 min ride) You can feel the air move through the glove, which has been very nice on these hot summer days.

Now stitching. The first thing I noticed was the lack of seams in the fingers. The seams are stitched on the outside of the glove. This makes the glove very comfortable and less bulky feeling. My Icon gloves have the seams stitched inside the fingers, having nothing to previously compare to, it never really bothered me, but now I do notice the seams.

Overall the glove looks big and bulky and like it would be cumbersome to wear. Wearing the glove however, it feels more like a pair of isotoners than a super duty race glove. I'm very happy with them. I have some Alpinestars gear and will be looking at more. If these gloves are a sign of their craftsmanship, quality and innovation, I'd have no problem buying more gear from Alpinestars.

I give the Alpinestars GP Pro gloves a big cheesy thumbs up.

Working on the Aprilia with Kevin

Kevin came up yesterday to do some work on his Aprilia. He brought his new girlfriend Michelle with him. We bled the brakes and the clutch and cleaned and lubed his chain. We ate some brats and kraut and then went for a ride with Greg.

We started up North Ogden and North Ogden Divide then over Trappers loop and Headed For East Canyon.

You can See Greg in this shot.

Kevin pulling a Wheelie two up

Kevin and Michelle, yup she's wearing sandals, a subject which was discussed.

Greg on the ZRX

The View from the summit of East Canyon again, I love this shot.

Kevin's Aprilia
Whatcha doin Greg?

My bike did something strange as we pulled out to head home. I got on the throttle and the bike started to sputter, then the gas light came on after only 90 miles. Typically I get 120-130 miles out of a tank before the light comes on. When the light comes on I usually have 1 gallon of gas left. It rode fine the rest of the way home and after a mile or so the light turned off. By the time I got home I had about 130 miles on the Trip and the light came back on, expectantly though.

Tell me what you think

I liked the black layout, but I though I'd try something else. Did you like it better before, or how it is now? I put up a Poll on the rigth side of the Blog, vote and tell me what you think.

Time for some changes

I'm trying to chage a few things on the BLOG layout, so if there's problems, check back in a little bit, I'm a computer idiot.

June 29th, Caught up withe USBA guys headed to Jackson Hole

I spaced this ride off completely. This morning I was sitting around wondering if I should go for a ride. The weekend was busy as usual and I hadn't gotten out yet. I remembered the group was going up to Jackson Hole today and called Greg to See where they were. They were still at the meeting place getting ready to leave. I hurried out but I was still about 15mins late getting there, they had already left. In any large group there's bound to be more stops, so I headed out up Monte to try and catch up.

My plan went well till I got stuck behind a Sherriff's deputy on Monte. I snapped some pics and enjoyed the ride.

I still love this shot, like i've said before you'll be seeing more of it. I'm going to try to get an angle without the camera in it. We'll see.

Some Guys I saw along the way.

This is the west side of Monte Cristo, before the gate, pretty, but the road is in bad shape, real bumpy. After the gate the views and the road get even better, I didn't get any shots though as I was trying to catch up.And caught up I did, according to Greg, they'd pulled in right before me, not bad I guess for being 15 mins behind.

Bear lake was looking pretty inviting, it was hot today, shoulda worn the mesh jacket.Once again, wish i'd of gotten more lake in the shot.

This is one of my favorite rides, I gotta get Kevin up here for it.

Some shots from "The Loop"

Randy and I got out for a ride on "The Loop" the loop consists of riding up Weber canyon ( not as much fun with all the construction) taking the Mt. Green Exit and Riding up Trappers loop, taking snowbasin road up to the flags at snowbasin and then back down (or riding Old snow basin road) around Pineview, maybe up to the gate at Monte Cristo then back on Trappers and down Weber Canyon. It's close, gives a good route for a quick ride. We met Ray and some friends at The Sinclair at Trappers and they rode up to Snow Basin with us. Then it was just me and Randy down Old Snow basin rd and aup to Monte and back. It was a nice ride, but for the first time ever, I twisted the throttle and didn't have enough.

Here's some photos.

It sure was buggy on the way back

This was my favorite shot of the day, and below in black and white.

Fathers Day

On Saturday night I decied to try and organize a ride for father's day morning. It turned out to be me and Joey Clark. We met up at Jessie Jeans in Roy for a cup and breakfast and then we were off for East Canyon.

Joey almost ate it on the decreasing radius turn near the resivior, but held his line and made it. I told him I'd wait for him and that he shouldn't try to keep up, his riding skill is far above the capabilities of his bike. After that he agreed.

It was a beautiful day, but still quite crowded, meeting at 8:00 Am wasn't early enough. We saw mostly Harleys, some sportbikes, a lot of Cyclists and one Cop. Wasn't me though, i've yet to be stopped on my bike, it was Joey..... trying to catch up. I've got a rule I follow, fast in the turns slow in the straights, it's worked for me for 2 years so far.

Joey ended up getting a warning. Although I had been speeding about a mile earlier, at the time I passed the Cop, I was riding 10 under the limit waiting for Joey. We took trappers and ogden canyon and headed home where I watched the WSBK races on TV and took a nap before eating some good BBQ at Dads. Joey on his Hardley AblesonI like this angle, you're gonna see a lot more of these shots in the future.East Canyon at the Summit, a Camera just can't do the view justice.

We saw alot of this all day, share the road eh?