Race Suit Upgrade
Jan 28, 2022 by Adam Miller
Shamefully, I have to admit that I’ve been riding in a 2-piece 3/4 waist zipper suit since my first trackday in 2010. Compliant with the rules, yes, but a far cry from the latest safety today’s gear has to offer. Not only does the old suit have a serious vulnerability at the waist, there have been many advancements in suit design in the last 12 years. Shoulder sliders, elbow sliders, secondary knee guards, hip protection, additional leather reinforcement in high risk areas and airbag deploying torso guards are now pretty standard offerings for race suits. With a rugrat now a member of the Miller crew, the time had come for a safety upgrade.
The Alpinestar Missile suit caught my eye. It’s relatively inexpensive, but it’s a proper 1 piece suit with all the latest and greatest safety tech and the additional benefit of being Tech Air compatible, an additional upgrade hopefully to come before race season. Having suffered heat exhaustion after a race before with my current suit, I deliberately chose the option with as much white as possible to help reflect sunlight and keep me a little cooler.
Alpinestar Missile 1-Piece Race Suit
Originally, we found a good deal on Revzilla. Since I’m not blessed with the “Golden Ratio” body type, my old two piece was one size in the jacket and another in the pants so for the one piece we had to make an educated guess. Even after a chat with Revzilla customer support, unfortunately, we got the sizing wrong and had to return it. On the plus side the return process was relatively painless and the return credit was processed quickly.
While waiting on our return credit, we took a trip to Performance Cycle of Colorado down in Englewood to make sure we got the sizing right. Much to my surprise, they had some Missile suits on sale for a bit less than the Revzilla, so we just bought the suit there. For anyone who hasn’t been yet, Performance Cycle is a great riding gear store. There’s lots of selection and, conveniently, an Aprilia RSV4 right next to the changing rooms so you can get in a full tuck to see how a suit feels on a bike.
Performance Cycle of Colorado, Englewood, CO
Finally home with the new suit, like a kid with a new toy, I put it on the moment we got inside. My son thought it was really cool (see the five-lows in action below) and promptly reminded me why the safety upgrade was so important.
Emerson Giving Five Lows in Approval of the New Suit, Lakewood, CO, 2022
The next items of business in the safety department are a Tech-Air System and a new pair of boots to replace my current pair which are being held together in places with multiple layers of shoe goo. The Alpinestar SMX-S boots look like a good option.
If you’d like to help me round out my safety package, please consider donating. More updates for the bike coming soon.
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Cheers,
Adam Miller
