Hi! Please extend my best wishes to your wife. As a lady rider, we have fewer options for gear for sure! And manufacturers make either men's gear cut "down" for us or not enough sizing options. Having said that....

I just rode from Florida to NY for Babes Ride Out East Coast 2 weeks ago. I wore Olympia Airglide 3 pants (now on closeout). I like that the armor over the knee is adjustable up and down with Velcro and when you stop for a break, the pant legs unzip all the way up for breathability. I threw out the hip pads and hubby bought me better hip armor through Revzilla, but will continue to wear them.

I usually wear my favorite jacket, the Scorpion Nip Tuck II, most of the year (b/c I live in Florida and rarely need my winter gear--see below). I love this mesh jacket b/c the sides have bungie cords that conform the jacket to your body. If I lose a few pounds I tighten them up, and if I gain a few I can loosen them. This jacket is now on close-out at Revzilla for $129 (I think) if there are any left. There is a butt-pad that goes down to your tailbone--kind of vintage-y looking--that should keep it from riding up when wearing jeans. The Scorpion also has the zipper to attach to moto-pants.

You said your wife was wearing a Joe Rocket jacket...don't Joe Rockets have the straps above and below the elbows to keep the armor from shifting? The Scorpion doesn't have that but it does have narrow, fitted sleeves, unlike other brands that are trying to make one-size-fit-many.

I have an Olympia jacket that I love the hi-viz but hate the cut--the shoulder armor goes down my upper arms b/c I needed an XL to protect the girls, and there's no way to adjust them upwards. Also, the wrist openings are clearly man-sized or assume I weigh 450 pounds b/c I need an XL.

I do not like the Olympia stuff, as much as I like IXS gear. www.ixsusa.com My hubby bought me IXS winter gear, which, in 40-degree rain, kept me (1) dry; (2) warm; and (3) vented. He bought me both the pants and jacket and I have just ordered the Archer summer pants to see if they are better than the Olympias. They are $145 retail, and now they have a US distributor in Deerfield Beach, FL, so in the 48s, you could order them and get them to your retailer practically overnight. They are very nice people and offer great customer service.

I wear a full-face Arai, Olympia leather gloves and just bought IXS mesh gloves for summer. My 20-year-old Olympia gloves wore thru on the NY trip. I'm pretty sure my next helmet will be the Schuberth C3 Pro but not the women's.

Rev'it has good quality men's gear, but I haven't tried it yet. Hubby just bought a hi-viz mesh jacket that is of excellent quality.

And yes, I wear the hi-viz safety vest with reflective stripes over my Scorpion at night and on long trips.

I hope this gives you and your wife some insight on some women's gear I like and I think are of good quality. Again, sorry she experienced road rash and a broken elbow, and I hope she mends quickly.

 

We live and ride mostly north of the 49th. Our vacations are usually 15-21 days riding throughout the USA. Last year we rode throughout the Southeast: Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee (mostly). Road Route 66 from Oklahoma City to California's west coast. We rode the entire time in leathers, both jacket and chaps. We find that when wearing full leathers we do not dehydrate nearly as fast. We find that we'll only get so "hot" because once we start to perspire the moisture is maintain "inside" helping to reduce the temperature.
We road across the Great Desert (Mojave Desert) air temperature was 128 and bike was running so hot the temperature gauge was off the scale. We kept the leathers on the whole time even when we visited Seligman and Oatman. Temperature was 110 while visiting these locations which was a small issue compared how the tourists were operating their vehicles.
One last thing; was riding with a buddy who was riding "unprotected". Unfortunately; while rounding a corner he rode into road gravel and oil placed there by the Highways Department being used for a quick patch job. No warning signs. Without being too descriptive he was left with bone showing from his elbow to shoulder and from knee to ankle. Once one sees that; protection becomes an issue.
The best to you and your wife.

 

I wear jeans around home, but usually riding pants on longer trips. Almost always a leather jacket, but i'll admit that it get strapped to the back when it get really hot. My biggest problem is that I don't often wear a fullface unless it's raining. I've seen firsthand a fullface save someones life, but 95% of my riding is in a 1/2 helmet. I'm glad your wife is smarter than me!

I hope she heals up and gets back on the saddle. It's a choice all riders make. We know that accidents happen, whether at fault or not, and the results often aren't pretty.

 

Sadly, I'm in agreement. I commute daily in the Texas heat. Mind you, I've been on two wheels on the road since I was 16. I'm now 55. I'm in shorts, tennis shoes and a T-shirt about 80% of the time. Now, funny enough, I'm either in my FF Arai Defiant or my 3/4 Shoei RJ Platinum 100% of the time. I guess I value my noggin more than the rest of me. Yep I get the obligatory derogatory look from about 8 out of 10 riders.


I'm old enough to understand the risk, but sitting at a traffic like for 6 minutes in Dallas in 98 degree heat just sucks, and I refuse to keep a $26k bike in the garage.

 

........

 

many years of road racing has shown me what happens when you have a come off. While I dont wear full leathers any more I do always wear a full face helmet and always a good quality one, leather gloves and boots. In the spring to early summer I have a pretty heavy and armored leather jacket. This is my first year in a mesh jacket. It the light Harley branded one. Even though it a descent jacket I don't think it would hold up well sliding down the road. It does have the pockets for armour just haven't purchased it yet. I do wear just jeans when riding and yes I have melted more than a few pairs while crashing in my younger days.

 

I wear a full face helmet, an HD "Fulton" which is a re-branded Bell Qualifier. I also wear a Vanson leather jacket, a pair of HD engineer boots I got in Florida on my honeymoon 20 years ago and for gloves a pair of Oakley "Factory Pilots". No high horse or judgement from me it's just what I choose to wear these days. A lot of miles behind me in jeans and a t-shirt and no helmet when visiting Maine and NH etc. Ride safe everyone and best wishes to OP's wife.

 

As usual, you get one pertinent response to your question, and then their off...answers to questions nobody ever voiced! LOL.

My ATGATT ensemble is: armoured mesh jacket (Pilot brand), Keen hiker shoes or Bates boots if on a real ride, and long pants (Tourmaster mesh pants with armour if on a full ride). Always wear a helmet, but leave the chin bar up if just putting around in town. Leather gloves. And yeah, it's hot but so what? I'm gonna take a shower at night on hot summer nights anyway, so once I break a sweat I really don't give a **** after that.

Sorry for your wife. You didn't say: was the mesh jacket armoured or just mesh?

 

As hot as it is in Missouri right now I'm hot no matter what I wear. What seems to work fairly well for me is a tank top under my hi viz Joe Rocket mesh jacket. I wear full finger breathable leather gloves, jeans and Bates over the ankle boots. I'm still trying to make myself wear my Arai full face but I always seem to reach for my 3/4 Bell Custom 500.

 

Full face helmet, gloves, boots and Kevlar jeans. Vest when it is just too hot for a jacket.