If you read my
long-term review on my 20,000-miles old Alpinestars Stella S MX-5 motorcycle boots, you know that I am a fan. So, it was a major decision for me to even consider changing boots and brands, even if it wasn't necessarily for a replacement boot, but for track-dedicated, improved foot and ankle protection.
Not that the Stella S MX-5s didn't provide great protection. As I may have mentioned, I've had a road mishap, or three, including dropping a 420lb Yamaha on my lower leg, and my Alpinestars ensured that I walked, rather than crawled, away from scenes of poor decision-making (cagers and mine, alike).
But I am scheduled for a day at Virginia International Raceway for Keith Code's
Superbike School. Its for the one-day, Level I class.
I have braking issues going into turns: I don't brake hard enough, I brake too soon, and I try to enter the turn far too early. This, in turn (pun intended), creates all sorts of issues during the actual event. I'd say I have poor turn and braking technique, except as far as I can tell, I have no discernible technique to mention.
The school is going to cure my lack of turn and braking technique. I am very excited about this. And a little nervous. You'll be sharing the experience with me here on EMD, but I'm the one who actually gets to ride the BMW S1000RR. Life is good!
But I'm digressing... shocker.
I am not attending the school to discover my inner-Ben Spies. And certainly not my inner-Xaus or Simoncelli:
The point of attending the school is to become a better, more confident, rider. To get more out of my riding experience and my motorcycles. I am not planning to do anything that would necessarily end with me on the ground.
But accidents happen. I think that's why they are called accidents. And I do play up in the mountains, and perhaps I might ride a little faster than I should on occasion. But just a little faster, officer, promise!
And as much as I enjoy a good ride through the sweepers and twisties, I equally value my ankle and shin bones. Preferably not crush, shattered, shaken or stirred.
My Alpinestars S MX-5s are great, but there are boots engineered for track-use specifically and which will afford even more protection. With the class only two and a half weeks away, I decided it was time to upgrade my boots: The Sidi Vertigo Lei.
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| The pink in the picture is far lighter than the raging hot pink in real-life |
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First, I will point out that there are a great many boots out there that I would have liked to have tried. Except I'm a girl and I wear a size 4.5 in men's U.S. sizes. Factor in these two minor details, and my options are drastically reduced.
Plus I am a Ducati girl. I know. Its this mentality that gives Ducati and its legion aficionados a bad name among motorcyclists. But I drank the Kool Aid, I confess.
I use Dainese jackets and gloves. The helmets on my shelf are Italian-made: two Suomy Spec 1r Extremes and one Nolan lid. My bike wears Pirelli tires and sports
Termignoni silencers. Although I did go with the Gilles adjustable rearsets, not the
Rizomas.
Its okay to mock me. I realize the above confession renders me as shallow as a forkful of soup.
Particularly when my favorite gear, other than the Dainese mesh jacket, is Alpinestars. And, knowing this, I still went and purchased the Sidi boots because they have a neat little Italian flag on them.
And a hideous pink design.
Why would Sidi take a black boot, with red and white accents, and that little green-white-red flag, and slap on hot pink squigglies? You know, because that doesn't clash at all.
Oh, yeah, silly me, its a women's boot. Of course it must have pink somewhere.
And it did. Right up until I located my black sharpie. Huge improvement.
What? They clashed with my motorcycle, too. The hot pink totally messed with my 848Evo Dark's stealth mojo.
I have mixed feelings about the Vertigo's fit. There is a great deal of room in the heel and extra material in front of my ankle. And I'm not sure I would want to make the two-mile trek to the gas station with these on my feet.
But then again, if I run out of fuel on the track, the meat cart will come pick me and my moto up, at which time, I will be claiming catastrophic electrical failure.
The back of the boot has a unique adjustable system around the calf that provides an exact fit. Plus the little adjustor and nylon cords look really cool. And speaking of cool, there is a large adjustable vent on the side of the boot to serve as built-in air-conditioning.
Sliders and plates and the resin ankle ball are bolted on to ensure they stay on the boot when you need them the most. Sidi's patented and trademarked Vertebra System protects the Achilles tendon.
The Sidi Vertigo are armored-up, if not padded down for comfort. A bit of bike time will conform the boot liner to my feet, which will help fit considerable.
The hot pink squiggles would be the laziest attempt at signaling a women's boot ever, except somewhere I am sure someone has proposed hot pink flowers and butterflies. That would be the laziest.
Note to Sidi: Its not that I oppose pink. I like pink. I would consider wearing pink gear or gear with pink accents. But gratuitously slapping pink on a boot, when it clashes with the rest of the accents, simply because its a "female" boot is lazy and insulting. Next time, hire a professional fashion consultant or talk to real female riders out at a track day. Coming next weekend, how the Sidi Vertigo Lei responds when required to brake, shift, and balance on a real live moving bike. But not a Ducati. Also coming soon: my new 1995 Honda CBR900RR.
For more information on the Sidi
Vertigo and Vertigo Lei boots, contact Megan, at: Megan@atlcmotorcycles.com, or David, at: David@pure-ducati.com.
Cheers!
