08/132008
by Elden Carl
MSM Squadron 1 member Mel Clark has headed back south from Canada, but it almost
didn’t happen. Seems like our Homeland Security wanted more than a passport from
England and he came up short on paperwork. They finally gave him 3 months to visit
and then he must leave.
Mel’s plan is to enjoy the western U.S. before heading south of the border again; but
only after a full KLR650 tune up from Kenney “M”.
This time Mel will travel South America which should easily make him the most traveled
motorcyclists of our hemisphere.
very much and I decided to give them a try also. I tried on his size large gloves and was
surprised that they fit me fairly well since I have always worn XL gloves. Elden did say
that they were a bit snug when he first tried them but that they loosened up with wear. Just to be sure on the fit, I ordered a pair of extra large (10 1/2-11) and looked forward
to getting a new pair of gloves. Elden picked up the new gloves for me and I took them
home expecting to use them on a ride the next day. When I tried them on prior to the
ride I was surprised to find that they were extremely tight and my fingers were jammed
against the ends. I remembered what Elden said about his being snug at first, so on
they went – and off I went – on the street ride. After about an hour of riding I started
noticing that my hands were cramping and that two of my fingers were going to sleep. I did two other street rides with the same result but the real test was an overnight Baja
ride. I brought my old gloves as back-up. Well, it didn’t take long for the cramping
hands and sleepy fingers to appear again, but I didn’t use my old gloves as I was
determined to get these new gloves stretched out to where they were comfortable. It
never happened.After two unanswered e-mails to Scorpion I finally got through to Customer Service on
the phone and they assured me that I could return the gloves to where they were
purchased (House of Motorcycles) and just re-order a pair of XXL. Speaking of House
of Motorcycles; I want to thank Parts Manager Steve Harber and Bronson Fegurgur for
going way out of the way to help resolve this matter. I was happily surprised that they
went to all that trouble for an inexpensive pair of gloves. Now that’s what I call good
customer relations.
I had been considering a new helmet, so while at House I decided to try on a Scorpion
helmet. Again I chose an XL size like all my other helmets. I couldn’t even get it started
over my head. The XXL was a little better but still wouldn’t go on. The XXXL did go on
and felt fine but I still ordered a different brand because I was afraid of facing the same
return problem with Scorpion.
I’m not criticizing Scorpion products; as a matter of fact I think they make some good
quality stuff at reasonable prices but they sure do need to have better control of sizing
gloves and helmets to fit American body parts.
I usually try on any apparel type products before ordering them, but in this case I
“assumed” XL is XL for every brand. We’ve all heard about “assuming” anything and I
really blew it on this one, so take a lesson from my mistake when buying helmets, gloves
or clothing. Don’t “assume” your normal size will always fit and check on the return
policy too.
