Review - Racer High End Gloves

I had heard of these gloves a while back and they seemed to disappear for a while. Now they are back and I'm glad. :D
These gloves are flat out awesome!!! Absolutely the best gloves that I have ever owned. There are several key features that make these gloves stand out:

General Shot of the Gloves:

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Carbon Fiber Knuckle Protector:
Very solid and nice looking piece of protection covering each knuckle and joint.

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Pinkie Finger Sewed To Ring Finger:
This is a nice little feature that I have seen on a couple of gloves. It sounds like it would be constricting but you honestly don't even notice. There is enough "wiggle room" to be comfortable while still providing protection.


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Palm Sliders:
For lack of a better name. LOL I can tell you from 1st hand experience that in any wreck - your hands take a real beating. I broke most of the left side of my body in a wreck a few years ago and the heel of my hand was one of the most painful things I endured. These gloves have a lot of padding and these hard carbon fiber "sliders" seem like they will provide a lot of protection and help you in a wreck. These sliders are placed strategically all along the gloves.

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Kangaroo Skin Palm:
This is a HUGE plus. Kangaroo skin is simply the best thing that you can get in a glove. In fact - once you get it - you probably won't settle for anything less in the future.

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Extra Grip on Finger Tips:
A nice little feature that will help on either the track or the street.

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Extra Protection on Pinkie:
LOL - The designer of this glove has definitely done his homework. I really like the additional padding. It does not interfere with your grip in any way.

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Two Velcro Straps:
I guess this is getting to be standard but I thought that I would mention it. These gloves have one Velcro strap that tightens around your wrist and one that wraps around your forearm. The latter can be arranged to either go over your jacket or under.

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Slim Profile:
I put these gloves next to my Arlan Ness for comparison. As you can see - they are more slim and they feel quite a bit better. Pre-curved grip also adds to the comfort.

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OK - that is just about the whole enchilada. I really can't pick out a negative. Even the price was fair for what you are getting. I paid $188 and felt like I got a great deal.
I emailed Motostrano for a price match (against motorcyclesuperstore) and they not only lowered their prices but they beat MSS by $8. Good fast customer service also. I was impressed. I chose to stay away from Ebay on this because I have been seeing a lot of "less than perfect" stuff on there lately. The price difference was about $10 and I thought it was worth it to know what I was getting and have a guarantee.
I would recommend these gloves to anyone. I chose them because I'm going to be doing some track days this year and I felt like I needed the best gloves that I could get. IMHO - I think these are fantastic and if you buy a pair - they will quickly become your favorite gloves (or at least one of them) :D

EDIT:
I forgot to mention the sizing:
I am exactly in between a L and XL. These gloves are XL and they fit me perfectly so I would say they fit about a half size smaller than "normal".
 
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Thanks for the great review. I agree that they appear to have a lot of protection, especially for your pinky, palms, and knuckles. Thanks for posting!

By the way, how is the "fit" as compared to their listed size? I know sometimes you need to go up a size from what you normally wear if they run a little small.
 
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Nice gloves and thanks for the review. I was going to buy a new pair after this summer. Think I will look into these.

Poor Kangaroo
 
Thanks for the great review. I agree that they appear to have a lot of protection, especially for your pinky, palms, and knuckles. Thanks for posting!

By the way, how is the "fit" as compared to their listed size? I know sometimes you need to go up a size from what you normally wear if they run a little small.


Thank you!!!
I forgot to mention that.
The fit is a little small. I am right between a L to XL. It's been a significant problem over the years and I am squarely in the middle. These XL gloves fit me like a glove. So I would say they run maybe a half size small.
 
Nice gloves and thanks for the review. I was going to buy a new pair after this summer. Think I will look into these.

Poor Kangaroo

LOL I heard they're endangered for a while and people couldn't get kangaroo skin gloves but I think the ban has been lifted now.
Whatever happened - their skin make very nice gloves. :D

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Thanks to your report and another great review from a FJR bud who wore his out I going to get a pair from casporttouring.com for 179.98. (best price I could find)

Thanks for the sizing tip, same as the other report.

Aussies must have small hands:poke:
 
Just had one thing to add to this report: end
After putting about 5K miles on these gloves - I can tell you that they are very durable with NO signs of breaking down. I was a little worried about the kangaroo skin palms. They are so soft that I was worried that they would not be durable but I was wrong. You definitely get what you pay for in this situation.
The only negative that I can find is a personal thing. On long rides I have gotten in the habit of grabbing the ends of my handlebars. It helped me keep the throttle "locked" by putting the palm of my hand on both the throttle and the bar end. Anyway - just a habit I have gotten into. Well if you do this - the "palm sliders" (my wording) do kind of get in the way. Since they are hard carbon fiber, they make it impossible to put tension on both the throttle and the bar end. It's not a huge deal and it's very easy to work around......I just thought I would mention it. Probably has to do with me sitting around being bored also :eyebrow:
 
LOL I heard they're endangered for a while and people couldn't get kangaroo skin gloves but I think the ban has been lifted now.
Whatever happened - their skin make very nice gloves. :D

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Don't worry about roos whatever you hear over there there has never been more! I live in a coastal suburb and can go 5min up the road and get a photo of at least 50 any day. These will be greys go west and the reds (BIG) are everywhere.
 
racer gloves

I don't have any experience with the "high End" gloves, but I do have experience with the Racer Multi-top, which a waterproof, armored, kangaroo-palmed gloves. They are extremely well made. I also have a pair of Held Steve gloves and I think the quality of the Racer gloves are equal to or better than the Helds. I bought mine from a very nice guy in Daytona Beach. He has a small shop and will do you right on the price on any Racer gloves. Here's his website - and, yes, the phone number is part of the website.

Monkey Works Cycle Inc, South Daytona FL 32119
 
Are they a summer or winter glove ,summer temps here [ Aussie] can get pretty hot

Yah, for summer weather --perforated.


They are perforated and quite a bit lighter than my Arlen Ness. I would almost call them light to middle weight gloves.

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The back has the perforation but the palm does not. I guess that is common sense but I thought I would throw that out since were just talking :D
I saw your question before I went to work today and so I wore these gloves on the morning commute to work. It was bitter cold this morning - in the 30's (my bike is my every day driver right now). I was freezing and my hands were frozen!!!! So they are definitely NOT cold weather gloves.
In contrast I have ridden with them in the summer and they held up very well. Of course with any leather glove - you will get hot when the temperatures get high enough but they do take the heat pretty well.
I keep comparing them to my Arlen Ness just because that is the only other pair of gauntlet type gloves that I have right now. Those are good gloves and I wear them fairly often so I'm not knocking on the AN Gloves. The Rider Gloves are a lot lighter and thinner. Not bulky in any way. That is the biggest difference that I can explain (from other gauntlet gloves). They also seemed to "break in" quite a bit easier than other gloves that I have had in the past. I really can't say enough about the kangaroo skin so if you go that way I don't think you can go wrong.



....
 
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I may have forgot to post this up but I crash tested my High End Gloves this fall when a deer hit me at 55mph.

These gloves are AWESOME! I slid and tumbled around 100 feet on the asphalt. The gloves were scuffed and the carbon sliders were worn but no where did the gloves fail and allow skin to contact the road surface as I was sliding.

The gloves could be used (I did for a short while) but I bought the same High End Glove when the insurance check arrived as I felt I had gotten my monies worth in the crash.

They are a bit stiff when new but once broke in the fit like - yes I will say it- a glove, very comfortable. Well worth every cent- great glove!
 
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