by Lee on January 24, 2012
by Lee
on January 24, 2012
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Motorcycle Race Suits and Christmas Wishes
The Komodo Gear Challenger race suit is the result of the company’s commitment to the “people” who race! When Komodo Gear (www.komodogear.com) entered the motorcycle racing industry, it was not because the sport needed another company to manufacture leather motorcycle road racing suits, but because the industry did need a company that put a face on the racers that participated in the sport. From the very beginning, Komodo Gear has been “track side” getting to know the racers and their teams, listening to their ideas for suit design based on the needs they identified, soliciting feedback on the suit designs we manufactured. Because we are “trackside” so much, we have the opportunity to “be there” when a racer crashes, to get the first reactions, to see suits first hand after a crash, and to get a feel for what is working and what is not in our suits as well as others on the market.
Because Komodo Gear builds race suits for people not “markets” our products are dictated by function not form. Originally our race suits were designed and built for the amateur and privateer racer… to provide maximum protection at exceptional value. However, times have changed, and so have the needs of our sport. Unfortunately, “value” has been supplanted by “price” as the operative consideration in choosing a race suit. So, we at Komodo Gear created the Challenger Race Suit (http://komodogear.com/daily-of-the-day/motorcycle-race-suit-the-challenger-new-for-2011/), priced at $700.00 on our web site. We tried to make it cost less but we could not do it and not make it cheap. “Cheap” and “protection” do not belong in the same sentence! But we did make a Komodo quality race suit that is affordable even in today’s environment.
Remember our “Christmas Wish” that your 2012 racing season would be safe and successful! The Challenger race suit will help you fulfill both parts of our wish! Check it out!!
by Lee on December 23, 2011
by Lee
on December 23, 2011
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Leather Race Suits and My Christmas Wish
As I have “blogged” previously, the aspect of Komodo Gear (www.komodogear.com) and its production of leather road racing suits for which I am the most grateful are the people I have meet, and the friends I have made “track side”! This Christmas season, for some reason, has caused me to reflect on how Komodo Gear’s “defiantly different” approach to marketing has changed the way the company thinks about our motorcycle protective gear, such as the Challenger race suit, and the riders that use the products.
From the formation of the company, top management has been committed to a “track side” presence. Initially this was done to better understand the market, and get faster customer “feedback” as we introduced and perfected our products. But early on in the process, those of us involved in the track side activities, found that we anticipated the race weekends with a “glee” that was not present for any other “business” commitments. It became obvious that we looked forward to the weekends because of the “people” we would get to hang out with!
When you get to know, and more importantly really like, the people who use your products, it changes the way you look at “business”. This feeling of responsibility becomes especially keen when it comes to protecting their lives! Komodo Gear was formed as a company to put the racer first! Komodo Gear set out to produce the best value for the money. This “value driven” philosophy has always been fueled by the reality that our customers really are our friends! So, over the years, with the help of our “racer” friends and acquaintances, Komodo Gear perfected and improved our products with the real purpose of making them better, not just making them different so we could have the next year’s model.
So here is my Christmas wish as it relates to leather race suits. May this Christmas find you safe, well and with family and friends who are the same. I hope you are able to participate in the 2012 race season, and do so without serious injury; and may Komodo Gear continue to be a part of your racing experience!
by Lee on December 19, 2011
by Lee
on December 19, 2011
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The Christmas season is a cool time of the year. If for no other reason, than extra days off, and a temporary reduction in the amount of work, unless of course, you are in retail sale, but then “Christmas” usually brings a bigger pay check, or more sales for a company like Komodo Gear (www.komodogear.com)! Now those who know me may think it strange that I do not give the typical religious “lead in “ about the birth of Jesus, and all that stuff. But the reality is that Christmas for many folks is a dreaded and painful time of the year. And the really sad fact is, many of those people are our friends and relatives and we do not even realize it!
Over the past fifty to seventy years, America has become a yearlong “costume party”. We try to be who we think others want us to be, regardless of how miserable it makes us feel. This “image driven” life style fosters superficial relationships and short term business plans. We tend to excuse our voluntary sacrifice of happiness by waiting until we get that new car, better job, more attractive “significant other”, or a thousand other things that keep us from doing what is important to build lasting relationships with the important people in our lives. What a lot of us do, is paint a pair of pajamas to look like a leather race suit, and the wonder why we get a severe road rash when we crash.
So one of my Christmas wishes is that all of us look around at the remaining parties and family gatherings for signs of unhappiness, or ‘connect the dots” of things that have transpired over the last year that have impacted people’s lives. If you notice someone who seems distracted or sad, go over to them and say something nice, or bring them into the conversation. If a friend or relative comes to mind because of a tragedy in their lives, give them a call and make sure they have people around them who care this Christmas. Let’s look beyond ourselves this year!
by Lee on December 14, 2011
by Lee
on December 14, 2011
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What better time than Christmas to reflect on the gifts you have received over the course of your life. When you look at your life in totality, the “crap” and “fluff” tend to blow away like the chaff in a wheat field. The new bike you “lusted after”, that larger trailer that would make “life at the track” so much sweeter, the “championship” that would validate who you are, all seem less important as we think about “our life” as a whole.
Most of you know that I am not a racer. In fact, I had never owned a motorcycle until I became a part of KOMODO (www.komodogear.com)! But I love motorcycle racing, because I have grown to love the people who race! You guys are a bunch of crazy dudes, but undoubtedly the nicest group of people I have ever been around. The company Komodo Gear was established to be a “defiantly different” company not only in the construction of leather race suits and protective gear, but in the way we responded to our customers. A component of being “defiantly different” is to be trackside were we can get to know the racers that are using our racing protective gear and establish relationships that will foster honest feedback as to what we are doing right as well as where we can improve. As I have traveled throughout the United States so that Komodo Gear will be “track side”, the terrain changed, but the people did not! At each new track I visited, I found the same type of people; fierce competitors, devoted friends!
I never cease to be amazed and inspired by the common sight on any race weekend, of racers “smack talking” each other before a race, aggressively battling one another on the track during the race, and immediately after that race; those same two racers feverishly helping each other get their bikes ready for another race! I am not a physiologist, but I am suspicious that the “need for speed” addiction that fuels the sport of motorcycle racing, is itself fueled by the friendships created in the paddock!
by Lee on December 8, 2011
by Lee
on December 8, 2011
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When we were kids on a road trip with our parents, it seemed we would never “get there”!! So I am sure my readers are having the same feelings concerning “the tanning of leather”. But, that is why all leather race suits are not alike! Attention to detail is what sets Komodo Gear (www.komodogear.com) apart from other manufactories of racing leathers.
So, let’s continue on with the final chapter in the transformation of hide into Komodo Gear quality leather. Chromium (III) sulfate ([Cr (H2O) 6]2(SO4)3) has long been regarded as the most efficient and effective tanning agent. Chromium(III) sulfate dissolves to give the hexaaquachromium(III) cation, [Cr(H2O)6]3+, which at higher pH undergoes processes called olation to give polychromium(III) compounds that are active in tanning, being the cross-linking of the collagen subunits. Some ligands include the sulfate anion, the collagen’s carboxyl groups, amine groups from the side chains of the amino acids, as well as “masking agents.” Masking agents are carboxylic acids, such as acetic acid, used to suppress formation of polychromium(III) chains. Masking agents allow the tanner to further increase the pH to increase collagen’s reactivity without inhibiting the penetration of the chromium (III) complexes. Depending on the finish desired, the hide may be waxed, rolled, lubricated, injected with oil, split, shaved and, of course, dyed.
The first stage is the preparation for tanning. The second stage is the actual tanning and other chemical treatment. The third stage, known as retanning, applies retanning agents and dyes to the material to provide the physical strength and properties desired depending on the end product. The fourth and final stage, known as finishing, is used to apply finishing material to the surface or finish the surface without the application of any chemicals if so desired.
Whew! We are finally “there”. “We got leather”! By making sure each step in leather making is carried out properly, Komodo Gear assures that the foundation of our race suits is sound. The quality of our leather is reflected in the safety and durability of ever motorcycle leather race suit we produce!