i need a good pair of leather motorcycle gloves for a female bike rider anyone got any recommendations ?

If you are in the Leicester, Burton or Loughborough area, pop in to Arnolds Motorcycles, they have a good range and staff that you can talk to.

If in Loughborough, you could always ask my wife, who runs the clothing section at that store.

BTW, Oxford hot grips are great and a bar muff will provide extra thermal insulation too.

A sport bike is not really a good choice for you. The average sport bike has a 30" seat height. You can get a lowering kit for some, but this will only lower the seat about 2". It is hit and miss on which bikes can be lowerd and by how much. It will take some research on your part to find a lowering kit for your bike. If you can't install it yourself, you will have to pay someone to do it for you. The problem is that if the seat is too high, you won't be able to put both feet on the ground. You may need to lean the bike some to the side. This will place the bike off balance and you risk dropping the bike. Although you are against them, you should give a cruiser bike a try. Many of them come with low seats. There are several models that are low enough that you should be more comfortable on them. Honda Shadow VLX. It has the lowest seat height that I have seen, 25.6". This is a small cruiser. This is a 538 CC liquid cooled V-twin. It should have plenty of power for you. I would go to a dealer and sit on one first and see how well you can put both feet on the ground while stopped. They sell new for $5500. You may be able to find a good used one if this is too much. If you want something with a smaller engine, the Honda Rebel has a 234CC parallel twin engine. It has a 26.6" heat height. They go new for about $3200. They have been around a while so you might be able to find a good used one. This is also considered a small cruiser. The Yamaha Star V-Star 250 might be acceptable with a seat height of 27" This is a cruiser style V-twin. But this may be pushing the limit for someone with short legs. These sell new for about $3700. The Suzuki GZ 250 is considered a standard bike. This bike has a 27.8" seat height. It has a 250 CC single cylinder engine. This bike may also be pushing the limits for someone with short legs. These sell for about $3250. The Honda Night Hawk has the same 234CC parallel twin engine as the Honda Rebel, but has a higher seat at 29.3". This may be too high. Some people might say the Kawasaki Ninja 250R. However this bike has a seat height of 30.5". This would be a poor choice for someone with short legs. Get yourself enrolled in a motorcycle safety course.

Believe it or not, there are very few glove mfrs who make gloves specifically for women. I've never understood this, as women's hands are definitely different in size and shape to most men's hans. That said, if you check out oncycles.com, specifically here http://search.oncycles.com/search?s=glove+women, you'll find some good choices of gloves made to fit women. As for cold, the problem with cold weather gloves is that they require insulation, and insulation makes the gloves less flexible (harder to ride with), and more bulky. Thus, glove underliners like these http://www.oncycles.com/catalog.asp?r=1&pn=RGV0150... can be a great solution. I carry a pair of these all the time, as they can be added or removed when needed. Of course, heated grips are also an option. The folks at oncycles are always happy to help out, so call and ask for Jenifer if you need more info. Good luck.

The link below has a very nice selection of motorcycle gloves.

However buying online would not be my first choice for gloves. This is because it is very hard to try on a pair of gloves online. Personally, I would try some of your local motorcycle dealers. Most sell apparel. If you go to the dealer you can actually try on the gloves before you buy. You may spend a little more money but you will have a pair of gloves that fit well and are comfortable.

Try glove liners, just got the medium weight (see link below) for $15. They do fit comfortably inside gloves I thought were tight. Much cheaper than a new pair of winter gloves, and not as bulky.

Heated clothing (a vest) will keep you warmer all over too.

There are heated gloves, but heated grips are a great solution. I won't ride without them anymore.

I don't like winter type gloves for riding a motorcycle. It makes it hard to grip the throttle and change to the brake and clutch - slowing my reaction times. With heated grips and a medium weight winter glove, I can have the best of both worlds.

Here is one site for gloves and heated grips, among many other items.

Textile is better than leather for cold and wet conditions.

Any glove good enough to work for long in the current UK conditions will be too thick for safe use of the controls.

You need to get heated grips and/or handlebar muffs.

Most larger bike dealers will be able to help.

I find the best result is to wear my normal gloves with a pair of silk liner gloves underneath and to use bar muffs. I also find that if my gloves are slightly longer than my fingers they tend to keep me warmer.

If the wind is causing your discomfort, there are companies that make wind-proof gloves, Olympia is one of them

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/1/37/27389/...

not sure what you ride on, you could check for a kit to allow you to install heated grips, BMWs have that feature available on most models, though the in-dash flow-thru heater is standard on the RT models, it draws heated air from the oil cooler and directs it at your hands while you ride, both are great

I also have a heated vest, but rarely use it anymore.

try inner gloves , over mitts or the ones that you fit on the motorbike . heated grips are also an option . you don't really need motorbike gloves i use ski gloves they work just as well and were much cheaper . try lidls supermarket that's where i got mine