After recently purchasing a Shark “Faster” two-piece leather suit and being suitably impressed Motorbike Writer correspondent Marty Thompson ordered a set of Shark GP16gloves.
I phoned Shark Leathers and within five minutes had confirmation of stock, size and colour, payment made (currently on sale at $99 down from $299) and the gloves were on their way. Kudos to the staff, who were fast, efficient and a pleasure to deal with again.
After being incredibly impressed with the road suit, the hope was that the gloves would be more of the same: Well made, quality material s,comfortable, protective and somewhat stylish.
This time, the expectations of the gloves were even further exceeded than the expectations of the suit.
It’s a credit to Shark, they manage to deliver the customer a product that is well constructed, with high-grade materials and most importantly in a glove, well designed with safety at the forefront.
Over the years I have been disappointed many times with gloves who’s price point far exceeded the fit, protection and comfort that was promised in the PR or advertising blurb. With the Shark GP16 glove, it was the complete opposite.
Firstly, the fit was perfect. Measure your hand, give the staff at Shark your dimensions and the correct-sized glove will arrive. Or, try some on and work out your size.
Either way, they are superbly comfortable from the first time you slip them on. Some noteable features are the velcro adjustable wrist strap which ensures the glove is not going to be ripped off your hand if you do have an unfortunate oops.
Race
It also has an appropriate length cuff, with velcro adjustment to make doubly sure the gloves are well secured to your hands and also easily fitted and removed.
There is even a leather cover strip which folds over the wrist strap to protect it from being inadvertently opened if sliding along the tarmac.
The glove is like most race/road gloves of today, featuring hard protectors for the knuckles as well as the finger joints. Padding in between the finger joints also protects from stones or other debris being flicked up from a bike in front.
The palm has additional layers and reinforcement to ensure that a long slide gives more than adequate protection from heat burn.
There are also extra padded areas on the heel of the palm and inside the grip area.
A feature I like is the stretch panelling in between each of the fingers in the glove, making them even more comfortable, without compromising any protection.
The leather is both thick and supple. From the first wear they do not suffer from the stiff feel which some new gloves display; even on the straight boring bits where a slightly uncomfortable glove can start to annoy.
There are is also plenty of ventilation across the top of the hand to ensure that heat does not build up making warmer weather riding far more enjoyable.
