Here's a photo of my jacket, gloves and helmet. I went with a pair of Teknic gloves, a Field Sheer jacket and a Shoei X-Eleven helmet. You can read about the helmet here: Shoei X-Eleven.

I finally picked up my bike this weekend. It rides like a dream!
First impressions:
I've owned a MINI Cooper S for a little over a year now, and have gotten used to waving back to a MINI motorer every now and then. I've forgotten how much more fellow motorcyclists wave to one another -- acknowledging each other's bind with the steel horse.
I don't know if it's the particular model of bike that I got or what, but on my very first day people came up to me and started asking questions about the bike as soon as they recognized I was a motorcyclist.
Holding my helmet and wearing my Field Sheer jacket, on Sunday I was at the mall to get my haircut and a middle-aged man came right up to me and asked me what I rode. He then told me about his bike (yammie R1) and how he loves it even though it is too powerful for him. The biker community seems much more approachable than the snooty NoVa MINI community for sure.
Yesterday I was at Old Navy looking for some shorts and a salesman came right up to me (what do you ride?" he said. I replied and he in turn said, "I ride a gixxer. 600. How long have you been riding?" ... and the conversations continue to go on like this ...
Today I was about to get on my bike after running an errand at the Container Store in Clarendon. A Middle Eastern man came up to me and asked, "Is this the '06 or the '07?" We then proceeded to talked about our love for Yamaha's and Ducattis.
It seems like a tighter knit community than MINIs, with many more enthusiasts.
Next up, some photos of the new bike.