Gear Replacement

[LazyBeerNutz]

I made a very sad discovery yesterday as I got home from work. My all time favorite riding jacket, after 10 years, the seams are starting to come undone. I spoke it over with my accountant and she has agreed that maybe it's time to replace my riding gear.

So here's a few questions for those of you out there.

1) Leather or Textile? The jacket I'm replacing is the one I wear most days and is the most versatile, with a really warm removable liner and a ton of zippers. I also have a couple of year old mesh jacket (First Gear I believe, haven't pulled it out yet cause it's still cold here in Northern Illinois).

2) Brand? I've read some things about folks around here liking the fieldsheer line of products. How are they at moderate temperatures (35-75 degrees) Like I said, I have the mesh jacket for hot weather.

3) Any good retailers you'd recommend? Or stay away from? I'd like to try one on somewhere but i realize that's not always possible.

4) Pants too? My wife rides in riding pants, I've always ridden in jeans (yeah I know they don't protect, chalk it up to pure stupidity)

I've always been a big fan of leather gear but have realized that other materials have come a long way since I last seriously evaluated gear. I know it's going to come down to a personal preference thing but I'd at least like some opinions.

 

[Capt. Bob]

Here's one option. Clicky

Good in both hot and cold weather but somewhat bulky and $$$$$$$$.

Like mine though.

 

[Geezer]

Hey, if you've been happy with the same gear for ten years then you ought to get the same brand and model is they still make it, or the closest thing to it.

If you really want to shop, I have had good luck with both First Gear and Olympia. I prefer Olympia jacket but their pants don't fit me right. First Gear can sometimes be found on New Enough for a substantial discount. The only deal I've seen on Olympia is a guy on ST.N who has an Ebay store and discounts a little to ST.N members.

 

[Rick_W]

I prefer textile over leather because less upkeep/cleaning is required. Also, you can get textile in a variety of "Do you see me now?" colors.

I have been wearing a First Gear Kilimanjaro 4 jacket for 2 years now along with the First Gear HT 2 Overpants. Been through many a frog strangler and I've never gotten wet. The jacket comes with a fleece liner that works very well for me down to ~50 degrees. This past winter I took the liner out and have been wearing a Warm 'N Safe heated jacket liner, this keeps me comfortable down to the upper 30's. Below that and I wear an Under Armour Cold Gear sweatshirt over the liner. This has kept me comfortable down to the upper 20's.

A great place to buy from is New Enough and they carry Fieldsheer as well as the First Gear products.

 

[FJR Flyer]

I just went through the same process. I've had a FirstGear Speed jacket I think eight years now. Its pretty 'experienced'. And it was more suited, both style and color, to the FJ and not so much to the FJR. I looked at the Transistion 2 jacket at the Indy MotoGP last year and I like the longer style. I've been hawking that jacket, the Olympia, and the FirstGear Kilimanjaro, and a few others. Just happened to find the Kilimanjaro 4 on closeout at cyclegear.com for $170 in my size and in blue. I've had it less than a week, so I'm still getting used to it.

I've got the FirstGear Speed pants but I don't use them much. I use the FirstGear HT and HTAir overpants and I'm really happy with them for daily commuting.

I'm hoping the Kilimanjaro lives up to the hype.

 

[RsvlFeej]

Clicky

Ordered one of these Motoport jackets a couple of days ago; supposed to be close to the best protection you can buy and I have high hopes for comfort as well.

I have one pair of Olympia overpants I really like. Mesh for summer, zip-in liner in in the winter (Okay, for Cali winter, which means I don't go out if it's colder than the high teens, and only for 20 miles or so at that degree of chill). If the Motoport jacket works as well as I hope, I plan to go all-Kevlar later this year. If the Motoport disappoints, I'll stick with the Olympia overpants and just tolerate the jacket for several years.

 

[isuace]

I have the Olympia AST in Hi Viz yellow. I would recommend it, if it fits you.

 

[Old Bear]

+1 on the Olympia Motosports AST. I too have one in Hi-Viz. Three years old, beaucoup miles and it still looks and fits like new ('cept the bug guts :yahoo: ) It's pretty good temp wise from low teens up through about 85 or so. For VERY hot weather I use an Olympia Bushwhacker (vented), also in Hi-Viz.

The color is not the sexiest, BUT people DO SEE YOU, and when you're on two wheels, that's a very important thing! Most BMW dealers stock 'em, or you can order direct from Olympia.

 

[Patriot]

Is the gear in the transmission or the engine - cam or crank ???

oh crap, it's one day past Friday

never mind...

 

[Shane Stump]

I just replaced ALL of my riding gear with Rev'it stuff! The quality is TOP-NOTCH and much better than FG, JR, Olympia, etc but it does cost a little more.

I would recommend going over to the Adventure Rider forum and reading the review of various gear:

https://www.advrider.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=18

Also look @ the reviews on web bike world

https://www.webbikeworld.com

https://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/rev-it/2009/

If you would like to look @ the Rev'it Gear from an EXCELLENT on-line source,

https://www.beachmoto.com

I recently purchased:

Infinity One Piece Suit for business travel when NOT summer.

Cayenne Pro Jacket / Pants for non-business riding in non-summer months.

Turbine Jacket / Pants for summer riding!

It was a lot more $$$ than I wanted to spend, but after seeing my own cheap gear wear out without going down and reading other riders going down with cheap gear on and getting road rash / polyester melting into their skin, I figured it was time to invest in my own safety :yahoo: :yahoo: !

Best regards,

Shane

 

[TILAM]

OK someone had to chip this one in. Aerostich. My Roadcrafter is now in it's 11th year. Stitching is still fine. A few minor issues with the zippers but they still send out the repair kit to me for free. It's faded but in the touring world its a sign of credibility. It's designed for everyday use and just works really well.

Some say they are expensive but I'm now down to $60 per year and no end in sight. Getting cheaper by the day.

Check them out.

 

[Dudewado]

This was a relevent post for me.

I've been wearing Vanson leather jacket and pants for about 5 years.

This is the best gear I've ever had, but even with perforated pants and vented jacket, I've almost died in stop and go traffic

when it gets above 80.

Since I'm looking for gear that covers a wider temp range, I'm looking to replace with some kind of textiles.

Right now I like the look of the Rev'it and Motoport.

Too bad they are both mucho $$$$.

There is a Rev'it dealer in Bend, OR that I plan to visit soon so I can get a closer look.