Riding Gear

[luvtoride]

Mark, be advised... the Motoport/Cycleport gear that folks are pushing is expensive, top of the line gear. Definitely, I do think that it is "exceptionally" good gear. I really wished that I had some, myself. I just cannot afford it right now. If you aren't looking to spend a lot of money there are quite a few other brands that are going to cost less and afford some decent protection. Some protection is going to be better than none.

Guys, maybe ya'll can give some advice on some gear for the monetarily impaired? Perhaps some advice on materials, fit, etc?

Something else to take into account. If the armor in whatever you buy... or in the JR jacket that you just acquired, isn't CE approved body armor, perhaps you might think about upgrading the armor to CE approved stuff.

Olympia, Tourmaster, Cortech, First Gear... all make reasonably priced, decent gear. Fieldsheer... now, I'm not a fan of Fieldsheer but have a few friends that are. They are definitely more reasonably priced than a lot of other manufacturers.

I did a 60 MPH slide on pavement last year & didn't get hurt. I wasn't wearing motoport or Aerostich. My point is, some gear is better than none.

Heidi

 

[RsvlFeej]

Yep. I have a TourMaster Intake Air 2 jacket. So far so good. To me, the liners (rain liner <which also doubles as a good windbreaker> and colder-weather liner) makes this jacket an all-in-1 purchase.
My latest gear investment is TourMaster Venture Air riding pants.

I've been riding with the _exact_ same pairing since late last summer. I've ridden it at -4C and up to +27C so far. Its handled it all perfectly. Excellent for the price. (newenough.com - can't recommend them highly enough).

-Steve

I'm not particularly impressed with how much protection I got from my TourMaster Draft jacket in my low-side this past Monday. Sub 25 mph, slid less than 20 feet, and the asphalt road surface wasn't particularly rough. Of course I have no idea how much more closely I would now resemble hamburger had I been in my old JoeRocket jacket

Mesh didn't fare so well

Supposedly tougher stuff at the armor point didn't do too well either (I'm reaching through the gaping hole in the mesh)

First Gear overpants did a much better job of protecting me (no abrasions at all), but zippers have been slightly problematic from within the first couple of months (pulls breaking off, fly fastener wouldn't stay closed).

More grist for your clothing-choice mill,

RsvlFeej

 

[luvtoride]

I'm not a huge fan of mesh gear... but here in Norfolk, as it is further south, it's necessary if you're going to ride certain months of the year.

Where mesh is concerned, I like the mesh that has leather in high impact areas such as the Cortech GX Air jacket.

I was wearing my winter jacket in my getoff last year & not mesh. My jacket was a Cycloak GT Pro jacket & I was wearing the First Gear overpants.

I faired very well.

PS... OUCH Rsvl

 

[Ramblin Man]

where was your armour?

 

[RsvlFeej]

where was your armour?

Over my elbow, where it was supposed to be. Even had the forearm velcro strap cinched down fairly well. I hit just far enough off center (actually I'm kind of grateful for that, since crushed elbows are VERY bad) to shove the armor neatly out of the way - wouldn't want it to get all scuffed up.

 

[madmike2]

Patrick...sorry to read the bad news. Skin will heal, but it hurts like ...well....it hurts. I'll PM you later.

Gentlemen (and Ladies)....I reiterate: MotoPort.com Kevlar mesh is your friend and protector.

If you ride in climates where the heat is a major issue and you want protection that comes closer to leather (we are not supposed to be racing...) than anything made of "less-than-cow" (or Moose or Bison), think Kevlar mesh. I ride in 100+ degree weather in the Summer. I don't know how you riders fare so well in the high humidity some of you ride in, so you must have clothing that "breathes".

It saved my live...no kidding...and it saved my skin. I passed out and fell off my KLR @ 35-45 mph, slid on the pavement and went head first into a guard rail support beam. NO ABRASION! One scar on the top side of my left wrist because I was wearing my watch (Which I no longer do while riding!), the band broke and the watch cocked up under my apparel and dug into my arm.

[SIZE=8pt](Well, there's the small issues of 2 cracked vertebrae, right shoulder blade cracked in 2 places, multiple cracked ribs and a concussion that left blood on my brain for 4 weeks...other than that??? I would have made a handsome corpse, because I wasn't road-rashed!)[/SIZE]

 

[amansker]

Also, kudos to you for realizing that road rash hurts...a LOT

And worse . . . I saw a guy wearing blue jeans do a low side at 35mph. It ripped away a significant portion of the skin over his knee so you could see about 70% of the knee bone, including the the bottom edge at one place. It was not pretty and required some skin grafting. I still wear jeans for brief 20 mile commutes, but they are mandatory for a "Saturday ride" or long-distance.

 

[amansker]

Guys, maybe ya'll can give some advice on some gear for the monetarily impaired?

I can recommend the Joe Rocket REvolution jacket for an inexpensive solution. I have been happy for 3 years and 30k or so. They can be had for cheap.

Some reviews:

https://www.motorcyclegearreview.com/reviews.php?prodID=1015

$99.95

https://www.motoxoutlet.com/index.asp?PageA...&ProdID=202

 

[Docholiday]

+1 on the Motoport mesh gear. Wear it all year round and find it comfortable. I have the ultra II jacket and pants but am considering the Air Mesh for the summer. Don't know how much difference it will make. My coat is 6 years old and has no appreciable sign of wear other than a slight fading of the color. It is nice to be able to wash out the road grime.

 

[Jetmaker737]

I have an Olympia Airglide 2 jacket that I'm very happy with. Very comfortable and stout. Stays cool too. It replaced a firstgear meshtex that was pretty flimsy... fortunately not crash tested though.

I've had the same issues with firstgear pant zippers mentioned earlier. Get a different brand.

That motoport stuff is pricey and frankly looks pretty bulky. I've seen pics of people wearing it and they look like stay-pufft marshmallow men. Is it better than it looks for comfort and mobility?

 

[wfooshee]

Comparing my lowside to the gear pictured above, I had a Cortech HRX, which has leather on the shoulders and elbows, and it fared much better than that. Main body of the jacket is mesh, but good armor, and leather impact areas. No skin damage, about 30 mph, and a cat that owes me one of his lives. The jacket pictured above kinda looks like it rolled around his arm and presented a non-impact surface to the pavement.

Oh. Tour Master Venture Air pants, very slight knee skuff on one, no other damage to them. And I'm convinced that the boots saved me from a broken ankle. It was sprained, hyper-extended my foot by catching the toe on the pavement. Only mark on the boot is a scuff on the top of the toe! Shoes with no ankle support would have allowed more rotation of my foot, I'm sure, so don't forget boots when you're talking gear!

 

[Av8rider]

RsvlFeej, Sorry to hear about your accident. :blink:

I purchased the same jacket with my FJR but exchanged it for an Olympia mesh jacket. Not so much because I thought it added better protection but its florescent yellow so people can see it coming for blocks.

I'm in Los Angeles where its been over 100 degrees for the better part of a week and Ive seen an amazing number of riders, mostly cruisers, riding in shorts and T-shirts. The whole attitude for dressing safely seems to be more prevalent in sport touring bikes than in cruisers. Obviously I ride with a helmet, gloves and a jacket but I'm almost always in jeans. But I'm certainly rethinking that after seeing your pictures. Thanks.

At the risk of hijacking this thread, if you don't mind what happened?

 

[luvtoride]

So, nobody is going to tell Mark about the importance of proper fitment of riding gear & loosy goosey ain't so good?

About the motoport gear. I do fully agree about its good points... & wish that I had a suit, myself.

What may possibly turn Mark off is once he checks the price on it. Over $400.00 dollars for a pair of pants is steep for someone just starting out with gear unless you have some disposable income. I don't remember what the jacket costs. I do believe that a jacket is more expensive than the pants & will easily cost you upwards of $900.00 or over for a full suit.

Definitely, it is really good stuff, though. I am not saying that it isn't.

Something that should be strongly suggested to Motoport... They really need to make some gear... particularly jackets, that are geared towards a woman's unmanly shape. I had a friend... a woman friend that had a Motoport suit. She sold it because of the fit & feel of it.

 

[BikerGeek99]

Obviously I ride with a helmet, gloves and a jacket but I'm almost always in jeans. But I'm certainly rethinking that after seeing your pictures.

This is my girlfriend's knee after her low-speed getoff into the dirt - she ran off the asphalt riding area during her MSF beginners course. She was wearing jeans. They split like a hot knife through warm butter.

This is the reason why she and I recently invested in riding pants.

 

[Neil San Diego]

Something that should be strongly suggested to Motoport... They really need to make some gear... particularly jackets, that are geared towards a woman's unmanly shape. I had a friend... a woman friend that had a Motoport suit. She sold it because of the fit & feel of it.

They will make a custom fit riding suit for you; no extra charge IIRC. You send in a pair of jeans and/or jacket that fits you well, and they use it as a template for your custom riding suit. My wife has a set of stretch kevlar from them and it fits her womanly shape fairly well.

 

[amansker]

Motoport started here in Escondido, CA (I think that was there first little outlet). They closed that store after expanding to the Palomar Airport Road (kinda, sorta) location in Carlsbad. I haven't been in there for a few years, but they used to have lots of sales, blems, etc. right there at the factory.

 

[mfletch69]

I have used my MotoPort mesh Kevlar gear as low as -5 (with rain and thermal liner) and all the way up to 95 degrees. My high of 95 is no were near the limit, it is just the hottest I have been in since getting the gear.
I also rode though hail slightly smaller then golf balls for 4-5 minutes in Oklahoma, before I got to a underpass. The armor is great protection.

In my opinion the MotoPort mesh get with the jacket and pant rain liners will handle your temperature requirements. If, you start riding in temps below 45 degrees I would consider the jacket thermal liner as well. In addition, it the gear is rock solid and will save your elbows in a crash.

+1. I love my Motoport kevlar mesh. Pricy, but worth every penny. The pants are actually cooler that jeans. I agree with John's statement about the rain liner. Skip the thermal liner unless you ride in really cold climates. I rode in NC last week at 48 degrees and threw on some Smartwool long underwear - comfy. Now I need the gloves.

 

[TexasFJR]

good site for bike related gear reviews....https://www.webbikeworld.com/

Roadgear makes some good shit.

 

[RsvlFeej]

Obviously I ride with a helmet, gloves and a jacket but I'm almost always in jeans. But I'm certainly rethinking that after seeing your pictures. Thanks.
At the risk of hijacking this thread, if you don't mind what happened?

Glad some good (you thinking of going atgatt) may come of my little road rash.

What happened is in Post #7 here: https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=104505

Boils down to: Riding while not focused.

 

[Neil San Diego]

Motoport started here in Escondido, CA (I think that was there first little outlet). They closed that store after expanding to the Palomar Airport Road (kinda, sorta) location in Carlsbad. I haven't been in there for a few years, but they used to have lots of sales, blems, etc. right there at the factory.

Actually, his newest place is in San Marcos, just off the 78 at the Twin Oaks Valley exit. IIRC, he moved there a couple of years ago from the Carlsbad place. FYI...