Sanity Check on my motorport order please

[MGB]

Oh, and congrats on the weight loss!! My wife lost a significant amount of weight (and has kept it off for ten years now) and now works for weight watchers.

 

[Hudson]

Love my Ultra II mesh jacket and pants. Super easy to clean, and it doesn't have the fading of the stretch Hi-Viz.

Here's a couple thoughts on the options:

1. Liners: love em, and they are not at all complicated for the protection they provide. They keep you warm into the low 40's and dry.

2. Pockets: I deleted the top chest pockets, which makes the jacket look nicer and wear a tad less bulky.

3. Go for the quad armor, great stuff! Bulky, but it eventually wears in (I hear).

4. Jacket cuffs/zipper: Ask Wayne about moving the strap that is on the jacket cuffs. The cuff zipper on my jacket had a tendency to "back down" (especially with heavier gloves) and the strap was not across the zipper to stop it from backing down the cuff. If I had to do over, I would have him move the strap so that it covers the zipper area. Others say the zipper issue has been fixed, but worth asking Wayne.

 

[raitchison]

OK I've got an appointment for Friday morning, will be leaving here at 6:30ish to beat most of the L.A. and Orange Country traffic.

I've been working hard since I got this bike to erase the flat spot on the rear tire the original owner put there but ~280 miles of slab will probably undo most of that effort. I'm actually not looking forward to that ride, not because of the distance but because it will be BOOOORING.

 

[escapefjrtist]

So what flavor of gear did you decide to go with?

No matter which variety, you won't be disappointed with the quality and level of protection CyclePort offers...albeit a bit on the clunky side!

--G

 

[raitchison]

So what flavor of gear did you decide to go with?

Not 100% yet but I'm fairly certain I'll get the Ultra II Air Mesh Kevlar Jacket and Air Mesh Kevlar Pant. I'm curious as to why the Air Mesh Kevlar is the only one of their overpants that's not "Ultra II"

I think I'll get the basic liners as there seem to be two different opinions here and getting the liners will give me the most flexibility.

Of course I'm already looking at over $1000.00 and that's with minimal options.

 

[johnny80s]

Don't get the goofy long jacket. Get the shorter one. There are lots of options when you go there. Also one thing that has not been mentioned is that you need to get the clear overlays put on your tank. The motoport gear will chew up your paint if you don't protect it.

 

[raitchison]

Don't get the goofy long jacket. Get the shorter one. There are lots of options when you go there. Also one thing that has not been mentioned is that you need to get the clear overlays put on your tank. The motoport gear will chew up your paint if you don't protect it.

I'm torn on the jacket honestly, I have a short jacket now, if I got the short jacket it would be so I could zip the pants and jacket together, I will want to see how that zipper system works. As far as the looks of the long jacket vs the short one I think once you are going high-viz you no longer care so much about looks and it seems the long jacket should provide a bit more coverage.

There are already some clear plastic covering parts of the tank that were put on by the original owner of my bike. I will need to inspect closer to make sure there is sufficient coverage.

 

[johnny80s]

The zipper takes some getting used to but if somebody of my low intelligence can do it I'm sure you'll be good.

 

[escapefjrtist]

I'm torn on the jacket honestly, I have a short jacket now, if I got the short jacket it would be so I could zip the pants and jacket together, I will want to see how that zipper system works.

Short jacket and pants works well together. The zipper goes about 3/4 around and is a cinch to get started and finish.

Good luck with the decision!

--G

 

[raitchison]

OK I went down there today and met with Wayne, he definitely wasn't fond of the First Gear gear I rode in on

I decided to go with the Ultra II air mesh jacket and air mesh pants in black with yellow reflective material. Seeing the high viz air mesh material in person and side by side with the black/yellow sealed the deal.

Was also helpful to try on their standard sizes to figure out what needed to be adjusted to fit me perfectly.

I added a couple more options (tailbone and hip armor) so I skipped the liners for now.

In any case I should have new gear in a couple of weeks.

 

[dcarver]

Very good!

Earlier I forgot to mention that if you ride with a SPOT tracker, Wayne can sew a pocket onto the forearm of the suit. I love having my SPOT there - I can easily start/stop it while riding and it's easy to see if it's on and blinking through the mesh.

Keep us posted -

 

[COLDCUT]

I bought the liners (non-insulated) with my gear. The liners are not a pain to put in the jacket. I ride during the winter with the wind liner and my heated liner. I have been down to 27 degrees and had no issues. The pant liners are more of a pain but I only use them when it is very cold. I can go down into the 50s before I need to put the liners in the pants. I would get the motoport liners again if I had to do it over. I just deal with the pant liners but I don't use them much so its not big deal.

Jeez John, I was wondering why it was taking you so long to jump into the fray on this post

 

[dcarver]

He has been too busy welcoming peeps from San Diego? :yahoo:

 

[raitchison]

woot my gear arrived at my house, too bad I'm up in San Francisco till tomorrow. Will be able to use the new stuff on a ride to Big Bear this weekend.

 

[Blind Squirrel]

Very good!

Earlier I forgot to mention that if you ride with a SPOT tracker, Wayne can sew a pocket onto the forearm of the suit. I love having my SPOT there - I can easily start/stop it while riding and it's easy to see if it's on and blinking through the mesh.

Keep us posted -

I opted for the kevlar loop on my right shoulder:

woot my gear arrived at my house, too bad I'm up in San Francisco till tomorrow. Will be able to use the new stuff on a ride to Big Bear this weekend.

Just be aware that the suit starts out stiff. The more you wear it the better it gets.

 

[GalaxyBlue]

Beware that Wayne is a great guy with little customer skills - don't be put off by this.

^This^

Agreed.

He makes a great product, And i would have bought his gear also, But the Custom Sizing charge of $500 on top of the price of the suit really soured my experience with him at WFO-6.

 

[raitchison]

Beware that Wayne is a great guy with little customer skills - don't be put off by this.

^This^

Agreed.

He makes a great product, And i would have bought his gear also, But the Custom Sizing charge of $500 on top of the price of the suit really soured my experience with him at WFO-6.

$500? Yikes, I had to pay $35 each for custom inseam and custom sleeve length, I guess I got lucky.

 

[worldbound4now]

I'll follow this thread with great interest. My current gear was purchased just after the bike (in '07). I haven't needed it, thankfully, but it's showing some age.

Worldbound4now just took delivery of his new gear and he stayed away from the hi-viz color of the jacket and opted for black with the hi-viz stripes. Following him for two days in Texas (nice, warm and really sunny) the contract of black and hi-viz was noticeable even from a distance (quarter mile, maybe a bit more). He didn't go in for the fitting but he said there were a lot of measurements to take and it looked like it fit him well. I'm sure there's a "break in" period before it doesn't feel so stiff. I don't recall that he ever complained about being too warm although the temps really only reached the mid-90s those two days.

I went with the black air mesh two piece suit. I added reflective striping down the arms and calf reflection all in hi-viz. The contrast of the green on the black really pops out nicely in daytime riding. I purchased the full monty. Heated jacket, rain liner (without insulation), quad armor, gloves, and pant liner. When buying the best, why not get the best? Break-in took about a day's worth of riding. I was initially a bit skeptical about the fit because the knee armor was a little odd fitting. Once it broke in to the contour of my leg it's not even noticeable when riding. The sacrum armor was also initially felt, but is now not noticed. The gusseted shoulders and roomy crotch eliminate any detectable movement restriction. It's not cold enough here yet to wear the liners. The suit is quite comfortable with a t-shirt and jeans in the low 60's at 0100 in the morning when I get off work.

Every time I put the gear on, I notice how well protected I feel. Thighs wrapped, hips layered, knees protected, spine covered from coccyx to the top of my thoracic spine, torso gently hugged to cover almost my entire rib cage, forearms protected from wrist to just above the elbow. I loved my aerostitch roadcrafter and used it from 2004 through 2011 with great results (including two separate get-offs), but this gear is really in another league regarding ventilation and protection WITHOUT SPARING COMFORT.

worldbound4now

 

[Blind Squirrel]

I'm sitting in a Pittsburg PA motel room writing this after riding all day in the rain in my Motoport gear. I was dry and comfortable the entire day. I have the quad armor. The stuff is bulky when you are putting it on. As soon as I get it on it becomes a part of me; I don't notice the weight at all. When I get on the bike I can't feel it at all. I can't say enough good things about my Motoport.

 

[raitchison]

Got home and was able to put my new gear on:

Here are some crappy pictures:

I was surprised how beefy it was, I wore it for a bit last night to get the armor shaped, need to do the tennis balls in the dryer trick to get the material a bit softer.