Textile Jacket/Pant Suggestions

[RGB2CMYK]

So I've been doing some research on a new riding gear, and I'm wondering if you all have some suggestions.

I'm looking for touring gear, so a 3/4" jacket, and pants I would imagine. I'm really not sure what to do in terms of waterproofs vs not waterproof +rain gear. etc. I've ridden more local up to this point. I want to be safe, yet comfortable when riding (hot days, cool nights, but no arctic blasts for the most part.) I also don't want to get caught unprepared.

I know BMW riders tend to have a significant amount of disposal income , but I am a young upstart BMW rider with a semi-limited disposable income, so a the complete BMW System gear set is out (for now). Let's shoot for roughly under $300 for the jacket, and under $250 for the pants max..

If you have no specific suggestions, things to look for would be good too.

thx

[AZ-Twin]

I really like the Tour Master stuff. I shop for stuff like that on Ebay and sometimes you can get good deals on new stuff. I bought a tourmaster jacket new in the packageing with liner for $70 a couple years ago. It is still my primarey dual sport jacket.

[jduke]

I personally like the Olympia line. They have a mesh jacket and pants for hot days, but it comes with a waterproof liner when needed. I would prefer to put rain gear on top of my suit so I don't have to strip down, put on the rain liner, then dress again, but overall I like their stuff.
http://www.olympiamotosports.com/

[blutruck1]

I'll second the Tourmaster. I've a Flex jacket and it works extremely well, especially with a Synergy vest for riding up north, (Montana).
With a set of their pants, I made it through 70 miles of snow and crappy weather and managed to stay pretty warm and dry. Compared to my buddy riding in leather, I was quite peachy, he was freezing and very wet.
The only thing I found troubling about the whole set up was the collar on the jacket, it would irritate the skin on my neck/throat. I think that's been fixed on the new generation of jackets.

[SergioK]

+1 on the Olympia Motorsports gear.

I have both their 3/4 jacket AST and the Airglide Jacket. They both zip to the Airglide pants. The inner liners have good heat retention characteristics and both do well when opened up for warmer days. With a light rain they work OK but when the skies really open up, you need a rainsuit (I use the BMW ProRain II suit and so far Ralf's said it has kept him dry through some nasty stuff).

[Bob Hancock]

I use Olympia perf pants for summer and BMW City Pants for winter. I like Vanson jackets for summer and winter, perf or solid. The Vanson mesh synthetic jacket is good for light summer duty but nothing protects like leather when the going gets tough.

If I were starting new, I would consider the Darian set, but they may be a bit warm in the summer when you really need perf to flow air.

[bradzdotcom]

sweatshirt, jeans and hi-top tennis shoes in winter. if it's any colder, adjust with pre-ride Jack Daniels before setting out. The more JD (or Southern Comfort) you have, the less you'll notice the cold. Really, it works!

large "construction grade" trash bags (home depot/lowes) for rain. One over the head for upper torso, one wrapped in duct tape for each leg. don't forget to cut out the holes. sounds really cool when you go about 100....like baseball cards in bicycle spokes.

tank top (optional), shorts and flip-flops (also optional in CA) in summer. watch out for dehydration though...a camelback full of beer solves that problem quite neatly.

don't know why you guys wear all that gear.
i don't plan on falling (i took a safety class, which means that now i'm a super-good rider), so i don't need any of that flashy expensive stuff.

the course was WAY less than a jacket and pants, so i saved a bunch of money too!

[samuidave]

Get a used motoport 2 piece suit...beyond good. Excellent imo.

[ckcarr]

What's with your handle? Are you in the printing business?

I've never paid much more for BMW gear than the prices you are looking to spend on other gear. But, it's also all timing, looking at ebay for Daytona BMW gear, or A&S BMW sales (usually fall).

The Olympia is good, or you could try newenough.com they used to have good deals on gear.

[chewie]

What sort of bike do yah have?

Have you got any gear now? Leathers?

I wear leathers and if touring o/night or on a dodgy day I take a bag with me that has a dri-rider one piece suit, some plastic shopping bags for the boots and some ski-gloves. That's my kit. I shouldn't recommend the ski gloves but they work so well with the heated handgrips, beautiful!

If you don't have leathers and you are looking for a synthetic one stop kinda set-up then Dri-rider have some excellent stuff. I have a dri-rider jacket that was given to me by my neighbour who toured a lot (he traded up) It's a really good OLD jacket and I use it during the winter on my postie (motorcycle mail delivery) job. When I was at the Superbikes there were about 6 other dudes cruising around in the exact same jacket - it was funny. They are very good quality.

Here is the Dri-rider range, sorry it's an Oz website
http://www.mcleodaccessories.com.au/CA2571B700170C18/Frame?ReadForm&1=01-Home~&2=10-Our+Brands~&3=05-DRIRIDER~&URL=http://202.45.102.66/display.php?catalog=120&page=1~

Ralfs kit (Alaska thread) could be the go, I was actually gonna ask him what make it was in that thread. Maybe give him a month or so to really see how it gets on

Welcome along

[martincito]

I like the Rev'it line same o better quality than the BMW stuff but a little bit cheaper.
The Cayenne jacket is a great four season one.

[cyotee01]

I have some of the new Revit gear also - jacket & pants. Mix of mesh & leather outer (with knee, elbow & shoulder protection & zip in area for back protector), easy zip in quilted vest & waterproof liner for top & bottom. Very versatile for all seasons. I was surprised how well it breaths in the heat. Clean lines & zips together. Ok.. it's around $800 for both but I'm happy. Good quality gear and less than some.

[shreddr]

Does anybody here wear the full leather monkey suit? I was thinking of getting an Alpine Star suit they sell at the local dealer, but I was thinking it might make me feel a bit too invincible, and perhaps make me look more like a speeder to the local LEO's. Thoughts?

[Bob Hancock]

I have one for the track but it's too hard to get into and out of to wear daily.

[bradzdotcom]

i wear my 1-piece track suit more often than my 2-piece first gear set-up.
don't know about the "invincible" feeling, since i've worn track suits for years.
it still hurts when you bail. you learn that one quickly.
there's lots of track suits around these parts, so the local cops don't leap on you just because of what you're wearing.
about the only ones who make "assumptions" are the squid riders. they seem to think that just cause you're wearing leathers, you must be really fast.

as far as getting in and out of a track suit, yes it's not super simple, but not nearly as hard as dealing with a wetsuit. there's ways to wiggle and squirm around that make it a lot easier to enter/exit. a good track suit is cut tight and designed to be worn in the riding/semi-fetal position. it also helps keep arms and legs from turning/twisting farther than they should. i'd much rather rag-doll in a track suit than in a two piece. you can't wear it and do the chicken dance at wedding receptions.

disclaimer: haven't worn a track suit to a wedding, nor do i participate in the chicken dance.

[RGB2CMYK]

Thanks for all the advice guys.

I am indeed in the printing business, even went to the "School of Print Media" at RIT in Rochester NY, so I'm all kinds of Print-geekiness.

I currently have a Firstgear jacket. It's a good jacket, but I think it's slightly small, so I was looking to get something a little bigger/more comfortable. I thought about going with more Firstgear...gear, but if I'm going to start from scratch and do more riding, I figured I'd ask and garner suggestions.

I think I'm going to go shopping later this week. I want to take a look at the Olympia GT and see what I think.

[adrianw]

Rukka.

http://www.rukka.com/lfashion/rukka/rukkawww.nsf

[Guest24]

Originally Posted by shreddr

Does anybody here wear the full leather monkey suit? I was thinking of getting an Alpine Star suit they sell at the local dealer, but I was thinking it might make me feel a bit too invincible, and perhaps make me look more like a speeder to the local LEO's. Thoughts?

I don't know about the invincible part Shreddr; but, it sure will get the cops tracking your every movement. Looks like a road-racer Ah, is a road-racer.

[maduko]

I have a Tourmaster Transition jacket and love it. It's affordable and the ventilation is good enough to make it usable almost year round. I even tested its durability last September and found it up to the challenge!

Here's my mini review of the Tourmaster Transition.

[TandemGeek]

I've recently acquired a Fieldsheer Hight Temp Mesh jacket and 4-Seasons pants at about 50% off MSRP, both of which are mesh with removable liners for use in the Spring, Summer and Fall on my year-round commutes. Linky: http://www.motorcyclecloseouts.com/brands/fieldsheer/sport/mesh+motorcycle+jackets

So far, and for the months of April - June, I've been very happy with the gear. My only error was one of vanity where once again I bought black instead of the more reflective silver. The liners are actually very warm, almost too much for temps above the 60's even when you're moving along. However, the up side is they're great for the cool Spring and fall mornings and can be ditched into a backpack or the city cases for the afternoon ride home.

My recent points of comparison on gear is a Fieldsheer Titanium mesh jacket (OK, but no where near as well-appointed as the new jacket), Fieldsheer SonicAir pants which really weren't over-pants like the 4 Seasons and my Hein Gericke TKO Leather Jacket (liner + vents) and First Gear STOP Leather Over Pants.

If I had deeper pockets I'd love to buy the BMW gear, but since I'm just a simple 1099 slave I shop the discount places for sales.