What is your favorite gear line up?

[Aslan]

What's your favorite gear line up is...helmet, boots, jacket, pants, etc....

[Byrdguy]

ATGATT

[Boxer]

My experience:

First Gear is good stuff. Tourmaster is cheap stuff. Aerostich is good but expensive stuff...compared. Olympia is good.( Not much experience with Olympia except my wife's summer mesh overpants. I don't use those much myself.)
Frogg Toggs make good lightweight rain gear. Plastic raingear sucks.

I have no leather so I can't speak to that option. I had some, but I got mugged by some gay guys and they took it all.


Edit: Being Aslan, you should know all this stuff already.

[mcollect]

Olympia AST is great in all conditions. Haven't found pants to match the comfort of the AST, but Draggin jeans do work. Love my Caberg full face helmet, the flip down sun visor,is wonderful.

[mnnden]

What is my favorite Gear line up???? GOOD QUESTIONS!!!!
Many of us who have been riding awhile, (40+) for me, have went through a lot of gear, and have plenty to choose from, currently, it is the two piece Roadcrafter for me, as I have gotten older, protection has become a little more important, I took some spills as a younger person and was never to seriously banged up, but, banged up none the less, and I know that the healing process becomes a little more difficult as one gets older, I am of the opinion that life is Great and I want to ride as long as I can, my "Rack" provides many choices, Leathers, perforated and solid, textiles light and heavey, even the leathers from the early days, My advise is buy the best protection you can afford, in fact buy a little more than you can afford, I realize this is not easy for a young person (I was there once myself) Just remember!! The bikes of today are a "tad" more powerful than the BSA's Triumph's and Flat head Harleys of my early days, Put on the gear, (High Buck or not) and ride within your limits. Den

[mkmd555]

If you have money, then of course Aerostich is the first choice. Caviar.

Being a pragmatic and cheapsstakes, I wear Joe rocket. These are mid priced and are carefully crafted gear. You may like to visit:

Ironpony.com
O R
newenough.com

[wncbmw]

I will agree Aerostich is great stuff. I have had a few outfits and they are no doubt quality gear. My favorite was the 2-piece because it allowed more versatility, such as using the jacket with my Vanson perfed pants. I eventually went with the Olympia AST jacket and Ranger pants. The AST is as protective as the 'Stich but vents much better.

For ultimate protection, nothing beats the Vanson stuff and my perfed pants and jacket get a lot of summer use, especially day trips. But for long trips and camping, the leather is not as versatile.

My latest experiment is the Motoport (Cycleport) mesh Kevlar pants. With the liners, it is supposed to be a year-round material. So far on my limited use during August, it is wonderfully cool. And the Kevlar material is stout with good armor. I intend to post a full review after some serious rain and cold weather use.

[zeke]

I wear a pair of Colorado Chaps rather than pants. Don't let the name fool you, they are not really traditional chaps. Each leg is independent and attaches to your belt with a velcro loop. Excellent for commuting, easy on/off, and storage is not a problem. Each pair is custom cut (size, armor, etc) by a nice old hippie lady in Colorado....Okay I have no way to verify her age or hippie status, but she did say she was living on a peach farm and made the chaps for folks in her free time.

[NoRRmad]

Arai helmet, Aerostich one-piece with back and hip armor add-ins, Kilamanjaro boots. I do chintz out a bit on the gloves (Olympia textile,) but I like the grip heat to get through in cool weather. Underneath, jeans and a long-sleeve cotton shirt, Kanetsu electric vest for the cold.

[big papa]

Being large, I love Joe Rocket(3 jackets, 6 pairs of gloves). But I am going to try Fieldsheer(Aviator jacket) this winter. No special pants for me.

[TonyT607]

I like the BMW gear - I've got the Savanna, Santiago, Black Reflect leather, and the Airflow 2 suits. I like the tan BMW Summer pants which I wear all the time. For when I need to wear slacks I use the BMW cover pants. I really like my Draggin Jeans also. Also the BMW Club 2 jacket. The BMW leather gear is absolutely top notch.

My favorite boots are the Savannahs and the Airflows. I just got a pair of Icon Super Duty 2 boots (low - ankle height lace up) which are great for those long days on the range teaching MSF classes. I also have a pair of Cruiserworks and Red Wings 968's.

I have a pair of Olympia Mustang jeans but frankly they are not even in the same ballpark as the BMW kit with respect to quality and fit.

On my head my #1 lid is my BMW (Schuberth) System V; #2 is my Arai Quantum FF, and #3 (my nighttime and DMV inspection helmet) is the Schuberth Concept with the reflective stickers.

For gloves I have Olympia winter gloves, Gerbing heated, a pair of Alpinestars, and a few pair of BMW's. The Olympia gloves are great, very warm and tough.


"I had some, but I got mugged by some gay guys and they took it all." --- Boxer, that's not nice.

[riceburner]

Hein Gericke here.

Some of the gear doesn't look like much, but by hoot does it perform.

Currently still wearing a 4 years old Voyager Gore suit. It's been worn every day of every winter, spring, autumn and a lot of the summers, (I commute by bike), been soaked in diesel after an off, cleaned once, crashed thrice (IIRC) and it's STILL (mostly) water-proof, warm and comfortable.

Much as I'd like to go for more expensive gear, I think i'll be going back to Hein Gericke because it's the best value for money stuff I know of.

BMW "All-round" (IIRC) gloves are very, VERY good 3-season gloves.

Arai helmets are the only ones I'll wear. I've seen an Arai take the weight of a recovery truck flatbed (+2 blokes and a bike) without crushing (it fractured, but maintained it's shape). Have also experienced a chin-bar-car roofline interface at 30-ish mph - the chin bar stayed absolutely solid. I simply won't look at anything else now.

[romanr]

When I bought my F800ST, I got a BMW Rallye 2 jacket "free". Man-oh-man, THAT is a nice piece of kit. It's heavy, but the armor, the fit, the construction is great. I'm not sure that I'd spend $750 of my money on another, but it IS nice.

On my head I traded my HJC for a Scorpion EX-400. Very good fit, quiet, reasonably good anti-fog. It seem OK.

Has anyone tried the Lee Parks PCi gloves? The technology intrigues me, but they'd be a very expensive mistake if they weren't as good as they claim

[gregor]

Current set up is a Triumph Stealth jacket , with a couple of removable linings and umpteen zippable vents suits me in all UK weather. Rather heavy though.
Very old Ashman leather salopette, Altberg Clubman boots (goretex lined) comfortable but non trendy, BMW kangaroo skin racing gloves, very comfortable. BMW winter gloves when it gets wet/cold, a bit clunsier in use. ex-German army XXL camo goretex gear to go over the top when it rains hard.BMW system 3 helmet.

[wncbmw]

In my rather long post above, I forget the helmet, gloves and boots! Arai Signet, Held Steve's, TCX (formerly Oxtar) Infinities!

[MattPie]

Boots: Generic Work boots, but looking at TCX or Alpine sport boots in the next week or two.
Jacket: Olympia Airflow 1 Mesh (3.5 years)
Pants: Olympia Airflow (3 years)
Helmet: KBC VR-1 (4 years)
Gloves: Held old-model Steve gloves that I love. Also, Olympia Winter Gloves, Hien Gericke mid-cold gloves, and Rev-it Hurricane Gloves.
On order: Fieldsheer Track Paddock jacket and Sport pants
Other: I have cruiser-style leather pants and jacket, but those rarely (maybe once this year) get worn.

I've worn the Olympias with the rain liners down to freezing and it's doable. Not all-day warm, but commuting or 100 mile run OK. In the rain, the liners soak through in places after an hour or two. I hear the new liners are better. The Olympias come with CE-1 armor in the knees, shoulders, elbows, and back, and pads on the hips. The only issue I have with the Olympias is the elbows are pretty loose, so I'm not too confident that the armor would stay put. There are adjustment straps, but even at full-tight they're loose on me. I wouldn't mind a strap-type closure on the wrist as opposed to the fold-over hook-n-loop. They're great in the summer, and have enough Cordura on the likely slide areas that they'd (hopefully) survive a get-off.

I'm not a fan of the Olympia and Rev-it gloves I have since they don't have a wrist strap. They don't feel as secure as the H-Gs and Helds. The H-Gs were a great buy at $40 from newenough, similar to the current 'Blader' glove. I don't think I'll buy another glove that doesn't have a wrist closure.

[frbank6]

So far I have been very happy with everything from FirstGear, both leather and textile or mesh. The Sidi boots are excellent, but I can't recommend them for wide feet. I have the On Roads, but they are just a bit too narrow for me. I believe some of their boots are available in wide, however. I also had a Fieldsheer Highland one piece suit and was very happy with it as well. One plus was the price was very reasonable. Shoei helmets seem to fit me well and replacement parts are easy to find.

[Biff's R]

Helmets: Nolan N-102 - Fits well, and reaasonable quite for a flip up helmet. This is the helmet I use on longer trips. 3 years old and going strong. Caberg Solo - I have had this helmet for about a month and I am still getting used to it. I found it for $70 on closeout at Iron Pony.

Jackets: First Gear Kilimanjaro - I have had 2 of these, and They work pretty good. I would avoid the fleece liner if I were to get another, since it makes wearing any type of fleece underneath impossible. Teknic Stinger - Another Iron Pony $70 special. It has better armor than the Kili, and has done well in all of the riding situations I have been in, but I wish the velcro patch on the collar was bigger.

Pants: First Gear HT Overpants. They have worked well for me in all types of situations. Unfortunately, they are hot, and the have started to leak a little, but I have used them for about 5 years.

Boots: BMW Goretex boots - These are great boots and I wish I had purchased 2 pair when I bought these for $77. 6 years and 50+k miles, and 2 thumbs up.

Gloves: Sullivan Glove Co. Elkskin - MikeCam turned me onto these folks. The gloves are supple, but the elkskin is thicker than the deerskin. Not Waterproof. Alpine Star Majic gloves for when it is wet, and Olympia 6000(thanks RBRider) for when it is cold(20-40F). I still also use a pair of Roadgear deerskin gloves, but they are showing some age 3+ years old.

The BMW gear is top quality, and I have been hearing good things about Revit gear, too. The BMW jackets have the best venting with the wrist to armpit arm vents.

[scottybooj]

dang Tony, I think you have 1 of every suit BMW makes except for the Atlantis! Tony forgot to mention he got his R1200ST free when he purchased all that gear!

I use the N100E flip, soon to be replaced, preferably with a MOMO devil and another flip.

Gloves- Roadgear summer w/carbon. 3 season gloves are the First gear Master gloves. waterproof, visor on the finger, and a drawstring gauntlet.

jacket- Kilimanjaro 3, I think. nice pockets. Outside is NOT waterproof! lost my treo going to Bash IV due to that mistake!
-First Gear Mesh-tech. nice...it has lots o'holes.
-leather--custom made in nyc for me. got a broken zipper=haven't fixed it yet.

pants- First Gear HT overpants. nice for all weather but over 72 degrees.
-leather pants by....THE GAP! Yes, one year they made AWESOME leather pants that were quite stylish and were made with terrific tough leather. Took a get off at 25mph and only showed a slight scuff at the hip! Go GAP!

for cold rides I use a thin balaclava from EMS.

If I had some extra cash...I'd pony up for either a bmw reflect or a suit from Rev'it. So many choices.

[scottybooj]

My experience:



I have no leather so I can't speak to that option. I had some, but I got mugged by some gay guys and they took it all.


Edit: Being Aslan, you should know all this stuff already.

what boxer, did they take your virginity too?