Summer 'jacket' - solution?

[eisen]

It is only the middle of March and already the heat is becoming "uncomfortable" for daily commutes.
Not a desert burning 100c or anything - but still rather warm at 35c (about 95 degrees fahrenheit)

While having a coffee @ my local BM dealer, i came across one of these:



http://www.bmwsantacruz.com/Merchant2/m ... ct_Count=3

Would YOU consider this safe for urban commutes and a short motorway jouney
I am an ATGATT person - and as such i use BMW summer trousers and boots when riding during the hotter months. But even a vented jacket is just too hot sometimes...

The protector jacket seems to be a nice solution while still giving reasonable protection on road.

Any thoughts??

[Lost Rider]

Looks like a jacket out of Star Trek - Cool!

Does the material have any abrasion protection, or is it just an "armor" jacket, meant to be worn off road or under something else?

The Rev'it Air jacket does the trick for me in hot weather.

[eisen]

Looks like a jacket out of Star Trek - Cool!

Does the material have any abrasion protection, or is it just an "armor" jacket, meant to be worn off road or under something else?

The Rev'it Air jacket does the trick for me in hot weather.

Its primary use is for Supermoto riders - and has excellent impact absorbtion.
As for abrasion - i doubt it would be nearly as good as a proper jacket.

Here is some info from the BMW site:

Breathable elastic mesh with Coolmax® which is specially designed for Enduro sports. With Newly designed NP CE protectors with maximum shock absorption.
Jacket offered in: Black/Grey
Includes the award-winning BMW Motorrad back protector 2
Protectors on back, shoulders, elbows, upper arms, collarbone, chest, ribs and kidneys.
Newly developed and patented back system sets new standards for flexibility and breathability

[r1200rforme]

Any jacket not made of leather is a compromise IMHO. You must be able to accept that and buy what you think is best for your climate, riding style, level of comfort, etc. Also I don't know of any standard that jackets are held to for levels of protection, so short of evaluating the jackets components, method of stitching ect. I think we are on our own. There have been many posts of clothing's performance after a get off, some good, some not so good, again it all depends on the circumstances. I would stick to well known known brands and educate myself about the performance of different compoments and go from there.

[taosports]

I don't think it will be a safe solution for you especially if you're an ATGATT - type person. The elastic mesh will not keep the protective pads in place as you are tumbling and sliding on the pavement. It's meant to be worn under a jacket that keeps the pads where they are supposed to be.

For heat relief, I prefer wearing my BMW Venting Machine jacket over a cotton shirt soaked in water.

[eisen]

...I would stick to well known known brands and educate myself about the performance of different compoments and go from there.

I have a Spidi NL5 mesh jacket. They are proven and great quality.
The only reason i am looking at the "protector jacket" as a summer alternative is because it is BMW made.
Due to the unbearable climate, i have to look at ways of staying (relatively) cool, staying focused & keeping my skin safe.

So, component wise, this jacket is right up there with the best of them (with even better back protection), brand wise...i have no complaints about the BMW brand. The main concern, as Chitown mentioned, is abrasion resitance.

[Lost Rider]

Any jacket not made of leather is a compromise IMHO. You must be able to accept that and buy what you think is best for your climate, riding style, level of comfort, etc. Also I don't know of any standard that jackets are held to for levels of protection, so short of evaluating the jackets components, method of stitching ect. I think we are on our own.

I call BS.

"In the last few years, high tech materials such as Cordura, Ballistic Nylon, Lorica, Kevlar, and others have become very popular replacements for materials such as animal skins for motorcycle gear."

Actually there is a standard for riding gear...
A standard for Armor, and for abrasion...


http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/RidingClothes.html


http://www.waterjets.org/vegan_motorcyclist.html

http://www.twowheelforum.com/showthread.php?t=24471

http://www.ntsb.gov/Events/symp_motorcy ... paper).pdf


If you want info on what hot weather gear to buy to go http://www.advrider.com and look in Equipment, or search. Chances are there's a review for every kind of hot weather gear out there....


A Rev'it mesh jacket ( with similar abrasion ratings as leather ) with a Mountain Hardware or Under Armor performance, wicking lightweight t-shirt does the trick for me. If it's real hot I will pour water on the jacket and shirt, keeping me cool for about an hour. STAY AWAY FROM cotton! What you wear under the jacket can be just as important as the jacket IMO.


Just another cyberspace opinion.

[parkec]

I use a Joe Rocket in Perferated Leather. It's a couple years old so I have know idea what model, I also have a Nylon Mesh Joe Rocket which I rarely use because......
My superduper Swiss Army Knife of a Cortech didn't do to well sliding down the road (asphalt) at 25mph. My biggest issue with the Cortech and the Nylon Mesh Joe Rocket is pad placement. All of those wonderful snaps and velco allow a great deal of pad movement . Something that my Perf Leather Joe Rocket does not. I paid $199 at my local Mega Bike Dealer 4 years ago..It was a left over . I have no doubt a similar model today runs $400+/-.

Yes a full leather perated jacket can be a little hot here in Fla when compared to the Nylon Mesh Jackets, but did I mention sliding down the road at 25mph on my collar bone, shoulder, forearman, and hip bone. (no xrays, so nothing was broken just a lot of bruising).

Go full leather -perferated....just drink plenty of fluids/water, and keep moving

[Caroanbill]

My solution - but perhaps not so OK to commute - is evaporation.

I've ridden with my BMW Airflow 2 suit in 43C heat for 700+ km. I wear a long-sleeved cotton or coolmax T, and soak the T at each stop. For a short run I soak the T and wring it out so it's damp rather than wet. Either way, I'm dry by the time I stop. Yep, I have a Camelback too.

Latent heat of evaporation (240 joules / gram, yay!) does the rest.

I've looked at more open suits (eg BMW Venting Machine) but they have abrasive material on unproteted skin and lack some armour. The full mesh jackets seem worse, even though some have reasonable (and fixed) armour.

BUT ...

.. have you looked at the evaporative vests? They're my next step - but hard to get in Australia (wwhyyyy???)

http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/CoolAndHeat.html

[Ves]

Color is also very important... Get something that's white or light gray.... NOT black. I actually took my black jacket and dyed it white. The difference when riding in hot sunny weather is huge. I did the same with my track suit... got white... now sitting in the staging area on a hot day isn't anywhere near as bad.

[NCGS]

That jacket''s a bit over the top to me, and like most BMW apparel, it' ain't cheap. You can do as well, if not better by looking at some of the vented ballistic nylon jackets with armor in the elbows, shoulders and back.

I had a bad "off" two years ago while wearing a Triumph Raptor nylon jacket. In contrast to the "leather" post above, the armor pads stayed in place, and did a dandy job of absorbing the impact from a concrete wall at 50+ mph. The right shoulder and right elbow armor were crushed & totally destroyed, but my right arm and right shoulder came through unscathed. Frankly, I prefer wearing one of my ballistic nylon jackets with armor over my leather jacket without armor 95% of the time.

Just my .02 cents.

[Dan-A]

I have used a water soaked cool vest under a mesh jacket and found it remarkably comfortable. We have hot summers out here in CA also.

But leather is hard to beat for skin protection.

[eisen]

Well, i went ahead and bought a pair of protector jackets for myself & the S/O.
Should be just right for the 5km/h congested roads here in Tel Aviv.

Honestly, the amount of people i see riding around in flip flops, shorts and NO protection, with their mobile phones shoved into their helmet....makes me so mad

Anyway, for longer/faster rides, we have other apparel.
Last winter, i used my Rallye2Pro suit. It was amazing.
Next winter, i would like to try an Aerostitch one-piece Roadcrafter suits - so i can wear my work clothes underneath. But i digress....

Thanks for all your input.

I wish all of you a Happy Easter & Good Friday

Regards,

E

[Bill Stevenson]

In my opinion finding good solutions for hot weather riding is the most challenging thing we face as motorcyclists. This is a good forum and the diversity of views helps to underscore both the difficulty of finding practical solutions and the diversity of opinion on this issue. Here in South Florida, the problem is compounded by traffic lights. I found a full perf Vanson leather jacket worked pretty well up to about 90 degrees F, except at traffic lights. Swelter, swelter, heat exhaustion was too easily to reached. Vanson jacket gone. Florida cops use heavy weight long sleeve shirts and pants, open face helmets, boots, and light gloves. They are out in the heat all day, every day and this compromise seems reasonable for their needs.

There are performance ratings for motorcycle clothing manufactured or sold in the EC. The pads held with synthetic mesh will abrade and allow the pads to slip out of position as someone correctly mentioned. This has all been tested. The GoreTex clothing manufactured by Andy Goldfine's company, AeroStitch, has proven to offer substantial protection from abrasion, but it is not as effective as leather for that purpose although it has other advantages. I own both a full one piece AeroStitch suit, and the lighter Darien jacket and pants. 85 degrees F is comfortable as long as you are moving. Stopped at a traffic light 85 degrees is borderline unbearable.

One solution for hot weather that is effective is to use knit Kevlar gloves. These are actually more abrasion resistant than leather of similar weight and the mesh allows airflow, very desirable in hot weather. These gloves are available from any good safety supply company for ~ $10-$15 a pair. I have found BMW lightweight boots, the ones with the mesh panels on the sides, to be reasonably tolerable in hot weather. For my torso, I use a heavy shirt now like the cops, but know that it would be next to worthless in a fall down. It does protect the skin from the sun and can be wetted for cooling to avoid heat exhaustion. My partner uses a Cortech jacket and swears by it.

In the end we each need to find what works for our needs. This is a very difficult problem. It is very useful to learn from others and keep experimenting. Thanks for sharing. Great topic.

Bill

[digga]

That jacket is primarily for use UNDER another jacket for off road use[think HP2], hence the reason for the thumb holes in the extended sleeves (they stop the arms riding up when you put on the other layer)..

Primary sports..Enduro, Motocross, Social off road riding (greenlaning in the UK )

Digga

[AllanCook]

I've worn a Vanson Ventilator every summer for six years. Awesome jacket, really well-made and lets in a lot of air. The newer models come with a liner so it can be worn on cooler days.

[Echo]

I've been using the BMW Airflow jacket with the BMW back protector for a few years. Very comfortable with plenty of ventilation

[Graf]

just picked up a Venting Machine from BMW.......quality is quite good and looks like a very good solution for the 75F+ days.

[ShinySideUp]

I use and very much recommend the Cycleport Ultra II Air Mesh Kevlar Jacket. It lets air through as though I were wearing a t-shirt. Really!

As others have mentioned here:

http://tinyurl.com/24sfmo

it doesn't seem to transfer heat to the skin despite being black. It also comes in blue, red, and high-vis yellow.

There's an interesting explanation of its strength compared to leather and Cordura here:

http://tinyurl.com/2uye3

(Cycleport's GP-1 and GP-2 Kevlar Suits are the only synthetic apparel approved for road racing. The Kevlar/Dynatech/Lycra blend material is five times stronger than the best competition grade leather.)

When the temp gets above 95F, I add a cooling vest. Soaked in water it keeps me quite comfortable for an hour at a time at highway speeds and much longer off the bike.