Rider wear suggestions

I really like my Olympia Airglide and wear it from 30* to well over 90*. Using a fleece jacket with a high neck in lieu of the inner insulated liner adds warmth and makes the neck more comfortable. The wind liner also doubles as rain gear when worn over the jacket or pants. A great all around jacket system.

I also agree on wearing clothing to protect from sun and heat as well as asphalt. As age gains on me, too much sun has become really uncomfortable (never thought I would say that) and adding wind burn to the mix makes it worse. I worked in a furnace room for a couple of years and all of the employees wore long underwear to insulate us from the heat.

Wolverine said:

I removed the liner and use a Patagonia wind proof/water resistant jacket for a liner. This way I have two coats along. I have a one piece rain suit for over gear on wet days. On really cold days (50 and under) I can use the rain suit too. I do not use any heated gear. I can handle the cold, its heat I'm not use to...90+. I also must admit that I'm a fair weather rider.

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That works. Personally, I don't like wearing or hauling multiple jackets if I can avoid it.

Hikelbum, I ride a GS and a KLR and have tried ridng in almost everything made. My choice? I ride year-round in a used ebay BMW Savanna II suit and a used ebay BMW Santiago suit. Both are hideously expensive new but downright reasonable in great as-new condition. (You can get a full suit for $300-$450 if you don't get in a hurry.) In the winter I use the goretex liners and long handles. Below 40 I add a fleece layer up top. In the summer I open all the vents and wear a cooling vest and wear BMW Airflow pants. (The Savanna II flows more air.) Ain't nothing comfortable above 95 but this is as good as it gets IMO.

Truly great stuff. Easy to clean (I just throw it in the machine), durable, and very abrasion resistant. I've been down twice (once on rocks and once on chip and seal and you can barely tell).

I'm also a fan of the Olympia Bushwhacker and it's on close-out as it is discontinued (I think).

I am happy with my Olympia Airglide for summer or cold. Down to 40F is fine with the liner.

I've had a Tourmaster Flex for the last 3 years. I ride a Suzuki S50 with no windshield so I get plenty of airflow. With the covers off, I have ridden all day in the summer heat the DFW area as well as the Austin area. Put the covers back on and the liner in and I commute 20 miles to work in the winter as long as the temperature is about 37 or above.

I have an Olympia Voyager for cold weather, Olympia Airglide II for summer and Olympia Airglide II/III pants for all the time.

The only difference between Airglide II and III pants is the liner. On the II version it is insulated and waterproof and on the III it is just waterproof. I bought the III pants and then the II liner direct from Olympia, but I remember seeing the II liner on sale at Moto Liberty

My Tourmaster Intake Air Jacket and Pants have served me well the last few years. When wearing the mesh later only I don't have an overheating problem rolling during the summer. Once the temps start to go down or it begins to rain I add the 'windbreaker' liner inside to keep dry. When it get's downright nasty as it did a few weeks ago on my run out to Leakey I add in the quilted insulated liner. Temp when I left Sugarland that morning was 34 and it dropped to 30 by the time I made it into Sealy. Temperature out at Garner State Park on Saturday morning was 23.
While it is not cheap, it does live up to it's hype. I bought the Jacket first, then after a few months of saving was able to buy the pants

If you are looking at Aerostitch, you should also look at Motoport. I would suggest specifically looking at the Kevlar Air Mesh with liners. Not cheap and not the most best fashion, but incredible protection. There are several people on this forum that have them and love them. I personally, have Ultra II Cordora Jacket and the stretch Kevlar pants. They both flow well, but I am looking to get Air Mesh with a non-insulated liner.

The other great thing about these is they are custom tailored to you. No off the shelf.

Joe Rocket Phoenix works well for me in the summer commuting and weekend rides.

I really appreciate all the replies to this thread. It really is a difficult decision. I can go try on some of the suits but that won't tell me much about how they will perform in the real world. Your input has been very helpful. It sounds like the best solution is to have multiple suits for each season but I am not sure I can afford even one! So, if I can buy only one suit I need to decide if I want a waterproof design with multiple air vents or a mesh one with separate liners to keep comfortable.

I think I will just put on the tank top, shorts and flipflops and ride

Wolverine
I am from Grand Rapids area. Where are you in Michigan?

I hear you on the one suit. That's how I decided on the following, all Olympia:

GT Air Transitions Jacket - two stage liner, many vents, opens up to mesh with four large panels, water proof with stage 1 liner.

Airglide Pants - all mesh with waterproof insulated liner, easy to get into and out of with full length zippers, warm in winter, cool in summer (or as cool as it gets in Texas).

Suit is well made. I have ridden several rain rides and have not gotten wet. I got the combination to maximize versatility.

Hope this helps,

Chuck