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Lets talk hot weather gear

I was looking at the 1 piece and two piece at MotoLiberty yesterday. The piece fit fine (even with my body shape). But even at 90 bucks more I decided to go with the two piece for the greater wear option and the liner.

I'll second the great service from Nat at ML.
 
We rarely get over 90 up here much less 98:eek2: My inlaws in S.A. always ask us to come down in the summer:rofl: NO way Jose'! I feel cooler with my mesh jacket than just shirt sleeves so I'm hoping to have the same luck with some mesh pants. The Olympia stuff looks good.
 
If you say so... we Southerners claim anything North of I30 yankee-land.:lol2:
:shrug:I don't rightly know where Yankee land starts or ends but I do know that we get more snow and less sunshine during the winter than Antarctica. So....how are the wild flowers coming along?
 
Okay Hosers
Bob_and_Doug.jpg
THAT is the Great White North:chug:
 
:giveup:How right you are. SCTV, one of the best shows of all time. I won't even attempt to sing the who ooh koo koo tune. Its hard enough to say much less put in print. From now on I will refer to anything below the Soo and north of I-80 as, Up North. Anyone hungry for donuts? Whats the subject matter of this thread again?:)
 
If you plan on riding during the summer months, I would suggest you also take a look at water evaporation vests.

I got one of those 2 weeks ago at Cycle Gear and tested it out, it wasn't as hot out yet as it's gonna get but it worked good. I had to re-soak it after about and hour and a half.
 
Lots of good suggestions in here - I don't know what you have in terms of a cooler weather jacket but I have found the Olympia Airglide 2 (although they just came out with the '3' which has three pieces and looks nice too) to work fine for me in weather from ~20 F to 100+ F (Anything hotter than 100, and it is just freaking hot :angryfire:)

The AirGlide 2 has two parts, an armored mesh outer shell made out of Cordura and the liner that is insulated and water 'proof'. I have ridden with mine in heavy rains and stayed bone dry underneath the jacket (disclaimer: I have a bike with a full fairing). It also comes in colors that are not BLACK.

The Airglide 3 has three parts: 1) outer mesh armored jacket, 2) water'proof' layer (no insulation) 3) Insulated portion. I haven't actually seen one of these in person but I have read decent reviews.

out of the several that I tried on, both with and without the liners, I found the AirGlide 2 to be the most comfortable. I've had it for about a year now and ridden in all sorts of weather, 100+ heat and ~20 cold, and am still happy with my purchase.

Just my 2 cents here. I hope this was helpful.

By the way, I am in no way affiliated, related, etc etc to any store or company that sells any of these. Just a satisfied customer.


Around here anything North of Dallas qualifies. Michigan is next to Antarctica. :lol2:

I was going to post the line a little further north, but yea, that's about right.

:shame:

You are way too far north... Anything north of New Waverly is the GREAT WHITE NORTH! :mrgreen:

Last I checked Antarctica was about as far south as anyone could go :loco:
 
We just dropped the price on the FirstGear Mesh Tex jacket even further (on closeout)

http://www.newenough.com/street/clo...ear/firstgear_mesh_tex_motorcycle_jacket.html

It would zip to your FirstGear pants (if your pants have the connection zipper). I would advise you to try on a 1 piece suit before committing if you can. I thought the same thing as you - seems like it should be easier to get on and take off. I've tried on several and they were all harder to get on and off than a separate jacket and pants. Plus you can't just pull the jacket off at stops.


Very nice and a great price, thanks for posting. I ordered one Weds, should be in today. This will be my first mesh jacket, it should provide a lot more protection than my light cotton jacket.
 
First Gear jacket update: Very fast shipping by New Enough. Jacket (XL) fits very well, better than hoped for. I removed the lining to use the mesh features. Jacket seems well-made and I can feel the air coming in as I ride. Of course, when it's hot outside, it's hot, no jacket is going to make it cooler, but after sitting at a light for 45 seconds, I can really feel the difference mesh makes when moving again--lots of nice airflow.

The only question mark is the large interior pocket on the right side. It's solid nylon fabric, I appreciate the pocket but I think a loose mesh pocket would have been far better for this application. One less thing to block the airflow. I think I will end up modding this out.
 
I will throw in a vote for the Stealth Suit I use mine all summer and it works well in the winter except for colder rides out of state with my gerbings liner on underneath


As for a gear store, I am biased to Moto-Liberty for a couple of reasons
one a long history of helping up and coming racers, and two the passion
that Nathan puts into his business.

New Enough is a great store and I have purchased from them in the past and
am sure I will continue to purchase from them these are two of the best stores
I have found for motorcycle gear and both Nathan and Ruben are class acts
 
A lesson learned after a hot ride to Talihina this weekend.

Normally I wear full Underarmor Heat Gear. Because the tight fitting shirt shows every roll of my fatness, I decided to wear a cotton t-shirt instead:doh:

Weather was 93 dgrees, few clouds and very light winds if at all. I was very hot on the top side especially at stop lights. The cotton t-shirt absorbed the sweat and was slow to release it in evaporation. One thing noticeably uncomfortable was the contact area on the back pad built into the TourMaster mesh jacket. The cotton t-shirt held the sweat there and it was sticky and uncomfortable all day.

In comparison the Underarmor Heat Gear long sleeve shirt I normally wear allows for rapid evapoartion of any seat within a few miles. Its smooth silk like texture allows the jacket to move around much more freely allowing for better airflow in all areas of the jacket, especially in the area under the back pad.

Lesson learned, next time I'll not be so vain about my fat rolls and be more comfortable.
 
We just dropped the price on the FirstGear Mesh Tex jacket even further (on closeout)

http://www.newenough.com/street/clo...ear/firstgear_mesh_tex_motorcycle_jacket.html

It would zip to your FirstGear pants (if your pants have the connection zipper). I would advise you to try on a 1 piece suit before committing if you can. I thought the same thing as you - seems like it should be easier to get on and take off. I've tried on several and they were all harder to get on and off than a separate jacket and pants. Plus you can't just pull the jacket off at stops.
I crashed in a MeshTex II back in Dec '05 and it did it job quite well.
I replaced it with a TourMaster Intake II due to versatility options.
Thumbs up for the FirstGear MeshTex :thumb:
 
I have a Joe Rocket Phoenix 5.0 Mesh jacket and an Olympia Voyager (Sports bike version of the AST). I wore the voyager all "winter" and this weekend went back out with the Joe Rocket.

To be honest I think I feel cooler with the ducted venting of the Voyager (2 x long sleeve vent, 2 x chest vents and 2 x rear vents) than I do in the all mesh Joe Rocket. Could it be that the vents force the air round my body and back out rather than just blasting through the mesh?
 
There are tons of great mesh options for summer. I like the Scorpion XDR Master Mesh jacket and Deuce Mesh pants combined with the exo-900 flip face helmet. It has a drop down sunvisor as an added bonus. Good luck in your hunt.

09ScorpionXDRMasterYLLG.jpg
 
Awesome info, guys, I'll be in SA for all of a week before heading over to Alabama for 2 months of training, and I'm pretty sure I'm just going to take the car for simplicities sake, and drop off the bike and trailer in a storage locker, if I can't find someone with a barn/big property to hang onto it for me. Going to ask the parents of one of my friends who lives in the area. (Leaving tomorrow! :eek2:)

So I'll put off buying anything until I come back, and have a bit more cash squirrelled away.
 
looks like I joined this forum in the knick of time, as I am also looking for a new jacket. My considerations so far:

Fieldsheer Razor
Fieldsheer Congo 2.0
Alpinestar Stage

My previous jacket was a leather Joe Rocket Blaster 2.0 that I bought when I started riding, size 46. I just sold it last week as it was too big on me now, and starting to get desperate for a new jacket so I can ride (ATTGAT or no riding). I'm wanting something to try and match the bike, and I've heard the blue on the FS Razor is more of a purple. Can anyone confirm?

Other concerns, and if you have knowledge pertaining to these, please let me know!
- I see in Europe they wear Textile in winter, Leather in summer. Is Textile 'warmer' than leather?
- Textile melting if I end up in a skid (or are they past this now)
- Sweating to death in leather (or does underarmor help THAT much?) even though it protects the best
 
When the temp gets into the 90's I carry my street clothes and change when I get to work.
:

+ 1 for that. This way the creases don't fall out of your slacks.

I'm very interested in the olympia suit as well and have had a friend on this site who purchased one and was quite fond. Not quite as fast to get into as the 'stich, but far, far cooler.
 
tlees82: Textile doesn't melt in a skid and works wonderfully in the summer and in the winter. I gave up on leather for anything but track use years ago. It's easier to move in textile and I've crash tested it and it holds up just fine during a 90 mph lowside. But it all comes down to where on the safety vs practicality spectrum you want to reside. A flip face or 3/4 helmet is practical but a full face is is safer... YOu pick your level of risk.
 
tlees82: Textile doesn't melt in a skid and works wonderfully in the summer and in the winter. I gave up on leather for anything but track use years ago. It's easier to move in textile and I've crash tested it and it holds up just fine during a 90 mph lowside. But it all comes down to where on the safety vs practicality spectrum you want to reside. A flip face or 3/4 helmet is practical but a full face is is safer... YOu pick your level of risk.

Wes, very true. I'm glad you came out of the lowside without injury! Seeing as how I'm a full face kinda guy, I revised considerations for a new jacket:

Fieldsheer Razor
Alpinestar Stage
Teknic Chicane

Basically dropped the textile to stay with leather, however I'm open to suggestions! I can't find any shops within 200 miles of Texarkana that carry Alpinestar, Fieldsheer, or Teknic in stock. I may have to take a drive to the Dallas area, but before I do, I'll see if anyone is close to my measurements and what size jacket they wear: Chest 41.75", Waist 33.5", Gut 38.75"
A 46 was too big...
 
Well, didn't end up with anything I was talking about! Went with an awesome deal on a Speed and Strength Twist of Fate jacket for $163.95 ($500 retail). Arms were a little sticky yesterday with the heat, so I picked up a Under Armour heatgear longsleeve, we'll see if that helps!
 
I field tested my new Scorpion Master Jacket this weekend. When I left El Paso for the mountains on Friday it was 110 degrees. When I got to Cloudcroft it was in the 60s. The jacket worked wonderfully in a full range of temperatures and is by far the most comfortable and practical jacket I have ever owned. I would put my stamp of approval for anyone looking at one. The ride back in 95 degree temps was comfortable. Here's a picture from Cloudcroft, NM. (It's hanging on the bike though) It even has a pouch for a camel back if you feel the need.

2010-06-18%20-%20Trip%20to%20Cloudcroft%20044.png
 
A lesson learned after a hot ride to Talihina this weekend.

Normally I wear full Underarmor Heat Gear. Because the tight fitting shirt shows every roll of my fatness.....

That's NOT an image I wanted to have in my mind! :eek2:

Good to hear from you. Hope all goes well with you in OkieLand!

I was a little south of you that day. Was out exploring Uncertain, Jefferson, Caddo lake and a little of Lake of the Pines. We kept a fish and ski boat at The Pines in the 1960's and early 1970's. I'm planning on doing Talihina in the next couple of months. I built a trailer to haul my bike to S'port. I'm a care taker for my 95 year old uncle. The little Ninja has 36,000 miles on it now. Surprised it still runs!
 
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