Mesh Jacket Observation

Bottom line, wear something.

The difference, in spite of what manufacturers what you to believe, between bottom of the line gear and top of the line isn't that much.

The difference between no protective gear and bottom of the line stuff is HUGE.

We won't get into global economics here.

charlie b said:

Heck that's getting close to how much my bike is worth

I won't spend more than $300 for jacket or pants and will wait for sales to get it for less. My leather jacket was $95 on sale one day.

Yep I am cheap And money challenged

charlie

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A long time friend of mine named Charlie was know for being, how should I say it, "thrifty". He was given the moniker "Cheap Charlie" and he wore that badge with pride.

ROFLMAO I would too!

FWIW, it is almost mandatory amoung some Guzzi owners to be very "frugal". We are called being "part of the problem" with Pigaggio. We love riding the bikes, but, are too cheap to buy a new one. Hence, the mfg gets no bennies from my ownership of one of their bikes...other than propagating the image of very long lasting motorcycles.

'cheap charlie'

Warren said:

I am once again considering the Aerostich R-3 light but its hard to pull the trigger on $1,000 when you already have a closet full of riding gear.

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It was for me as well. Then I thought about how i should have gotten the Aerostich first and saved myself a ton of $$ and frustration. Nice thing is, I am taking the Joe Rocket mesh pants and jacket to Thailand in January, and when our trip is over, I'm going to leave it there. That'll free up some closet space and I won't have to worry about the airline losing my $$$$ Roadcrafter

Dee G said:

and when our trip is over, I'm going to leave it there.

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I've used a similar practice of saving up all my old clothes to take on a motorcycle trip. As they get dirty I discard them and my pack gets smaller. If I don't get home before I run out of underwear I simply stop and buy some new ones (which I needed to do anyway). I don't enjoy stopping at laundromats while on the road - unless it is a rainy day then I don't mind so much.

I was unable to complete a laundry stop when returning from Alaska with Phil. The guest laundry at our motel in Prince George was closed for repairs so we had to go to another motel of the same chain to use their laundry. Then the key cards didn't fit and there was a problem with Canadian change etc. I gave up, but Phil persisted and got his laundry done. I got several hours sleep before he got back to our motel. I left early the next morning. That required waking Phil up to say good bye as we were parting routes that day. I think that was the day that Phil's late start bit him later that night when he found all the motels full.

junglejim said:

I think that was the day that Phil's late start bit him later that night when he found all the motels full.

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That was the night! I probably could have gotten a motel in Lillooet, but it was early and I wanted to get closer to Blaine.

Well, I did. No rooms in Pemberton, Whistler, Squamish, North Vancouver, or Vancouver. So on to Blaine. It took nearly 3 hours to get through American customs since there was only one attendant working on a holiday weekend (Canadian holiday, not US). The director of the Blaine customs station was fired two days later. It made for two very late nights.

I have a pair of Air Mesh pants by Motoport. Not the most stylish but they are really functional. I've done a slow speed slide in them and you can barely see a mark on them. They breathe very well and with the liner in they are wonderful for wet cooler weather. As for their jackets made of the same stuff, I can only assume they would function the same. Again style wise they aren't the best but if you want a jacket that will last almost a lifetime then they may be worth the initial cost up front.

Kyle

I guess I would ask why you need more protection than the mesh offer?

Do you really believe the extra weight cordura will give that much more protection?

Any gear in my view is better than none. I look at any textile garment as a one shot device. There can be damage you can't see, why not have as good as you can afford. I have a few mesh items that are comfortable and hold armor in the right places. Been lucky enough not having done any real world testing of any of it yet. http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcycle-clothing/motorcycle-clothing-safety-standards.htm

I had an old black Joe Rocket mesh jacket many moons ago, at the time it was several years old. I was going to throw it away and a friend of mine wanted it. It had enough sun damage that the black was actually more of a purple hue.

A few weeks later he went down in an intersection and slid - he guessed - 20-30 feet. He was on his way to a dinner here in Dallas with several friends including myself. When he told me about the wreck - bike just slid and no damage to it. I looked at the old jacket he was wearing and expected to see it shredded. He showed me the spot where he initially hit his elbow and slid, barely any visible marks at all... I was pretty amazed.

Road surface has a huge affect of course, we've got stuff here in TX that's like sandpaper and other stuff that's like glass so like with any crash, what happens once it starts is pure luck and you just hope you have one what will work best... but again, SOMETHING, even the cheapest oldest stuff, is better than nothing.

junglejim said:

Wasn't that hard for me. I just had my Darian suit in for factory fix for the third time and they told me they have fixed it for the last time. They seam taped a bunch of leaky spots (for free and while I waited), but they advised my the life of my jacket is about done (at least the water proof part). Even though it leaks a little in a few spots it is still way better than anything else I've had.

So I have a new R3-one piece coming now.

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I have also made the plunge and ordered an R-3 one piece as well. Received confirmation that it would ship in 24-72 hours. I made the decision to purchase it mostly due to the fact it is waterproof and plan on using it primarily for my Spring, Fall and Winter commuting. I am expecting it to be too hot for summer commuting but will see how comfortable it is yet this summer.

wine-barr said:

The temperature range that I ride in varies from 50 degrees in the winter to 96 degrees for the rest of the year :wink:.

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Good riding weather. Here in Texas, the range is more like 20 F to 120 F

My current desire is for a two piece Roadcrafter Light (City?). The main reason is ability to ride through the occaisional rain storm dry. The Olympia GT Air Transitions I have in not waterproof at all. Liners and rainsuits are brutally hot here in SE TX. The Olympia also has about 90,000 miles on it now, after 5 years.

Chuck 500 said:

My current desire is for a two piece Roadcrafter Light (City?). The main reason is ability to ride through the occaisional rain storm dry. The Olympia GT Air Transitions I have in not waterproof at all. Liners and rainsuits are brutally hot here in SE TX. The Olympia also has about 90,000 miles on it now, after 5 years.

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LOL.. yeah, even the gore-tex stuff I've tried in the past will not let out enough heat and you end up being just as wet as if you'd not put any raingear on.. so most of the time I just ride though the storm and in 10 mins will be air dry once past..

Mellow said:

LOL.. yeah, even the gore-tex stuff I've tried in the past will not let out enough heat and you end up being just as wet as if you'd not put any raingear on.. so most of the time I just ride though the storm and in 10 mins will be air dry once past..

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That strategy does not work well if it happens when you are riding to work

Warren said:

That strategy does not work well if it happens when you are riding to work

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True... I stopped riding the bike to work a long time ago, felt like a tease to just put 20 miles in one-way... If I can't do at least 200 I feel like I'm wasting my time.. LOL

I know. Some mornings I feel like it takes me longer to put on all my gear than it takes to actually ride to work.

I'll take the bike once in a while just so see that it still runs .. LOL

But, when the temps start edging around 80 in the morning, it's gonna be close to 100 on the way home... If I'm riding across 3 states, no big deal, but for work it can be less than fun.. I still smile though, event when I do take the bait.

Mellow said:

True... I stopped riding the bike to work a long time ago, felt like a tease to just put 20 miles in one-way... If I can't do at least 200 I feel like I'm wasting my time.. LOL

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That's what is wrong with Ride To Work Day. Back in the days that I actually went to work I did the Ride To Work Day and failed to get to work a couple times because it was just too nice to quit riding.

Mellow said:

Bottom line, wear something.

The difference, in spite of what manufacturers what you to believe, between bottom of the line gear and top of the line isn't that much.

The difference between no protective gear and bottom of the line stuff is HUGE.

We won't get into global economics here.

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Well said Joe.