| Author | Message | |||
     Ccryder |
Just in case someone doesn't know what an Aerostich looks like:  Neil S. | |||
| Ccryder |
You will be able to see something in this one (I'll get the digital stuff straight, someday).  Neil S. | |||
| Bored |
Court, you road test that Hi-Viz Aerostich yet? I picked up a Vanson cordura jacket that isn't quite Hi-Viz, but it's a bright yellow. I like to believe it has made me more visible. However, I found a problem: They don't make most bugs in a yellow color. The dearly departed critters show up too well. | |||
| Court |
All I've had the chance to do it a series of short local hops. But...I have already name the thing the "Ugly-Stich". I LOVE IT. I'd forgotten the gift of a well broken in Aerostich and have to remember my bandana to keep the chaffing off the neck. The pockets are wonderful. The electric long sleeve Aerostich vest zips right in. Bottom line is that I can't get myself to leave home without it. All the broken in, comfy 'Stiches just hang there. Ditto the gratis Harley-Davidson leather jackets. Fact is, I'm adddicted (chalk it up to NYC) visibility. I think I may have to do a photo essay on the "Mean Streets" of NYC. I love your thing about the bugs. Hopefully I can add one of the good old Mega-day 800 mile days before long and "paint" mine...heheheh. Court | |||
| Bored |
So I send an e-mail to Vanson, asking them for ideas on quick-cleaning deceased insects off their Cordura jackets... I don't want to end a ride with hand-washing the jacket and hosing it off, per their cleaning instructions. Sure, I'll do the full clean sometimes, but not daily! And I asked them about fabric protectant. Their reply was: "hand wash in product such as ivory snow, no detergent, no protectant" Not the answer to the question I asked. Do y'all have tips for quick cleaning the bug graveyard off your Cordura riding gear, without a full cleaning? | |||
| Mikej |
This may or may not work for you, and you may or may not be pleased the the cosmetic results or lack thereof, but what I do with either my leather jacket or denim jacket or rain gear or anything else that I may wear while riding that gets repulsively bug splattered is I just use a little warm water and one of those finger nail brushes used by mechanics to get grease off, or by cooks to get flour and grease off, or by anyone else wanting to brush junk off the crevaces of their hands. The fairly short (less than a half inch) bristles and the small size of the brush (about 1" x 2" or so) when used with a little warm water seems to do a decent job of getting the bug gunk off. I only do this if after standing in line at a Taco Bell I heard people gagging and commenting and looking intently at the big yellow splats on my jacket. Got some goods one recently at the Slimey Crud Run last weekend, big juicy pollen laden bees and such. Which reminds me, I gotta wash off my face shield on the helmet, it's getting hard to see out of.  Just use a small finger nail brush, or even a toothbrush. | |||
| Court |
Mike: Please fill in the following: "The TOTAL number of Toothbrushes I own is _______" IF.......Total < 2, please go away. Court | |||
| Mikej |
I own exactly 1 toothbrush. Which is why I use the finger nail brush for the tastey critter removal. This does bring up an interesting situation though. Let's say you have a guest who arrives at your home wearing a bug-decco jacket and who needs to use the restroom. Upon his exit from said restroom you notice that some of the more colorfull decoration of his jacket has somehow disappeared. Do you: A) Say nothing, then later dispose of any personal hygiene devices in said restroom, especially that wonderufull new waterpic you just got? B) Say nothing, and promptly suggest riding over to his place for a visit where you can return any favors? C) Immediately confront him about his now debugged jacket? D) Or simply smile because you realize he must have noticed his toothbrush after your previous visit to his place which was right after riding thru a HoneyBee swarm at 90mph? MikeJ (Hoping I didn't just get uninvited from any summer visitations) | |||
| Doncasto |
You are all making a great case for taking the local Conoco station up on their offer for a "$2 car wash with you fuel today?" I figure a run through their "brushless" system should loosen even the most stubborn of Colorado's epoxy insects and relieve of the bike washing drudgery. I wonder if my mask and snorkel will fit in my tank bag? I corollary benefit would be to put an end once and for all to the nagging question, "Is the blue toothbrush the bug remover or is it the red one?" when I look into my travel bag. Don | |||
| Bored |
Consult with your local dentist or entomologist.. Perhaps bug remains have magical tooth whitening properties. "Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice that you have peice of wing stuck in your teeth." | |||
| Bradgross |
hey all, I'm looking for a good online retailer for a helmet. I'm getting a "starter" bike this weekend. (see profile) And I want to get a full face helmet for it. Any suggestions on brands? HBC and Shoei seem to fit fairly well if that helps. Brad | |||
| Court |
Brad: Here's the gig......In terms of "name brand" that a guy can buy at a reasonable price...it's darn tough to beat the Shoei. I've never bought a helmet online, but I always use "www.helmetshop.com" for reference info. If you want to balance economy and effectiveness, I'd suggest you check out their "blow outs" page for discontinued and "last year" models. There's a lecture (isn't there always...?) that I can give you on the "care and feeding" of ANY helmet. If you have questions, please ask. That's why we all meet here. Court | |||
| Bradgross |
court, My needs are that I sweat. And not just a little. So I am looking for a removable liner so that I can wash out the stench as well as a helmet that breathes. Sounds like a wish list to me. Any help would be great. Thanks, Brad | |||
| Bomber |
Badgross removal liners are great, but you already likely have a drawer-ful of them at home . . . . . . I've been tieing a bandana around my head (either pirate style or gangsta stylke, depending on your age and where you live, I guess) . . . . . soaks up a bunch, keeps the helmet hair semi-controlled, and can be washed whenever the mood strikes you I'm sure things have changed, but when I last looked specifically for a removable liner, they seemed to be mostly in high-end helmets . . .. . just another thing to consider -- just what you needed | |||
| Court |
Brad: The bandana is, likely, the route you'll want to go. I have 4 Arai Rx7RR's.  These have removable/washable liners...BUT they also fange from $450-$800. For the price of a "cheap" <<on sale solid color>> RX..you can buy lots of bandani. Court | |||
| Reepicheep |
Boy... all you rich guys I have had a couple helmets... both cheap but functional, both have both DOT certifications, the Bieffe has Snell 95 also (I believe snell does not have rules for the flip front helmets yet, so they can't be snell certified) Bieffe B-8. Pros? $85 bucks NIB, looks decent, has vents, works fine, latch instead of d-rings, and I seem to recall a removable liner. Cons? Thermoplastic visor scratches VERY easily, latch somethimes awkward, Visor flips up if you do a head check at 80 mph. Summary? A good first helmet to learn how not to drop, becomes a giveaway after a year or so (or a passenger helmet). Nolan N(100? 150? would have to look) Trend Flip Top. Pros? $150, looks decent, has vents, excellent (optional) fog shield, good lexan visor, good latch, flip up chin (a real blessing for people with glasses). Cons? Seems to be built more for round heads than narrow ones, makes you look a LOT like a storm trooper when flipped up. Summary? This is my current helmet, and for the price I am very happy with it. It could fit just a little better, but it is fine for a couple hours at a time. I remember Court mentioning something about a flip front helmet failing... I have not heard about any cases. The Nolan looks pretty sturdy, and locks at 4 positions (two hinges, two latches). Bill | |||
| Blake |
Brad: I just sprang for a new Shoei Z-II from http://www.helmetshop.com (that place is first rate!). It has removable liners and came with a chin basket and breath guard. Not sure it is worth the extra $$ over the RF900, but I don't like the plastic scoop on the RF900, and they were out of RF800's in my preferred colors/size. You can get some great deals on leftover RF800's though. I like the Shoei design for it's extremely easy to remove/remount faceshield, and it's low wind noise. For your convenience, the following PDF file contains the helmetshop.com's pricing as of a week ago. http://www.helmetshop.com/shoei.htm
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| Bradgross |
Hey all, I did eventually buy a helmet from Helmet Shop. I appreciate everyone's comments. I agree with you Blake I wanted to get a leftover RF800 but they did not have any in my size and preferred color. Instead what I did was pick up an HJC ac-10 which comes with a breath guard, bag, and an extra visor for $300 shipped 2nd day air. Not bad I thought. Although I really would have liked the RF800. My major sticking point was that I went to all my ball caps and took a big whiff of them. WHEW! So then I thought, "Self, I do believe that the smell would be 5 times what that ball cap smells like." Not exactly what I call a good time. Hence the removeable liner in the HJC will be nice. My other dilemma was that this was my first full face helmet and after spending some $$ on a full armored gore-tex jacket all I had left to spend was less than 300 bucks. Besides I figure that when I DO buy my Buell (oh man I hope next year, cyclone baby), maybe the color I get with the bike will not match the helmet. And one just can't go uncoordinated. Or at least thats what the wife says With that said, Court you said that you have care and maitenance tips. Lay it on me brother! I have an empty head that needs all the info I can get. Thanks all, Brad PS. I have a quick tire question that i placed in the appropriate knowledge vault section. Can anybody help me there? PPS. Anybody near Pittsburgh who wants to go for a ride? Show me the good places. | |||
| Bradgross |
by the way.... Blake this place is awesome. With the likes of you, Court, Aaron, Pammy and everyone else out here, this place is a treasure trove of info. Thanks for all that contributes to its work. Brad | |||
| Blake |
Brad!!! Thanks! But really, I'm just a deskjocky fool who argues pretty good! It's enthusiasts like you and all the rest that make this online collection of blathering not a total waste of time and often dang entertaining. So THANK YOOOOOOOOOOOOU!! | |||
| Mikej |
Aerostich wind drag question: I notice a definite difference in wind drag between when wearing my leather jacket and when I put on the body armor under it with the shoulder and elbow pads and back protector. For anyone who has done a comparison, how much wind drag is there while wearing a Roadcrafter 1-piece suit with body armor installed vs just a regular lightly padded leather jacket? Just curious. I called the factory up in Duluth and found out they will be open this Friday, Saturday, and Monday, regardless of the Holiday weekend. So I'm thinking of riding the 376 miles up there and getting size/measured in person and to rummage around to see what they have hanging around. Their web page lists a blue suit with avocado ballistics, but I don't think I'm overly thrilled with that color scheme. Blue w/ Avocado? MikeJ | |||
| Bluzm2 |
Mike, When are you thinking of heading up there? What route you taking? I may try to hook up with you just for kicks if you want the company. I'm in the Twin Cities area. When i bought my suit I went up there and tried on different sizes. Real funky little place they have up there! Not at all what you expect. BluzM2 | |||
| Mikej |
I'm thinking of leaving work slightly before noon or slightly before that if the boss leaves early on Friday. I might make it there right about the time they close, or maybe an hour earlier depending on traffic. Using this as a test run of my gear and packing, so will try to find a campground up there someplace Friday night, but probably not the best weekend to do that. I'm open to suggestions. Gotta do a Duluth camping search and see what I can find on the web. At least Aerostich is open on Saturday which gives me some flexibility. I've never been up there before so it should be interesting. | |||
| Pangalactic |
I got one of the HJC Symax helmets from Beldenmotosports.com - they have some they call "Minor cosmetic blemishes" usually at cost, sometimes less. I paid 160 for mine (check it out, thats an awesome price) for one with a slight 1/4" line in the clear coat- looked like someone lost an eyelash while they were painting at the factory. Well worth it in my book. The flip face does have some increased wind noise, but I only notice it if I'm tucking my head under the slipstream of the windshield (of my S3)- and going faster than I probably should. Being able to flip up the face at a stoplight in the balmy south has already paid for itself over and again, IMHO. It takes standard HJ-05 replacement shields- the same ones that fit almost every other HJC helmet, which you can get about anywhere that sells helmets. | |||
| Court |
Mike: I've got lots of stats, measurements and numbers for various garbs in various winds. I'll save you the speel...Aerostich will cost you a tad >5MPH on top end. .............and it's worth it. Have a fun trip and tell everyone hello. Court | |||
| Bomber |
Still Aerostich, but a lsight change of gears . . .. . any one have any experience with their Combat Touring Boots? my 30 year old Sears Lineman's boots have just about earnned their place in Valhalla . . . .. . . they look like they'd stop a thirty-ought-six, but I don't think I've ever seen any in the flesh degree of waterproofenss, heat build up, the ability to pop back up like Bazooka Joe after getting hit in the nose . . . . . any data is good data thanks | |||
| Mikej |
Bomber, When I was bike boot shopping I asked about them and remember being told they are very slow to break-in. I went with the Sidi Sympatex Road (or whatever they're called). If you want more armor then they might not be for you, but they are waterproof. | |||
| Chuck |
Yesterday, I bought two HJC brand CL12 helmets from Alamo Cycle Plex. They are full-face, Snell 95, and vent better than my RF700. I have always worn Shoei; but based on their recent pricing, they won't miss my business. Anyway, I got both helmets and an extra tinted face shield for $281 plus tax...what a deal  | |||
| Loki |
Bomber, 30 years? I guess my AF issue combat boots are still children then. I have only got 15 years of wear out them so far. I have had to replace the laces though, just once at that... I don't want to go boot shopping, gonna have to real soon though. loki | |||
| S2no1 |
Bomber, Just got a pair of SIDI Vertaba, very nice but not as tough as the Sear Linemen. Good armor. Nice fit and finish. Hope to break them in. My other boot are some Wolverines from JCPENNY. Steel toes. On fourth pair laces. Toes are down to the steel on one pair. Did the job though. Arvel |
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