| Author | Message | ||
     Henrik |
I've been using the Widder System II vest with the collar for a couple of seasons. Not a real lot of cold weather riding, but it's worked well so far, and seems well built. No problem with the wiring, but I haven't really pushed it either. I like the fact that the vest is reasonably stylish, because it saves me from packing something else, and the "arm chaps" snaps on/off when you need them. Just my 0.2 Henrik | ||
| S1_Buell |
Josh I ride with a helmet that is big enough to wear with a hooded sweatshirt when it gets down to the 20's. When the hood is tied under the helmet it covers my forehead and the back of my neck. I do not have any electric vest, chaps or gloves. I have been leary about hooking up that much at one time. Is anyone wearing a full heated suit (vest, gloves, pants, & socks) on an S1? I would be interested what problems they might have run into. I want to be able to ride when it is in the teens and lower 20's. Currently if the temp in the morning is below 25 I leave the bike at home. Nick | ||
| Jmartz |
S1: I ride all year long. During cold mornings if the bike has been left outside it requires a jump to start. I hook up my heated gloves and vest after it warms up and run the 13 miles to work. I have also ridden it to the coast (330 miles) several times without problems. If the day stays in the 30's it will not start in the afternoon. | ||
| Iggy |
any thoughts on a good cordura 'wind/water proof' winter jacket with soft armour and where to pick one up? currently looking at the hein gericke and teknic offerings. iG | ||
| Blake |
Oh yeah,  Aerostich is regarded as the industry leading cordura gear. For the more budget minded, Joe Rocket has some good gear. The Ballistic two piece has kept me warm and dry on extensive wet touring excursions. I bought mine online from the cheapest of the major motorcycle mail order vendors, Motorcycle Accessory Wharehouse, I think. | ||
| Buelliedan |
I have heard mnay bad things about the Joe Rockets seams tearing in a fall. I personally went down with a First Gear Kilimanjaro and it held up VERY well. Only some small pinholes where I slid for a good distance. I am buying another First Gear but this time their best model, the Scirroco. They are on e-bay right now for $250 which is a steal. Just search "first gear jackets" to find them. they have all sizes available. Just don't bid on one that somebody else already has. They haved at least three in each size so find one that hasn't been bid on yet. Dan | ||
| Iggy |
so anyone have experience with the buell touring jacket or the teknic road iron jacket? iG | ||
| Blastin |
Iggy, I have the Teknic "Hurricane" jacket, I think. It's the one with 3 pads on the shoulders and the integrated back pad.(I like to call it the skid plate) The jacket has hard armor in the elbows and shoulders, a zip out liner, and an extra neck wind guard piece. I have been using the jacket for aproximately 5,000 miles and find it very comfortable. It has vent on the front, back, and arms. If it gets really hot, I just leave the zipper down a bit to get the air flowing. The jacket itself seams to be holding up pretty well, and it quite warm with the liner. Did a 200 mile run at 38 degrees with the jacket, liner, t-shirt, and light sweatshirt and fared very well. My jacket is bright yellow, so it needs a wash. I am anxious to see how the integrated back pad fares with a wash. The hard armor is removable if you don't want to use it. The pockets are large enough for cell phone, garage door opener, etc. I don't like to carry too much hard plastic or metal in my pockets though. The bottom two pockets have a fleece-like lining that gets the hands toasty when needed. I do wish it had a larger more accesible inside breast pocket though. I haven't done too much riding in the rain, but the jacket seems to be fairly waterproof. I will probably give it a spray down of waterproofing before next spring though. Overall I like the jacket. The price wasn't too bad either. I don't have any knowledge of how it holds up in the event of a mishap, hopefully I never have to find out. If you want I can give you the long winded version.  Jerry | ||
| Blake |
Dan: You've "heard many bad things about the Joe Rockets seams tearing in a fall." What model?... Details please. The Ballistic jacket and pants that I have sure appear to be VERY robustly stitched. What happened in the many instances you've heard. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Somebody over on (one of many) squid sites was talking about how he trashed his Hyabusa at 80+mph. He slid quite a ways down the road and walked away from it with only some minor burns. He complained to Joe Rocket because the pads did not stay exactly over his elbows. The Joe Rocket rep that looked at the jacket was of the opinion that given an 80 mph crash, the jacket did its job pretty well. I tend to agree with the Joe Rocket guy... The jacket (and seams) held together fine, he just got burnt a little from the friction heat. I can't imagine walking away from an 80 mph lowside and complaining about ANYTHING! Thats the only datapoint I know of, and the touring jacket did an excellent job. Not as good as full race leathers... but then full race leathers in the closet (because it is hot, you are going to work, you don't want to look like a mighty morphin power ranger, or you are in a hurry) don't provide much protection either... | ||
| Mikej |
I'm probably mostly wrong, but I thought the hard pads were for the initial impact protection, not for the slide portion of the pavement dance. That's why I went ahead and got a Dainese (sp?) liner with hard pads and back protector to wear under the jacket. I figured the pads were for impact, the jacket for the slide. I still need to get pants (chilly riding without them). | ||
| Adaleb |
I have the new black Buell Touring Jacket and it is excellent. Much improved over the older gray model. Zip out liner, rubber lined pockets, coated snaps, sleeve straps, zipper in the back to attach to pants, excellent venting system. Very high quality. A bargain at $300.00 vs the old price of $320.00. Buell clothing line seems to be taking a step up when you look at the 2002 catalog. Also have the new "Puck" glove for mid weather riding - again excellent fit and finish. | ||
| Iggy |
got the jacket yesterday. since it's the same jacket as jerry's i won't go into the physical description, except to say mine is black and looks badass. comfortable and easy to wear. a snap came off but it's a simple fix ($10 or less). it's been chilly here in phoenix (i know no one believes that) and the jacket is definitely keeping me happy at nite (40 degrees and excessive speed on freeway - jacket warm). and the girlies seem to like it. iG | ||
| Notrt |
I'm looking for a decent one piece suit for track days, and don't feel like spending a thousand dollars on one just yet...Has anyone had first hand experience (or even seen one) with the "Miyuki Racing Nitro Suit"s currently been advertised on ebay...the price is really cheap...but, I wonder if it's simply another case of you get what you pay for... | ||
| Buelliedan |
Blake, The info about the Joe Rockets was from a similar discussion on Labusas one day. More than one person complained about the seams coming apart during falls. Not enough to cause further injury but enough to make the jacket a one crash only type of item. This is not necessarily a bad thing. I did not personally witness any of those crashes. I did however go down wearing a First Gear Kilimanjaro and it held up fabulously. A few small wear holes where I slid for about 50 feet and nothing else wrong. If the insurance company hadn't insisted on me giving them the jacket in exchange for $300 I would still be using it. As it is I went a bought an even higher model First gear and it is even better in my opinion!! | ||
| Jonnyz |
Does anyone here know of a U.S. distributor for Roof helmets? I've searched the web to no avail. I'm interested in the Boxer model. Thanks Jon | ||
| Tbolt834 |
Jonnyz, Try this. http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-helmets/motorcycle-helmets.htm Dave | ||
| Jonnyz |
Tbolt834 Thanks for the link. I've seen the Thunderchild site and found a few dealers in the UK, but none for here in the States. My guess is that Roof helmets are not DOT approved. Ah, well maybe I'll order one out of the UK anyway. | ||
| Buellsknr |
I am a cheap SOB and have been happy with my Joe Rocket Meteor 3.0 Jacket. I am going into my second riding season with it and have had no probs. I wore it into work this morning with 32 degree temp outside. It plans on getting to 60 today. I also wear the Joe Rocket boots. Now these I have to say have needed alittle more TLC. Each year they have been patched or reglued using liquid nails. They look good but would be willing next time to part with more money to get something better. | ||
| Johnc |
Hi guys, take a look at this web site if you are interested in making your own electric vest. I am currently working on one using some of the information supplied with some modifications.I'll let you know how it turns out. http://www.shadowriders.org/faq/electricvests.html |
