Anyone have any more info on them, or something similar?
I know its not leather or some man made textile, but for generally slow urban commuting it'll be better than the jeans I wear now.
Sorry for the hijack, just trying to add another alternative to the textile/leather discussion.
Here ya go: Add this Bohn Body Guard system to yours or any other jean and you will have an armored riding setup:
slipknot wrote: What I don't like is the stopping to insert/remove liners for rain/sun.
Slipknot: I, too, had a problem with the insertion of the liners. It is a pain when the rain is coming down hard and you have to totally get out of the gear to put the liners in.
My solution was to run over to one of the local bike shops that stocks a lot of riding clothing, and get a rain suit that fits over the entire mesh kevlar suit. The one I really liked is the Tourmaster Sentinel in bright yellow. It has reflective bands on it and is very lightweight. The zippers are easy to function when you are riding and can be opened for airflow between rain squalls without getting overheated.
I found that using the coat over the kevlar jacket with the liner or some long sleeve shirts make a very good layered setup with lots of dead air space, or "loft" for insulation in cold riding situations. The rain suit acts as a great wind barrier and is much more effective, to me, than the internal liner alone.
Doug
Last edited by ka5ysy on Wed Jul 18, 2007 6:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
MSF #127350 NAUI #36288
2011 RT WARNING: TEST RIDING THE R1200R IS HAZARDOUS TO YOUR FINANCES
I recently came across this thread and it caught my eye. I had a long search for mesh pants suitable for south Louisiana and eventually bought a pair of FirstGear Meshtex 2.0 pants. They are cooler than my RevIt Ultimate pants, but after reading your comments, I was a little distressed to discover that they are 500 Dernier and (after an email to their customer sevice) polyurethane (which melts at 450 degrees).
I do the Causeway for my commute from and to New Orleans, always atgatt, but it appears I may be kidding myself with the firstgear??
Do you have any experience with other summer pants vs the Motoports with Prairieville heat? Did you consider Revit Challenge pants?
Also, I have a Bohn armor shirt and have worn it out--now I find that although it protects, it doesn't slide. great.
Thanks
JOhn
'09 SchwarzeBlanche DuBois Well, don't do that-Hippocrates
It may be of interest to concerned parties that the german automobile club (which was founded as a motorcyclists association in the early 20th century) has just recently tested leather and plastic protective gear from all price ranges.
They did a realistic road slide and tumble simulation with an enormous investment in testing apparatus and dummies. (Effectively throwing those puppets on the road from a motorcycle tilting at 60 mph.)
Resulting in the revelation that even the cheapest leather gave better protection than the most expensive ultra-armoured plastic suit.
It is probably bad news for everyone having to commute in summer temperatures but a cow is still your best friend when the going gets rough.
Personally I'm one of the obnoxious Atlantis-wearers. Yes it gets hot above 80°F. But it is bearable as long as you roll....
I have not had any experience with the Revit pants. The Motoport stuff is fine even in the 95 degree stuff we are having now if you use wicking underwear. I have been quite happy with the Coolmax stuff I purchased from
They are very inexpensive for the stuff you get and it works well even when I am doing Riders Edge classes in Hammond in 114 degree heat on the range.
The only thing I am really considering changing is to get a bright yellow kevlar jacket from Motoport to avoid the heat absorption that occurs with the black Airmesh II stuff I have, and to make myself more visible to the idiot drivers we have around Baton Rouge now.
If I ever run across a BMW shop that has some of the new riding gear they have, I would look at that also.
PM me if you would like to see my setup sometime.
Doug
MSF #127350 NAUI #36288
2011 RT WARNING: TEST RIDING THE R1200R IS HAZARDOUS TO YOUR FINANCES
Just to add the two cents of a guy who just went through a crash where my RR burst into flames, with me under it, I will be wearing my leathers when I get out again. I have no idea what effect it had that I was wearing my First Gear mesh pants when I crashed and I am certain that whatever I was wearing would have ended up torched given my particular crash circumstances, but I don't think I will be wearing anything less than leather or something that is fire resistant. As they say, "better sweat than blood..."
And believe me, ya don't want burns on your legs (or anywhere)... just ask me.
I think like this: The most important safety consideration is being comfortable! If I am uncomfortable on my bike it is a distraction and increases the risk that I crash. Crashing most of the time will result in my serious injury or death (anything is excess of 80 kph is hard to survive). Most crashes happen in built up areas and at low speeds where my textile clothes will give me adequate protection. Therefore it is better to be comfortable and avoid a crash than have a small amount of better protection.
I have a pair of Halvarssons Cobra trousers which I am very pleased with!
The company are really good and fixed a leak I had in my jacket free of charge (the woman who fixed it couldn't find it and rang me up to discuss the problem!). Also if you can't find and exact match (e.g. the legs too long) you can send them to the company and they will make adjustments!
Ride safe
/hass
"Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong." - Oscar Wilde
C'mon, farlkers - we've a clothing solution that won't surprise.
Wear BOTH! (but not at the same time)
On the premise that a (small) number of riding suits will wear out at the same overall rate whether acquired at the same time or consecutively, I have a summer suit (BMW Airflow II, textile) a middling-weather, fair-ish day suit (BMW Freeway - Leather), and and all-weather touring suit( BMW Tourguard I - textile). All with the maximum CE protectors (especially spine protectors). I also have vented and watrefproof boots, same for gloves. Unless I grow or slump too much in the middle (burp), these will last me enough years to justify the all-up price. They're all a few years old now, and holding up well - the Tourguard will wear out first because it gets most use (best gear I've ever owned).
My two cents on the difference goes to extile suits: especially for a touring rider. The difference in riding comfort and therefore "alertness" of a suit that copes with everything in a riding day can't be underestimated in keeping you out of accidents in the first place. With armacor goretex, I know I'm in a tough enough suit for a major 'off', and the suit is comfortable when it's fine and cosy when it's not: it has never let in a drop of water. Ever. And it doesn't get heavy as even 'waterproof' leather can (I doen't like liners for the same reason - they still allow the outer layer to soak and get heavy).
This is especially true on a roadster, given the amount of water to hit your gear: waterproof textile just works.
As for crash-proof, cordura and kevlar seem to work as well as, or maybe better than, leather. I swore by leather for years, but after seeing a couple of mates' 'offs' I became convinced textile was better. My own little 'offs' have proven textile better than leather. I'd bow to scientific tests if the results were conclusive, but so far they don't seem to be.
I don't doubt that high-speed, smooth surface 'off's suit leather better. Racers wear close-fitting leather for a reason, but I don't ride in that idiom.
Armour is simply a must-have, of course. the improvement in crash-worthiness from armour, compared to the stuff we used to wear, is amazing. I look at my old gear and just shake my head!
A confession - I do use a couple fo pairs of Draggin' Jeans around town as a compromise (but never at speed). The important thing with those panst is FIT. A mate had loose ("cargo") pants (fashionably camoflage)and when he fell, the kevlar areas were loose enough to move, and the pants tore to expose his knee - a very nasty wound. in bike gear, baggy is bad - I think.
I never, ever, wear street jeans riding. And never, ever, ride without solid boots and gloves. I've seen too many serious injuries in unprotected low-speed 'offs' to ever take a chance.
AGATT, or walk.
Dr. Strangelove wrote:... eventually bought a pair of FirstGear Meshtex 2.0 pants. They are cooler than my RevIt Ultimate pants, but after reading your comments, I was a little distressed to discover that they are 500 Dernier and (after an email to their customer sevice) polyurethane (which melts at 450 degrees).
I do the Causeway for my commute from and to New Orleans, always atgatt, but it appears I may be kidding myself with the firstgear??
John, I feel the same about my gear, but came to the conclusion that you can only do your best to protect yourself from relatively small accidents on a bike, but if you have a high-speed "major freeway accident" I doubt it matters all that much what you are wearing really.
Despite the summer heat, I'm sticking with good gear as best I can - I couldn't stand to pick up a painful (but hopefully temporary) injury from an urban accident that could've been avoided / lessened by ATGATT. "Better sweat than blood" is a great quote above, I'll remember that one.
..... I was a little distressed to discover that they are 500 Dernier and (after an email to their customer sevice) polyurethane (which melts at 450 degrees).
Thanks
JOhn
John: One thing I failed to mention is that if you look at the instructions for the polyurethane jackets and pants of any manufacturer, one of the things mostly always stated is that you are supposed to "wear appropriate clothing" under the riding suit. This is an obvious acknowledgment that the stuff will melt under high friction, so again for the consumer it is "caveat emptor".
I will say that as noted above, anything is better than nothing or the standard Squid uniform of T-shirt, shorts and whatever shoes seem appropriate at the time of dressing.
Doug
MSF #127350 NAUI #36288
2011 RT WARNING: TEST RIDING THE R1200R IS HAZARDOUS TO YOUR FINANCES
Lots of good advice.
I think I will spring for the RevIt Challenge pants.
The specs from RevIt:
CHALLENGE
Product code: FPT030
Finally, a mesh pant that has maximum breath-ability properties but still provides an approved level of safety. The CHALLENGE pant has a removable waterproof 3-layer membrane to shield out wind and water when attached, while ProLife® armour helps protect crucial impact areas. snip(this liner is not a selling point for me--I'd just use Frogg Toggs)
PROTECTION FEATURES
Outershell: Cordura, Dynax Mesh, Kodra stretch, Schoeller®- Keprotec stretch
Protection: ProLife® CE protection, EVA hip padding
Waterproofing: detachable REV'IT! Hydratex® 3-layer membrane
Breathability: detachable REV'IT! Hydratex® 3-layer membrane
Visibility: reflective waterproof zippers
I have used RevIt products for a few years now and am very pleased. I will do a spec to spec comparison of the Motoport though. I would consider the BMW apparel, but it seems to be made for drier and cooler summers than what we have on the Gulf coast.
Any Gulf coast riders using RevIt Challenge pants?
Whatever it winds up being though, it must breathe. The Ultimate pants from RevIt are a 2-3 season pant down here. They are unwearable mid April-early Oct.
John
'09 SchwarzeBlanche DuBois Well, don't do that-Hippocrates
Sorry for digging up this ancient thread, but I have a whole new argument:
When you have a rather largish German sheperd based mongrel dog - your standard farm yard dog - hanging from your left leg and only get rid of him by seriously accelerating in first gear and then find that the leg of your pants is not punctured in any place and the damage is limited to bruises you are really, really grateful for BMW quality gear .....
I had a wonderful tour today and I think that the above really counts in favour of the use of the BMW Atlantis leathers (the famous blue elephant hide).
