Gear Discussion - MESH

[StarWolve]

I picked up the gear last Wednesday, and was able to try it out on a short ride this weekend.

First impressions - the jacket is cut for a tall, skinny guy... which is great for me. I ordered a large, and the sleeves are actually long enough. It fits a bit snug in the chest, but not overly so. The pockets for the armor could be a bit better fitted, as I found the shoulder armor wants to roll around a bit when putting the jacket on. Otherwise, it's great. The jacket lets a lot of air through when moving. The day I rode was about 70 degrees, and it felt quite cool when in the wind. Stopped, it wasn't too hot, but I'd imagine a black jacket on a sunny 90+ degree day is going to get hot whenever you stop. The jacket has some additional vents on the shoulders, which seem to help out with airflow a lot.

Pants - First impression was "wow, these are heavy!" The pants are mostly leather, with only the front thigh and rear calf areas being mesh. The knee pads sit a little bit low when standing, but when tucked in on a sport bike, they're right where they need to be. The sizes run a bit large, as they're designed to be an overpant. I wear a size 32 jean, and the 32 pants fit over them well. The only complaint on the pants is that I wish they had made a zipper to zip the jacket into them, or that they had extended the waistline up some for better coverage. At speed, I didn't notice them feeling too heavy or holding in too much heat. However, I didn't feel a ton of airflow through the mesh, either. However, most of the time on the firebolt, my legs are tucked in tight to the frame, and that bike is particularly hot due to the engine being tucked up into the frame. The extra layer did seem insulate me from the bike heat a little better than jeans alone. The pants are also made for a tall skinny guy, but the bottom 6" can be trimmed if they're too long for you. They seemed to be the right length when in the riding position, so I need to take them to a leather worker to put a good solid hem on the bottom so that they will hold up better.

The "test ride" and Grand Tour hunting was cut short... I came around a curve and felt like I was in neutral when I was finishing the curve and starting to roll on the throttle and upshift. Downshifted, and still had no power. I had broken the belt, so I ended up calling my buddy to pick me up with my truck and trailer. Oh well - $&!% happens, and better to break a belt or something minor when you're 20 miles from home, than to wreck or break something 200 miles from home!



Pictures and more in depth reviews will follow in a couple weeks. Also - I had a job interview Friday. It looks like they'll be sending me an offer letter today, so in 2 weeks, I'm going to be leaving NY for good. I'll have lots of ride reports from sunny Charlotte NC in the near future!