Aerostich review

[Scoobydoo]

Being mostly a lurker around here i thought I'd do a short review on my 'stitch, in case the thousands out there weren't enough lol. I was lucky enough to find a brand new used (if that makes sense) one in my size and locally.  It's the r3 with no liner. It may be ugly but i gotta say if you're a commuter It's pretty great. I have a weird schedule so i leave at 3am and come home in the afternoon.  So basically from cold to hot in the same day sometimes. I rode home it was in the mid 80s  Fahrenheit and i didn't open the vents, i might have if i thought about it before i got on lol but it was fine, i didn'tfeel to hot on the freeway. In the cold i definitely want to find some type of windbreaker. As far as the on and off, that's the best part, super easy and fast after a few tries. The quality is everything i read and more. My favorite part is the magnets that hold the collar down away from your neck, i really don't like collars. They're expensive but i will say i see why people pay so much for them. News said Tomorrow will be 104° so I'll see how it does that hot. 

[Salish900]

I recently ordered and now use a Darien jacket and can say it is absolutely fantastic. Bomber built, custom fitted, and versatile. Can't imagine anything better on all three counts. Materials and construction are top notch. 

[Ride365]

LOVE my Stich gear......won't own anything else.

[draco_1967]

Same. I started with an old RC to see if I liked it. I bought an R3 with Aerostich's 25% off gift card sale at the beginning of the COVID lockdowns. I love it for long distance travel too. I hate heavy wastebands when I'm riding (I'm a bit ... huggable). 

For colder days, light insulation and heated gear are the best. I use a lightweight down jacket as insulation when it's really cold. 

[Kemp]

14 hours ago, Scoobydoo said:

News said Tomorrow will be 104° so I'll see how it does that hot. 

I would like a report back when you're riding in this weather. A lot of my riding is done in hot, humid southern summer conditions, and I would like to know how effective the venting is in these conditions.

[Clem Fandango]

I bought a Roadcrafter jacket a while back to see what all the fuss is about, and I really tried to like it, but ended up returning it.  I could overlook the fact that it looked like it had been sewn by a middle schooler for her home economics midterm, but man, the 80s called and they want their armor back.  It felt like it had four pieces of 1x4 in the sleeves. Sticking with my Belstaff.  YMMV.

[Scoobydoo]

10 hours ago, Kemp said:

I would like a report back when you're riding in this weather. A lot of my riding is done in hot, humid southern summer conditions, and I would like to know how effective the venting is in these conditions.

Sorry i ended up taking the car today but i will take the bike tomorrow.  I think it will still be in the triple digits so I'll report back

[2and3cylinders]

In I think 88 I bought the original RC, designed for commuting and NOT fully waterproof. 

Sprayed it, sealed the seams, still leaked, so a rain suit was required. The new ones are fully watertight.  Great for commuting and touring but I stopped doing the former decades ago, and wanted something that didn't also need a rain suit.  Still wear it on occasion in dry weather because it's light, comfy and easy to don but use the bib front suspenders and took off the elipse (not needed even on my VTR) as the FJ and RD are sit up and beg. 

But I wanted an all weather leather suit and bought their Transit 2 GorePro leather  2 piece and love it. It's only comfortable up to 80 or so though.  The new Transit 3 does not have Gorepro, has different "updated" components, a Pakistani builder (1 & 2 were made in Vietnam) and Corium+ leather. In fact, I chatted at length with Andy Goldfine just the other day.  We've met a couple of times going way back but his memory is shot (and being about the same age, I'm not far behind).  However, I still have buyers remorse because 1900 clams is a LOT of shekels!  But I figured it'd be the last leather suit I'll buy.  Held, Rhuka and BMW had / may have similar but IMO inferior but even pricier stuff, and Klim doesn't do all leather.  I still have solid and perforated leather suits that are still in great shape after 30+ years with updated armor.  A walk-In closet packed with synthetic suits, jackets and pants, dozens of gloves including heated, Kevlar and SuperFabric kit, and a half dozen+ current boots and helmets.  I'm an ATGATT gear whore. Different horses for different courses...

 

[keithu]

In my experience the two piece Roadcrafter is waterproof but the one piece is not. Even with my newer R-3 I still experience the dreaded wet crotch in heavy rain, including last Sunday. This is never an issue with my 24 year old two piece Roadcrafter Classic. It's still waterproof after all these years.

[2and3cylinders]

5 hours ago, keithu said:

In my experience the two piece Roadcrafter is waterproof but the one piece is not. Even with my newer R-3 I still experience the dreaded wet crotch in heavy rain, including last Sunday. This is never an issue with my 24 year old two piece Roadcrafter Classic. It's still waterproof after all these years.

Really, mine never was?  But mine is 13 years older than yours LOL...

Andy G very recently told me the original RC was never intended to be waterproof, he built it for commuting.

M 2-pc does OK in a shorter shower if I keep it off my neck and cover my crotch but prolonged, even medium, let alone belly washers, mean trouble...or get out the rain suit!

I think this pic is when I got my 98 VTR1000F which matched the color of my Shoei RF-200 and original Teknic Violator Carbon gloves (the latter were then The Hot Ticket).  Even in my Yute I was ATGATT, and wore that geeky Super See-Me vest (made by a couple of Chicago gals), had loud horns and even ran a Head Light Modulator!  Now I wear a Hit-Air but still blast dual horns and blind all in my path with a HLM on the FJ!

Before the Big Hawk, I previously flew low on my 88 Lil Hawk (NT650 Hawk GT), still my fav urban assault vehicle.

And I mean flew low (relative to my ultralights) inbound and outbound of the Chicago Loop, either on LSD or D'Kennedy ~ Edens superslabs.

Life was simpler back then.  After moving here from San Diego I continued to split lanes, kick mirrors and doors, flip the Bird and tore my way by without fear of most cagers.  Who then were still half braindead mouthbreathers, at most busy reading the paper, having a coffee and doughnut, doing their make-up...

Now they'll just as soon shoot you and not even bother anymore backing up over you.  The world's gone mad. 

I can't commute anymore.  There's LBMP and LAMP*

 

*Life Before Mobile Phones and Life After Mobile Phones

[tedski]

6 hours ago, keithu said:

In my experience the two piece Roadcrafter is waterproof but the one piece is not. Even with my newer R-3 I still experience the dreaded wet crotch in heavy rain, including last Sunday. This is never an issue with my 24 year old two piece Roadcrafter Classic. It's still waterproof after all these years.

I thought they fixed the one piece crotch leak .  I also have a 2-piece RC for this reason.  My current RoadCrafter has about 150k miles on it.  It definitely needs periodic maintenance.  I wash it in Nikwax's Tech Wash and Tx.Direct products.  At the beginning of the rainy season (back when we had rain), I'd spray it with DWR to refresh it, too.  I notice the cordura will get waterlogged when the DWR breaks down and that's the first sign that it's time to take care of it.  I highly recommend buying the zipper parts kit when you buy an AeroStich.  The wrist zippers fail most often and the leg zipper pulls occasionally break off.  It's nice to have the original parts to replace... it only takes patience and some needlenose pliers -- definitely something you can do sitting in the hotel room on a ride.

[keithu]

19 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

Andy G very recently told me the original RC was never intended to be waterproof, he built it for commuting.

 

Yes, when I got my first Roadcrafter in 1997 they were careful to not claim it was waterproof, but mine effectively is. The only times I've had water intrusion were after going 5-6 years without re-treating it, or when I left a zipper open.

Nice RF-200 BTW. I had three of those, I think. One of them saved my life in a pretty nasty 80mph low side.

[keithu]

19 hours ago, tedski said:

I thought they fixed the one piece crotch leak .  I also have a 2-piece RC for this reason. 

Many people claim their R-3 is waterproof, but mine definitely isn't. I don't think it's a quality issue, mine appears to be sewn correctly. It may just be a function of my specific body shape and motorcycle seating position; hard to say really. 

At this point I only wear the R-3 in the summer because it wears cooler. With the exception of hot weather riding I find that my old two piece Roadcrafter is better in every way: it's more waterproof, it's easier to put on and take off, and I prefer the pocket configuration.

Like you said, the zippers sometimes need to be repaired but that's only because the whole suit is so well made that it outlasts the zipper pulls. I like Keen shoes for the same reason: I end up replacing the shoelaces 2-3 times because the rest of the shoe outlasts the laces.

[2and3cylinders]

4 hours ago, keithu said:

Yes, when I got my first Roadcrafter in 1997 they were careful to not claim it was waterproof, but mine effectively is. The only times I've had water intrusion were after going 5-6 years without re-treating it, or when I left a zipper open.

Nice RF-200 BTW. I had three of those, I think. One of them saved my life in a pretty nasty 80mph low side.

If I tried, I'd probably be able to improve the water repellancy of my 88 RC, which, as I said, is still in great shape.

It's lightweight, solidly built, could stand an armor upgrade, easy on & off, and with under layers and/or electric heated liners, it's hard to beat even for the money.

BTW, I still have that same RF200 and it's likewise still in VG shape.  I had the comfort lining replaced by Shoei and then retired it.

[rustyshackles]

I have more Aerostich gear than I care to admit but I’ve been lurking on eBay and advrider waiting for a used unlined R-3 in my size to pop.  I’m a big Aerostich fanboy.