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What’s Your Favorite Jacket?


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Ok this has got to be safer than an oil or tire thread. What’s your favorite riding jacket and why? We’re all different shapes and sizes and we live in different climates so clearly there is no right or wrong answer. Hi Vis yes or no?  

For me it’s a Tourmaster Transition 5 for most riding in WI. Works well in most weather conditions and it’s comfortable 35-90 degrees. It’s the jacket I always wear on long road trips too. I have a Tourmaster/Cortech VRX I wear in FL as it’s better for warm weather. I had an Aerostich Roadcrafter Jacket for about 2 years. It was great quality but somehow it was never comfortable enough. There was nothing I didn’t like about it but I was always fussy wearing it and always thinking about it when I had it on. A good jacket to me is one you never think about when it’s on.  
Sorry if if this is a duplicate of the other jacket thread. I didn’t see it before I started this one. 
 
 
 
 

 

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I have always worn leathers and so far my favorite has been the RS Tachi line of perforated leather jackets.  Main reason is because their jackets just seem to fit me very well, and they flow quite a bit of air which is nice on hot summer days.  

There is nothing like spending a day riding with friends in the grip of a shared obsession.

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I have a Spidi 2 piece leather suit that I now rarely wear, but for about 10 years, I wore it on any ride longer than a local commute.  It's been crashed twice and inspected with only a single broken stitch.  It was $1000 on closeout for $600.  It takes a little more care than nylon gear, but not much.

To borrow a car phrase, you should never have budget motorcycle clothing, only a motorcycle clothing budget.  After my 1st two jackets 20 years ago (the mesh I still wear), I have looked for sales on high end riding gear and bought that.  In my experience, the durability of most (but not all) items made by Aerostich or Klim or Alpinestars makes up for the higher initial cost compared to Tourmaster or Scorpion.  I also look for gear that can serve in many climates - like a GoreTex jacket with good venting.

Sadly, I have never found a piece of gear quite like that Spidi suit, and that's why I will always have it.

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I live in a very warm area. South Florida. So here are my 2 favorite (so far) jackets.

 

For local travel and weekend trips I use a Rev-it wind mesh jacket. Well made, breathes good enough for Florida. After about 6 months of near daily use the only 2 things I don't like are the main zipper (Small and figgety especially with gloves on)  and the color (silver/black) hard to keep clean.

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A simple, yet elegant solution for the heat of summer riding, the REV’IT...

The jacket I use for the rare cold days here and for long trips is a Firstgear Kilimanjaro. So far it has been near perfect. Waterproof (for real) vents really well considering what it is. I haven't been caught in really hot weather yet so YMMV.

My only beef about it so far is the weight. It weighs a ton. 

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Looking for a 3 to 4 season waterproof adventure touring jacket? Look no...

 

 

 

 

 

The 

 

"It doesn't matter who walks in, you know the joke is still the same"  Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. USA

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Aerostich Transit 2.  I don’t wear at the height of summer (TX) but it’s my first choice 8+ months of the year.  Fit, finish and protection  are superb, it looks great and wearing it makes me happy.

Aerostich have resumed production of the Transit with a new (non-Goretex) waterproof membrane.  

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For cold weather or if there is a possibility of rain (I don't purposely ride in the rain) I have the Tourmaster Transitions 2.  It is quite warm down to the high 30's with a base layer, and the few time that I have been caught in the rain it has kept me dry.  Couple this jacket with the Tourmaster Caliber pants and you are warm and dry for under $500. 

For warmer weather (late Spring to early Fall) I use the Cortech GX Sport 4.0 mesh jacket.  It looks good with the red FJ.😎

And the Black/ White/Red matches my helmet.  👍

shoei_gt_air_wanderer_white_left_center.

***2015 Candy Red FJ-09***

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This is my current favorite as it saved my shoulder when I dumped my brand new MT10 2 weeks ago. It's only a cheap Cycle Gear winter jacket but it did it's job extraordinarily well. No abrasions and CTE armor worked well. BTW, I had on decent riding jeans with kevlar threads interwoven  and CTE armor and they saved my bottom half.

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4 hours ago, chesterburnet said:

This is my current favorite as it saved my shoulder when I dumped my brand new MT10 2 weeks ago. It's only a cheap Cycle Gear winter jacket but it did it's job extraordinarily well. No abrasions and CTE armor worked well. BTW, I had on decent riding jeans with kevlar threads interwoven  and CTE armor and they saved my bottom half.

 

Even the most basic jackets seem to have decent armor today.  It's a lot different than the foam pads I settled for 20 years ago.

I will say that starting about 10 years ago and going forward, every textile jacket I will ever own will be waterproof WITHOUT an extra liner.

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11 hours ago, fddriver2 said:

@1moreroad

Waterproof without a liner is kinda rough here in the deep south. Even in winter. 

 

I'm in Mississippi, and I'll respectfully disagree.  I have spent enough time riding in and out of rain trying to guess when I should pull over to add the liner because once the liner is in, it covers the vents and you're in a sauna of your own sweat.

I'd much rather ride will a vents zipped open, close them when the rain comes without completely taking all my riding clothes off, then open them again 5 minutes later when the rain passes.

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I just throw a cheap frogg togg set over my jacket and pants. 

Reaction GIF by moodman

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"It doesn't matter who walks in, you know the joke is still the same"  Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. USA

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22 hours ago, rustyshackles said:

Aerostich Transit 2.  I don’t wear at the height of summer (TX) but it’s my first choice 9+ months of the year.  Fit, finish and protection  are superb, it looks great and wearing it makes me happy.

Aerostich have resumed production of the Transit with a new (non-Goretex) waterproof membrane.  

+1 on the T2.  I didn't know the T3 lacks real Goretex Pro leather.  I knew it had softer leather that doesn't slide as well.  However, I always have buyers remorse when I think about how darn expensive it was.  I still wear my 25+/- year old Roadcrafter 2-piece "Stitch Classic", that is still in great shape though it never was as waterproof as advertised.  I wore it for many hundreds of commuting and several touring rides but have several other synthetic (vented and mesh) jacket and pants combos, and ancient Fieldsheer and Hein Gericke solid and perforated leather two pieces that are also still in great shape. If you take care of your gear, it will take care of you.  Am I sick or what?

I've also upgraded the armor in all my gear to eq CE Level 2, or remove the jacket armor and wear a fully armored undershirt, or sometimes an independent back and/or chest protector.  I always have worn a lid (rare in the late 60s and early 70s), mostly full face but have gone mostly to flip fronts since they came out (I have 4) because I wear glasses and need to take my NSAIDS and hydrate too often on the fly ("Camel Backs" are easier too) but frequent roadside pit stops are an unfortunate consequence of an enlarged prostate.  NOT LOL

All my gloves are armored with hard palm sliders.  Two pair of my boots have ankle and toe hinges, and all have armor, and a few have Goretex or are perforated.  I wear a dorky "See Me" vest often in town, and have a dayglo lime green vest with battery powered electro-luminescent strip lights that can also flash for those stormy urban area night rides.  All my bikes have headlight modulators, which reminds me I am supposed to organize a group buy through Kisan Electrics for them.  I helped them develop a plug n play HLM for all Yamahas that use the same LED headlight controller.

Gear selection depends on the bike, weather, ride duration, locale (urban, rural, straight, twisty/hilly), anticipated risk / velocity ratio and how insecure and / or vulnerable I feel that day...

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When I got my Transition 5 the Tourmaster rep told me it’s waterproof to a point but a heavy downpour would overwhelm it. Before I go on a trip I coat it with Camp Dry waterproof spray.  I put on as many coats as it takes until the Camp Dry stops absorbing into the fabric and starts running off.  This seems to have no negative effect on the jackets breathability but sure seems to help keep the water out. I do my riding pants too, even did my tail bag.  It really helps.

I’ve considered Klim which is supposed to be truly waterproof but they are European cut and I am an American build plus I cannot get my head around the price.  

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It's extremely rare that I ride in only a jacket. Usually I wear my Aerostich R-3 or Roadcrafter classic. I haven't bought a motorcycle "jacket" in over 25 years.

On the rare occasion that I just want to wear a jacket for running around town I zip apart the Roadcrafter classic and just wear the top. Or I throw on a generic jacket or hoodie.

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