Having ridden back to Plymouth from Bridgewater today in the worst rain I have ridden in, I find that sitting for an hour and a half in the "wet patch" was not in any way pleasant. I have had my Belstaff all weather gear for about 8 years now and I think it has had its day. What are you guys wearing and would you recomend them for both cold winter and our wet summer weather. Thanks in advance.
I have been really pleased with my Halvarsson jacket with is a breathable three layer textile jacket. great for winter,waterproof,huge amount of pockets. You can take the inner lining out in summer,and it has loads of zip vents for warm weather. I would describe Halvarssons as mid price around £300 to £400, and being Swedish as opposed to far eastern,the quality is good. Couldent justify spending Rukka money.
HG Master V (although there is a new Master VI coming out imminently). Simply brilliant kit. Alternatively, HGs Pro Shell Goretex leathers are excellent too, and are my favourite leathers if not wearing the textiles.
350 miles of continous Scottish deluge failed to find a leak in my Halvarssons kit ( plus the Hein Gericke Goretex gloves and Dainese Goretex boots ). Excellent gear!
I have HEIN GERICKE MASTER V GORE-TEX® PRO SHELL JACKET and TROUSERS that I've been using for 3+ years now......bloody excellent. Very versatile with the option to use the bib and braces and/or neck thingy for trips like you had today. I've even used it through the last few summers (removable lining of course) as I still can't get back in to my leathers! :-( And HG have the jacket on sale! ;-) (can't see the exact trousers but thier whole range is interchangeable) Hein Gericke Master V GORE-TEX® Pro Shell Jacket, black
I don't do depths of winter riding. When it's no longer fun, I pack it in. So it's leathers and unlined oversuit for rain. When my last rain suit wore out, I did a lot of internet research and the best is supposedly this: Alpinestars El Niño suit It's about 80 quid, totally waterproof and easy to get on. So they say. Haven't yet had to test it in anger.
I bought a set of SPADA 4 years ago done 25K miles in all weathers and so far never got wet, they seem to be fairly robust with respect to road protection at least an a wet surface. They have just been replaced with a set of Ruka textiles in a deal that was to good to miss (not of the back of a lorry).
Found various textile "waterproof" jackets to be anything but, also with questionable crashability? Settled for one of these: RICHA WATERPROOF MOTORCYCLE OVER JACKET XL 46 Bike Rain Warrior WP | eBay - and a pair of waterproof overtrousers to go over my two-piece leathers when it rains... the overjacket is EXCELLENT! Has yet to leak and packs down real small? Best tip is also the most awkward - put your gloves on before your jacket so any rain runs down your sleeve & off the end rather than filling your glove up via the gauntlet? Best visor rain-clearer I found to be a candle... lightly rub swirls all over the outside of your visor - then rub in with a microfibre or similar? The thin coating of wax means any rain, fog or filth just scoots straight off! Cheap as chips! Bob Heath antifog for the inside.
I have an Alpinstars Durban jacket, Goretex, liners that can be removed, plenty of pockets plus lots of vents, it's a proper Ewan McGregor style jacket which even has routing for a camelbak type system. Brilliant jacket bit heavy but you don't notice that on the bike, need to buy the matching trousers now though
I got 2-piece unlined cheapo waterproofs to go over my leathers. Had 'em 10 years, 2-piece cos they're easier to put on, never let a drop in. Cost me under £20 and fit under the seat on most bikes. Textiles are too hot for me.
I'm wearing a Hein Gericke Cruise Gortex Cruise jacket and Hein Gericke Tourmaster (think that's what they're called?) and Hein Gericke Maddison Gortex boots, all of which I bought for all year round riding about 5 years ago. I can't sing it's praises highly enough, it's been worn in all weathers from +30 degrees (where the vents are well worth it!) down to -10 degrees a few winters ago (when the removable thermal linings and storm collar were equally worthwhile!). The gear has NEVER once leaked, has built in armour and removable thermal linings in both jacket and trousers, removable storm collar, plenty of pockets (some waterproof). I've had a low-speed (20mph) tumble and the suit just shrugged it off with no visable damage at all and I was fine too! I've tried a number of different 'breathable' and 'waterproof' linings in jackets, boots and gloves over the years and will ONLY EVER BUY GORTEX. No, I don't work for them, it's just that it's the only one I've ever found that does exactly what it says on the tin. I've got walking gear in Gortex too and that's just the same quality, everything else I've ever tried has either leaked in some way or not been 'breathable' so you get wet from the inside! The Hein Gericke Gortex clothing isn't cheap I have to say, but I looked at a lot of other stuff before I bought it and nothing was of equal quality for anything like the price at the time. If your intending to ride all year (or most of it!), then you could do a lot worse than to have a look at their stuff.
Got the Hein Gericke Summit Goretex jacket which i bought at last years' NEC show for £299. It was a bargain. Absolutely fantastic piece of kit. Hein Gericke Summit GORE-TEX® Performance Shell Jacket, black - Jackets - Motorcycle Clothing - Clothing
I've some Hein Gericke goretex boots which I bought in Germany significantly cheaper than over here. I've ridden from Germany to Bath and Antibe to Bath with them in torrrential rains, thunderstorms etc, Feet were as dry as a bone. My waterproofs are a one piece from Lidl or Aldi. Worn on both trips and worked a treat. But gloves...mine are Held Goretex and fine if it's freezing but less effective when its torrential. Could do with a recomendation though I see Rushjob recommends the Hein Gericke goretex ones.
I bought a generic fluorescent yellow over jacket and trousers off ebay last year (new) for something ridiculous like £3. not the most pleasant looking garment, but given the 539 mile rain lashed journey they were used for without a single drop getting in, money well spent. The chance of them being used again is negligible but they do stay under the seat of the SS just in case. they were either a medium or large (I forget) but they fit over my leathers nicely, loose enough to not restrict, but close enough to not billow. (I am also the worlds biggest hater of anything baggy, with the exception of my rather child like but extremely fantastic onesie pyjamas!!!!)
I got a set of HG gore tex stuff from this guy, does lots of HG & Rukka at decent prices :eBay My World - raw-biker
I've got Rukka Goretex stuff, with Sidi Goretex boots, and Dainese Goretex gloves. Now I don't care what the weather does because I'll be warm and dry, money well spent
This is my next textile suit: Touratech Companero Product Video - ENG - YouTube Possibly the best textile suit yet conceived. It really has been designed to get around all of those annoyances you find with some suits. Not cheap, but similar to the Rukka price point (and even better gear, imho) IF you're prepared to order from Europe or go over there to buy it (which is what I'm planning to do).
....at just over £2 grand!! and you have to stop and put the waterproof outer layer on if it starts to rain! Don't know how familiar you are with Touratech but there's quite a few not so complimentary variations of their brand name used on most biking forums lol I thought I pushed the boat out spending close on a grand on top of the range Hein Gericke gear.....can't imagine anything twice as good even if it does cost more than twice as much. (although to be honest I've never had a look at the likes of Rukka top end gear)
