snwbrderphat540

well, i've been just winging it for what i wear and ride, i now have an HJC helmet, this one to be exact



it's an HJC CL-15

now i am getting a jacket. these are the three im looking at and cant make up my mind. they are all within 20 dollars of each other in price and have CE approved shoulder and elbow/arm protectors already built it and with some sort of back padding most with just a memory foam with the pouch for the optional insert ONE i believe has a CE approved back protector built in. but all in all the same jackets. except the two textile ones (a weird fabric not leather) have zip in and out liners the leather/textile mixed one i think doesnt have the liner. so i cant make up my mind. hear they are help me out!

fieldsheer bullet texteile jacket



Speed and strength twist of fate jacket textile, this is the one with the outer molded shoulder gaurds and back protector, not CE approved put still a molded one so its not JUST foam its got some hard crap to help out


and this is the Shift racing streetfighter hybrid leather/textile one without the liner






sooo... ideas?

straight hate

I would get something molded snwy. I have a Joe Rocket molded leather/kevlar composit jacket that saved my *** a couple of years ago. Put my BUELL into the ditch and high sided, landed on some rocks cut my leg to s*%t if I didnt have that molded insert to absorb the impact I could have broken my back.

rtmorgan

well from personal experience i would say your body build is somewhat of a "european cut" so stay away joe rocket and icon they wont fit comfortably.
i would highly suggest finding a store that has the same exact jacket you want and try on theirs before ordering online.
different brands "same size" different fit and size.
i have about your same build and the a stars black label spinner jacket is the most comfortable jacket i have ever worn.

rtmorgan

you should get one of these
http://www.craft-helmets.co.uk/RX6_Evolution.htm

KasbeKZ

not the middle one. the front being all one color looks weird. top or bottom one, depending on if you want the liner. i'm guessing you don't so that you can use it into the pretty warm months.

rtmorgan

no kas
this one
http://www.cyclegear.com/spgm.cfm?L1...=ASR_2810-0242
i had the black one

snwbrderphat540

i am more of a european cut but i know my measurements and all good sites have a size chart with measurements so im pretty confident in ordering online. i found it hilarious when coat companies even make americans fatter than the rest of the world by offering the US size a smaller reading than over in europe. like our medium is their large haha.

rtmorgan

yeah so what did you think of the helmet and jacket?
that was my set up

Ratfink

What, no pink jacket to match the pink helmet?
Haha...

Hope that helmet holds together longer than my HVC did.

Out of all the helmets I have owned, including Shoei, I love my Scorpion the most. They are some great helmets, and cheaper than a lot of the big names.

I have a Frank Thomas jacket now, it's my first leather. It's nice, but a little on the large side now that I am not working out.
Icon makes some great textiles. I had a TiMax that lasted a long time, and for a textile, was pretty comfortable to wear.
If you ever want to take your motorcycle to the track, you will most likely not be allowed to wear anything but leather.
That, and most textiles claim they are water resistant, but they don't do jack squat when you are trying to travel and the water is hitting you at speed. Never that warm in the winter either.

snwbrderphat540

the HJC was affordable and not to shabby. its doing fine, but since i broke it it, i do wish i had a size smaller, not that its loose loose, but i could have a bit tighter of a fit, plus, the next size down is a smaller shell mold so my head wouldn't have looked so big. i'll probably get a shoei or arai as my next lid honestly. as for the jacket, not bad, but im on somewhat of a budget so im sticking to waterproof textile ones with good liners and vents so i can all season it (unlike leathers which are also expensive and always hot haha). i'll probably get the speed and strength jacket just because it seems to have a better design team behind it, will be warmer than the shift racing one (i dont want the first one i posted i realized) and yeah. the shift racing one was originally 249 dollars though now at 149 not to bad, the SS one is 199 but just seems to be great. even has a review vid by sportbiketrackgear.com which i know only does videos on the stuff they really like.

Ratfink

Yeah. I have my textile I can were when I need to. But it's not a much cooler than a leather to tell you the truth.
Mesh is where it's at if you are worried about heat.
I want to get a mesh for the summer, and my leather for the spring fall and winter.
Textile was not cool enough in the summer, not warm enough for winter, and not waterproof. They are not water proof like leather. Just water resistant. Fine if you are walking in a sprinkle. Not riding in light rain. Trust me.

I would also try the Scorpion. Way better dollar for dollar than the Shoeis I have owned.
Try and find a bad review. I have the EXO-700, and will own the EXO-1000 if this one wears out.

More comfortable, more queit, no fog ever, and way cooler in the summer than my Shoei's were.
They are better than their price would make you think.
I hate buying something for the name sake unless it's actually worth it. I have not owned an Arai, but the Shoei is not worth it to me after owning the Scorpions.
http://scorpionusa.com/home.html

I would wear leather all year where you are. It just doesn't get that hot.
That's me. I think it's still safer.

Ha. I went through a swarm of bees once by a lake up in Northern AZ, and got stung twice times through my textile on the arms just by hitting the bees. Once on the neck from where one got in my helmet. That was not only a mess, but hurt too.

You seem like the weekend warrior to me. Get something cheap, I suggest trying it out in person first. Check the actual build quality, make sure it fits and moves the way you want, and support your local shop. Sucks when they go out of business, and you want something sooner than a few shipping days.

snwbrderphat540

oh also, theres no pink in the helmet, its just the way that picture is.


doesnt get hot? mid june-early september is upper 80's average and many times even in the lower 100's. it gets very hot in IL believe it or not. this summer however was the most mild summer i have EVER been through.

Ratfink

That is not very hot. People always think they understand heat.
Even humid, that's just not that bad.
You still sweat just as much in a dry heat, and it will kill you even faster.
I am talking about heat that is hot enough to blister your hands and feet riding down the highway through your gloves and boots.
120 in the shade is when hot starts.
I am sure it get's uncomfortable there. But, not what I would call really hot.
We have hotter temps in the middle of the night with no sun out.

Figured you would get a green helmet. haha

snwbrderphat540

im a pilot, i did 2 years of stringent meteorology. i think i know a thing or two more than most people about weather and heat/heat index and while the dry heat will dehydrate you faster the humid heat will keep body temps up higher it doesnt let your skin breathe as well when you keep sweating and the water has no where to go, it also feels worse. its a simulated heat in a way. thats like saying being in 10 degree weather with no wind feels the same as that with it blowing. its all how the heat transfer is working in your body.


also, i wouldnt get green **** when i ride a silver bike. kawi or not. also, i brought in another jacket. and eliminated the other two. here's what its down to

the middle one i posted this one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6M80...layer_embedded

or this other one by the same company pretty much the same jacket but a bit cheaper since it doesnt have the molded shoulders/back protector
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IZ-t...layer_embedded

Ratfink

Just saying. I have been in both heats. 90 degrees with high humidity is sticky, and sucks.
160 degrees on the highway under a textile jacket that does not breath much better than a leather is way worse. (This is measured temps with fluke instruments inside my textile.)
You would know better than me. What is the opposite of wind chill? Is there a word for the added heat from wind through the pressure exerted on your body?
My perforated leather breathes even better than the textile with a few vents does.
Just because you read up on it does not mean you know what they both feel like for extended periods without being in them both. Not saying you haven't either. Before you go there.

Never been anywhere hotter in the USA than where I live, and Death Valley.

I was in Lake Havasu city around my birthday in 2007 and we had recorded temps at 130 degrees on the porch in the shade.
Heat index or not, I would like to find something that feels as hot as that did.
Hotest temps I could find in IL was 117 in St. Louis back in 1954.

Come ride with me any time man. I have a blast, and you would understand what real heat is.

snwbrderphat540

that stuff is innacurate personal thermometers. also if its hot, i ride gearless. its dangerous, but i wont heat stroke either. so.... yeah just gotta keep moving, sept still get hot legs from the damn radiator heat exiting right on top of them. that sucks. recorded heat is not using any index (added humidity) to the FEEL so... theres no real say, though the highest i can remember was "feels like 118" i believe. also, the highest EVER temp in the USA is 134 degrees... so that should tell you something about your porch thermometer. also, i know AZ i got family there, and its a dry heat and regularly 110 degrees and crap but since it is a desert its a pretty stable temp also it gets great at night there. i have also been there mid summer to visit them, so i know what the heat feels like, and while it was sun wise more intense there and physically a hotter heat, it felt alot better than the chicago summer i had been going through prior to going there. and it is regularly hotter there than here so i do get a break true true, but on the bad days here, its nuts and you wont leave the ****ing house till the sun goes down, luckily theres only a handful of those days where humidty is 100% without rain (dont ask how that works) and the heat was at 100. and hey we are talking about jackets here! i simply dont want a leather jacket right now a textile one makes more sense as the only jacket to have, and its not a mesh and has the liner so one other layer it should do fine in the colder weather (though right now i wake up and its 9 degrees out theres nothing that fixes that kind of cold) and has ALOT of zip open vents BUT has a exhaust which means teh air circulates properly not just gets trapped which would then create a simulate wind chill. also, theres no such thing as wind making anything hotter from the pressure built in a suite. it will keep temps down, just not very effectively. thats probably why it felt hot regardless.

snwbrderphat540

also hottest temp on earth is 136. those outside thermo's suck you need an atomic clock that sinks up to the nearest large airports weather systems. its very accurate on temps. not always so much on the weather status like rain/sun/snow etc. it's been wrong about those a couple times in the past.

Ratfink

Well, There are recorded temps in AZ that are around 130.

I added the felt like temps to that last post. Still makes AZ feel hotter.
I would ride without gear to an extent. It's too hot to ride without gear for me. That hot wind does not just feel uncomfortable, but it burns your skin and will kill you much faster without protection from the wind.
I live in the middle of a city. Heat soak from all the roads, concrete, buildings, and tons of watered lawns makes it different than many places in the desert.

Lake Havasu has official recorded temps at 128 degrees the same summer I was there. That works for me. A home thermo can be off a few degrees.

I like the fact I can take a shower, and dry off after. I have spent summers in Texas and Missouri where it was hot and humid. I like the summer in AZ better.
But, it is still hotter when you are riding in it.
I trust that Fluke to be within a couple of degrees.
With added heat from the road surface, vehicles around, and the air cooled engine under me, it get's very hot.

Highest official recorded temp may be 136, but I call a big bullshit on that.
http://www.extremescience.com/hottest.htm
Some of the hottest areas do not have air ports.

snwbrderphat540

well anyways!

i posted vids of the two now here's pics and specs i would rather buy a jacket in person but i hear great things about this company and my local shope that actually CARRIES jackets is dick owned so prices are jacked on EVERYTHING and they dont carry this line so they can blow me so since i know what size will work for me with both trying stuff on and size charts and knowing my measurements, lets put all things aside and look at strictly aesthetics and facts ok dill holes? lol

number one: SS moment of truth $161.95
# Weather Resistant AR-600 Frame
# C.E. Approved Shoulder and Elbow Protectors
# "Speed Zip" Controlled Ventilation
# Dual Stage "Kinetic Cuff" Adjuster
# Molded "Strong Arm" Sleeve Aduster
# "Lock Down" Waist Adjuster
# Removable Insulated Vest Liner
# 8" Pant Zipper
# Belt Loop Pant Attachment

vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IZ-t...layer_embedded

pic:


number two: SS twist of fate $179.95

# Weather Resistant AR-600 Frame
# C.E. Approved Shoulder and Elbow Protectors
# Engineered Thermoplastic External Shoulder Protectors
# Molded External Back Protector
# "Speed Zip" Controlled Ventilation
# Dual Stage "Kinetic Cuff" Adjuster
# Molded "Strong Arm" Sleeve Aduster
# "Lock Down" Waist Adjuster
# Removable Insulated Vest Liner
# 8" Pant Zipper
# Belt Loop Pant Attachment

vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6M80...layer_embedded

pic:





ok!!!!!! now number one! or number 2! nothing else! dont tell me look at this look at that blah blah blah. this isnt my money im spending this is a birthday present so im trying to find the best choice for 200 or less ok! otherwise i would get near the best jacket i could. but right now, these two are great choices and the price is amazing. same protection as a leather jacket but with a less expensive material and the back protector is optional for later.

Ratfink

Number 1..

White is cool. But, it will get dirty easier.
I also like NGK

hoov100

snw, after laying my fair share of bikes down at speed, go to a few dealers and find a jacket with all of the inserts built in, including the back plate and the composite material. i dont trust jackets alone, but they work.

snwbrderphat540

FAIL read what i said. i cant get a jacket with all the inserts ALREADY in, its 400 dollars minimum when they set you up all out the door. and with the padding supplied and the CE armor all i need is the optional backplate instead of the padding insert for it to be the same protection as every other high end jacket out there other than being all textile not leather. leather is a great material but is so damn expensive because you murdering cows for it haha. i can kill a cow for free so ill take my synthetic fabrics for a better price. i'll take this jacket thats actually a company just formed by many of the lead guys in the tech sections that have designed the protection layouts for many of the other popular motorcycle gear companies out there. so they have the largest back pad area ever offered with the lower back also offered a thick high impact foam protection which no other company has offered and the same CE approved shoulder and elbow/arm protectors every other jacket comes with. only thing it doesnt have is a speed hump on the back for better helmet aerodynamics or any capped shoulders like a injection molded one. which really, isnt going to add to much help in impacts. and very few jackets offer that stuff anyways so its not a big deal. also, any jacket made for riding is better then no jacket which is what i have been doing just standard old winter/fall jackets to help with the cold woopdy dooo... also, i made my decision already so you can all b-low me haha

Ratfink

You get what you want. That's all that ever matters. Even if it's pink. I don't care, cause I am not going to wear it. lol

That's a pretty sweet present though. Nice.

hoov100

then put up the extra $200 I'd rather be safe and broke then dead or paralyzed with $200 in my pocket.

snwbrderphat540

why? its not any safer. i'll put up the extra 40 bucks and just buy the back gaurd and insert and enjoy... then its the best it can be without getting the pants and boots to go with it.