Helmet
Shoei RF-1000
pros: Comfortable… very, very comfortable. Quick release for visor swapping.
cons: Noisy. High pitched wind noise at faster than highway speeds (wear your earplugs). Ventilation really needs work. Even with a breather, the visor ends up getting fogged up until you start moving past 10 MPH. Assembly also needs work. After having this helmet for a couple of months, the mechanism for holding the visor points in place were very loose. Always check these before going out.
Jackets
Dainese Santa Monica Perforated pelle (Warm/cold weather)
pros: Good ventilation, supple leather, fits great, CE rated armor, pants attachment mechanism (works with all Dainese pants). Also comes with an inside, insulated liner.
cons: pricey. Being perforated makes it great for warm weather and the detachable inside liner makes it good for cold weather, but none of these makes the jacket water proof, so It’s not going to be good for moderate rainy weather. Back protector sold seperately.
Dainese Laguna Seca Perforated pelle (Warm weather)
pros: Good ventilation, supple leather, fits great, CE rated armor.
cons: pricey. No pants attachment mechanism. I get annoyed at loose zippers, so I’ll only wear this jacket now if/when I get some basic riding jeans. No insulated, inner liner, so need to dress in layers for temp changes. Also not great for rainy weather. Back protector sold seperately.
Rev-it! (don’t know the model… It’s some kind of Engineered Skin ™ 4 season jacket)
pros: Great cold and rain weather jacket. Water proof. Detachable, insulated, inner liner. Comfortable textile.
cons: pricey. No pants attachment mechanism for other rev-it! pants. Despite it billed as 4 seasons, this jacket sucks for warm weather riding. Very little vent mechanisms.
Pants
Dainese Drake Air
pros: Comfortable textile pants. Great ventilation. CE rated armor. Padded.
cons: pricey. Not good for cold or rainy weather.
Rev-it! (don’t know the model… It’s some kind of Engineered Skin ™ 4 season pants)
pros: See the Rev-it! jacket pros.
cons: See the Rev-it! jacket cons.
Boots
Dainese Torque In
pros: Great fit. Solid armor and ankle twisting protection. Pants attachment mechanism. Comfortable to wear for walking around in. Good grip with the soles.
cons: pricey. Other than that, nothing else I can think of.
Sidi Way Mega (Rain)
pros: Water proof membrane. Very comfortable to wear. Good for even warm weather.
cons: Outside boots. Stretch a lot. My pair now has a lot of play and movement inside the boot. Pricey. I no longer wear these boots at all.
Gloves
Dainese Racing (like the full metal racing but not using titanium for the armor)
pros: Guantlet. Supple leather, ventilated, knuckle and joints protection. Ball of the hand and wrist “knuckle” protection. Great grip.
cons: pricey (notice this trend with Dainese?). Doesn’t fit well over some leather jackets in larger sizes. It does fit great over my Santa Monica which is a 48 size. Somewhat uncomfortable scrunching on the Laguna Seca which is a size 50 – need to work the sleeves in. In rain, water will probably seep through the vented area.
Things I got rid of
Fieldsheer Kinnowa (Perforated leather jacket)
pros: Good ventilation, supple leather, fits great, CE rated armor. Soft back protector included. Pants attachment mechanism for other Fieldsheer pants.
cons: Not good for cold and rainy weather. Also, moderately pricey. I got last year’s fashion for 200.00USD out the door. The jacket retails for 300.00USD. While comfortable to wear, this jacket’s generally comfortable to wear, it caused a bruise on my sternum when riding and resting my chest on the tank (which I do a lot when riding on the highway). Sold this jacket to a friend for cheaper than what I got it for after a week. Yes, there was full disclosure…
Edit:
Missing information:
The Rev-It! jacket and pants have CE rated armor. – pro
The Dainese Torque In boots do squeek after time when walking. – con
—
If there’s anything more important than my ego
around, I want it caught and shot now…
