[WeaponZero]

Ask eternal about what your friends say. Despite also having a GSX-R600 that he regularly uses for the racetrack, his favorite bike to ride is a suzuki DR-Z400SM. That’s right, a 400cc. Take everything your “friends” say there with a grain of salt.

[WeaponZero]

That thing is awesome. Why isn’t it sold in the US? This is depressing.

[WeaponZero]

What type of environment do you live in? (Rural/Urban/Suburban, etc), and are the roads well-kept? Also, what is it you want in a bike? All these questions must be answered before we can recommend a bike to you.

[WeaponZero]

I don’t know what it is you want from a bike but I can say this–If you live in an urban setting and want to be able to have fun on your bike without going on long all-day trips just to find respectable riding roads, then supermotos and standards are your absolute best bet.

[WeaponZero]

Recording video reviews is rough when you’re prone to stuttering when you talk. I’ve recorded a review of my new Cortech jacket a few times already but I’m trying to get one where I don’t stutter too much. It sucks.

[WeaponZero]

Basically what I said.

I started out with a Joe Rocket Atomic 2.0 textile jacket, which is a lightweight textile jacket made from a sturdy ballistic nylon called Hitena. It had amazing ventilation for a textile jacket and with the vents open was even good enough for those 90 degree days as long as you keep moving.

Right now my jacket collection consists of:

Scorpion EXO wear All-In leather jacket (for cold days)
Scorpion EXO wear Stinger leather jacket (perforated leather sport jacket–my favorite of all of them)
Speed & Strength Moment of Truth mesh jacket for those summer commutes in stop & go traffic (and trust me, nothing less than mesh will do for this)
Teknic Freestyle waterproof textile jacket (don’t wear it anymore–too big for me now)
Cortech GX Sport Series 2 textile jacket (replacement for the Teknic)

[WeaponZero]

Good options for you:

Speed & Strength Hell & Back
Cortech GX Sport Series 2

If you can fit another layer underneath and you’re still comfortable the jacket doesn’t have the right fit. For optimum safety jackets should fit snug to the point where you can’t fit another layer underneath and still be comfortable. This is my main gripe with do-it-all jackets. Their dependence on liners keeps them from getting the right fit. Best bet IMO is to buy a jacket that fits the current riding season that’s on sale for a ridiculously low price (those sales are out there, trust me) and then do it all over again when the weather changes. A year down the road you’ll have a small collection of focused riding jackets that fit properly. But if you still insist on a do-it-all jacket then I can highly recommend the Cortech GX Sport Series 2. It’s waterproof, comfortable, is good down to the high 30s with the thermal liner in, and can vent well enough for near-90 degree heat with the liner out and the vents wide open. I’ll have a video review of it up within the next few days.

[WeaponZero]

I’d steer clear of older bikes like that for first bikes for the reasons Gary said

[WeaponZero]

Come on people, at least post challenges that are POSSIBLE for everyone. Not all of us live in areas where there’s a snow-capped mountain within hundreds of miles, OR rivers. Let’s be reasonable here.

[WeaponZero]

I have to say the naming of the Kawasaki ZL600 Eliminator as a beginner bike wasn’t the best idea. It’s a cruiser yes but its’ powered by a “retuned for midrange” version of the original Kawasaki Ninja ZX600 sportbike engine. It is NOT a beginner bike. Also, finding a used NT650 Hawk would be like winning the lottery. They were only made/sold for like 3 years back in the 80s and there are so few around today they’re practically collector’s items.

[WeaponZero]

I’ve tried on jackets of that style and even owned a few. I’m not saying they don’t have their place. But I can say that, as a sport rider, when I’m out there trying to have the most fun I can on the bike, I need a jacket that fits way more snugly, like a second skin. I do tend to ride faster and better with form fitting gear on versus gear that’s cut like that. It’s why my Stinger perf leather jacket is my favorite. So personally I don’t deal with liners. The way I like my jackets to fit I couldn’t fit a liner under them if I wanted to. I’d rather save up and buy a second jacket for that. Also, Alpinestars textile jackets have a reputation for holding up just fine in 70mph crashes. And they only use a “600 denier polyester fabric.”

[WeaponZero]

DuPont’s Cordura is simply another kind of ballistic nylon.

[WeaponZero]

ballistic nylon is simply a generic term for all of these similar materials. Cordura is a ballistic nylon, as is Carbolex, and Dynax, as is I believe Kevlar. Also, the Hat Trick doesn’t have mesh at the impact zones/touchdown points. approximately 25% of the jacket is a ballistic nylon.

[WeaponZero]

Most, if not all of the features you just described are found on many other jackets out there that can be had for less. Is the quality worth it? I can’t say. But the Scorpion Hat Trick offers all of the same features you just mentioned from the liners to the expandable waist (a feature found on every riding jacket out there, even the cheapest ones). The only area where they differ as far as I can tell is that the Scorpion is mainly a mesh outer shell with the tougher textiles covering the impact zones (shoulders, outside of the arms, and a good bit of the back).

EDIT:

I think that before the OP starts shopping for a jacket, he should strongly consider whether or not waterproofing really is an important feature to him. If it’s not, then I strongly consider him to look at a lot of other jackets that are more focused.

[WeaponZero]

Duplicate post

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