First off, this may sound stupid, but I coulda sworn our bikes used tubes under the tire. Then my buddy just called me and we got to talkin and he said theres no way they use tubes, he said tubless. I just wanted to reassure myself that really the only thing that used tubless tires were dirtbikes and atv's?
Ok main subject now. I'm looking into getting a new jacket. I came to the style I want. now they offer it in Mesh and leather. Being that it gets over 110 degrees up here the mesh sounded real nice. But I was thinking I might just suffer w/ the little extra heat of the leather for the little better looks and protection. Has anyone else had expierence with Mesh? and what are your opinions on the subject?
Thanks,
Matt
I just got a Fieldshear Titanium Air off ebay new for $40. I am 6' 1" , 150lbs and lift weights. I wera size small and love it. sleeves are very long, the armor fits right and it looks good. I got ample time to wear it last weekend as the temps here broke 80 on 3 consecutive days. Having a breeze on my torso & under my arms was really nice. It was very comfortable to wear even with the sun on my back. Alot of guys around here say leather only, and i guess a perf jacket would almost be as cool when your moving. My regular is a tourmaster magnum jacket so i really wanted something for the hot days. :cheers:
Nope, our bikes haven't come with tubes in the tires. If someone had a flat and maybe put a tube in it because the tire still had tread on it, that maybe a possibility, but it's not recommended to put a tube in low profile tires, because of unequal pressure between tread and sidewalls.
Maybe ol' GS500's of '82 Japanese market had tubes, and even older GS450's may have had them. I'm not sure.
The only thing I'm apprehensive about textiles, or mesh, is that, unless you can get 1000 denier, may only be good for one crash, but they are very inexpensive in comparison to leather. Leather breathes and may cover you from the sun better then mesh. I've gotten cold in my old Hein Gericke V-Pilot black leather jacket, that I no longer have (due to cat barf), in 98 degree weather, at speed.
Yep, the GS500 rims are designed for tubeless tires. I believe the tire sidewall even says TUBELESS on it somewhere.
So far I have bought 8 tires or so for my GS500s, and had them mounted, and not one of them came with a tube.
But stick around long enough and Srinath will share some reasons to put a tube in there anyway.... :)
Hmm I guess I was wrong about tires. We live and learn.
As for jacket. I don't have money right now to get one of each, although sometime later this summer I prolly will. I prefer the looks of the leather one, but am hesitant as to how warm it will be riding on hot days. Then again fall riding gets fairly cold, should I just put up with the heat and offer a little more safety and warmth on the colder days? I'll wait for some more opinions to make a decision.
THanks,
Matt
actually yeah, you have it backward on tires. dirtbikes are about the only thing nowdays that used an innertube. some cruisers as well. basically anything with a spoked rim uses tubed and anything with a mag/aluminum rim uses tubeless. there are exceptions of course, but that's the general rule.
Tyoooooobe... OK... If a tire has a pinhole or similar leak in it... I put a tyoooobe in it. Safer than patching I feel. Yes spokes = tyoooooobe... and I love inner tyooooobe... Its great for making gaskets to keep petcocks from leaking, great to make master cylinder gaskets etc etc... People used to ask me ... what's holding my bike together... and my answer was "zip ties, duct tape and inner tube"... then unfortunatley I bought some nice looking body work form KevinC, and managed to snag a nice blue tank that leaked from the petcock for next to nothing... and had beautiful color matched bodywork and people automatically assume its great. how can it be bad when it looks so good. People wanted to buy it over the 91 black one I was selling.
Cool.
Srinath.
I also have a Fieldsheer Mesh. The airflow is great. Definitely would recommend. :thumb:
I can't beleive i'm so indecisive about this. I'll post links of the jackets and wait for some more opinions. Regards to the links, I will be getting the jacket in black.
Jacket 1, non mesh
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/item.aspx?style=9517&department=112&Division=1
jacket 2, mesh
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/item.aspx?style=9520&department=112&Division=1
Thanks for the help guys,
Matt
my vote is for mesh
I have a Tourmaster Cortech mesh jacket and I love it. I also use it with the idea that it is only good for one crash.
It doesn't get as hot here in Boston but when it gets rather warm when you are sitting on Rt 93 and its in the 90s.
I also bought it in white. 1: to reflect the sun and 2: good visability at night. It does get dirty but I throw it in the washing machine and whamo its clean. Washes well.
Hope that helps!
:cheers:
I just recently purchased a Fieldsheer Monza 2 textile for this summer, so I haven't tried it out, yet, but for the features that I reqiure it met my standards. 500 denier (all over), a certain type (zippable) and placement of vents, CE approved armor, and zips to my Fieldsheer Astropants. I was also, looking at Teknic's Stinger and Spider (the one that 70 cam guy did a reveiw on). Others I was also looking at: Spidi TypeR and TourMaster Cortech GX/GX Air.
Jope Rocket mesh all the way, very inexpensive, although some people claimed that when falling at speed the mesh melts which is scary.
try www.newenough.com I get lotsa stuff from them.
I ride with the ballistic nylon (JR Meteor 4)... I would like leather but am broke right now so it will wait. I like it. I have met and talked with people who have crashed in the same jacket and have come away with no rash. It has a removable inner linner and several vents to keep cool. I think that for commuting you will do fine in a good nylon jacket-
Mesh jackets scare the hell out of me- it's a step up from a squid in a sweat shirt. We've all heard "ride in it - slide in it" and I have a real hard time believing that a mesh jacket will slide evenly across the cement, stay together, stay in place, and not melt.
In the end it's your life- you determine what it's worth. I say ride a little hot and know you're ridding safe.
I have a j.rocket phoenix 2003 jacket that so far in n. florida has been really good lets alot of air through and feels as if you're wearing a t-shirt. my biggest complaint is that the armor is not sewn in so the shoulder pads seem to wander which makes me worry in the event of a crash. I think the new 2004's may have addressed this problem.
I ride with a Joe Rocket mesh jacket if the weather is warm+, but wear my leather jacket and spine armor when the weather gets colder(don't have the money yet for a leather armor jacket). There is a guy here in Chas. that has a Joe Rocket, wiped out(apparently tore the jacket pretty good), and still wears it because the armor stays in place. Not quite for me, but if it works for him, I'm not gonna argue.
As far as tubes, I do know that the GS450(at least the LD model) with alloy rims was designed to work with or without tubes. Trust me, I ride one every day, but I have a GS500 comming next month.
Don
'83 GS450LD
I only trust leather and not all leather is the same either. Been down in leather and I know it works. I do not trust nylon for protection. I have heard of people that had their mesh suit melt onto their skin. Ever see a racer wear mesh?
Nope, I've never seen a racer use mesh on the track, but the racing mentality is also why I keep my feet on the proper pegs, not the rear pegs or the back of the bike.
Don
The racing organizations do not allow it for safety reasons.
BTW...racing is not the same as stunting.
Yes, we,ve all heard about mesh jackets melting. i can guarantee you that it would not be available for sale if even one person recieved serious burns to their skin caused by the jacket. these are not big companies mind you, and even one product litigation case could sink Joe Rocket. And anyway, the only place i could possibly see it burning is your chest, maybe? Youv'e got padding and armor on every conceivable sliding body part. :dunno:
This sounds like a first born/ later born issue anyway. :cheers:
I just got one of these..
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/item.aspx?style=11886&department=112&Division=1
works good for me.. I rode it this past sunday in the rain.. worked great for the most part.. i got a bit damp on the forearms but nothing major...
Anyway for 99 bucks its not a bad deal if they got your size. I must say the collar is a bit of getting used to.. it was pinching my adams apple.. but otherwise its fine.
Quote from: cozyYes, we,ve all heard about mesh jackets melting. i can guarantee you that it would not be available for sale if even one person recieved serious burns to their skin caused by the jacket. Yes, we,ve all heard about mesh jackets melting. i can guarantee you that it would not be available for sale if even one person recieved serious burns to their skin caused by the jacket.
It's hard to sue when you're dead... Anything is better than nothing- especially if you're just tooling around town. but I'm inclined to believe that if you low side at 65, a mesh jacket is just as good as nothing.
I was a supervisor at a water park. We used to test ride the slides in the morning. We had an extreme gravity slide that if you goofed off on, you could push to over 70 feet per second. If you were unlucky you might hit a dry patch of slide and you would either burn yourself or MELT your board shorts.
Well I was set on the mesh, but now a whole nother argument was thrown in there, so now i'm stuck to where I was before. With the jacket I linked mesh or no mesh. Safety is a huge issue. I don't care how I slide I want the jacket I buy to protect me the best way a jacket could, wether it be mesh or not, I don't like hearing that mesh jackets may just be good only if you slide a certain way or what.
I'm stuck.
Matt
I wear a perfoated 1.4 mm thick leather jacket with tonnes of padding ... I also own a 3/4 tex jacket with padding (bought as passenger jacket) And i live in geogia. The only mesh apparel I have is a Joe Rocket Phoenix pants but plan on buying a pair of nice leather pants. Bottom line I try and follow the motto dress for the crash not for the leather ... but make sure that whatever you buy you know that you are going to wear it EVERYTIME you ride. If you feel that you will occasionally feel the urge not to wear the leather then go with the mesh because mesh is much better than nuthin at all .
Just my 2 cts
I agree with Nomak. Mesh is better than nothing at all. Here in AZ it gets real hot. When I am joy riding and taking it easy (which is 90% of the time) I use my Firstgear Mesh jacket and pants. I am very pleased with the quality of the product. Some people give me a weird look in the summer. Most bikers are in short sleeved shirts and jeans or shorts :o . Whatever you do buy something that you are going to use. Leather or textile won't do you any good in the closet. :thumb:
dgyver is also correct. We don't see racers were textile, but they are also riding very aggresive at extreme speeds.
Good luck
Well, looks like i'm going w/ the non mesh. I don't ever plan on riding w/out protective gear. But I'll feel a little more comfortable and it does have air vents. plus it does get cooler here so i'll just put up w/ a little more heat.
Thanks guys,
Matt
I had what looked like a brand new Perrelli Dragon rear tire, but had a 2" gash in it, and it was threw and threw. what i did, i patched the gash from insided, then doubled over that patch with a larger patch, then installed a 17x3.5 tube into it. it worked GREAT. once it was fully inflated i squirted glue into the gash and let it dry.
If you only get one, get non-mesh. No question about protection. Better for when it gets cool. And maybe even better when it gets really hot -- riding thru 110 degree air could actually heat you up. For warm temps, the vents work well enough when you're moving, but you do get hot when stuck in traffic etc.
Maybe a good supplement to a mesh jacket would be one of the Kevlar shirts made by the Draggin Jeans company?
jeff
It's the Joe Rocket phoenix jacket that melts. And yes I have seen photos of this from a crash test. I wish I could go find those and post them here, let me see what I can do.
Plus -everything- sucks from Joe Rocket. They make shitty products.
Anywhoo... you should be fine with the Icon mesh jacket. The material is different than what they use on JR.
ASLAM.
Well here you go. I found the photos. So anyways, I would not recommend JR Phoenix or for that matter, anything JR...
(http://www-scf.usc.edu/~aslam/img4914_132.jpg)
(http://www-scf.usc.edu/~aslam/img5004_132.jpg)
ASLAM.
I may be wrong, but I believe that guy somehow got caught underneath a car, and those injuries were caused by him being stuck against hot engine and exhaust parts. Leather probably would've worked better, but I doubt any textile, mesh or not, would have done better.
jeff
I have the ICON Motorhead Jacket. It's 1.4 mm thick leather, CE armored and has got really effective vents on the front of the shoulders and on the lower back, as weel as perforated inner sleeves. When the vents are open, I feel a huge amount of cooling airflow on my back. I love the feeling of safety that it provides.
I tried my dad's Joe Rocket textile jacket and it doesn't "feel" as safe.
Leather is Better
Yeah it was from CBR forum. The guy got caught under the car and the radiator touched his jacket. But he said the burns came from the slide also in other areas.
ASLAM.
Quote from: Hi-T
It's hard to sue when you're dead...
True that. I still love leather, and it'll be the first choice for me unless it's really hot. Hopefully i won't be the GSTWIN test case for mesh. :cheers:
Here is my JR Speedmaster leather suit after a 60+ mph lowside over a year ago. There are some scrapes on the knee area but the puck took most of the grind. I still wear them with no problem with tech inspection.
(http://img21.photobucket.com/albums/v64/dgyver/Misc/JRlowside01.jpg)
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH That Road Rash Was Ugly!!!!
ok, after seeing that pic I'm going to go ahead and order the non mesh.
I'll let you know what I think of the jacket and the other ICON gear i'm going to get. I guess they are a fairly new company, bout a year old, not many reviews out there on their parts. I love the style of their gear, and look forward to testing it out, well hopefully not crash testing 8)
I just ordered this helmet today, I'll let you know allong with my other gear reviews what I think of it http://www.helmetshop.com/itemdesc.asp?CartId=8-ACCWARE-959150FFXLL862&Ic=836570&Cc=&bMatrix=True&tpc=
Thanks for all your input!!!
Matt
Hrm, I swear up and down on my Brosh kevlar jacket.
www.brosh.com
Decent prices, and good Isreali kevlar engineering.
For a few bucks extra you can get crash pads for your shoulders, elbows and back. They also have riding pants and dew rags to keep your helmet from getting all nasty.
those pictures are very misleading. those burns actually came from the guy being trapped underneath a car and being pressed up again the block and exhaust. like it was mention, leather may have helped in that regard, but mesh was never meant to protect something like that.
no one has said that mesh protects as well as leather, it doesn't. nothing does actually. but you also have to weigh in other factors as well. yes, racers need the protection of leather, but then again, i'm not tooling around at 100+ mph and pushing my bike to the limit. also, being stuck outside in the sun, in traffic, on a hot day is actually very dangerous. you can dehydrate very quickly or get sun stroke. a mesh let's a lot in that regard, it doesn't trap heat and let's any little breeze help cool you. sure, i've heard all sorts of stories about the horrors of mesh, but i've never met anyone who's had it happen to them, while i have met quit a few people who've gone down in mesh and it protected them. sure, the jacket was trashed but they were fine.
if it's get hot and hummid around where you live, and you plan to ride in that weather, i would suggest getting a mesh jacket. you can always put on layers if it's get's cooler. honestly though, it's best to have at least 2 jackets, a mesh for hot weather, and something else for colder weather.
Quote from: zoltanalso, being stuck outside in the sun, in traffic, on a hot day is actually very dangerous. you can dehydrate very quickly or get sun stroke. a mesh let's a lot in that regard, it doesn't trap heat and let's any little breeze help cool you.
Actually mesh can dehydrate you faster than leather while riding at speed. You will not feel as hot due to evaporative cooling. During this process you will be losing fluids faster than you realize until it is too late. There was an editorial in a mag a while ago about this.
yes, while mesh can dehydrate you as fast as leather, it's also going to keep you cooler (which is why you sweat in the first place) and will greatly lessen the chance of heat stroke.
First, I think it's great we're discussing what protective gear to wear rather than whether to wear the stuff or not...
I live where it is either too darn cold or too blasted hot - there a few great weather days for riding. But I ride anyways. I found a dicounted Belstaff Typhoon lined jacket and pants that keep me on the bike for spring and fall riding. The lining can be removed as the weather warms - it's great weather protection for both of my unfaired bikes. I've had no unplanned dismounts so I can't speak personally to the degree of crash protection but it meets the European safety standards. It's great but too hot for peak summer. I then use a Technics mesh and the draggin jeans - and ride with double-paranoia. Previous posts about the dehydration risk with mesh are real - water stops are a must.
The Aerostich site has some interesting comparsions between leathers and textiles - but the 'stich as well as leathers are priced out my league for now.
well guys, I actually went ahead and ordered a different jackt then the icon. I was reading reviews on it and it is to be worn by an individual no taller then 6'2" and me being 6'3" I was a little hesitant on the sizing issue. So I went ahead an ordered a leather HJC
(http://www.newenough.com/product_pictures/h/hjc_sport_2_jacket/black_front.jpg)
As far as wether or not this may get to hot, I don't know, it appears to have a good venting system. If it does get to hot I will prolly purchase a mesh one in a few months.
Thanks for all your input guys!
Matt
here in Mississippi. It gets incredibly hot and humid. Most riders wear shorts and short sleeve shirts. I think they are stupid for doing so, but some people just don't listen (like my roomie, who is one of idiots who does not wear any gear but a helmet). It would not be feasible to wear leather here bc of traffic and the dry heat would literally burn you from the inside. Mesh is a most though, I'll suffer a little sweat, but I'm not risking a heat stroke b/c of leather, given some leather is preffertated that would only work during late evenings when the sun is not bearing down on you. I am already worried about my black helmet.
I live in Texas and there is no way you could get away with wearing a leather jacket in the summer. Hell, you really only get about a two-month span of chilly enough to wear a jacket here at all.
I have a regular leather jacket in the closet I can wear during the three or four days out of the year that it's actually cold enough to put on a coat. I purchased the Joe Rocket Phoenix 3.0 Jacket and the Phoenix Mesh Pants.
It's just not possible to wear leather gear here in Texas during most of the year.
I've got the Joe Rocket Leather and Mesh racing jacket and I absolutely love it. It's not the phoenix but the arms and part of the back are leather-mesh. I'd get one if I were you. but it also depends on where you live I guess in some situations. plus you can get a waterproof liner for it
man im waking this thread up....
haha
but i got this jacket:
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/item.aspx?style=5103&department=112&Division=1
it's the Teknic Chicane Cordura Jacket
whatever that means.
but anyway, it's got arm vents and a back vent. it's 80some degrees outside and it's HOT AS CRAP. it's not so bad when I'm moving at speed, but stopped it's rediculous. i'd really hate to have some leather. I just stop every 40 mins or so and get some water, and I'm good. I might have to look into getting a mesh, or one of those kevlar shirts for this summer, tho.
Speaking of the jacket. I have been riding w/ the jacket that I bought and the one linked a few posts ago. So far i've ridden in 93 degree temperature and it's fine. not hot at all. Even at slow speeds. At 55+ good venting in the arms. I'm very very impressed. I might not need to get another jacket afterall. We'll see as soon as we start hittin 100-110+ this summer.
Matt
Quote from: notoriouskeefSpeaking of the jacket. I have been riding w/ the jacket that I bought and the one linked a few posts ago. So far i've ridden in 93 degree temperature and it's fine. not hot at all. Even at slow speeds. At 55+ good venting in the arms. I'm very very impressed. I might not need to get another jacket afterall. We'll see as soon as we start hittin 100-110+ this summer.
Matt
what other one do you have besides that hjc one?
that one is cool tho, i might have to look at gettin one. where did you order it/how much?
j
Thats the only jacket I have (the HJC) www.newenough.com Paid like 214 for it. Normally 400+.
Matt
I rock the Joe Rocker Reactor in all black. NIce looking jacket in my opinion. It has leather sleeves and a mesh torso. It always keeps me cool even on hot days :thumb:
man....my jacket must just suck. lol
if im not going 45-50+, then it's pretty hot. especially in the sun.