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BMW riding gear ??

mosrrt

Member
I want to know which BMW gear I should be looking at. It must be waterproof, good from 30 - 90+ degrees . Pants must be overpants and jacket must be the cut short not 3/4.
Mike
 
I just bought the BMW Rally Pro Two, quite expensive but the ultimate in BMW Riding gear. Has everything you need and some stuff you don't. I like the feature where you can carry the Gortex liners in a pouch on the back of the jacket in case you need them or zip the pouch off and leave it. You do not need to dig through your bike. It has many zippers, vents, pockets, map pocket on the arm, available camel back area for water etc. I love it and so far it works well. Room for heated liner for cold and I have worn it up to 86 degrees so far. A little heavy to carry but once on it feels great. Hope this helps. After spending thousands on gear over years I decided this was the best and I'm glad I finally took the leap. Probably should have bought this first and saved a ton.

Brett Endress
Altoona Pa
 
Brett is the Rally Pro a 3/4 cut jacket ? Are the pants overpants { riding pants over street pants or shorts }?
 
Brett is the Rally Pro a 3/4 cut jacket ? Are the pants overpants { riding pants over street pants or shorts }?

I'm not Brett, but....

The pants are not intended as overpants although I have read of people who have purchased them a size too large and used them that way. That's not something I would do.

The jacket is cut longer in the back than it is in the front. This is what it looks like on me:
<img src="http://mwr.snafu.org/2009/0121/p-20090121-1127-0003.jpg" title="R2P">

The front does not bunch up as I sit on the bike which is good, as the zipper does not zip up from the bottom as those zippers on 3/4 cut jackets tend to do. Oh, I ride a GS... The RT in the pic belongs to a friend.
 
riding gear

Check out www.aerostich.com . Look at the Roadcrafter suits. They are great. If you want overpants, go with a Road crafter jacket and Darien pants. They have full length zippers. I have these and use them for overpants. They are a little pricey but you get what you pay for. They are Gore Tex. I have had mine for 8 years and some 90,000 miles and they still look great. That also includes hard driving winds and heavy rain. The Roadcrafter jacket is shorter than 3/4. The aerostich crew is very helpful and they know their business. Great stuff.
 
BMW Gear

Ditto on Marchyman. Had many jackets (Streetguard, Rocket, Tourmaster, Olympia, etc.) and the Rally Pro 2 is best so far. It is heavy when everything is attached. I have a venting machine too so I won't wear it when it's real hot.
 
I've looked at the Rallye Pro 2 as well, and it's gonna be my next big purchase (I say big, because it ain't cheap, about $1600 for the jacket and pants in Canada) but it will do me for cold, hot and wet weather riding, it will last forever and it's designed for offroad riding.

I plan on getting a set next year before my big trek up through Labrador.
 
Remember to try the suit on with the liners in and any thermal underwear you may want in the winter on also.
 
Streetguard 2 pants and jacket. The tag says excellent for cold as well as hot weather riding.

On my 2000 mile odyssey around CA in February, I encountered 27F to 65F and a multitude of downpours along CA 1. I left the insulated liner in the entire time and wear jeans and long sleeve shirt under them at all times. The lower temperatures had me wearing an additional fleece sweater.

It ain't cheap.

Attached is a picture of me on the Big Island in March with the jacket (liner out) and BMW blue riding jeans after my CA trip. It still has not been washed since I bought it and it still looks like new!
 

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I think you're asking too much out of one suit. I have two suits a mesh suit for hot days and the Rally Pro 2 suit for colder, wetter days. FWIW, I purchased the liners for my mesh suit, and I've never ridden with them. I have a rain pants that I can put quicker and is far more comfortable than the liners.

But, since you're looking at a single suit, I would recommend looking for a suit that has good ventilation, but may not be waterproof. Most of the 3-4 season suits that are waterproof seem achieve this via liners, which IMO suck. You can't quickly pull off all your gear and install the liners if it starts to rain. As such, I would recommend getting a rain suit instead of trying to get a waterproof suit. If it begins to rain, you can pull over and put the rain suit on far quicker than you can the liners. The liners also make the suits more bulky and less comfortable.

I also think a bit more information as to how you will be primarily using the suit. If you're going to be putting over your work clothes, jeans, shorts, etc. You indicate a temperature range of 30 to 90+. Are you riding in mostly 60-80 with an occasional 90+ degree's or are you riding in mostly 80+ degree weather?

FWIW, the Rally Pro 2 suit is the most comfortable suit I've worn, but it doesn't meet your requirement of having overpants. I'm not sure BMW has overpants. I don't think any of the BMW pants I've tried on were over pants (except for the rain suit). You might need to broaden your search to include other manufactures.

Any way, best of luck in your search.
 
Sorry not to get back sooner, Anyway I don't know the answer to your questions but the gentleman right after your question seemed to know that it is not 3/4 and the pants are not over pants. I'm going to order a pair of Aerostitch suspenders that clamp into the pants because I'm afraid if I ever fall and slide forward that the pants will come down. They are only $20.00 and well worth it. I was lucky to get the suit off of the BMW MOA flea market only worn once for an iron butt brand new with liners for $1000.00 (Thanks Alex) But I had to look for a long time before one came available in that shape exactly my size and only 60 miles from home. Made a friend while buying the suit also. Hope my ramble helped

Brett Endress
Altoona PA
 
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