• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

BMW Gear worth the price

testing

Not a very thorough test by any means but I did ride in 98 degree temps the other day with 1 hour in the BMW Comfort Tech jacket and 1 hour in the Aerostich Darien jacket. Same roads, same temps, same LD Comfort long sleeved shirt beneath. I'd say the Comfort Tech was slightly cooler, but not by much. I then rode Monday of this week in a thunderstorm with the Comfort Tech, it kept me bone dry but so does the Darien when I've worn it in rain. Styling and fit go to the BMW jacket. The shoulder pads, elbow pads, and back pad also appear to be substantial and the fit enhances how they stay in the right spot. I'm not giving up my Darien for it's versatility in the long haul but I'm happy with the BMW Comfort Tech.
 
But that's just it - most isn't ridiculously overpriced. There's a broad range of prices and what I think this thread's OP was asking, is the expensive stuff from BMW worth the price. If it protects better than cheaper gear - let's normalize that out and ask - If protection is paramount in consideration of gear, is there anything on the planet better than Motoport's Kevlar jackets and pants? It's ugly as home made sin and pricey but by all accounts the best at protecting us. Would you want to crash in BMW pricey gear or Motoport pricey gear?

Sorry to revive an old thread but the question Pitts asked was the one I tried to ask several times and had a difficult time getting meaningful information to guide the decision making process. There were many opinions but little data.

I heard so many great things about the Motoport stuff that I finally took the plunge and bought the gear. The problem was wearing it. It was so bulky and ugly that it was hard to swallow both the comfort and appearance. Those who wear the gear will say it breaks in nicely but the fit was just not there, even with some custom alterations. Aerostich was better but still not what felt or looked like I wanted.

That led me to return the Motoport gear and I went back to the BMW store. This time I noticed there was a display board which showed the results of abrasion test on various BMW gear. It showed fabric from their entry level denim to their premium Streetguard gear. The gear which was more competitive from a price standpoint to less expensive gear did worse from an abrasion resistance standpoint. The less expensive BMW gear used similar materials to less expensive gear from other suppliers. The more expensive stuff did much, much better. It was great to have this quantifiable evidence to help guide my decision making process. Looking at quantifiable evidence for the lower price garments was plenty to scare me away from less expensive garments.

Another nice benefit of the higher priced BMW gear was that it was waterproof without a separate waterproof liner which reduced the number of liners which were needed to pack and you did not need to worry about whether you packed a waterproof liner or not. Few other garments are truly waterproof without a separate liner. When taking a trip it is great riding in and out of rain and never having to stop to put in a liner or put on rain gear.


I realize not all dealers have this display but my dealer did and it was great to help me decide if I was paying for a BMW logo or a more abrasion resistant product.
 
I am curious as to if this display was actually produced by BMW. I would be very suspicious of anyone trying to quantify that kind of material information. How would you know the exact circumstances under which the samples were tested and could the outcomes be replicated ?
This just sounds like snake oil to me.
 
As with anything, you have to prioritize what's important. In 90+ degree weather, I'm less concerned about waterproofing than I am with airflow and breathability. In 20 degree temperatures, I want a windblocker.

I'm a firm believer that no single jacket and pants will work in the temperature ranges I ride (single digits to 110+). So my R3 is perfect for spring, summer, and fall; waterproof liners are preferred. Winter means Gerbing's heated overpants, and a heated liner under my waterproof Teknic jacket.
 
I'm also a firm believer that one piece of gear will not work as well as at least 2 suits if you live in varying climates. I also believe that a significant driver of comfort is actually how tolerant the individual wearer is of temperature. For instance I am much more tolerant of heat than my wife (being born in St Croix from Puerto Rican and southern Italian genes as opposed to Stuttgart from German genes may have something to do with that) so any piece of clothing tends to be more comfortable from a temp standpoint on me. For instance I can wear my Streetguard 2 suit throughout the year, but on the really hot days I prefer one of my mesh suits. My wife would not get on the bike most of the summer if she had a SG suit. She wears a Rukka Air Power exclusively. When it is cold she has a thin fleece underneath and/or her rain jacket over it (she doesn't like the AirVantage liner)

That being said what I have learned from my years as a clothes whore, if it's waterproof it will not flow air well. The membranes that allow perspiration to evaporate do not allow air flow to freely move through them. Those jackets may not be warm depending on other factors (thickness of material, insulation, etc) but they will not flow air well.

Of course the converse is also true if it flows air well it also flows water well. I also tend to think of a suit as a sacrificial item if I have a significant spill with a lot of sliding. I will gladly replace it to avoid skin damage. Another construction thing I have learned, if you want an always waterproof jacket I would strongly suggest one where the waterproofing membrane is laminated to the outer shell fabric. There are jackets made with the liner permanently attached at the periphery (the same way a zip in liner attaches). The advantage of a laminated suit is that they tend to not get as wet on the shell because the water is prevented from soaking both sides of the fabric due to the lamination. They also dry faster and tend to be less bulky than other types of attachment.

Wearing something is usually better than wearing nothing. You will develop your likes and dislikes and whatever works for you is right. I only wear short jackets and i always zip jackets and pants together. I happen to like BMW clothing. I think they are high quality and they have a wide selection of styles. I also like that I can zip any jacket to any pants. I also have recommended other brands to friends based on their needs. Bottom line, get what you like, make sure it fits properly and is comfortable enough that you almost never think about it when wearing it, and of course, wear it as much as possible.
 
I just got back from a 3,000 mile loop from the mid-Atlantic up into Canada and around the Great Lakes and back down through the mid-West to home and we were camping so space on the bike was a premium and the temp and weather was over a wide range. We rode in nearly 90 F to 32F and lots of rain. Layering is the real solution.

Depending on the weather for the day, I'd wear a base layer of the thinnest tech wick or under armor to thicker smart wool on my legs. Over that I wore my Rev'it Airwave mesh pants which are very comfortable and flow air well. When it was colder I wore the Smartwool and layered on my rain pants. I always felt completely comfortable across all these temp and weather extremes with that.

Up top, I always wore a thin tech wicking base layer and would layer on that my Gerbing liner under my riding jacket. My riding jacket for this trip is weather proof so I'd only through on the rain jacket in the hardest downpours.

I guess I'm relaying all that because I feel with the right layering choices you don't have to make any compromises of comfort across any but the most extreme temp ranges.

And, just to be clear - I'm no fan of the Motoport gear either and can't get past the look and the fact that I can't go try it on and look at it before I buy it. I want great protection but the hassle factor is too high to order and send it back over and over until I get it to fit right and look decent.

I don't doubt that the higher priced BMW stuff is really fine and protective gear. But, matching up specs on thicknesses of textiles and ratings for armor, there's other stuff out there that seems to be comparable and less spendy. I guess time will tell for me if it's durable and lasts for years like so many report on the BMW gear.
 
Back
Top