Summer riding gear

I need to get some new summer riding gear. Was curious if anyone (especially ladies) have used either the BMW venting suit or the BMW airflow suit, and what you think of them? I'm mainly interested in the pants at this time so would especially love to hear comments about how they perform. Are they comfortable? Easy to get on and off? How cool are they really in the heat of the summer? (Temps above 85). Any deficiencies that really bug you in the styling? Hoping there are some riders out there who can point me in the right direction. Thanks!

ebordelon said:

I need to get some new summer riding gear. Was curious if anyone (especially ladies) have used either the BMW venting suit or the BMW airflow suit, and what you think of them? I'm mainly interested in the pants at this time so would especially love to hear comments about how they perform. Are they comfortable? Easy to get on and off? How cool are they really in the heat of the summer? (Temps above 85). Any deficiencies that really bug you in the styling? Hoping there are some riders out there who can point me in the right direction. Thanks!

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I have the BMW Airflow suit (jacket & pants). It is VERY comfortable and lightweight, and looks nice (fits a woman's body nicely). Here in Mississippi it can easily get to 95-100 degrees in July & August with humidity in the 90 % range, and the suit will perform better than anything else, especially considering the protection you will have in the knees, hip bone area, shoulders, and elbows. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give it a 10. The material is very flexible. I bought mine last year, and have many thousand miles on it and it is holding up nicely. The colors are not fading yet. Mine is red & grey (pants grey),and they do get quite dirty around the cuffs, if that is an issue with you. I cannot think of anything negative to add about them, but of course they are NOT waterproof, so you would need some raingear. Yes, they are easy to get on & off, but in case you don't know, they really aren't made to be worn over street clothes. I wear mine over leggings to prevent the kneepads from rubbing my knees. Hope this helps . I definitely would buy the suit again. Regards...Gail
PS: If you decide to order, I recommend calling Denise at BMW of Bentonville, ARK. She is #1, and can fit you perfectly!Tell her Gail Thorne from Miss. said so!

I would suggest a waterproof jacket with lots of vents. This allows you to control how much venting you want and if it rains, you just close the vents and ride on. No need to carry rain gear. I used to wear summer gear (I live in Southern AZ) and carry rain gear, and I found it to be a big pain in the arse.

azgman said:

I would suggest a waterproof jacket with lots of vents. This allows you to control how much venting you want and if it rains, you just close the vents and ride on. No need to carry rain gear. I used to wear summer gear (I live in Southern AZ) and carry rain gear, and I found it to be a big pain in the arse.

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I agree that having to carry raingear is a PITA, but what isn't? The BMW Airflow suit is the coolest suit I have found, and besides, women have a harder time finding good riding gear than men do . She was specific about what she wanted to know.

Hey, it's all good! I agree about the availability of women's gear... I did see that at least one manufacturer was trying to go unisex with just a wide range of sizes, but given the complaints I have heard from my wife, gear really needs to be designed for a particular body shape and men and women are just different!

In fairness, not all women are the same shape either. Most manufacturers seem to think we all have an hourglass shape, and that 'large' means size 10. Not so. As a plus sized lady, it's been my experience that there's next to no 'womens' gear available to me.

You may want to check out Motoport, http://www.motoport.com/ their airmesh jackets and pants flow a great amount of air and provide very good protection. They also make suits to your measurements.

summer geat

i've been seeing this around the interweb recently! looks like a good thing to keep away monkey butt!
www.TheBootScoop.com check it out,guys riding a RT in the video....seems you have to have highway pegs or forward controls....

davagail said:

i've been seeing this around the interweb recently! looks like a good thing to keep away monkey butt!
TheBootScoop.com check it out,guys riding a RT in the video....seems you have to have highway pegs or forward controls....

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Looks like a take-off on these:

https://store.soundrider.com/collec...entz-set-of-2-free-us-shipping-as-seen-in-mcn

The BMW Airflow suit is a very good choice.

It has all the CE protectors in all the right places and the material is more than enough abrasion resistant.

Most important, the jacket and pants zip together ... you're not really protected unless you have a one-piece suit or your separate jacket and pants can be attached to each other ... because when you're sliding down the road your pants will pull off if not attached. Ouch.

The BMW two-piece rainsuit over the top works fine in rain and also provides a block for the "airflow" when it's a little cooler. With that and heated liners underneath when needed, the Airflow is my year-around suit.

Another vote for the Airflow suit as it works really well down here in the heat and humidity. I use a one piece rain suit over this as I like the yellow color of rain gear. The new Airflow jacket comes with a red shell for more weather resistance in case of some drizzle/wind. It is not waterproof like rain gear. Where I live however, a bit of water is welcome when the temps hit 95F in the summer..

Airflow suit may be great, but price is prohibitive.

I wear a textile jacket (Firstgear), sans liner, and a cropped T-shirt to get some airflow on my body. Sliders jeans. Surely not as good as Airflow, but a quarter of the price.

40dcoe said:

... but a quarter of the price.

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Until you factor in the price of dehydration or skin grafts.

PGlaves said:

Until you factor in the price of dehydration or skin grafts.

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You're evil... However you're right. Too much windflow will dehydrate your body much faster.

+1 for the BMW Airflow suit. Big airflow with great protection. Yes, it's pricey, but that's something each person must decide for themselves. For the level of quality, protection, functionality, etc., it is reasonably priced compared to it's competitors if you are looking for all those factors. If not, then you could save money with other setups, if money were an issue.

Regarding waterproof gear, we have to recognize that for hot climates, where you need extremely good ventilation for airflow, you have two choices:

1. great airflow
2. great waterproofing

You can't have both. Yes, everyone will talk about Gore-Tex, and other equally great products, but they absolutely do not allow as much airflow as something like the BMW Airflow. True long-term waterproof gear (waterproofing lasts as long as the gear - virtually never happens) just can't flow a ton of air even with plenty of venting, so you have to decide where you want your compromise. I live in an area that gets a reasonable amount of rain and I want to be dry when it is wet and cold, so I ride with various jackets but always carry my 1-piece Rev'It Pacific 2 H2O Rain Suit. True waterproofing when it rains and true airflow when it's dry. You might also consider the BMW ProRain Wet-Weather Oversuit. Both of these are:

• waterproof
• only used when you need them
• pack very small for convenience - I always have mine with me on my RT
• neon yellow with reflective panels provide active safety, especially when visibility is poor - like in the rain
• both use PU rather than PVC so that they do breath some

I used my Airflow for my ride last year from Denver to SLC for the MOA Rally. On the way there it was 95F+ and the Airflow worked great. As was mentioned, depending on what you're doing, some rain at 95F+ can be welcome and very cooling. For the ride back from SLC to Denver the temps were over 100F so I used my evaporative vest and everything was fine over 10-20 mph. If I'd been wearing my "waterproof" riding gear I'd have needed to be going 60+ to get enough airflow to feel comfortable and through the towns and stopping for gas I would have been sweltering. I also wear functional base-layers, LDComfort and BMW, that help.

What sold me on the BMW Airflow was actually something that has nothing to do with riding or how it works while riding!
It likely has little value to others, but does to me. The crowning touch, for me, were the two built-in elasticized carry-straps along the inside shoulders of the jacket. These come in so handy when it's hot that they sold me, and I'm very happy with how they work. They allow jacket to be worn similar to a backpack. It is amazing how often this has been handy for me. For most it is perhaps of little to no value, but the two areas that I use it are great. First, as with the SLC MOA Rally, sometimes for time constraints, or work reasons I fly into where I'm going and rent a bike or fly to point-A and ride to point-B. Naturally I need to pack very light as I'm taking my riding gear, helemt and clothing for a week all as carry-on (one carry-on bag and one "personel" bag). There is no room to pack the jacket so it must be worn. With the Airflow jacket on my shoulders using the straps, both hands are free and I'm not roasting getting from one terminal to the other. The straps are also handy on the road when I'm off the bike with my jacket but don't want to be wearing because of the heat.

YMMV

I like those straps too ...

Just another note regarding Airflow suits ....

When BMW says the black version reflects heat it's not BS. It truly works. I was sitting in the stands at COTA watching MotoGP and it was hot. Putting on the Airflow jacket was great protection from the sun and it didn't heat me up.

Of little use today in March, but imho the best time to buy Airflow stuff is Black Friday!

PGlaves said:

Until you factor in the price of dehydration or skin grafts.

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I'm not going to war. I'm just riding the bike.