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I've joined Aerostitch nation; must now be an Official BMW Geek

sagerat

sagerat

Boxers uber alles
My BMW Rallye 3 suit after five years and 60,000 miles has grown tired. After looking at the price of a new BMW suit and figuring out the cost per year, I went with the 'Stitch Roadcrafter 3 and added larger hip pads and back protector. Went to pop-up store in Gresham, OR, and got fitted, 20% off, and free shipping.

Ordered an R3 in gray with high-viz trim. Suit arrived in less than a week and fit perfectly. Only glitch was collar magnets were AWOL. Called Duluth and they are mailing me them. As temps in Central Oregon are in mid-50s, I don't need the collar held open.

Test ride on Ural went well and plan on GSA toodle today. R3 is still stiff and am glad nobody is videoing me getting in and out of suit. I am not at the 10-second mark, yet.
 
You made a wise choice, imo.

But.... your Rallye 3 suit is what made you a geek.

With Aerostich, you just look like your mother dressed you! :ha
 
Suit is still stiff and even on my best athletic days I was never confused with water flowing effortlessly; as I'm pushing 60 I'm even less flexible. :)
 
sagerat said:
Suit is still stiff and even on my best athletic days I was never confused with water flowing effortlessly; as I'm pushing 60 I'm even less flexible. :)
Click to expand...

As long as your buttons haven't turned to velcro ............
 
You have not REALLY joined the 'Stich Nation unless you RODE to Duluth for the purchase!

You made the right decision on the suit. Good luck and great riding!
 
The Rallye 3 has been a fantastic suit; kept me dry in torrential downpours, vents excellently in hot weather and waterproof pockets were actually waterproof. Couple of drawbacks: zipper tying jacket and pant together went kaput in about the first 1.5 years, the velcro on the wrists and neck died within 4 years, and while the liners work great, I found while on tour they can be a royal PIA to deal with. Is it going to rain today? How hard and long? Put liners in or roll dice? The liners have kept me warm riding the Ural on snowy 0-10F degree days along with a lap robe and Gerbing's jacket. The liners are tolerable, for me, up to about 70F with all the vents open. So on more than one ride, I'd start with liners in and and then open the liners before finally doing the one-footed crow hop on the roadside as I removed them later in the day. Or I'd be searching for shelter in the rain to put them in when I guess wrong on the weather.

The convenience of the 'Stich is one of the aspects that drew me to the R3, plus when you look at combined cost of jacket and pants for a new Rallye 3, the R3 was less expensive. And I like the high viz on the R3's shoulders, elbows, and ankles. I live about a 10 minute ride from work and I'm an ATGATT guy, so it took longer to get in and out of the Rallye 3 than it did to almost to ride to work. With the R3, it's about 20 seconds to get into and out of it.

Did a test ride on the GSA on a windy Sunday with temps in upper 50s, lower 60s. I can say comparing the R3 to the Rallye 3 sans liners, the Rallye 3 was warmer initially. However, the R3 is more windproof and once my body heat began to build up, the R3 was comfortable. I'm still chomping at the bit to put in a full day in the 'Stitch and post my results.
 
Half-day on R3, but bonus points for temps (42F-50F), high winds, and rain. Demerits for misplacing the cord that goes from the GSA into my Gerbing's. So I got to test out how warm an R3 can be just by layering. LD undershorts, Nike Dri-Fit tops and bottom, T-shirt, and unheated Gerbing's jacket all topped by Smart Wool balaclava.

I was fairly comfy and more importantly, I stayed dry. The worst part of the ride was 40 minutes of fog where you couldn't see more than 50 feet ahead. Putzed along at 30-40 mph with four-way flashers going and constantly pingponging from looking ahead to looking at mirror. Finally, had to U-turn to get out of fog, which was fairly nerve-wracking given I was on a two-lane rural highway with miserable visibility.

'Stitch was amazingly windproof. And now it has some road grime so it's beginning to look like proper mc gear... :laugh
 
I'm thinking about getting one. My current setup is Revit over pants and a Joe Rocket or Revit mesh jacket. The pants are two zippers on the outside. It takes me a few minutes to gear up. I have a 40 minute ride to work and the gear slows me up some. I live south of Houston so winters are mild and summers are freaking hot. That's my hesitation. How will it feel in the Texas heat. That and looking like the Toxic Avenger.
 
cajunrph,
I can highly recommend the Roadcrafter LT (now called R-3 Light) for the warmer temps. Purchased it after the 2011 Bloomsburg PA HOT rally.
Here in not so freaking hot but humid VA works great for me. Have to put on an insulating liner under ~65F even behind the RT fairing.
Also have an old one piece Roadcrafter (now called classic) that I keep the winter pads in for use from October - March.
Have been down twice at speed in them and am still here and healthy.
Both have been sent in for minor repairs and are good to go another 100k miles each.
 
Surprised that the OP only got 60K out of the BMW gear. I put 40K on my one piece R3 before sending it back for new zippers. I expect it'll last for many years. Using my old Motoport as backup while the R3 is in the shop. It has about 60K on it with no issues (other than rebuilding the pants after the EMT's cut them off me following a hit/run accident).

I'm actually kind of ambivalent about the 'Stich. I like that the Gore-Tex deals perfectly with light/moderate rain so no need to carry a bulky separate rain liner but am bummed that I get a wet crotch after about 10 minutes in torrential rain. It's cooler than the Motorport which is nice in the summer but the extra padding in the Motoport is extra insulation in the winter. I still haven't decided whether the convenience of the one-piece outweighs being able to just take off the jacket of the 2-piece when going into stores and eateries.
 
R3 lite - and very hot riding conditions

I would love to hear any stories and views about how this suit works in temperatures above, say, 90 degrees? How successful is the venting? We are two Aussies travelling around the US for about a year and currently I am using a vented European jacket that was less than successful in the Owens Valley this September just gone. It was 110 degrees in the shade and I just knew I had to get a better vented jacket. My husband is very happy with his BMW textile summer jacket but I need something that can be adjusted for my shape. The Aerostich videos look good, but I would really appreciate some real-life stories to help me understand what it can do.
Cheers, Susan
 
Buddy rode to Arkansas, blitzed the Ozarks, and rode back to Orygun in the summer and found his R3 'Stich vented fine. I'll admit I love the mesh chest panels on the BMW Suit and it will be interesting to see how the combo of armpit zippers and back zipper work in the summers given Central Orygun can get hot and many of my tours take me back to my old stomping grounds in the Southwest.

I'm especially anticipating about how the 'Stich does in the Sonoran desert as I'm watching 8" of snow fall outside my window in Bend at the moment...
 
essspe said:
I would love to hear any stories and views about how this suit works in temperatures above, say, 90 degrees? How successful is the venting? We are two Aussies travelling around the US for about a year and currently I am using a vented European jacket that was less than successful in the Owens Valley this September just gone. It was 110 degrees in the shade and I just knew I had to get a better vented jacket. My husband is very happy with his BMW textile summer jacket but I need something that can be adjusted for my shape. The Aerostich videos look good, but I would really appreciate some real-life stories to help me understand what it can do.
Cheers, Susan
Click to expand...
Basically you need to close up and use evaporative cooling when it's over 95 (or 35 in most of the world). Above that temperature, mesh/vented gear ADDS heat faster than you can sweat it away - like trying to cool off while sitting in front of a big hair dryer. I've done Death Valley in late spring when it was "only" 98, and used a soaking wet tee shirt (I would have lost the contest for sure but nobody could see...) under black solid textile gear and was cold. Use the wrist zippers to control airflow and temperature. I have to stop every hour or 2 to re-wet the shirt, which is kind of annoying but it is what it is.

I've done humid Georgia in the summer, same temperatures, and it wasn't as effective but it still worked. Tried an hour or so without and started getting headaches, wet the shirt, cooled down and the headaches went away. If you stop moving, nothing will keep you cool. And HYDRATE!

For a detailed discussion, read this: Long Distance Riding in Hot Weather
 
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Too bad that link doesn't open..

I've crossed the Mohave desert twice, waffled around Las Vegas and Reno, and crossed Nevada/Utah on Rt 50 (the loneliest road..) all wearing my stitch - in June. Hottest I saw was a bit over 110F leaving Las Vegas. I'd intended to get an early start heading west, but of course overslept - so ended up leaving around 10AM - just in time for the heat of the day to really start building.

As wbrownell9 said - stay wet. I have a Marsee evaporative vest - one that has hollow fiber padding in it - that you "charge" overnight in a sink full of water. The water gets sucked up the fibers by capillary action, then slowly released when taken out of the sink. At rest stops - I'd give it a quick 20 minute recharge in any available sink, or use one of my vacuum packing bags and a large cup of ice water to recharge it.

It works - as long as there is some circulation over it. As wbrownell9 pointed out - mesh is actually counterproductive - basically when the temperature exceeds your skin temperature. In that case - you're heating yourself up with the hot air blowing on you. The evaporative vest, worn under an Aerostich with the vents open kept me quite comfortable - except when caught in traffic in Las Vegas in 100F+ temps. Under those conditions - nothing is going to help besides a cold shower. People did look at me a bit funny when I made a stop, took off my 'stich, then took off a vest - and tossed the vest in a plastic bag with water. But I'm used to being looked at funny, so it wasn't a big concern.

And DO stay hydrated. I found things like a milkshake - cold with some bulk to it - seemed to help cool down my core while still satisfying my thirst. Heat was pretty much a non-issue as long as I could keep moving so some air passed over me.
 
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