Gear I bought

[Zukin]

Hey all

As a Noob I thought I would post my experiences of the new riding gear I bought!
I purchased this gear for adventure riding, so hence why I went less road orientated.
Now I am not employed by any of these companies I have listed, just an honest report on good gear that I thought I would share with others that may be thinking of buying or upgrading their gear.
If you are considering any gear and are in or near Auckland I would suggest visiting the team at Motomail.
(not that I am so you can shop from home using your PC, in their online shop).
Their service is exceptional and really make Noobs feel right at home and dont offer biased views on any of the products there.

1 - Dririder RallyCross Jacket - You can see it here (http://www.motoretail.co.nz/product.cfm?ID=5274)
I cant really say anything about this jacket, other than it is bloody brilliant.
I have used it only a few times and it has exceeded my wildest expectations.
Warmth - Incredibly warm and no draughts
Weatherproof - I haven't yet tried it in the rain, but brilliant on frosty mornings commuting to work, which is about 25km in a 100km zone
Features - Pockets galore, and just in the right places, even pockets do out your hands into that are fleece lined.
Upgrade Kit - Yep got that too and well worth it just for the thermal liner, really easy to put it all together, and yet so comfortable to wear, dont be fooled by its looks, it looks bulky and heavy but it isn't. It is very comfortable.
The Camel Back kit will be brilliant for the longer trips with juice or water :)
I love the collar, it is soft and comfortable, I tried a few on but the collar irritated the hell out of me.
It is really easy to put on and take off too which is a bonus, as some "other brands" I tried you almost had to be a contornisit to get out of it!

2 - Dririder Rallycross Pants
Again an excellent garment.
The legs are a little long for my short legs, but they are ok around the waist and thighs (I have a keg instead of a six pack) :)
Waterproof liner is yet to be tested.
They hug your body, so thin trou or shorts are the go.

3 - Nolan N102 Helmet - You can see it here (http://www.motoretail.co.nz/product.cfm?ID=4936)
Again an excellent helmet.
I tried loads of them on and this is the one that just felt right!
It is great getting petrol, lifting the chin guard and not having to remove the helmet completely.
The sun visor is fantastic, just like sunnies when riding into a rising or setting sun.
It also acts like a peak, so I will see how that goes when it rains
Really comfortable and quiet when riding at 100km on the open road.
Has the ability to connect to NCom, Nolan's own communication device.

Links
www.motomail.co.nz
www.nolan.it - Have a look at the Nolan website, just make sure you select English otherwise it is very hard to read.
www.dririder.co.nz


I am off on a 4 day trip soon, so I hope to report back with a better detailed report then.
I hope the weather is good, but I am keen to try the limits of the gear out, but I suspect the gear will last longer than me in adverse conditions.

Cheers

[Lou Girardin]

That's good kit you've got. Good choices.

[chris]

Weatherproof - I haven't yet tried it in the rain
I have been using an 'on test' Dririder for about 18 months now. You'll love the way the rain runs down between the outer jacket and the inner liner ending up in your gloves. Other than that, great jacket which is also good in the forest.

[Sniper]

Nice, but where did you bring it from? If you BOUGHT it I understand :msn-wink:

[SDU]

Sounds like you got a good kit.
I'd been keen to know how the pants are. Not just waterproofing, but if they are warm on the road & vented enough to be cool for the offroad stuff.
Enjoy your adventure!

[Lou Girardin]

I have been using an 'on test' Dririder for about 18 months now. You'll love the way the rain runs down between the outer jacket and the inner liner ending up in your gloves. Other than that, great jacket which is also good in the forest.

That's why you wear the cuffs over your gloves.

[chris]

That's why you wear the cuffs over your gloves.
It doesn't help much.

[Ghost Lemur]

I was going to start a new thread til I saw this one so will just add here.

I'm getting extremely annoyed at the state on bike shops in New Zealand.

While I can understand that due to our small population combined with motorcycling being a "fringe" activity, the shops can't afford to stock a substancial range of goods.

But that's no excuse for not having a reasonable online presence. You could argue motormail now does. While it's certainly 1000% better than it used to be (good work Dave :niceone:) it still pathetic in the range that's available to view. None of the others are even that good.

What does this mean?

Well, here I am starting to shop for gear. All I have to go on are overseas sites. While I can convert the currency, it doesn't give me a true idea of what I can expect to pay for things here, let alone if they are even available.

Already decided on the boots, Sidi Discovery/Courier seem to fill the DualSport category the best based on overseas reviews. Forget about finding even a mention on a new zealand site about them so I don't even know if they're available here.

To be honest, I'm seriously considering taking my money overseas, buying from the likes of motorcyclesuperstore.com or the uk one which keeps poping up in my searches. It doesn't seem to me like the new zealand companies want my money.

/rant

Nice gear though. Look forward to a post ride review.

[gijoe1313]

I'm wearing my brother's old clobber at the moment (Dainese) and has been serving me well until I can invest and find other kit! This is great to read about as a noob! :yes:

[far queue]

I'd been keen to know how the pants are. Not just waterproofing, but if they are warm on the road & vented enough to be cool for the offroad stuff.
Me too. I'm still looking around for some pants.

Hey SDU. Eric Woods have a range of sizes of the Dririder Rallycross pants if you wanted to try some on, and Superior have got some Moose adventure pants as well as the Thor ones that Lemans has got.

[Hitcher]

As a Noob I thought I would post my experiences of the new riding gear I brought.

Gahhhh! No, you want to post your experiences of the riding gear you bought, i.e. paid money to procure. Brought is derived from the verb to bring, i.e. to take something somewhere. What a big difference one letter makes!

[merv]

Hitcher are you not having enough fun these days to worry about such detail?

[Hitcher]

I find that I can ignore increasing amounts of language abuse on Kiwi Biker (and elsewhere for that matter), but there are times when the old needle goes past the redline and I just have to pop a wheelie, grammatically speaking...

[BAD DAD]

I found that there was no shortage of gear for sale when I last looked, just a shortage of cash in my wallet.

[SDU]

Hey SDU. Eric Woods have a range of sizes of the Dririder Rallycross pants if you wanted to try some on, and Superior have got some Moose adventure pants as well as the Thor ones that Lemans has got.

Thanks FQ. I'll check out the Hood's gear.
The Thor & Moose pants are all mens sizes & don't fit me. Besides Lemans & I can't go around in matching threads, what will people think:innocent:
Fox have some girls adventure/ over boot MX pants but I haven't seen any here- they'd probably be pink :argh: anyway.
Sadly look will be all I'll be able to do for now - the wallet won't open - its been raided too heavily lately.

[Lou Girardin]

To be honest, I'm seriously considering taking my money overseas, buying from the likes of motorcyclesuperstore.com or the uk one which keeps poping up in my searches. It doesn't seem to me like the new zealand companies want my money.

/rant

.
I can't speak for the others, but at AMPS our resources are directed to where the income comes from - personal shoppers. Big flash websites take too much time to keep current when your stock is continually changing, or when wholesalers can't supply stock. I sell a reasonable amount to KB'ers, but it's very small compared to what I sell in-store.
And I still don't believe you can buy bike gear safely without seeing it. A pretty picture on a website will tell you nothing about quality or fit.

[far queue]

Besides Lemans & I can't go around in matching threads, what will people think:innocent: Ya don't have to buy the rubbish bag blue ones as well you know :innocent:


Sadly look will be all I'll be able to do for now - the wallet won't open - its been raided too heavily lately.Well you will go wasting money on fixing the house.


And I still don't believe you can buy bike gear safely without seeing it. A pretty picture on a website will tell you nothing about quality or fit.Too true, I've bought stuff like saddle bags off Motomail, but would never buy a helmet, jacket, etc unless I'd tried one on and had a play with it here first.

[laRIKin]

Sadly look will be all I'll be able to do for now - the wallet won't open - its been raided too heavily lately.


Well you will go wasting money on fixing the house.

SDU forgot mention that she just got a new jacket. :yes:
So that's 4 bike jacket's now? :yes:
And I did not see her wallet open when we picked out the stuff for the new bathroom.:innocent:
But SDU did help spend it.:yes:

[far queue]

SDU forgot mention that she just got a new jacket. :yes:What did she get?


So that's 4 bike jacket's now? :yes: It's amazing how it accumulates isn't it - I too have multiple helmets, jackets, boots, etc but still looking for more :yes:

[Ghost Lemur]

I can't speak for the others, but at AMPS our resources are directed to where the income comes from - personal shoppers. Big flash websites take too much time to keep current when your stock is continually changing, or when wholesalers can't supply stock. I sell a reasonable amount to KB'ers, but it's very small compared to what I sell in-store.
And I still don't believe you can buy bike gear safely without seeing it. A pretty picture on a website will tell you nothing about quality or fit.

While I understand your point of view.

It doesn't take a lot to get a website up and running (have a look at computer sites for an example), once up they're easy to maintain, especially if well designed with that in mind in the first place. As for expense, I know numerous ComSci students who do commercial web design for bugger all (compared to amount of work involved).

At the end of the day though, you can't have it both ways. You can't have shit all in stock (in terms of range) AND have no web precence.

It may be different in the auckland shops but down here it's naffed, unless you want the same bollocks as every other mug has (no offence intended to anyone who's found exactly what they want at a local). And if I wanted that I'd have a zxr instead of a crm.

A gear side to bikepoint would be perfect. You don't have to take your own pics of every piece of gear. No manufacturer is going to complain about you using their images to sell their products.

In the end as I'm going to finalise what I want down to a short list and then email a bunch of places and find out who can do me what and for how much.

Still tt'd be ideal if I could go down to my local try on all the different gear I'm considering and then buy what fits best/I like most.

[laRIKin]

What did she get?

A mainly grey with black and charcoal trim ThorMX Phase jacket.
We got a boys size jacket that is fitting and is light weight with no armour with zip off sleeves and is vented for summer riding.
As SDU found the other Thor (Ride2) to big and warm to wear in the summer for trail riding.
It was well vented as well but not enough on real warm days as the sleeves did not come off.

[laRIKin]

1 - Dririder RallyCross Jacket - You can see it here (http://www.motoretail.co.nz/product.cfm?ID=5274)
2 - Dririder Rallycross Pants
3 - Nolan N102 Helmet - You can see it here (http://www.motoretail.co.nz/product.cfm?ID=4936)


Kukin it look like you are now kitted out well for a trip or two.
Well done and let me know how you find the pants.
As SDU and I may be looking at buying some.

[Zukin]

Well done and let me know how you find the pants.
As SDU and I may be looking at buying some.

Well I tried the pants today, again not in the rain but in the cold :innocent:
It was about 4 degrees (outside temp, not sure about wind chill)
They stood up well in the cold.
It felt like I was getting cold a butt, but it is just the waterproof liner that makes if feel cold
But then again I was just in gruts :eek: as I was too warm when wearing my trousers last time I went out...
So shorts maybe the go :yes:

We also bought the same pants for my wife and they were the perfect fit, she felt comfortable in hers, but she doesnt quite look as good in them as she looks in her leathers :laugh:

I will keep you posted after my 4 days on the road next weekend!
Cheers

[cooneyr]

I've had the non removeable sleeve Rallycross jacket for about 6 months and some rally cross pants for about 3 months. I like the jacket and the ease of putting the liner (only have the waterproof liner) in. Is really good for keeping a cold wind and water out. Only thing I dont like is what happended when I hit the ground after a slow lowside on ice. Got a nice hole in the mesh but didn't hurt the inner mesh liner or the waterproof liner. Was very supprised that it riped so easily. Basically dont fall of at speed onroad with one!

Lemans, SUC FQ - did you lot not notice the pants? I like them but recon that they are to generous in the low leg. Fits over the boots easily but off road I put inside boots and they are baggy as hell above the boot. Just cause I need a slightly larger waste doesnt meen that I have a calf as big as my thigh (even with boots on). Not used the liner in the pants yet because dont find them too cold onroad even with the stretchy knee vents.

Cheers
R

[SDU]

Thanks guys for the info on the pants, they sound ok to me so far guys. What are they like to wash after a hot muddy ride? Do you need to use special washes & reseal them or are they totally reliant on the waterproof lining?
Interesting what you say Cooneyr about the road crash damage. I was under the impression the rally cross gear was suppose to handle road rash as well as other cordura jackets. Its got to be better than the enduro stuff we use tho!

[cooneyr]

Thanks guys for the info on the pants, they sound ok to me so far guys. What are they like to wash after a hot muddy ride? Do you need to use special washes & reseal them or are they totally reliant on the waterproof lining?

Dont think it matters with the Rallycross pants re washing. They are a simple codura/nylon pant with a removeable waterproof liner made of the same material as the jacket liner (no supprises there). There is no thermal lining or anything fancy that warents special waterproofing washes.

Just pull the liner out when you wash. It is only Velcroed (SP?) in so no big deal really. Not washed mine yet tho, not done enough nor got muddy enough to need it!

R

[laRIKin]

Lemans, SUC FQ - did you lot not notice the pants? Cheers
R

Sorry I wasn't looking at your legs mate.:yawn: :bleh: :laugh:

I was really just after another person view on the pants as I know that you like them.

PS: Who is SUC:whocares:

[cooneyr]

Sorry I wasn't looking at your legs mate.:yawn: :bleh: :laugh:

PS: Who is SUC:whocares:

What were you looking at then if not my legs? :confused: :laugh: ;)

I dunno who SUC is - sure there are lots of potentials for that acronym.

R

[Lou Girardin]

In the end as I'm going to finalise what I want down to a short list and then email a bunch of places and find out who can do me what and for how much.

Still tt'd be ideal if I could go down to my local try on all the different gear I'm considering and then buy what fits best/I like most.

When you narrow down what you want, they should also get stuff in for you to try on sale or return basis. Most wholesalers are happy to do this. Don't ask unless you seriously intend to buy though, freight ain't cheap.