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riding pants

6K views 24 replies 20 participants last post by  cdhkrs 
#1 ·
I am trying to buy new riding pants this season. Just dont know if i should try textile air mesh pants as overpants or as pants only. My k100 rt with full fairing is a rather warm bike to ride! I dont like bulky pants normally. Any thoughts from riders out there. I ride spring,summer and fall in southern new england.
 
#3 ·
I'm on my 2 pair of Dainese Drake Air paint - first pair held up on a crash - BUT had to be CUT OFF - I asked the EMT to just unzip me - they said ya NO. About $175.
Not sure what clothes you got but - I try to stay with one or two comp. so they all zip together - the last thing you want is to S L I D E on the blacktop with bare skin.
Stay safe - but get good gear you'll thank me once you've gone there - down or hit. :yeow:
 
#5 ·
I have a pair of Olympia Airglide 2 pants. I bought 'em the next larger size (42 instead of 40), so that they would fit over regular jeans. They have decent size mesh panels for airflow.

I don't use the removable waterproof liners. With jeans, I don't need them for the 40 degree winter mornings here in Southern California. I don't generally ride in the rain.

The Olympia pants are bulky. Obviously they are warmer than when I wore jeans without the protection, but I feel much safer. The tradeoff seems pretty good. I haven't tried them in the heat of the summer yet, however.

Suggestions and thoughts:

1. If you decide to buy, try them on in the store and sit on a demo bike that's similar to yours for a while (30 minutes or more). Make sure they fit and are very comfortable.

2. If you wear them as overpants, you will need a belt, suspenders, or a connection to your jacket. Otherwise, they will tend to slip off, possibly when you need them most.

3. Think about: (a) Whether you plan to remove them when you're off the bike. Do you want to remove them with your boots still on? Long side zippers help. ...AND (b) Where you will put them when you're off the bike?

4. Inevitably, the item you want (think: wallet) will be in your jeans pocket, not the overpants pocket. You will have to unbuckle the overpants enough to slip your hand between them to get into the pocket.

I hope this helps.
 
#6 ·
Kevlar Air Mesh Pants

I commute to work daily on a '04 K1200GT and wear the Motoport Kevlar Air Mesh Pants with cotton shorts and long cotton socks underneath leaving very little flesh exposed. I am lucky in the fact that I can carry my work clothes in one side pannier and my laptop bag in the other one. This works really well for me because I can dress to ride and then dress to work. I would have had to get a larger size if I wanted to wear pants under my air mesh pants and most likely have that "wrinkled" look while at work. Anyway, it's all a matter of what "YOU" intend to do while riding. Are you going to ride to work, just weekends, trips, and such. I decided that the fit, and armor protection were the most important factors for me when I purchased my pants. I got my pants to fit me so that the armor inside stays where it should be. I didn't want to wear a larger size and possibley have the armor in the pants move around - just my 2 cents. Good luck in your search. ATGATT :tim
 
#8 ·
BMW Summer pants

I wear mine on my 85 K100RS solo, not over regular pants. I specifically got them because, as you've noticed, these can be hot bikes to ride in summer weather. They are 1000% more comfortable than jeans, and of course offer actual crash protection as well.
 
#9 ·
Aerostich www.aerostich.com/catalog/US/index.html suit when riding with clothes underneath. MotoPort air mesh when riding with underwear only. On long trips I use a thin one piece riding suit (like you would see track guys use) under the MotoPort to keep from chafing. It's hard to find one suit that does everything.

Aerostich for riding to work. (unzip and ready to work, even with a suit and tie underneath).

MotorPort for riding for fun. (after break-in not as bulky, yet have option to layer).

The new BMW riding gear looks like a great alternative for riding.
 
#10 ·
I have the Olympia air glide pants that I wear for riding my 75RT. This bike is also very hot and I find that I can't wear them without wearing something under them (like jeans).

I'm going on a 2 to 3,000 mile trip in May and will experiment with wearing jeans or the waterproof liners. I am also going to take some leather chaps to try to cut down on the "hot leg syndrome".

Have you insulated your bike as per the K bike tech section on IBMWR?

Ron in Central Texas
 
#11 ·
Rideing pants

A lot of good suggestions here. Tuff makeing a decision with SO many ideas to filter. I figured I'd add a little to the mess.
I've been wearing Joe Rocket Phoenix2 mesh pants for the summer since 2004. I liked them so much I just bought a new pair. As soon as the weather gets above 65F I start wearing them. I have a pair of Fieldshears I wear until then. The Fieldshears are good in the early spring and late fall. But the Joe Rockets are what I wear 90% of the time.
I wear jeans under them until it get above 85F. Then I just wear either short pants or bicycle shorts. That's what I did on my trip to the MOA rally in Lima in '06. The trip would have been unbearable with jeans or regular rideing pants. It was hot that summer.
Realy, if you ride in HOT weather mesh pants are the way to go. I could not ride without proper gear and that includes pants. If it weren't for mesh, hot summer days (i.e., humid) in western NY would be unbearable.
 
#13 ·
i wear riding jeans sometimes when it is hot. it depends on what type of riding. i usually wear them when slab riding or just putting around. on hard rides, i wear the joe rocket pants over shorts. leather pants in colder weather.
 
#14 ·
I wear pants from Esquad which look like jeans but are made of Armalith, a material which is supposed to offer the same or better resistance than quality leather. On their website is a video (http://www.esquad.fr/film.php?version=en) of a guy wearing the pants and going down with the bike at 110 kmh (about 70 mph) and the pants stay intact (scratched and worn but not ripped).

Below the jeans I wear Forcefield Pro Pants with knee protectors and extra armour covering the hips, thighs and buttocks. I think they are very comfy and the combination of the jeans and these underpants is not warmer than wearing leather riding pants.

This is probably not everyone's first choice (and it was not cheap) but I like the jeans look (my personal taste) plus I am confident that the combination offers as good protection as most other riding pants on the market (if not better).

Ride safe - ATGATT.
 
#18 ·
Gomic said:
I wear pants from Esquad which look like jeans but are made of Armalith, a material which is supposed to offer the same or better resistance than quality leather. On their website is a video (http://www.esquad.fr/film.php?version=en) of a guy wearing the pants and going down with the bike at 110 kmh (about 70 mph) and the pants stay intact (scratched and worn but not ripped).
I hope this isn't a dumb question but how did you order these jeans? I looked at their web after watching the video (cool!) and they appear to be based in France with no U.S. retail sales. Did you order them custom through the web site?

Appreciate the help,

David
 
#20 ·
dpancerz said:
I hope this isn't a dumb question but how did you order these jeans? I looked at their web after watching the video (cool!) and they appear to be based in France with no U.S. retail sales. Did you order them custom through the web site?

Appreciate the help,

David
Contact them with your US jacket size (i.e. 50R) and pant size (i.e.48S) and they should be able to do the conversion. The Savanah II jacket I have says FR 60 GB 50 ES 60 US 50R. DE was on the otherside of the tag but isn't visible anymore.



 
#22 ·
dpancerz said:
I hope this isn't a dumb question but how did you order these jeans? I looked at their web after watching the video (cool!) and they appear to be based in France with no U.S. retail sales. Did you order them custom through the web site?

Appreciate the help,

David
I should have added that I moved to Europe last summer (did somebody say 'twisties in the Alps'? :teeth ) and therefore it was easy to order through their online shop (need to remember to update the location info in my forum profile). Not sure if they also deliver to the US?

Your other option is to check the Ducati Clothing Line. I know that Ducati used to sell the Esquad jeans under their own Ducati label (design and material was 100% identical with the original Esquad model, they just added the Duc logo). But I believe Ducati since stopped selling these jeans - maybe you can find a dealer/store which still have some in stock, for example here:

http://www.powersportsnetwork.com/e...&product=346210&cattype=&ProductCategoryCode=

Good luck.
 
#24 · (Edited by Moderator)
+1 Olympia

Gomic said:
Holy crap, those are pricey!

I bought a pair of the Olympia mesh pants last summer and am pretty happy with them. They fit well, are longer in the leg than most other brands and are comfy with jeans on underneath. In the super hot weather I've found long pants under instead of shorts are actually cooler. I never use the liners on these, as I have a pair of rain pants that slip on over them much easier than putting the liners in, esp when you're on the side of the road in a hurry to get your rain gear on.
 
#25 ·
Pants

I have been wearing Firstgear HT Air-overpants for warm weather riding.But,I wear them with shorts/boxers instead of actual "overpants". Very comfy indeed! Good air-flow,come with a rain liner that works decent for cooler temps. I think any decent riding pant is a vast improvement over jeans. :teeth
 
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