Guy Boutin's Motorcycle Touring and Travel Pages

Adventures in Sport Touring with the Honda ST 1100, 1300 and the BMW 1200RT

Exploring North America...One Road at a Time

Riding Gear

Riding Pants and Coat-  Riding gear can basically be separated into 2 categories- textile and leather.  The former can have many variations such as Gore-Tex, poly, and other synthetics.  My advice?  Buy, and use the best gear you can afford.  It will save you money in the long run.  Buy motorcycle specific gear.  Anytime I tried to use something that was designed for another activity, I often ran into trouble with it.  For instance gloves.  A good pair of riding gloves comes pre curved, with gauntlet style closures to keep out drafts, as opposed to Wal Mart hunting gloves, that are too thin, and stiff.  A non curved gloved will put your throttle hand to sleep rather quickly.

In the textile/leather debate, I prefer textile.  It is more versatile, and flexible for long riding.  Leather does not do well when its cold, wet, or hot.  It will give the superior protection in most every circumstance of get off.

Your riding gear should protect you from the elements and mishaps.  Make sure you have padded knees, elbows and shoulders.  I've used the Aerostich Roadcrafter since day one.  First the one piece, and a few years later, I moved to the 2 piece.

I've logged over 200,000 miles in Roadcrafters, in every kind of condition imaginable, and have been thoroughly satisfied.  If you dream of doing what I do, I highly recommend the Roadcrafter ensemble.  

While not entirely waterproof, (no outfit is) it does a very good job in combination with a fairing bike.  In really hard downpours there is some seepage in the crotch area, but not anything significant.  It has a lot of pockets, and I use all of them.   The unit has some of the best ballistics in the business, thankfully I've never had to test their prowess, but my years in the fire department taught me what works and what doesn't.

I went to the 2 piece because of the versatility.  I like being able to take the coat off and walk in just pants.  Just like the 1 piece, the 2 is slick in the wind and not bulky, that is an important aspect to me.  I suggest sizing up one size in all riding gear to accommodate layering in cold weather.  Speaking of which, when its cold, I'll add a sweatshirt under, insulated vest, or heated gear, depending on the day.

The Roadcrafter is vented across the back and under the arms, but still hot in summer when you're not moving.  I don't have a problem with hot as long as I'm in motion.

You can read all about the Roadcrafter at www.aerostich.com 

I also have mesh gear, that I bought to wear in summer for local rides, only used it twice.  I was putting the gear on for a ride when I stopped and looked closely.  About all I can say, better than a T shirt and jeans.   I think any get off, at any kind of speed, is going to shred the material and pad swiftly.  After thinking about it, I stopped wearing it, and went exclusively with the Roadcrafter. 

Typically I wear a poly shirt and bicycle shorts under my Roadcrafter.  The poly shirt comes from my training.  It is light, cool, breathable and easy to wash.  Every couple of days I wash it out in the sink of a motel, and because it dries quickly, just hang it in the bathroom, good to go the next morning.  You can find them most anyplace that sells work out stuff.

One day, I tried my padded bicycle shorts under the pants and was amazed at the results.   They really work well, and relieve at lot of the pressure points.  My shorts are top of the line Pearl Izumi, a well known vendor in that class of 2 wheel riding.  They have extra soft padding, are well proportioned, and supportive.  One of the few crossover items that really work.  You can learn more, and purchase a pair here www.pearlizumi.com .  

Helmet

There are many kinds of helmets to choose from, both vendor and style.  I wear the Arai Vector.  A full face model from one of the top tier manufacturers.  Arai's are big time lids, and command premium prices.  Will they protect your head any better than a JC Whitney catalog hat?  No, but the difference is in the fit, finish, and comfort.  Arai makes a plush, quiet helmet, with user friendly shields and ventilation.   Cheaper helmets will do the job, just not at the same level as a Shoei or Arai.

I like full face for the level of protection, the open 3/4 helmet leaves a lot of unprotected area.  The full face is also more aerodynamic and quiet.  It is slicker in the wind so cuts out a lot of wind noise.   The full face doesn't work for those who are claustrophobic about having their head closed in.  I wore breathing apparatus in the fire department for hours on end, now that was really closed in, so this is not a issue for me.

             The Arai Vector

 I was returning from the Blue Ridge in 2008 when a strong wind blew my Arai Astral from the seat of the 1300, damaging the shield mechanism.  I was left with a shield that wanted to stay down, or up, but I could no longer change position on the fly.  I was due to replace the Astral soon, so I stayed with it for another year.  It was very annoying not being able to close the shield tightly, and having it half hang off.

Early 2010 I replaced the broken Astral with the Arai Vector, the most recent incarnation of the Astral.  It best fits the long oval type of noggin, just as the Astral did.

When a guy buys a Arai, he's about to pluck down some serious cheese, so I thought I'd add these thoughts.

I like tight fitting, form to the cheeks helmets.  My first Arai was the Quantum, but it fit my head too loosely so I replaced it 2 years later with the Astral.  I dislike a helmet moving without my head, and I don't have that problem with the Vector.  Also the sock like fit of the Vector is more quiet.

The interior of the helmet is plush and comfortable, but the lid is hot on like days.  It does have vents to move air through the helmet but they are not very effective.

The vents on the shield to clear the shield of fogging are.  The unit has 2 vents over the eyebrows, and a vent on the chin bar.  These work well, but on cold, wet days, you might still need to crack the bottom slightly to fully clear the shield.

Fit and finish are typical Arai-excellent.  I was glad I waited a year for closeout prices and picked up the Vector for 349 dollars, including shipping.  A great buy.  I tend to replace helmets every 5 years.  Not that they quit working, but by then I just want something new.

 The vendor wasMotorcycle Superstore - Motorcycle Accessories and Motorcycle Gear, I do business with them on a routine basis, and can recommend them.

While talking about helmets, I use ear plugs.  I simply can not ride without them.  I use the thickly foamed high db units.  I buy them at Walgreens.  Ear plugs easily add a couple hundred miles a day to a ride.  They greatly reduce the fatigue that comes with lots of wind noise.  The constant, high frequency river of wind  going by, has a negative affect on hearing, and those bad affects are cumulative.  Meaning even short rides without protection add up over the years.  It is the nature of hearing loss.  I know.  My last hearing test in the fire department put me at a 5-8% loss, mostly due to  being exposed to sirens and bells early in my career, when no one paid much attention to such stuff.

Later in my career we were equipped with headsets with radio speakers.  They allowed us to talk to each other and the dispatcher while at the same time protecting us from the siren.  Do your hearing a favor, where protection, and don't worry about not hearing anything important, you will.

Gloves

Gloves are those items you seem to shuffle around a lot, and I confess to having a thing about them, kind of like my wife and shoes.  I have a pair for ANY climate I might find myself in.  Gloves are a important part of your protective gear, do not treat them as a after thought.  I've seen what happens to hands and fingers that are not well protected.  When you fall off something, the first thing you do is put your hands out, when you do that on asphalt, you peel flesh from fingers like a banana.  I've seen glass shards cut tendons and other muscle fiber.  Buy good gloves with the proper ballistics. 

My gloves breakdown as follows:

AGV textiles- In hot weather I prefer the breathe ability  of textile gloves.  Textile gloves allow air to circulate around your hands and up the sleeves of your coat.  I make sure my gloves have the proper knuckle, palm, and finger protection.  Because I ride so much in hot weather I wear these gloves a lot.  For sure these gloves are less protective then leather, but they will still spare you a lot of pain in a get off.

AlpineStar Leather Sport- Not sure the exact name of these Alpinestars, but they are made of leather with hard padded knuckles, finger joints and tips.  The palm is entirely of leather.  Leather sport gloves (the kind used by sport riders) offer the most protection, the reason they are favored by racers.   I wear these gloves as much as I can, but the weather needs to be in the 50-80 degree range.  They don't breathe when its hot, and the unlined interior is too cold when the temp drops below 50.  Over the years I noticed these gloves stiffen in cold weather making them difficult to remove.  I suggest sizing up at least one size when buying leather gloves.

Alpinestar Octane S-Moto- I bought these second pair of leather gloves because I have 2 bikes, and wanted a pair that matched the Honda.  These gloves are basically the same as the units above, with a shorter gauntlet, making them easier to take off and on.

Joe Rocket Ballistics- I've had these gloves since the first day I rode the ST 1100 home.  These are the gloves I go to when the temp dips below 50.  Not all that thick, but they are lined, and water resistant.  They also have a thumb squeegee that comes in really handy.  Both of my bikes have heated grips, and these gloves work really well with those kind of grips.  Thick winter gloves, reduce the effectiveness of the grips, but the Ballistics allow a nice feel of the warm grips when cold.

Joe Rocket Blizzards- The go to winter glove.  These are mostly leather with vibration resistant gel in the palms.  A nice gauntlet for cinching out drafts.  These gloves are water resistant, but in a prolonged, cold rain, you might get wet.  When the temp dips into the 20s, about the only thing that will work will be high out put enclosed heated gloves.  I'll be honest, I'm NOT going to ride when it gets that cold.  I've had these gloves a number of years, and when temps are in the 30s, they are quite effective.  I suggest sizing up at least 1 size when buying gloves, and 2 is not a bad idea for gloves of this type.  Tight fitting gloves are less effective on cold days.

Boots

I took my first long tour in 1973, my footwear was a pair of Puma basketball shoes (Nike was just starting out), knit pants, and jersey.  Come a long way since then.  Lots of options to choose from here.

Most any kind of boot will work for riding.  I like soft soled quarter boots like these Alpinestars.  They are easy to walk in, Gore Tex (keep you dry), padded ankles, leather forefoot, and non skid bottoms (important at toll booths).  I really like these boots and can testify they work well in most touring conditions.  Don't have the best cold weather protection however, so if you do a lot of that, you'll need longer boots.

If you have any questions about the items feel free to shoot me a email.