I came home from the office today to find UPS had dropped my Motoport order on the front porch--kind of Christmas in October! I pulled the Air Mesh Marathon Jacket and the Air Mesh Kevlar Pants out of the box and fired up the GS for a hundred-mile shakedown cruise. A couple of initial impressions. If you have never seen or felt the Air Mesh Kevlar, it is hard to describe how substantial the material really is. I went with the full-bore quad-armor upgrade throughout (hip and sacrum armor as well) and my first impression was of the overall weight of the outfit. I am 6'4" 240# which doesn't help, but when you pick this stuff up off the ground you know there is something in your hand. However, because of the excellent fit and the way that the gear is designed, once it is on--and certainly once you are seated on the bike--any thought of heft disappears and all that remains is a sense of outstanding protection. The pants and jacket are easy to put on with great full-length zippers down the legs of the pants. (I think this is going to work well for a commute over slacks and a shirt and tie!) It was warm today in OKC--mid to upper 80's. Yet even with the full armor, the slightest breeze or any motion on the bike and the Air Mesh lived up to its name with outstanding ventilation. I was very comfortable with the gear over Jeans and a T-shirt. It would need to be a very hot day to make this stuff uncomfortable. And a final note. I can't say enough about Wayne Boyer, the head guy at Motoport. He walked me through the purchase process with great tips and ideas. Helped me over the phone to gather accurate measurements from which to construct the gear and was patient and responsive to my many (many!) phone calls and emails. I hope and pray that I never need to test the full effectiveness of the Motoport Gear, but if I do I think this will turn out to be one of the better purchases I ever made. Thanks Wayne and thanks to the ADV crowd for convincing me that ATGATT is a wise choice.
what color did ya get? BTW,it does get much more flexible and the pads do conform to you after about a month of weekend riding. i love my gear.
Hi Rob, Went with black and the Hi-Vis yellow tape on the back and upper arms. Added the silver Kevlar on the sleeves to break it up a bit. I think that I am really going to enjoy the gear.
I'll be writing my review on a recent trip soon. This is a Marathon Jacket (with mods) and an I-don't-know pant- possibly began as the police pant. Mesh in front, stretch in the back. Love this suit.
Wow, that doesn't look too bad! Other pics I have seen of the Motoport stuff always make the gear look like it was styled after oversized garbage bags.
Yeah, moto gear is an odd thing to shoot. If you look at the above image, there are areas that look sloppy, but are not. The butt and the entire waistline look sloppy/baggy. But think about what happens when your are RIDING. The bent over position means your butt expands into the seat of the pants, the arms rotate forward, and the belly of both the pants and the jacket get scrunched up. Not so with a good moto suit. These suits are cut for RIDING and look a little odd photographed STANDING. Lots more images on my ride report http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=627700&highlight=circumnavigation
