Please recommend overpants textile/mesh/leathers Please recommend overpants textile/mesh/leather

CrazyBiker

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Please recommend overpants textile/mesh/leathers

This is the part of gear I've been neglecting so far. I've leather pants that I use only for spirited canyon rides but are just to clumsy for regular commute. I heard Tourmaster and First Gear are the recommended brands. I did a search and saw a few options but I'd rather ask directly to our trusty FZ6 crowd.
 
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castle228

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Good thread.

Both my wife and I ride FZ's now and we have 1 pair over textile overpants....Alpinestars Air Cargo. I love them for my daily commute. They have knee armor and hip padding and fit nice and comfy over my jeans or khakis. They are a bit baggy and sort of resemble a snow suit, but I don't care. We've tried locating another pair so we each have one, but now everyone is sold out or they're on backorder.

We tried the Alpinestars Edge Drystar overpants, but the were a little tight all over, and I even went with a size larger than what I wear in jeans.

So we're still shopping for our second pair.
 

necrotimus

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CrazyBiker

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taki

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olympia airglide 2 overpants, in the "silver" color. easy on/off, zip in quilted liner, seem to work great, and they strangely enough, have a zipper that matches my teknic sprint jacket..they also have CE armor in the knees, but only foam hip pads..

the olympia stuff is made of cordura, which is supposedly more abraison resistance than most mesh/nylons.
 

mstewar1

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I've owned Joe Rocket original ballistics (from '01) and the newer ballistic 5's.

Can't recommend the newer version. Cheap construction and clumsy design. Zippers fall apart, the zipper wind flaps get stuck in all of the zippers. The older ones were heavier cordura, less tailored but more durable and simply built. They worked well. Probably a moot point as they'd be hard to find. They're not the mesh type of pant if that's what you're after.

I've also got a pair of pants that are Motogp brand. Got them from newenough. They're nice pants but a little too warm for Summer wear. I think they'll be great for the winter.

None of the pants that I've owned have been rated as "waterproof". I've always just sprayed them. Since my commute is a little less than an hour I haven't really had a major issue with getting soaked. I get a little damp but it's not terrible.

Newenough dot com is a first class place to do business with. They do a great job of detailing and reviewing gear. Their prices are always competitive and their customer service is top notch.

I just picked up a Roadcrafter jacket and will probably drop the coin on a set of their pants so that I can zip them together. The aerostich stuff just seems to be really well made. It's true: you get what you pay for.
 

CrazyBiker

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Check the Tourmaster line. Very good quality, great reviews, waterproof, highly customizable and cheap. I am going with the Venture mostly.
 

rickvan67

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Timely thread. I just bought a pair of Teknic-Freeway textile overpants. They are a little baggy, but I love the need pads, thick construction and zipper all the way up the sides as well as "down the sides" for bathroom breaks. They also velcro over the zippers to stop wind penetration and are supposedly water proof but haven't tested that yet.

Teknic Freeway Textile Overpants - Motorcycle Superstore
 

CrazyBiker

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Timely thread. I just bought a pair of Teknic-Freeway textile overpants. They are a little baggy, but I love the need pads, thick construction and zipper all the way up the sides as well as \"down the sides\" for bathroom breaks. They also velcro over the zippers to stop wind penetration and are supposedly water proof but haven't tested that yet.

Teknic Freeway Textile Overpants - Motorcycle Superstore

Pricewise they are the best deal so far as you can see from the list I posted above. Do they have adjustable knee pads like the Tourmasters?
 

lytehouse

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olympia airglide 2 overpants, in the \"silver\" color. easy on/off, zip in quilted liner, seem to work great, and they strangely enough, have a zipper that matches my teknic sprint jacket..they also have CE armor in the knees, but only foam hip pads..

the olympia stuff is made of cordura, which is supposedly more abraison resistance than most mesh/nylons.

I have these in the 'ladies' version.....
of all the ones I tries on (Joe Rocket,TourMaster, & First Gear), these were the easiest to get on/off & I liked the fact that there was a color besides black! :Sport:
Best $200 I've spent so far!
 

rickvan67

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Pricewise they are the best deal so far as you can see from the list I posted above. Do they have adjustable knee pads like the Tourmasters?

The kneepads are not adjustable, they just slip in to pockets. My only other issue is they seem to run a bit big. Without a belt they ride down on me and the knee pads end up below my knees (like a rapper!).
 

CrazyBiker

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David, we are discussing overpants here. Yeahh, Cortech Tourmaster stuff is really great and high quality including their soft luggage. I think I am settled on the Venture Air overpants. For leather Checkout leatherup.com for great deals. I just got a black leather jacket, my other two being blue leathers.
 

oldtimer

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There's a youtube video reviewing the icon arc textile pants. It's actually pretty good - I think it was made by sportsbikegear.net

I have the tourmaster caliber overpants. Great quality! I saw the tourmaster venture overpants later on - they are cheaper - and couldn't figure out the difference between the caliber and the venture when I went to tourmaster's site.
 

CrazyBiker

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How do the caliber pants perform in hot temps above 80? Many reviews say that they become very hot. If that is the case I may chicken out and get the venture at 98 instead of the venture air at 135.
 

oldtimer

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How do the caliber pants perform in hot temps above 80? Many reviews say that they become very hot. If that is the case I may chicken out and get the venture at 98 instead of the venture air at 135.

The overpants come with an interior liner. I removed it.

I usually wear the overpants on top of jeans or a pair of shorts. I really don't feel the warmth as I'm riding - only when idling - the engine's heat starts piercing the pants and heating my right leg.

Like I said though, when riding, I don't feel it. Maybe I'm paying attention to the road moreso than the heat? I tend to realize my upper body getting warm in my leather jacket before I pay any attention to the legs.

However, when I get home, my boxers are either soaked in sweat or I peed myself. I can't tell for sure, but I assume it's sweat. It sucks that my boxers are wet and I usually have to change out of them or suffer the wetness, but they eventually dry if I take the overpants off. This is with rides longer than 1hr and idling a lot.

As I take the overpants off, you can feel the steam just rising out of the pant legs. So I would say it gets really really steamy and hot in over 80* weather.

On the commute to work (about 15minutes), my boxers are dry.

I wanted to buy a pair of mesh overpants, but I'm not confident mesh will offer the protection I want if were to go down.

As long as I don't feel the pants being an issue while I'm riding, I'll continue to wear them. I rather sweat than bleed, right?
 
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