Norbert
crash tested
I've been looking for super-safe, comfy, all weather gear that will last for miles and miles. I wanted gear with good abrasion resistance and impact protection. After a lot of searching and trying on gear, I bought some Motoport jacket and pants.
I first saw Motoport mentioned here:
Motoport Kevlar first impressions (long, many pics...) - ADVrider
There's a huge 6 year old thread over at advrider.
The company was started by Wayne Boyer. I think he's the main person behind the whole operation. It's a small company based in California. They supply gear to motorcyclists like ourselves, as well as the San Diego and Hong Kong police departments.
Motoport uses kevlar, which has advantages over competition grade leather. Competition grade leather (Vanson, spidi, etc.....not cheap Joe Rocket crap) has great abrasion resistance, but it will break down with sweat and rain. I have some awesome spidi gloves. The leather is very supple and resilient, but it will not last me 100,000 miles including rain. The Motoports will last that long and it will be just as safe.
The jacket and pants I bought are made out of a kevlar blend. There are 2 types of kevlar material available: stretch and mesh. The mesh is MUCH more porous than the stretch. Personally, I think the stretch is more versatile, but it's a matter of opinion.
Wayne at Motoport has spent a lot of time developing the armor he puts in his gear. It is referred to as tri-armor and quad-armor. He layers soft armor and puts it all over the jacket and pants. One thing I wanted in my new gear was chest armor, not every manufacturer includes that. The quad-armor is similar to the tri-armor, except there is an extra layer of DOW Deflexion armor. The Deflexion material is now being used in Klim gear. Think about the hard plastic armor found in many jackets. Even if it's "CE level 1" it may not be very safe. Imagine taking a hammer to that armor. The force with disperse and go straight to you. In other words, it's going to hurt! The armor doesn't even absorb the force.
I need gear with a lot of versatility. I want to wear my gear when it's hot, cold and rainy. With Motoports, I am able to do that. Wayne sells rain liners that are very breathable. To be fair, I haven't spent more than 40 minutes in the rain with these on, but they are not clammy and heavy like than my PVC outer liners. For the cold, I just use my Gerbings heated gear. The stretch kevlar material is actually porous. It flows air similar to cotton jeans. Nice for the heat. The Motoports aren't rain proof without the liners. Wayne recommends spraying some Fabricguard 303 on the gear to keep out the rain. This allows the rain to bead up while you pull over and put your rain liners on! You can get Frogg Toggs for outer rain liners if you don't like inner ones. It's a personal choice. The Aerostitch Roadcrafter and Darien gear is rain proof out of the box, but that's because there's a rain liner built into the fabric. Nice, but that's not very breathable when it's hot out. It really depends on how you want to deal with the rain and the different types of weather you encounter as you ride. The Motoports fit with the techniques I've used. One thing is that the armor restricts airflow a bit, so in the summer we'll see if that chest armor starts to heat me up (and piss me off)!
Motoport gear is proven. The police departments that are Wayne's customers put a lot of miles on the gear. There are some crash reports with favorable results. There are trip reports of people going all over the world with the gear. The BMW gear is also famous for being used all over the world. When I tried the BMW Rallye gear on, I hated the tight fit. It would drive me crazy on a long ride. Other manufacturers have a lot of bling (like ceramic coatings), but forget the basics. I've seen pics of Rev'it Defender gear breaking down after a trip in the washing machine. Motoport (or Aerostitch) gear won't do that. Just good, basic construction.
The Motoport gear come with this guarantee:
There are a few companies selling good gear, and Motoport is one of them. It's easy to manufacturer and sell crappy gear. There are companies in Pakistan spitting these things out everyday. All you have to do is get a contract with them. When I first got my bike, people kept preaching to me to wear leather and get CE level one armor. Well, that level one armor is crap, and the leather jacket is falling apart at its seams. Judge your gear at it's weakest point. You aren't protected if you have a leather jacket, but the seams rip apart when you fall. Is the leather from a cheap jacket as good as 1000D Cordura? I doubt it. It's not as good as motogp level cowhide or kangaroo leather. Also, there are companies that sell polyester/nylon blends with fancy names like "Rock-Tex 660 outer shell". Sounds tough! Freaking liars.
I'm not trying to alienate anyone based on their gear. You may not like Motoport, which is fine. You may look at the pics I attached and think it's the fugliest thing out there
, but I want you to just think about all the crappy gear in the market place right now. They are making money because that's what the market will bear.:squid: There are only a few good companies for track and touring/adv motorcycle gear right now. If you're interested in Motoport gear, check out the thread I linked to above.
You can also give Wayne a call. He's a nice guy to talk to. You can tell he's really passionate about motosports protection.
Kevlar Motorcycle Apparel - the Best in the World
Ride Safe!
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