New kit

[Lee337]

As some of you may know, I'm prone to rambling on about bikes & kit. whether that is the latest blood bike I've been riding, the latest woes in the still unpowered garage fettling my fleet of Triumphs, or just riding. So bear with me as I embark on another bike related ramble through the mind of Lee! 

A couple of weeks ago, I took Tabitha Trophy out for a spin, just before laying her up for the winter, and a good ride it was too. Not too far, around 100 miles on nice dry, twisty roads. I'd forgotten just how much fun she is to ride. And that sound from her 4-pot engine & twin Delkevic exhausts really is something when the needle reaches for the top end of the rev counter.   

But this is not about the ride or Tabitha. It's about my aging kit. You see, around 12 years ago, I was lucky enough to win a competition & was the recipient of a £1000 voucher from Hein Gericke (remember them?). So I treated myself to all new riding gear, including a branded jacket/trousers combo. The fact they've lasted me 12 years is probably no mean feat. They've been through the washing machine countless times & been re-waterproofed each time with Nikwax, and have been largely waterproof in all but the heaviest of downpours.

But they're getting old and after my last ride of the year with Tabitha, I noticed the stitching was coming apart with quite a large hole having appeared on one of the front panels – large enough to fit my hand through. So, it's time to buy some new textiles.

I'm off to Motorcycle Live in a couple of weeks at the NEC with brother & nephew in tow as they both are (finally) putting in for their bike test. Indeed, my nephew takes his test later this week, and both have a shopping list big enough to fill a small estate car. I already have Alpinestars 2-piece leathers and Alpinestars Andes V3 Drystar jacket & pants, which I rate very highly. In 3 years ownership, they've never leaked, even when riding a blood bike through a named storm last year, although my RST waterproof winter gloves lasted only 3 hours of my 12 hour shift. In fact the only criticism I have is that after 3 years, the Velcro on the left wrist is beginning to 'not stick' very well and the bit of the zip you hold to pull up , which is a sort of soft plastic, broke. Oddly, the same happened to my Alpinestars leather jacket too.

You may wonder why I need more kit then? Well, mostly my excuse is that when I'm on blood bike duty, there's never any guarentee that the weather will be good or bad & the last time I was out it rained fairly heavily. Enough that after 6 hours, the rain did manage to get under my gloves so my sleeves were a bit damp. Now I doubt any kit but the most top end and expensive would have prevented it, but it was nice to have a second set of dry kit for the following morning. That and you can never have too much kit, although Mrs L would disagree. But then she seems to collect shoes. 

Anyway, the point is when I go to Motorcycle Live, I'll be looking for new textile jacket & riding pants with a budget of around £400 – 500. They need to be waterproof, obviously, with a removable liner and I'd prefer they didn't have a detachable waterproof outer shell. I'm not overly bothered whether they come with armour, as I bought new armour 18 months ago, so have spares.

I quite like the Drystar system Alpinestars use, but don't want to discount Gore-Tex either, each have their pros & cons.

So far the research I've been doing points to

• Alpinestars Andes V3, but the darker grey, rather than the whiter cream I currently have
• Oxford Mondial Advanced
• Richa Toureg 2
• RST Pro Adventure-X

All of these are similar priced, so it'll come down to fit, availability and finding a good deal at the show.

I'm also going to look for a Monimoto 9 bike tracker. Not that I've had anyone tampering with my bike when I've been out & about, and with Talyn J tucked away firmly in a locked garage when I'm not using her, I also work from home so am there most days, but as I get a little more adventurous and travel wider afield, especially with my annual bike tour, it's prudent to think a little more about bike security. That' and if both my brother & nephew pass their upcoming bike tests, I can see perhaps longer & more frequent trips out & maybe the odd weekend away.

So, if any of you have experience of either the jackets I'm looking at or a Monimoto, please let me know.
 

[London_Phil]

I'll be suprised if any deal is worth the cost of admission for these events now...

[Lee337]

Probably not mate, only going because brother & nephew want to go. They're paying the entry, I just get to drive them.

If there's no deals to be had, I'll just go to sportsbike shop.

Done a bit more research & narrowed it down to Alpinestars Andes or Oxford Mondial.

[Lee337]

The results are in!

Picked up some kit at Motorcycle Live at the NEC.

Went for Alpinestars Andes V2 to go with my 2 year old Andes V2. Different colour though - my Andes 2 is mostly a dirty white colour. Mrs L has learned that off white riding kit is a pain to clean 

So this time I went for dark blue/black. there are a few design changes from V2, in no particular order, the hook to hook back the collar is no longer situated on the collar - it holds the collar out of the way when not riding. I used the one on V2 to hold the collar open during warm weather, which worked well. I suspect moving the hook will be an improvement.

Next up, the waist straps are now tightened & held in place with velcro rather than plastic clip things wgich tended to come loose when riding. another plus.

The vents on the front of the jacket and trousers can now be held open with press studs, instead of cord, which again is an improvement.

The trousers are a little different in that they have cargo pockets, they no longer have pockets that zip up on the side. a negative in my book as the zipped pockets were good for keys on and off the bike + small change for the odd coffee stop where cards are not an option (yes, they still exist).

On the plus side the gaitors at the bottom of the legs now velcro all the way up the gaitor, rather than just at the bottom.

The armour has also changed. it's now that weird kinetic armour, really soft & full of holes, but (allegedly) capable of protecting your hand from a hammer blow as it disperses the energy. I'm not going to try it as there is one more thing I'm not really keen on with this kit.

The armour is not changeable. For the life of me, I can't see any pockets for armour, so what's in the jacket stays there. It is however, far less bulky and you really don't notice it when wearing the jacket.

I've no doubt it's as waterproof as V2, but as I'm yet to test it out on the bike, I can't comment on that.

I've also got a Monimoto 9 which, for obvious reasons, I won't be filming/photographing when I fit it to Talyn J.

The Missenden Flyer does a well informed video review which I would recommend if you're thinking of fitting some form of anti-theft tracker to your prode & joy. He does far more justice to it than me, and he has electricity in his garage 

[London_Phil]

The MFlyer is a bit of a D**k imho
Some of his output has been cringeworthy..

Meanwhile whats the cost benefit analysis of the haul from the show?

[Lee337]

I'm inclined to agree with you  on 99% of his content. I only watched the Monimoto review as I was looking to buy a tracker & didn't really fancy £100+ per year of some other options. I was searching for reviewsand TMF came up amongst other ones.

Cost benefit analysis of show.

Entry fee & parking - paid for by brother
Morning coffee & cake - paid for by brother
Midday coffee (x3) £10.75
Lunch - paid for by nephew
approx fuel cost of return trip - £20
Alpinstars jacket & trousers - £419 (£474 retail price at Sportsbikeshop, saving £55)
Day out with brother & nephew at a bike show - priceless

  

[London_Phil]

I'm inclined to agree with you  on 99% of his content. I only watched the Monimoto review as I was looking to buy a tracker & didn't really fancy £100+ per year of some other options. I was searching for reviewsand TMF came up amongst other ones.

Cost benefit analysis of show.

Entry fee & parking - paid for by brother
Morning coffee & cake - paid for by brother
Midday coffee (x3) £10.75
Lunch - paid for by nephew
approx fuel cost of return trip - £20
Alpinstars jacket & trousers - £419 (£474 retail price at Sportsbikeshop, saving £55)
Day out with brother & nephew at a bike show - priceless

  

Can't argue with that. Hope to see all the new kit when I'm more settled in the new year.