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Iron Butt
Posts: 691
Manchester, CT | Fellowl riders....I am looking for recommendations for a good set of rain gear. I am a true believer in you get what you pay for so I am looking for gear for my wife and I that will provide years of protection. Most of our riding will be touring on our new 2013 Vision.
Kind regards,
Tom |
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Cruiser
Posts: 69
Citrus Heights, CA United States | check out jafrum.com thunder under rain gear. Cheap in price but best rain gear I have owned. Keeps me dry even in downpour plus has heat shield for lower legs. |
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Visionary
Posts: 2300
Georgia, west of Atlanta | ICON |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 28
Lynnwood, WA United States | Frogg Toggs |
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Cruiser
Posts: 238
SF Bay Area | I wear a Belstaff waterproof fly over other gear... with whatever riding pants I happen to have on. bought one large enough to fit over a CE armored jacket. All of my non-leather pants are waterproof, the big thing for me is the jacket. Belstaff.. designed in England, where it "rains a-plenty".
Whatever jacket you choose pay attention to the design of the collar, this is a prime entry point for water.
Here's the deal on rain gear... all rain gear simply slows down the water from getting to you, the better the gear, the longer it will take. Having spent a lifetime of getting caught in rain, in my case I have found that the best rain gear cannot absolutely prevent the water from getting to you. Collars, zippers, crotches and cuffs are popular entry points. When touring I recommend dressing in layers, with clothes that are easy to dry in a motel dryer. Waterproof gear, that does not breathe (non-Gortex) will eventually get you wet from internal condensation... it is simply a matter of time.
For budget gear the Frog Togs are a good choice. If money is no object, take a ride to your local BMW dealer...
BTW, welcome Tom!
Edited by buddahead 2013-02-21 10:55 AM
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Tourer
Posts: 599
New Mexico | TerryW - 2013-02-21 9:23 AM
Frogg Toggs
+1
Cheap, but good.
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Cruiser
Posts: 65
| IMO Gortex is the best but expensive. I use an Aerostich Roadcrafter daily for my commute and touring up to 90 degrees. It is fully armored and I have never gotten wet even when riding all day in pouring rain. They have new extremely water-tight zippers and the best thing is Gortex breathes. There are very few truely breathable waterproof fabrics. They make a Roadcrafter Light that is a little cooler wearing and the ultimate rain suit only is their ultralight roadcrafter. If you crash they can be repaired (ask both halves of the deer I hit how I know that)! |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 691
Manchester, CT | Thank you for all your feedback! |
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Cruiser
Posts: 54
Bancroft Ontario, Canada | Frogg Toggs |
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Visionary
Posts: 1308
Sand Rock, AL United States | I don't wear an extra rain suit. My riding gear is water proof. Joe Rocket over pants , breathable, armored, waterproof. Firstgear Kilimanjaro Jacket, pockets everywhere inside and out, good collar, zip out liner and vents for milder weather, armor, and , of course, waterproof. I think this jacket is also bulletproof  lol |
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Cruiser
Posts: 122
Westchester Co., NY | My rain gear is missing so don't know the name but the jacket had a thin hood that easily fit under my helmet. It was attached to the jacket seemlessly so that the water would just run down the jacket with nothing getting under the collar. |
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Central Wisconsin | Been happy with Tourmaster rain gear. We bought bigger to wear over our protective gear. Welcome to the forum from Wisconsin.
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Cruiser
Posts: 134
, MO | I bought tour master and got caught in a down pour last year so bad I couldnt see the road! Stayed dry as can be! Works great! |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 880
Orlando, FL | Recently I needed a new Jacket. So I bought a waterproof Jacket made by Bilt from Cycle Riders. NOT ONE with a water proof LINER! Those suck. It has a nice warm removable liner if needed. And if not, the jacket makes a great windbreaker. Has removable amour too. Now all I have to carry are my rain pants.
FROGG TOGG Warning - I ride a Vision 8 ball. Might be different than the regular vision. But I live in Florida and we have frequent rain that sneaks up and pours like crazy. Some days you cannot avoid it. The water runs off my tank and floows the slope of my seat to my crotch! It pools there before running off. And my Toggs let the water in! Seems in a pool of water they don't do so well. Just sayin' I switched to a pair of cheap plastic rain pants from Wally World. THey work just fine with my new jacket. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1308
Sand Rock, AL United States | I have a 2nd jacket made by bilt. It's gets the job done. very affordable . Not all the bells and whistles of my First gear but great value and good function. |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 31
Great Mills, MD | My buddy swears by the BMW Pro Rain 3 Rain Suit. |
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Tourer
Posts: 466
Grand Cane, LA | If your lucky like I was, you can catch some pretty good deals on the Columbia rain gear at Bass Pro. The set I got was like $200 for both pieces, but I got them for $99 for both and they are the insulated ones. Have only had to wear them once in a downpour in Amarillo, but stayed nice, dry and toasty. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 825
, WI | My riding gear has an internal rain liner and I also have-
Tourmaster rain jacket with a hood
ICON bib pants
Nelson-Rigg boot covers
Rain-off glove covers. They do not leak.
. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 691
Manchester, CT | Once again, thank you for all your feedback and your welcomes to the Vision Forum/site.
I am excited to be a new Vision owner. Its been years since I've been able to get back on a bike but my son is now 18 and my wife and I can hit the road touring.
My bike came in this week. I choose black as the color. Having owned a black car and bike before, I know what it is like to care for a black vehicle...the look is worth the upkeep!
I ordered pretty much all the chrome accessories available. I also ordered a Screaming Banshee Airhorn, Bag Liners, Luggage Rack, Garman GPS and mounts. I ended up ordering 3 Tourmaster Epic Jackets (Hi Viz) and 2 pairs of Tourmaster Flex Pants. For helmets, I ordered 2 HJC IS-MAX BT Bluetooth Helmets, 2 Chatterbox Xbi2H plus units and a Chatterbox dongle for iPhone connectivity. To wrap up my spending spree, I ordered 2 Victory Attitude Leather Jackets, 2 Bates Harness Waterproof pairs of Boots and 2 pairs of Lee Parks DeerTours Motorcycle Gloves. FYI, if you live in the Northeast, specifically Connecticut, New England Cycle Gear is awesome. I got the bike for $150 over invoice and ALL the accessories at dealer cost.
If anyone has any of the items I purchased and would like to share their experiences, it would be greatly appreciated. I read the thread on the GPS.
Thanks again
Tom "Street Eagle"
2013 Victory Vision
1982 Kawasaki KZ 550 |
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Visionary
Posts: 1308
Sand Rock, AL United States | wow! You got a lot of stuff Tom . Good for you brother , Ride on. Enjoy the Vision . Black is beautiful. |
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Tourer
Posts: 466
Grand Cane, LA | If your like me, you'll find that you won't need the waterproof boots. Once it starts raining, I take my feet off the hiway pegs and onto the boards and they pretty much stay dry. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1632
Jasper, MO | atvtinker - 2013-02-25 6:58 AM
If your like me, you'll find that you won't need the waterproof boots. Once it starts raining, I take my feet off the hiway pegs and onto the boards and they pretty much stay dry.
Agreed. But the wife will need them.
Ronnie |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1117
Northeast Ohio | For leather boots, I recommend Skidmore's Beeswax waterproofer. In the past 5 years of Vision ownership, I would agree with atvtinker, that 95% of the time, keeping your feet on the floorboards will keep them dry. However, a couple of times it was raining so hard, that the water was coming off the front tire, and came thru the front by the motor. Right on the inside of my boots.
http://www.skidmores.com/proddetail.asp?prod=wp |
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Cruiser
Posts: 62
Des Moines | That and you do eventually have to slow down and stop. |
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Tourer
Posts: 466
Grand Cane, LA | +1 on the Skidmore's Beeswax. That stuff works great on my cowboy boots. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 103
Duanesburg N.Y. | I actually have two suits. One for the wife is a tour master coat and pants which seem to be very nice and I actually have the rain suit from victory it self. I paid $100.00 for my victory suit which seems ok and around $120.00 for the tour master suit for the wife. The tour master is much better and has good reflective stripes sewn in suit as vs my victory which is total black that way i can blend in with an oil pan under a car and not be seen.
Havent used either yet. If its raining i usually dont take the bike. Dont mind getting wet but hate cleaning the bike!!
Eric |
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Rain Gear