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If gaerne fits, dont even look at Falco. gaerne is at the top of the food chain as far as moto boots are concerned. But they make boots only for people with wide feet. Conversely Sidi is for people with narrow feet (like me).

Revit is better than A star is better than Furygan.

:thumbs up

Cannot thank you enough for what you said about Gaerne.

I do have weirdly wider feet :coldsweat. Online shopping for sports shoes becomes cumbersome for this very reason. So Gaerne it is.

So Revit and Gaerne are on top, subject to availability.

I would highly recommend you pay a visit to LABS in Andheri and check out their boots collection. I was in the same conundrum regarding wide feet and tried out the shoes at the store and had to go one size up (46) for the shoes to fit comfortably.

As for your selection of the G Evolution 5, it’s a very good boot but I haven’t seen it in stock since start of 2020 so might be a bit difficult for you to get one. I spent a bit more and got myself the Gaerne GRW boots and am set for the next 5 years of riding, upgrades notwithstanding. Fellow Bhpian Surjaonwheelz has a great review on these boots in this thread itself, so you can also check that out.

It might be difficult with your budget of 35k to get all the items suggested so would suggest you to gradually purchase your gear as you would get to know your preferences of the kind of gear you would need.

My riding’s similar to yours as well and just includes weekend solo breakfast rides to places around Mumbai.

Cheers,
TheDarkKnight

Had a query. Are the internal protectors in jackets and pants across brands common in size?

Say if one buys an Alpinestars or Revit jacket, which don't come with back protectors, but rather as optional accessories, can one use CE level 2 protector inserts from another brand?

Say I buy a jacket from the above brands and get D30 or Knox CE level 2 protectors from Royal Enfield site. Would that work out?

No, unfortunately. I am using A* shoulder and elbow protectors plus Dainese back protector in my Rev'it jacket. None of them are a perfect fit. I think A* jackets are more forgiving in this regard compared to other brands, but you will have to do your research beforehand about dimensions and fit. Revzilla Q&A sections for the specific product are very useful for this.

I have been using Hyperion jacket from Spartan Progear for last 7 years and it is still in very good shape. It is a combination of leather and fabric. Perforated leather at the shoulders, chest and elbows. I am very happy with it and is still in good shape.
I also wanted a pair of touring jacket with bigger pockets on the outside.

Spartan had shutdown their operations and the same people have opened a new company Powersport international and I visited their shop in ECR on the opening day.
I was impressed by their new touring jacket which is now called branded as Korda and bought it.
The materials are supposed to be Nylon on the critical areas and probably polyester for the rest.
I am 5'8" and weight about 77 Kg. The Medium size was a good fit for me.
What I like after going for a 150 Km morning ride are:

• Good fit
• Light Weight
• It has Level 2 protectors all around. Including the chest and and back
• MRP of 9,999 is good
• It is very airy

What would I like more:

• The velcro strip for the forearm adjustment is too long. Must be shorter.
• In hilly and cold climate it will be too cold. An inner jacket must be given as add on. Similarly a rain coat also must be an option
• The pull tab of the zip must a bit larger for easy operation with gloved finger

Are Gaerne boots still available in most sizes, in Bombay? A while back, I heard that stocks are low, but I am not sure of the current situation.

TROOPER, unfortunately, all armour isnt plug and play. Revit has their own proprietary armour for the jackets and pants. The dimensions of some, are quite different from anything that I have seen elsewhere. You might be able to get away with shoulder and elbow inserts from other companies, but the back protector will be different.

With A*, they tend to use more traditional sizes of armour. This is based on my knowledge of the A* products that were on sale earlier. Now, based on the models being sold, things might be different. The best thing to do is buy the jacket and head to your nearest Royal Enfield store and ask them to show you the shoulder / elbow / back armour.

I have used the armour from my junked Rynox jacket for my Royal Enfield jackets without any issue.

Arulpeem, nice to see a post from you after so long. Thanks for sharing the details of the Korda jacket. I couldnt find it on their website. Are all the armours from Safe Tech? The jacket looks to be well made. It looks as though it bridges the gap between a pure mesh and a pure textile (touring jacket). Its appears to have more mesh that what one would typically find on a touring jacket. That would make it a lot more usable in our Indian conditions. The inner liner is a surprising omission.

I will keep an eye out for it once it comes to the PowerSport Internation stores in Cochin.

Just to add to this, I was recently talking to the owner of a very large riding gear store that is not in Kerala, and he told me that they have had half a dozen warranty returns on the very same model of Rynox pants that I have. He was not surprised when I told him about the stitching tearing at the crotch area, because their customers have had the exact same issue. In those cases, the store picked up the pants and handled the warranty claim. In my case, I had to courier it to Rynox's address in Thane and that cost me Rs 800 :Frustrati

Hi Neil, I have been too lazy to post and nothing much happened, other than getting a GS1250.
Power sports have not yet updated their website yet. Probably they are waiting for their full range of products to hit store before updating.
And all armour are from SafeTech.

No idea. LABs shows my size in stock. Will visit this week. If not available, will get it ordered.

This site shows the shoulder and elbow armor on Revit eclipse to be from Knox. Although back protector is mentioned to be from Revit. I guess the dealer can answer whether knox CE2 armor would be compatible.

Any update on the RE-A* gloves?

Hey guys, a friend had a fall on our way to Lonavala - seems like some sort of an oil spill on the old Mumbai-Pune highway.

Thank God he was all geared up and there were no on coming vehicles as it's a 2 lane road with patches without dividers.

That brings me to ask all if there is anyway one can identify an oil spill or just regular water spill. I mean in the rainy season, while the entire road is wet. it's quite difficult to figure out, but I am talking about non-rainy days.

So, all of us use gear and the fellow got up without a single scratch the gear seems to have taken the hit. But he did feel a stretch in his neck that may be a whiplash effect that heavy helmets can cause. Using a lighter (but sturdier helmet) may have avoided that.

When I last visited LABS they did have some sizes in stock, but not in all models. But, they did have quite some stock. Drop them a call and they should help you with the sizes available. Chaps there are quite helpful.

Yet another incident of riding gear coming of use when it's needed. The fellow was not wearing motorcycling boots, but thankfully, he had the rest of the gear on during the fall.

Jacket: Rynox Storm Evo Jacket
Pant: Rynox Storm Evo Pant
Gloves: Shima STR2 Gloves

In the crash that I mentioned in my earlier post, the fellow was wearing the gear mentioned above. The pant/ jacket/gloves really did what they should, than just look foolproof on paper. Happy to have recommended him this set of gear, which actually worked when it mattered the most - during a fall.

He landed sideways and had quite a slide with the motorcycle for a while, the handle bar probably did hit his ribs, but the chest protectors seemed to have done the job pretty well. No damage there, else a rib fracture/internal bleeding etc. would have been scary. The gloves really worked well too especially the slider on the palm. No problem there too.

After this incident in front of my eyes, I have quite gotten back to my old Rynox jacket with legit chest protector, while RE did not give me any answer on having handed over a XY Hip protector to be used as chest protector. I plan to buy a new Rynox jacket, but that’s after I buy my new scrambler, but before that, I want to sell off my RE Nirvik jacket, or just dump it.

- For some reason the fit of the RE jacket did not feel right on me. Arms are too loose and the protectors do not stay in place, which will be very important in case of a fall.
- Seems like a poorly engineered design when it comes to the protector pockets. It just feels less confidence inspiring with the protectors (elbow especially) not staying in place.
- Threads on shoulder and waist have come off after being used for only 1-3 rides.
- The arm cinching loop has come off completely.
- Have hardly used it

Depends on your speed, observation skills and good old luck. An oil spill will appear darker on the road and will glisten/shine. If it’s an oil spill on water it should appear as a darker, thicker layer on top of the water.

If and when possible, considering road conditions always avoid patches which appear wet on the safe side. If that is not possible then try to go over the patch with the same steady throttle, do not try to change direction or touch the brake (if possible). If you manage this then lady luck will probably smile on you. During the rains it will remain the same.

I have experience in falling due to an oil spill and staying on the bike going over the oil spill safely as mentioned above. Hope that the oil spill is on a straight road, if it’s on a corner then a fall is almost certain.

Cheers

Mod note: Trimming quoted post, please avoid quoting entire large post for replies, affects readability. Thanks.


Yes, I more or less have the same observation too..I too try to avoid wet patches.

Once I was commuting in the city and got past an oil spill while the bike got through it ..it was wobbly and the was moving towards the footpath. I was too cautious with the brakes and did not try to move the direction almost immediately..

To my luck, there was a heap of Sand (due to some construction site) in the direction i was heading. I let the bike fall into that heap of sand and got out out of it without any injury..

But I realize that I was just lucky to have gotten out of it without an injury.. but passing through oil spills still remains a nightmare especially after the recent accident of my friend that I narrated earlier.

After racking my brains for a few days, and taking inputs from fellow TBHPians, I finally decided to make use of the store credit from Rynox, to get a couple of luggage options. I picked a tank bag and tail bag. I already have an old Cramster tank bag (from 2009 or so!) and the Viaterra Claw, but this seemed to be best way to utilize the store credit. I faced a couple of technical issues but the gentleman from Rynox was very helpful and got me through it. Ive heard good stuff on Rynox's luggage options, so Im eager to try them out in the coming months.

Oh wow, congratulations on the mighty GS1250!

You should be able to interchange the Knox armour, in that case. Do let us know how things go.

Apparently the A* jacket and gloves have arrived at the Royal Enfield store in Cochin. I am yet to see the products, since I am a little tied up this week.

Instead of dumping the jacket, you could put it up for sale, or give it away to another TBHPian or enthusiast in your city. Thats what I do here.

Hey guys!

Like Neil said, if anyone is interested to buy my Nirvik jacket do drop me a DM. I have anyway dumped it and should be able to give it out at a low price.

Btw, Neil can you confirm if you too got the XY hip protectors with your Nirvick Jacket as chest protectors?

Did you also get Hip protector with your RE Nirvik jacket, instead of chest protectors?

I checked with a few guys I know (though very few have the Nirvik). Almost all seem to have got the Hip protector only and now all of them may raise it with RE.

Where to buy RE jackets and gloves in Bangalore? I would like to try and buy instead of ordering it online. Which showroom keeps them in multiple sizes and varieties in Bangalore?

Thanks in advance.