Motoport/Cycleport gear

[GreatDaysAhead]

First let me start by saying I have no affiliation nor financial interest in this company. With that said I want to tell you how happy and impressed I am with their products and service. I purchased a Kevlar Mesh jacket and pants set before I rode to the rally in PA. I have just returned this past Sunday after riding 10241 miles in this gearset. As most know the temps in PA. and the rest of the country have been mostly at record highs with humidity to match. While as with most gear when not moving the gear can get a bit warm but as soon as you move the comfort of the kevlar mesh is amazing. It feels like you are wearing a teeshirt. I wore LD Comfort shorts and shirt underneath amd loved the combo. I rode through all types of weather EXCEPT for temps under 62 degrees. From heavy rain to very humid hot sun to low temps at 12000 feet in Colorado. I purchased the rain/windproof liner set but have not had the chance to use them yet as I enjoyed the cooling rains. My riding buddy on an HD wearing levi's and a cotton shirt not only was much hotter and sweatier than myself he also looked like a wet rat in the rain. I washed both the jacket and pants twice and even using every day for five weeks they still look new and I have had no issues. I am a believer in ATGATT and feel very protected in this gear. Ease of entry and egress is well designed with well designed armor in all the right places. All I can say is keep up the good work Wayne !!!!!

__________________

 

[markgoodrich]

Thanks for the review. I've been considering the gear for some time, but have reservations, primarily about the armor. The website, and the owner, do not make it clear whether the gear meets the CE EN1621-1 standard (what is generally called "CE approved) or the EN1621-2 standard for back protectors. Further, the hip protectors they offer appear to be entirely untested. I don't mean to throw cold water on the product, but I wish there was some clarity on these issues...and yes, I've asked the owner and been left wondering what his reply meant.

 

I won't wear gear without armor which has been certified as stated above.

 

I also wonder about the chest armor, the old or the new style: those little holes ("vents") don't look like they'd let much air through to the torso...I like the protection idea, though...assuming the armor meets the standard I mentioned.

[CoarsegoldKid]

Moshe pick up the red courtesy phone.

[realshelby]

Straight from the Motoport website:

 

Quad-Armor has passed and exceeded the new EN Certification and covers more of the body than any other brand

 

I don't know that there is a certification that cannot be faulted. Simply put it is too hard to test this stuff in real world applications. Take the Snell vs DOT helmet rant for instance. I can see where the Snell designation could possibly cause helmet manufacturers to build to pass the "test" instead of what might actually be a better design in actual crashes.

 

Matter of opinion, and that is mine. I am open minded about this stuff as I think it will continue to evolve. I very likely will try a Motoport product in the future. I have a belief that their product will work well if........I have to test it!

[Danny caddyshack Noonan]

We are owners of new jackets, no pants this fiscal year, and happy. My observations as a rider who usually runs very hot are that Motorport does not vent as well as FG Meshtex. This is fairly obvious due to a handful of factors such as the added chest armor and larger elbow and shoulder armor sections. I knew this going in.

The upside is the non-melting, abrasion resistant protection. That is why we went with Motoport.

I still have a pair of Canyon pants made by them about 10+ years ago.

[markgoodrich]

Straight from the Motoport website:

 

Quad-Armor has passed and exceeded the new EN Certification and covers more of the body than any other brand

 

I don't know that there is a certification that cannot be faulted. Simply put it is too hard to test this stuff in real world applications. Take the Snell vs DOT helmet rant for instance. I can see where the Snell designation could possibly cause helmet manufacturers to build to pass the "test" instead of what might actually be a better design in actual crashes.

 

Matter of opinion, and that is mine. I am open minded about this stuff as I think it will continue to evolve. I very likely will try a Motoport product in the future. I have a belief that their product will work well if........I have to test it!

 

Terry, I've seen that very comment,and have asked if that means the armor is CE-certified (CE certification is done by independent labs, and is not perfect, but is the only objective, repeatable test regime which attempts to replicate real-world events). The answer I got was slightly equivocal. Mind you, I am NOT dissing the company or its products; I'm truly interested in an all-weather suit with armor which meets the current CE specifications. There are, by the way, no "new" EN motorcycle certifications; they're from the late 90's; I believe a third, EN-1621-3, is under consideration for chest protectors. Further, CE is the initials for French words which translate as "European Conformity.").

 

The CE stamp on armor can be misleading. Any maker can put "CE approved" on their armor...any maker outside the EU...and there is no penalty. Almost ALL back protectors from any maker which say "CE Approved" do NOT meet the EN-1621-3 standard, the one specifically developed for back protectors.

 

I'm not trying to pick a fight or cause an uproar about this, simply offering information I've gleaned over the years trying to figure out what might offer good protection (I fell on the track a few years ago, wearing leathers with CE armor (hard edged) in the knees, and still suffer soft tissue pain above my right knee...CE ain't perfect, but it's the best indicator we've got of attempts to meet minimum standards.)

 

EDIT: after droning on about all this, I decided to ask MotoPort directly via their website, and will report their answer here.

 

This is exactly what I asked:

 

Does your quad armor for extremities meet CE standard EN 1621-1? Does your quad armor back protector meet CE standard EN1621-2? Do your gloves meet CE standard EN 13594? Thank you.

 

[dhb]

I've had the Motoport kevlar mesh jacket and pants with liners for a year. Though I had to wait a few months for delivery due to backlog, the garments were very well made. I got the newer thicker armor installed.

I have not had the gear out in much rain yet. My usual gear is the Aerostich Darien jacket and pants. I was interested in the Motoport for 2 reasons:

1. better (at least as I perceive it) armor coverage esp pants

2. mesh ventilation

 

As far as the armor goes, fortunately I have not had any reason to test it's crashworthiness, but it feels much more comprehensive (and heavy) compared with the 'stich. I was surprised at how much air the armor passes and overall, I'd say that the cooling in warm weather surpasses the Darien with all the vents open.

I had a great experience dealing with the company and Wayne. He knows his stuff. If feasible I'd recommend going to the factory in California for them to measure you. The suits are custom made and the directions for measuring are quite good.

This gear is pricey, but I think it's worth it and surpasses anything else I've tried for armor and ventilation.

dave

[moshe_levy]

As some of you know, I ordered a set of Kevlar air pants and have been using them for a few months now. Initially, they're very stiff, and quite a bit thicker material than the usual FG / Olympia type mesh pants. The armor is everywhere and blocks a good bit of air from coming in, in exchange of course for what appears to be substantial protection vs. the usual small knee pads and hip pads in FG / Olympia type overpants. I ordered the full boat re armor, but removed the set which is situated around the coccyx area - initially I found myself actually sitting on the pad, and no amount of trimming or fiddling with it resulted in any comfort, so out it came. Still, the entire shin, thigh, and partial hip coverage is generous, to say the least.

 

The zips are very substantial, though the arrangement frankly is unorthodox compared to the standard "down the outside leg" routine we're all used to. The front dual-button under flap arrangement is also odd.

 

Bottom line is it is indeed premium gear, very expensive but very well made. I'm going to add a bunch of mileage before I make a final judgement and write up a report, but for now my feelings basically mirror my review of the BMW Airshell - which is to say, relative to inexpensive mesh gear, there is definitely less airflow but the tradeoff is a substantial increase in areas of the body covered by padding. I will also say that BMW's NP Armor as seen in the Airshell is much more pliable and comfortable than the Motoport armor in my Kevlar mesh pants.

 

In my last BMW survey (do you guys get those?) I implored them to make overpants. BMW doesn't make overpants to my knowledge and I think if they mirrored the Airshell design and used the excellent NP Armor, and came in at a price point around these Motoports, I would give BMWs a look. I'm surprised they don't make overpants but hopefully they will someday, as I'm generally a fan of BMW's riding gear.

 

-MKL

[Smoky]

This is timely.

 

My Motoport jacket arrived last week. I just got back from putting 600 miles on the new jacket. Weather was mostly hot, from 65° to about 90°.

 

I got the Kevlar mesh, and it flows much more air than my BMW AirFlow 3.

 

This is a substantial jacket, has lots of armor, heavy-duty zippers, and few seams.

 

I ordered it with the heated liner, but it was one size too small and is on it's way back for exchange.

 

I expect I will order overpants made of the stretch material. I tried the stretch jacket, but it didn't flow much air behind my RT fairing.

 

[markgoodrich]

I received a reply from Wayne Boyer.

 

Extremity armor does meet the EN-1621-1 specification...I do not think this includes hip protectors.

 

Back protectors do meet En-1621-3 specs.

 

The above is only for the quad armor; I didn't ask about theother stuff.

 

Wayne is pretty adamant about his low opinion of CE standards. I'll personally stick with the engineers until a better standard for testing protection is developed.

 

Wayne's reply puts the mesh suit at the top of my list for replacement of my six-year-old Rukka suit.

[Beemer_Nancy]

If you can make a trip to Motoport in San Diego it's well worth the trip. Wayne will show you the differences between the different types of armor, you'll see the factory where they'll actually make your garments and you'll get to see lots of shredded jackets (other brands) and perhaps get to see a Kevlar jacket that's been in a crash. Be sure you tell him you want the tour, so he schedules the time....it's extremely impressive.

 

I have the same combo, Kevlar mesh jacket, stretch kevlar overpants. LOVE them. Wayne will make suggestions for product based on your size (height, weight, volume, etc).

 

Not cheap, but a great product and great service!

 

[JohnM]

I have a two-piece kevlar mesh outfit w/ quad-armor. Here's some of my thoughts,

 

On my R1200R, I get plenty of airflow through the jacket; not nearly as much w/ the pants due to the position of my legs while riding.

 

This weekend, I was about 10 miles from home on the Garden State Parkway when I rode into a massive rain storm. The pants flowed plenty of water; upper torso fared better because I was wearing the inner-liner w/ the jacket.

 

Both jacket & pants are bulky, mostly due to the armor. They likely wouldn't fit into the R12R's side cases. The bulk disappears when I'm riding though.

 

Pants are very easy to get in & out of. I opted for the suspenders, which was a good decision, considering the weight of the pants (5 lbs.)

 

Motoport gear is admittedly expensive. But I'm pleased with it.

[markgoodrich]

I don't think the suits are expensive, even when adding up the cost of liners, jackets, pants. BMW gear, Rukka gear, other high-quality gear, is at least as expensive, and in some cases much more expensive. Most of the good gear lasts for years...my Rukka suit is 6 years old, has over 100,000 miles on it. Armor has been replaced once, under warranty. The cost of any of these suits is a fraction of the cost of a ride in an ambulance.

 

I haven't decided if I'll buy a MotoPort suit; I'll likely not make a decision until after the first of the year. I want to see if Rukka and BMW make any major changes in their lineup.