Preliminary review of BMW Summer 3 pants

[rog]

I've been riding motorbikes for nearly 53 years and have always worn Levi's famous 501's. Over the years, most of my "downtime" has been in the dirt, but a long time ago I had to re-grow some epidermis when a patched rear tire went flat at 60 mph on a Honda 305 Superhawk.

 

Reading all the wise posts here and there over the last few months has made me think I'm on borrowed time for this practice.

 

So, I started searching for what I thought would be a comfortable, durable pant offering good protection and not looking like I was participating in the Barstow-to-Vegas cross-country race or a "look-at-me" from the streets of Sturgis.

 

Am I ever sold on BMW's Summer 3 Pants. These replace the Summer 2's, but the differences I don't know. I elected to go with the tan color. Black is also offered.

 

I wear 34 x 34 in the Levi shrink-to-fit world, and found a "large" was perfect in the Summer 3's. The waist fit is perfect, but what I noticed second was the room in the seat. Plus, the legs are long enough so when you have to put your foot down, the legs aren't pulling up over your boot tops. And, the leg cuffs tighten with a Velcro strap.

 

The pockets are all zippered, so no fear of losing anything, much less your billfold. I did find the rear pocket to be large enough to hold my fat wallet (not $$, but a card for everything) but it was a struggle to get it through the zippered opening, which also has a flap to work around. A front pocket worked better.

 

There is armor in the knees and behind the front pockets on the sides.

 

Oh, did I mention the legs zip off to give you a cool set of Bermudas to wear when you don't want to change into your Bermudas, or you forgot them.

 

When I left on my 1,100 mile ride the temp was 56. Just felt very lightly cool. At 65, my skin temp was just right. 75 was on the upper end of cool-to-warm, but hardly noticeable. 85 was starting to get toasty. 95 was hot, no getting around it.

 

I titled this "preliminary" as I didn't ride in any extremely windy conditions or any rain. Nor have they needed to be cleaned, so not sure how easy that will be.

 

Otherwise, I enthusiastically recommend you visit your dealer and have a look at a pair of Summer 3's if you are in the market for new pants.

[beemerman2k]

Great write up. Thanks

[Beemah]

+1 on the Summer 3 pants. I had been admiring the Summer 2 pants over the last few years but was unable to get into a pair because I was overweight. I've lost a bunch of weight lately and the Summer 2's were no longer available so I purchased the Summer 3 Pants. I've had these for about a month now and so far I like them very much. I'd say my experience so far pretty much echos the earlier review and rog's assessment is pretty much spot on. I've found them to be cool and comfortable and the comments about the wallet pocket are quite true although I usually put my wallet in the tank bag to avoid losing it and find I'm much more comfortable in the saddle with it there than in my back pocket. The belt works very well and the zip pockets are great as well as the cargo-pant type pockets on the side. The armor in these pants is not really that noticeable as you are riding, but you know it is there which is a comfort. Fortunately/unfortunately I've continued to lose weight and may be putting this pair up for sale soon in order to go down to the next lowest size. I'm a about a 38 waist now and finding the XXL is becoming a little loose for me....I got these when I was a 42 waist and they fit like a glove then. I'm taking mine for an all-day trip to the Finger Lakes Rally next week and wearing them for the rides from the rally so I should have more information on their performance then. So far I like them very much. Hope this is helpful information for those considering adding these to their biking wardrobe.