I just bought the same jacket, but haven't worn it with the panels zipped out yet. I will soon!

 

I love these posts. They are all over this forum. Why not just NOT post if you can't add something productive to the discussion. The guy stated he wants to be protected and is asking for gear recommendations, not everyone's protective habits.

 

It gets into the low 100s here where I live, north of Los Angeles, but my personal choice is to minimize
risk as much as possible. That means that if it's too hot to wear full protective gear, I don't ride.

I have three jackets: a heavy leather Fox Creek job for the winter, the Harley Aeration perforated
leather jacket for the other three seasons, and a Power Trip Voodoo mesh jacket for those over-100
degree days. For $79, you can't beat it for looks and effectiveness; lots of folks on this board wear it, as it
doesn't have that "boy racer" look.

Down below I used to wear Draggin jeans, with chaps for the long rides, but I felt extra-silly in chaps
at my age, and the kevlar in the seat of the Draggin jeans wasn't my seating surface of choice when
the temps got over about 85; it felt rough and unpleasant on my tender cheeks.

Now I wear a pair of Power Trip leather overpants in all seasons. When it's really cold, like when riding through the Sierras,
I wear thermals and jeans underneath. When it's warmer I wear just underwear underneath, or a
pair of shorts. In my opinion they look (marginally) better than chaps, and offer far better protection
and flexibility.

As far as boots, I've gone through countless pair in over 40 years of riding, but my current favorites
are the Chippewa Odessa motorcycle boots; they're easy-on and off, and look pretty good too.

On top, always a full-face. That's the limiting factor on whether I ride or not on a given day, because I won't
compromise there. Aside from the safety factor (as I see it), I like the protection from bugs and road
trash, as well as rain and other road annoyances. I wear an HJC AC-12 Carbon, which is the
"civilian version" of the FXRG carbon fiber helmet, except I bought it for $270 on eBay, vs. the $450 Harley charges.
I stuck a nice Harley sticker over the HJC logo. This helmet is as light as most ordinary half-helmets,
to the point that after a while you forget you're wearing it. It also eliminates the neck pain that ordinary
full face helmets can generate on a long day's ride. And I think the carbon fiber looks good, too.

Ultimately, as you see from all the different philosophies evident in this thread, you'll make the choices
that seem right for you. Best of luck!

Philip

 

www.power-trip.com I got the "VOO-DOO" it feels like silk and it's very comfortable in 80+ weather.

 

I wear a HD mesh jacket. Its fine as long as you are moving. Course, if you are stuck in traffic, on black ashpalt and its 100° then ... any thing you wear will be hot.

My regular leather jacket is 'medium duty', that is, its not really enough for those chilly morning temps. For a while I wore a hooded fleece jacket under it when it got cold but I was always tucking the extra length feece jacket up under the bottom of the leather jacket which was shorter. It made this bulky mess around my waist I didn't care for much. Then one day, eureka! ... Instead of the fleece jacket I tried the mesh jacket under the leather and bingo ... the extra air trapping layer I need to stay warm and the mesh jacket had the same short waist cut of the leather jacket. They were made to go togather in cooler temps you get in the morning and depending on how warm it gets during the day, one or the other can go in the saddle bag.

 

funny as chit - made my day!