also have an Air Intake II, awesome jacket, awesome protection from the sun while staying cooler than a long sleeve tee, awesome padding

i definitely stay away from leather when it's 70+, i may just wear a tee if i'm just running around town, but if i'm out on the road splitting lanes, i'm wearing some protection

 

+1 on the H-D Hydro Jacket. I used it last summer with the packs and worked well. Bought a Hydro vest that I'm gonna try out with the Jacket as soon as my bike comes out of the shop.

 

Tourmaster Intake mesh jacket. Great for when the weather gets too warm.

 

I have a new HD Switchback and love it. I looked at all the others that have been mentioned, but the HD was the only jacket that didn't look like a superhero costume (fake abs, foam muscles, etc).

I'd recommend the HD jacket to anyone.

 

It's a bike, if you want protection get in a car, you wimp.



I like my Olympia Airglide jacket. I generally keep a bandanna with me in my pocket or bags, and if it gets really hot I wet it down and put it around my neck - works great.

 

I posted in this thread https://www.hdforums.com/forum/dyna-...-riding-3.html (which also has a ton of mesh comments...) about post #93. Cheap (<$100) razers edge mesh with armor from amazon/motorcycle superstore.

I'm ATGATT (at least for now) because it's been 16 years since I rode anything bigger than a Honda 200. Having been down once and been through the "let's pick some more gravel from his back and scalp" thing, I am willing to be a bit warm.

What did I hear here once? Dress for the slide, not for the ride.

 

HD mesh jacket I bought like 6 years ago (CE armor)...plus Olympia Recon 3 (CE armor) mesh pants...sitting still is hot, but not much hotter than a short sleeved t-shirt and jeans.

Mesh gear works really nice while under-way. I have tested my mesh jacket once before...would have suffered some serious road rash on my elbow and forearm if I hadn't been wearing it...my Levis pretty much exploded.

 

IMO I would avoid anything made out of polyester (it melts with pavement contact) or using material lighter than 500 denier nylon in the strike points. In a recent study 25% of motorcycle gear was found to fail in an accident. Stay away from super lightweight gear like the Joe Rocket Phoenix or First Gear TexMesh mesh unless you do not intend to ride over 30mph. Joe Rocket makes the Reactor which is a mesh jacket with more serious protection like leather on the strike points. The RevIt Turbine also flows a lot of air without sacrificing functionality. Olympia make some great quality mesh gear.

 

Tourmaster Intake Air II here as well. Went with it over the Phoenix per my contacts recommendation. Said both are great, but the Tourmaster is better built. Only jacket I need. When it is TOO hot out, I just wear a t-shirt, but thats partly because my jacket is too big (dropped some poundage). Still fits perfect with the liners in and a sweatshirt on for cold weather, but I need a new jacket for warm weather. debating on getting another Intake Air in a smaller size or just getting a HD mesh. Only ones I like are the Intake and the HD mesh

 

I wear a Joe Rocket Reactor jacket. It has leather on the skid points and CE armor to help soften the bounce !