School me on: Motoport Gear

[Gabe]

Hey BARF,

I'm thinking about getting a comfy, non-confining replacement for touring gear and want something cooler wearing and more versatile than moto-jeans and comfier than my Roadcrafter, which doesn't offer the freedom of movement I like in the legs. I'm looking at Motoport and think it's a pretty good deal for made-in-USA Cordura and stretch Kevlar gear. And 25 years ago I had a Motoport Kevlar road-race suit (the AFM wouldn't let me use it, so I bought leathers and sold it) but I didn't wear i ton the street for some reason.

Anyone with personal experience with this stuff?

 

[TTTom]

i had one of their kevlar mesh jackets, never crashed it but it flowed air really well. I've heard they crash well too but no personal experience with that. Only downside was the fabric was stiff compared to other mesh jackets I've had.

 

[matty]

No direct experience, but the guy I sold my Vanson to, couldn't stop extolling the virtues of motoport gear, I think he called it Aerostich of the west, durable, long lasting, comfy and quality. That's stuck in the back of my head. That said, he was riding a leaky guzzi, so...more cred or less, I don't know.

 

[Caddywumpus]

One of my instructors has a kevlar suit. The thing is bitchin and looks new after 2 years of daily riding. Gabe pm me your number and I can put you in contact with him

 

[Heywood]

I have their ultra mesh pants. Their armor is huge and very protective. The pants are a bit stiff but because it's mesh it's not bad. Don't look for it to compact down to pack it away. There's a giant price diff between the Cordura pants and the stretch kevlar. If you call or email them they will sent you fabric swatches of all their materials in all colors. I wish their Cordura came in gray. Vanson is the only other co. that probably comes close to a straight Cordura pant but I don't know if theirs is laminated.
You won't win any fashion awards with their gear but protection is top notch. I bet they haven't changed designs in 20 years, or at least it looks that way.

 

[Gabe]

I have their ultra mesh pants. Their armor is huge and very protective. The pants are a bit stiff but because it's mesh it's not bad. Don't look for it to compact down to pack it away. There's a giant price diff between the Cordura pants and the stretch kevlar. If you call or email them they will sent you fabric swatches of all their materials in all colors. I wish their Cordura came in gray. Vanson is the only other co. that probably comes close to a straight Cordura pant but I don't know if theirs is laminated.
You won't win any fashion awards with their gear but protection is top notch. I bet they haven't changed designs in 20 years, or at least it looks that way.

Those giant thigh/knee protectors look uncomfortable...how are they?

 

[Wolf]

which doesn't offer the freedom of movement I like in the legs.

Something lightweight and breezy, like a pleated skirt? :teeth

 

[bikewanker]

I’ve got what are probably pre-ultra cordura pants. They’re from the mid nineties, cool and I especially like the wrap around hip- thigh pads . Almost wore them today but no cool jacket with a back pad to match air flow so went with the stitch. The style of my pair are like vaquero wooly chaps or just make me look bow legged. I bought the gortex liners which are too warm for anything above freezing. After today’s ride I think I’ll just wear my strap on
back protector.

 

[nakedape]

Those giant thigh/knee protectors look uncomfortable...how are they?

It’s all so light compared to leather I find it easy to wear. I have the stretch pants in rear and mesh fronts. Full armor the length of the leg. Hasty donning can cause the armor to fold inside the leg. 9/10 for warm weather.

The jacket is the best of any leather or mesh I’ve owned. If you pop up on the pillion seat out of the bubble it’s instant cooling time. There’s a reason SoCal motors all run motoport. The Kevlar mesh is rough even three years later, but conforming better to my torso.

They have the best customer service I’ve ever experienced. You can send back multiple times for free alterations. I’m close so I can walk in. The seamstresses have been working there for decades according to the owner. The origin story is fascinating. He was hauling hundreds of thousands of pounds of leather all over the country in a semi but on trip to Europe someone showed him Kevlar fabric gear. He switched.

 

[Michael1013]

No direct experience, but the guy I sold my Vanson to, couldn't stop extolling the virtues of motoport gear, I think he called it Aerostich of the west, durable, long lasting, comfy and quality. That's stuck in the back of my head. That said, he was riding a leaky guzzi, so...more cred or less, I don't know.

I‘m gonna say more cred for that one.

 

[Tally Whacker]

I have a mesh jacket and two pairs of their pants- one mesh and the other stretch Kevlar.

As mentioned in the "vaquero" comments above, they really aren't the most flattering gear. The other day I told my riding buddies that the suit made me feel like Hans or Franz- all pumped up.

That said, it's comfy, so, kinda like any of the new Lexuses, I put up with the way it looks because it's great from the driver's seat and I'm not the one looking at it anyway.

I've never crashed in mine, but I did see a guy crash at a track day wearing his Motoport. All he suffered from were some relatively minor rug burns as the suit moved around him when he bounced. He would have gone back out but his bike was totaled.

As to the mesh suits- they don't flow as much air across your skin as you might get in some other suits because of the extremely extensive armor. It's far from the 'wearing nothing but a t shirt' feeling some really open mesh jackets give. Air does flow, but it's not really a wind directly on your skin thing. This actually makes it tolerable in cooler conditions than you might expect, and oddly, in extremely hot conditions where a lot of other mesh suits might be like getting blasted by a giant hair dryer set on high.

In fact, with some sort of rain/wind shell and appropriate layering, you could easily four-season the Motoport- in effect, an American version of the Halvorssen Safety Suit.

I'd be happy to answer any more questions.

 

[Starpower]

Without sacrificing safety, what is more comfy touring gear than a properly fitting Roadcrafter? I take it by versatile you mean, venting options, waterproof, layering options, protection, durable and can be cleaned easily to name some. It keeps coming back to Roadcrafter, perhaps the lightweight?

 

[Tally Whacker]

Without sacrificing safety, what is more comfy touring gear than a properly fitting Roadcrafter? I take it by versatile you mean, venting options, waterproof, layering options, protection, durable and can be cleaned easily to name some. It keeps coming back to Roadcrafter, perhaps the lightweight?

I have a Roadcrafter two-piece as well. There are days I would definitely pick one over the other.

No 'stich is ever going to be as well ventilated as a Motoport suit, and no Motoport is ever going to be as water resistant as any Roadcrafter.

The RC is much quicker to put on and take off, and a much better oversuit for commuting. The MP is more comfy and much better for throwing a knee down on fast turns.

Horses for courses, as they say.

 

[lvscrvs]

Had Motoport GP-2 Stretch Jacket & Street Jeans for 6 years, 40k+ miles

This was my go-to gear for moderate temps (used mesh in summer, Roadcrafter in winter)

Sold this suit recently because I wanted gore-tex so got some Klim gear.

Some of the great features:

Light and flexible, so very comfortable on

Tons of armor, more than any other make

When it’s dirty, throw it in a front load washer, hang it up and it dries in hours

Incredibly durable, no sign of damage after several dirt drops (no street crashes)

Can get custom sizing, features and alterations

Made in the USA

 

[Heywood]

Those giant thigh/knee protectors look uncomfortable...how are they?

They're really not bad but you do lose some ventilation b/c of them on the lower leg. I liken them to hockey goalie pads. I bought the off the rack not custom fit to save a few bucks. They're alright a bit baggy in the seat but I'll be wearing them when I head to SoCal here at the end of the month. If I really crank down the velcro at the boots I find the zipper starts walking back up a few inches. Super quick to get in and out of and I've worn shorts plenty of times under them w/o any issue.
ETA: My only real gripe is that there's no zipper attachment on the pants. Most gear comes with an 8" zipper that's pretty universal. Thankfully these have a web belt and my waist jacket has loops for this. No such luck with my 3/4 jacket.

 

[Gabe]

Something lightweight and breezy, like a pleated skirt? :teeth

I'm thinking more:

Without sacrificing safety, what is more comfy touring gear than a properly fitting Roadcrafter? I take it by versatile you mean, venting options, waterproof, layering options, protection, durable and can be cleaned easily to name some. It keeps coming back to Roadcrafter, perhaps the lightweight?

I know, right? But I just have fit issues. I'm somewhere between a 40R and a 42S, and neither fits me right. I just bought a new Roadcrafter jacket, so I'm wonderign if I should by Aero pants or something loose and comfy and stretchy.

I am thinking about how the Roadcrafter jacket looks like it would ride up my back in a crash/slide scenario unless it was zipped to Aerostich pants.


All you guys are winners for your helpful posts! :ride

 

[fubar929]

Anyone with personal experience with this stuff?

I wore a Motoport Ultra II Cordura jacket and pants for 10-12 years, mostly because it was cheap when I bought it and I was too stupid to know any better. When I got my Roadcrafter, I literally threw the Motoport gear in the garbage.

One nice thing about the Motoport pants is that they borrow the Aerostich zipper arrangement, so they were very easy to get on and off. Both the jacket and the pants had lots of pockets and they were actually of pretty usable sizes, unlike some of the Roadcrafter pockets. Personally, I think the styling of the Motoport gear is awful, but it's definitely a bit less hideous than a Roadcrafter. That's about the only good stuff I can say.

When I bought my jacket and pants, the armor they were putting in their gear was bulky as Hell. It reminded me a lot of the stuff I used in junior high football back in the '80s. I never crash tested it, but it didn't inspire a ton of confidence. The armor I had looked very similar to their current "tri-armor" product, but I can't guarantee it's the same. The 1000 denier Cordura was very stiff at first, but it broke in after a couple of years. The bulk never went away and was one of the reasons I found the Motorport gear decidedly less comfortable than my Roadcrafter.

The other thing I grew to hate about the suit was the primary thing that differentiates it from an Aerostich Roadcrafter: it doesn't have a built-in Gore-tex lining. The insanely bulky armor blocks a lot of airflow, so it isn't like wearing mesh gear, but it's still cold as fuck on a cool morning. On really hot, dry days you can almost feel the wind sucking moisture from your body. Overall, I feel like a Roadcrafter is a better compromise for most Bay Area riding.

When I bought the suit the only liner available was a wind-proof, waterproof, insulated liner that made an already bulky suit just insanely bulky. I literally felt like the Michelin Man when I had that liner zipped into the jacket! It looks like they've finally remedied that situation and you can now buy a windproof/waterproof liner without any insulation. I would assume it adds some bulk to the gear, but not as much as the insulated liner. Even so, if you ride in the rain for any length of time everything in your pockets will get soaked and the gear itself will start to soak up water and gain weight, despite the DWR coating. I was never able to get the suit to dry after my morning commute, which meant wearing a cold, heavy, wet jacket home in the evenings. Needless to say, I wouldn't recommend it for year 'round commuting.

Keep in mind that I bought my Motoport gear in the early part of the century, so it's entirely possible they've made improvements to the product.

 

[Gabe]

I wore a Motoport Ultra II Cordura jacket and pants for 10-12 years, mostly because it was cheap when I bought it and I was too stupid to know any better. When I got my Roadcrafter, I literally threw the Motoport gear in the garbage.

One nice thing about the Motoport pants is that they borrow the Aerostich zipper arrangement, so they were very easy to get on and off. Both the jacket and the pants had lots of pockets and they were actually of pretty usable sizes, unlike some of the Roadcrafter pockets. Personally, I think the styling of the Motoport gear is awful, but it's definitely a bit less hideous than a Roadcrafter. That's about the only good stuff I can say.

When I bought my jacket and pants, the armor they were putting in their gear was bulky as Hell. It reminded me a lot of the stuff I used in junior high football back in the '80s. I never crash tested it, but it didn't inspire a ton of confidence. The armor I had looked very similar to their current "tri-armor" product, but I can't guarantee it's the same. The 1000 denier Cordura was very stiff at first, but it broke in after a couple of years. The bulk never went away and was one of the reasons I found the Motorport gear decidedly less comfortable than my Roadcrafter.

The other thing I grew to hate about the suit was the primary thing that differentiates it from an Aerostich Roadcrafter: it doesn't have a built-in Gore-tex lining. The insanely bulky armor blocks a lot of airflow, so it isn't like wearing mesh gear, but it's still cold as fuck on a cool morning. On really hot, dry days you can almost feel the wind sucking moisture from your body. Overall, I feel like a Roadcrafter is a better compromise for most Bay Area riding.

When I bought the suit the only liner available was a wind-proof, waterproof, insulated liner that made an already bulky suit just insanely bulky. I literally felt like the Michelin Man when I had that liner zipped into the jacket! It looks like they've finally remedied that situation and you can now buy a windproof/waterproof liner without any insulation. I would assume it adds some bulk to the gear, but not as much as the insulated liner. Even so, if you ride in the rain for any length of time everything in your pockets will get soaked and the gear itself will start to soak up water and gain weight, despite the DWR coating. I was never able to get the suit to dry after my morning commute, which meant wearing a cold, heavy, wet jacket home in the evenings. Needless to say, I wouldn't recommend it for year 'round commuting.

Keep in mind that I bought my Motoport gear in the early part of the century, so it's entirely possible they've made improvements to the product.

Great review! Thanks.