Two piece riding gear

[Grabcon]

Wasn't sure where this shot;ld go so it ended up under MC Safety.

How many of us that ride ATGATT and have two piece riding gear, jacket and pants and zip the two pieces together for their rides? I can say that I have never zipped them, how about you?

I ask because a friend of mine from down near Study Butte Texas was on a 1300 mile ride in Mexico last week with 4 or 5 others. My friend had an incident, (I don't know the details) ended up having a big slide down the road most likely feet first. He was ATGATT and ended up with road rash from his butt cheeks to his nipples all the way around his rather rotund torso. No broken bones just a really bad case of the rash. He said that if he had zipped his gear together that most likely he would have been fine or no where near as bad as he was.

 

[schlep1967]

Makes sense as they put those zippers there for a reason.

Body shape and jacket fit could make a difference also. You mentioned a rotund torso. If a person has a big belly and small waist and the waist straps are tightened below the big belly it "may" help. If a person is shaped more like a bowling pin, better zip up.

 

[TipSTer]

I got 2pcs Aerostich Roadcrafter. love it.

 

[Obo]

Never zipped mine together.
The jacket is a Tourmaster and pants are Joe Rocket. The zippers are not compatible.
The pants did come with a zipper system that included the half you could sew onto a incompatible jacket, but I've never gotten around to doing it.

 

[Flexit]

Well, apart from local running, we generally wear two piece leathers which feel really strange if not zipped together (and very draughty), so they are always zipped. I'm not a fan of textile suits as sole protection (purely a personal preference). Our textile jackets are worn over the leathers as an extra layer for warmth and the textile trousers only put on in wet or very cold weather. For summer, it's just leathers, with a one piece rainproof carried just in case of rain.

 

[Whisker Bill]

I wear chaps and a leather coat, someday I’ll see a better set I can’t do without.

 

[jfheath]

Rukka ArmaS Textile Jacket and trousers (Cordura/Goretex/Kevlar) . Braces on trousers, and always zipped top and bottom together - for the very reason that you describe - I just hope that the stitching and the zip hold in the event of a spill. But they will hold togteher much better than not having them fastened. I wear them all the time on the bike, summer and winter, rain or shine.

 

[Mophead]

Always zip mine together. Seems like the thing to do when zippers are present. Fortunately have not had to test whether the front side would ride up or not.

 

[Capital]

As a rule of thumb - all gear has to be TIGHT on the body like 2nd skin, hence the amount of straps and zips on every piece.

After reading this, I will consider buying a zipper for my moto-jeans to match it with the jacket.

 

[st11ray]

Sounds kinda like wearing a helmet without fastening the chin strap?

 

[rwthomas1]

First suite was an Aerostich two piece. I never, at least that I can remember, unzipped the two. I had every intention of utilizing that option, but never bothered. That said, when I got the new Aerostich, its a one-piece. After reading this, I know it was the right move.

I sincerely hope your buddy is okay. But I got to admit, the mental picture of a chubby guy with rash from his butt cheeks to his nipples makes me chuckle a bit. I'm a bad person....

RT

 

[steve3b3]

When I wore FirstGear pants and jacket, I often zipped the two together.
With two different brands, the zippers don't match.
I've thought of sewing the two brands zippers together, but never get around to it

Regards,
Steve

 

[the Ferret]

Never zip mine together, no plan to

 

[STFlips]

I've got 2 Rocket jackets and Rocket pants, noticed last year the old jacket zip wasn't compatible with the pants. This is a good reminder to review and use all these zips.

 

[Grabcon]

I sincerely hope your buddy is okay. But I got to admit, the mental picture of a chubby guy with rash from his butt cheeks to his nipples makes me chuckle a bit. I'm a bad person....

Oh he will be fine. But the rest of the story is that he had to ride over 300 miles from somewhere in Mexico back to Study Butte Texas. His bike must have been okay, he has an older KLR. He said the ride was just miserable. Oh and he chuckles about it too, what else can you do right?

 

[Sadlsor]

I've only zipped mine together for track days. Like @the Ferret I don't zip 'em.
With the combinations of jackets and pants I have, including a couple of matched / branded sets, I have myriad ways to connect them if I were so inclined.
Sure, the jacket *may* ride up, but in my handful of unexpected gravitational encounters, it hasn't.
Zipped together, 2 pieces feels "wonky."
As are most of us, I'm comfortable with my decisions.

 

[drrod]

Several years ago I had a 40mph low side. I was wearing Firstgear jacket and pants. The only damage to me was some road rash on one side, just above my waist where the coat was pulled up by the slide. Ever since then, I have zipped my jacket and pants together. I have compatible zippers sewn on mismatched jacket and pants so I can do this. Jackets and pants usually come with both sides of a zipper so I just take the spare and get it sewn onto the pants. On a couple of pairs of pants I have 2zippers, attached to the pants like steps on a ladder, so I can wear 2 different jackets with them.