Jackets Who sizes these jackets....

Zinfandel

Zinfandel

Joined
May 8, 2008
Messages
15
Location
NNJ
Bike
91 ST1100
Or is it me?

I'm 5'10" tall and weigh 225lbs. I could stand to loose a few pounds, but I always had a 46"-48" inch chest.

So I ordered a Teknic jacket a couple of weeks ago, in a size 48, and when it arrived, the arms were more suited for a gorilla! The sleeves extended a good 2" beyond my finger tips. There was no way I was going to be able to scrunch up the sleeves 5"-6".

I measured my arm from the base of the neck, over the elbow, and down to the wrist, and it comes to 30". I've never felt like my arms are shorter than anyone else's.

So, I sent the Teknic back where it came from, and now I'm interested in an Olympia GT. I called Olympia and they told me that the sleeve on a 2X jacket is 35" long.

It would seem that to make the jackets cost effective, the sizing is such that each size is designed to fit a wide bell curve of physiques. and I happen to be at the bottom of the height curve for my chest size.

Having said all that, short of having a jacket tailored to shorten the sleeves, does anyone else have this problem, and a solution to go with it?
 
Most of the manufactures of motorcycle clothing take into account the riding position so when you stretch out your arms in front of you, the sleeves well pull back... but not 5" -6"s.
I had a similar problem with pants. The inseam was too long for my waist size, and, yes, I did get the legs shortened by a seamstress. You'll be wearing it so often that it doesn't pay to have it ill-fitting.

John
 
Jacket sleeves are longer than usual to keep your arms covered. Same with pants. Riding position puts your arms out and legs bent. The extra length keeps the sun off my skin.
 
Hello John,

Dang! I see your point.
The Olympia jacket I fell in love with is the GT Air All Seasons Transition Jacket.
The jacket with the longest name in the industry, and sleeves to match.

If I have this correct, it has an outer shell and two stage inner lining.
By the time the seamstress is done with my jacket, she will have made chopsuey out of my wallet.

I haven't gotten to the pants yet, where I'll be needing a 30" inseam. :o4:

Twelve years ago, I bought a house I thought I was going to fix up. Twelve years later, I'm still at it, and with the money I've spent fixing up, I could have had a custom house built and been living in it for over a decade.

Are there any other jackets out there that come with more reasonable sleeves attached?
 
I was trying on mesh jackets on Saturday. They were out of my size (Large) but I saw a medium for 50% off. I tried it on and it fit but the sleeves were huge! I wish I could remember the brand but it was one I had never heard of before.
 
Gruuvy?

You ride your bike in Baja and you're worried about skin cancer?
I'm in North Jersey where the sun is seldom seen.

Gunner,

I'm under the sneaking suspicion that jackets priced at 50% off are the product of someone in Asia who sewed the wrong sleeves onto the jacket torso, and didn't tell anyone. Ooops, but they hang people for those kinds of things.

So, instead, it got delivered to the store you were in, and everyone who tries it on says the same thing. These sleeves are huge!! Ming, What size is this jacket?
 
I've got the opposite problem. I wear a 44/46 jacket and need a 35/36" sleeve length. At one time i wore a 15-1/2 x 35 shirt. Now wear a 16-35 which is fairly easy to find.
 
Zinfandel said:
Gruuvy?

You ride your bike in Baja and you're worried about skin cancer?
I'm in North Jersey where the sun is seldom seen.
Click to expand...

Too late. I see the Dr. regularly to burn off the spots ....

I would not trade locations though .... Too little sunshine makes me unhappy.
 
I have people ask wh yI have had two joe rocket UFO jackets and the real answer is the yfit . I tried on many jackets and took a chance and ordered a UFO. I just hope they dont stop making them or change the sizing too much
 
Hey Ben,

I spoke to the Olympia rep on the phone, and he sent me to Cross Country BMW in Metuchen to try on some jackets.

I hear they just got a truck load yesterday, and so I'm caging it down there on Saturday morning.

If the GT jackets fits, I'm going to order it from Tellicomoto.
Super nice guy, that Mike.
 
Had the same problem with an aerostich jacket. Size 46, I feel like I am sitting in a tent, size 44 is a hair snug. I took the 44 so it wont be buffetting in the wind.
 
I've tried on many jackets. Shows, dealers, etc. Everytime I get a chance I try on a jacket that I'm interested in....

I usually buy on line. I have found that Technic and Joe Rocket have long enough arms to keep me covered up. I have a 48" chest and 36" arms, rather Gorilla like:) What's good for me is obviously not good for you! Trying them on is a good idea...
 
Zinfandel said:
Or is it me?

I'm 5'10" tall and weigh 225lbs.
Click to expand...

Heh, that's funny. I have the same problem as you have, but on the opposite side of the spectrum.
I weigh 5 pounds less than you, but I'm 8" taller than you.

My perpetual problem is that clothes in the US have sleeves and pant legs that are not long enough. The waist of my MC pants are too wide and the jacket is a tad bulky on me, all to have them fit my Emu legs and Baboon arms (now there is a mental image for ya!).

You are actually on the easier side: Methinks it is easier to shorten sleeves than it is to lengthen them. :o:
 
I've got a similar beef with gloves! XXL I can barely get my hands into and then once I've squeezed them, on the fingers are all too long for my stubby short sausages. Don't you wish we were all the same? Not!
 
Sizing is inconsistent even by the same manufacturer... I tried on a bunch of jackets and pants yesterday at MotoGear Outlet. I normally wear a 40 or 42 jacket (Medium) and a 32 or 34 pant.

Depending on which model Olympia pant I tried on, the 32 fit best and in other models the 34 fit best! The Airglide fit me in a 32 and the Ranger fit me in a 34!

The M Olympia Airglide jacket fit me perfectly. But the M Olympia AST didn't fit well at all in 2 areas: the collar pushed terribly into my adams apple and the upper arm sleeve length was very short, causing the armor to be quite uncomfortable. The L Olympia AST jacket had the proper upper arm length, but the rest of the jacket was terribly loose. I had been interested in the Tourmaster Transition and ended up trying on a M--it fit perfectly.

For gloves, my palms are ~XL width, but my fingers are ~L lengths... Olympia gloves usually fit me better than Tourmaster's line of gloves.

:shrug1:
 
Rocky Mountain Hiiiiiiiiiiiiigh, Colorado.

Listen, you guys out there laughing it up about New Jersey, no where else in the U.S. can you get a decent buzz by taking in a deep breath. So don't knock it.

As for the apparel, some of you make excuses for the manufacturers, they're compensating for riding position, his legs are to short, his arms are too long. Who are we kidding. There really is only a handful of manufacturers a fraction of them make jackets that we're willing to wear, and we're a pretty small market. So, the bottom line is simple, they make these things to fit as large a variety of people in as few sizes as possible. It keeps costs down and the trucking companies busy. Besides, if the thing was too comfortable, you won't buy a different one as soon as possible.

If I can walk into a store and try on a Donna Karan suit for $1000- only to find that it's made in Guatemala and one sleeve is longer than the other, what chance do we have on finding a $200-$300 Chinese made motorcycle jackets that's made to fit any one of us?

If you're lucky enough to be that guy, good for you. The rest of us are going to the tailor to have a kevlar suit made to order.

Oh good, it's time to take my pills. :rx1:
 
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