I've been looking at the motoport stuff for years.
I finally decided to pull the trigger and get a jacket first to see how I liked the
product, then decide whether I wanted pants as well.
Recently, they expanded their line to include a Police jacket similar to those
worn by police in Hong Kong - whatever - I just liked the style of this one
over the other ones.
Quality:
It's true, you get what you pay for. Everything on the jacket just seems like
it's tough and will last a long time. Time will tell of course but the initial out of
the box impression is very high.
Options:
I opted for a zippered pocket on the left sleeve so I could keep ear plugs and
the top box key - this is on my Tourmaster transition II jacket and I wish
more jackets had that as an option.
Fit:
The jacket feels large at first. The label in the jacket says XXL but I've never
worn XL on anything much less XXL so I think they just find a jacket that
requires the least amount of modifications to begin with based on the custom
measurements.
It feels like it's about 2-3 inches too long for me in the torso area. That's
based on the other jackets I have so I'm going to call them to see if that's
something they can adjust for. However, the more I wear it the better it feels
and that seems to be less of a concern.
I did trim about 1 inch off the bottom of the back armor so when I sit on the
bike the armor doesn't push up on the jacket. I also trimmed about 1 inch
off the top of the chest armor for the same reason. These are things
motoport suggests to get a better fit.
Armor:
This stuff is great. I just have the basic Tri-armor in the jacket and
the 'obvious' difference between this and the Olympia and Tourmaster armor
is amazing.
1st off, you don't just get elbow armor, it integrates forearm protection.
The chest armor does help make the jacket 'feel' too big at first but as
soon as you try to put on one of your other jackets in comparison - all of
a sudden you feel very exposed in that area. The back armor is a little
wider than my other jackets but the shoulder armor - size wise - feels similar.
Visibility:
The yellow reflective tape is VERY reflective - I like it a lot.
The arms are Hi Viz and are made of the Stretch Kevlar material as well as
the black that is above the shoulders and around the neck area.
The rest of the black material is Kevlar Mesh.
Cost:
Yup - you're looking at $430-$460 - However, I have two jackets currently
and they are both in the $200+ range each so since I'm planning on this being
my all-weather jacket (I'll use my Olympia liners which I really like) I feel the
price is a bit easier to handle.
What I don't like:
I really just have one grip at the moment - I haven't had a chance to take
the jacket on a long ride so I'll update this if I have more issues.
My one issue is there is no waterproof inside chest pocket. My Olympia and
Tourmaster have these and it's great to hold your wallet. On the flip side of
that having your wallet in your chest pocket and then going down hard on
your chest may not be a good idea anyway.
Update: 1/11/2011
I did find the sleeves around the wrists were too tight. Sent the jacket back and they adjusted that for and extra $48 (including shipping) which I'm not crazy about however, that adjustment really made a difference.
Update: 3/13/2011
I decided to order the mesh pants. They are a bit too short and the butt area has a lot of extra material. I may have to send them back to get these issues resolved. I do find it disturbing that all the measurements asked to provide a 'custom' fit don't result in a custom fit and result in more $$ added to some pretty high dollar gear.
I finally decided to pull the trigger and get a jacket first to see how I liked the
product, then decide whether I wanted pants as well.
Recently, they expanded their line to include a Police jacket similar to those
worn by police in Hong Kong - whatever - I just liked the style of this one
over the other ones.
Quality:
It's true, you get what you pay for. Everything on the jacket just seems like
it's tough and will last a long time. Time will tell of course but the initial out of
the box impression is very high.
Options:
I opted for a zippered pocket on the left sleeve so I could keep ear plugs and
the top box key - this is on my Tourmaster transition II jacket and I wish
more jackets had that as an option.
Fit:
The jacket feels large at first. The label in the jacket says XXL but I've never
worn XL on anything much less XXL so I think they just find a jacket that
requires the least amount of modifications to begin with based on the custom
measurements.
It feels like it's about 2-3 inches too long for me in the torso area. That's
based on the other jackets I have so I'm going to call them to see if that's
something they can adjust for. However, the more I wear it the better it feels
and that seems to be less of a concern.
I did trim about 1 inch off the bottom of the back armor so when I sit on the
bike the armor doesn't push up on the jacket. I also trimmed about 1 inch
off the top of the chest armor for the same reason. These are things
motoport suggests to get a better fit.
Armor:
This stuff is great. I just have the basic Tri-armor in the jacket and
the 'obvious' difference between this and the Olympia and Tourmaster armor
is amazing.
1st off, you don't just get elbow armor, it integrates forearm protection.
The chest armor does help make the jacket 'feel' too big at first but as
soon as you try to put on one of your other jackets in comparison - all of
a sudden you feel very exposed in that area. The back armor is a little
wider than my other jackets but the shoulder armor - size wise - feels similar.
Visibility:
The yellow reflective tape is VERY reflective - I like it a lot.
The arms are Hi Viz and are made of the Stretch Kevlar material as well as
the black that is above the shoulders and around the neck area.
The rest of the black material is Kevlar Mesh.
Cost:
Yup - you're looking at $430-$460 - However, I have two jackets currently
and they are both in the $200+ range each so since I'm planning on this being
my all-weather jacket (I'll use my Olympia liners which I really like) I feel the
price is a bit easier to handle.
What I don't like:
I really just have one grip at the moment - I haven't had a chance to take
the jacket on a long ride so I'll update this if I have more issues.
My one issue is there is no waterproof inside chest pocket. My Olympia and
Tourmaster have these and it's great to hold your wallet. On the flip side of
that having your wallet in your chest pocket and then going down hard on
your chest may not be a good idea anyway.
Update: 1/11/2011
I did find the sleeves around the wrists were too tight. Sent the jacket back and they adjusted that for and extra $48 (including shipping) which I'm not crazy about however, that adjustment really made a difference.
Update: 3/13/2011
I decided to order the mesh pants. They are a bit too short and the butt area has a lot of extra material. I may have to send them back to get these issues resolved. I do find it disturbing that all the measurements asked to provide a 'custom' fit don't result in a custom fit and result in more $$ added to some pretty high dollar gear.
