Motoport Air Mesh Kevlar Not Impressed

[deepcdiver]

There is a lot of truth in what you say. BUT for a touring bike, or adventure bike they rock, no bunching on a KLR or GS. As for storing them...well they breathe so well I wear them until I camp or get to the hotel, although they and my jacket do fit rolled up in a Givi E45.

So far....no signs of wear anywear. Been to Alaska and Inuvit, thailand and VietNam, with NorthFace goretex zip pants over them they are plenty warm, if it gets to 35 degrees I had fleece longjohns underneath.

Stylish, no, and I see how they might not be suited to a sportbike.

Originally Posted by mdloops

First off it should be known that I ride a 2007 Yamaha R6, and with any sport bike the seating position is aggressive.

Protection:

These pants are extremely protective and by far the most durable mesh pants available on the market. There isn't much that needs to be said besides the fact that they are above and beyond anything. Truely amazing.

Fitment:

These are not for anybody owning a bike with an aggressive seating position. The material bunches up and the will dig into the area behind your knees. They have a very high waist, meaning they are meant to be worn "urkle style" around the belly button. They are overpants so they will be baggy. The "seat area" is ridiculously baggy when standing straight up, but when sitting down works well. When I say baggy, I mean BAGGY, like when you are stadning up you look like you have the butt of a 400 pound man.

Practicality:

For those of us who commute to college or go out with our friends these pants are about as impractical as it gets. I have a tank bag, tail bag, and north face backpack and none of them are even close to being big enough to hold them. Unless you have large saddle bags you will be carrying these around with both arms. Additionally, I am a smaller guy 5'8 170 LBS, so I can't even imagine trying to cart around a larger pair.

Armor,

I have read many threads with Wayne saying how Tri-Armor is the best out there, and I think from looking at it that it is sufficient for protection, but CE is better. This armor is above average, but by no means excellent. Do I have proof that CE is better? No. However, any reasonable person can decide for themselves. THE HIP ARMOR IS AN ABSOLUTE JOKE. Literally, it is about 3/8 inch thin and is the cheapest stuff you can buy. SAFE YOURSELF $50 and DO NOT BUY IT. I can't really take pictures because it is sewn in, but I am willing to bet a good amount of money that it will be useless in a crash.

Overall Product

The material is the best I have seen, besides leather. However, it is terribly implemented. Maybe there is a reason why no other company uses this material for the entire piece of gear. I think I know the reason, because it is impractical, uncomfortable, and overly bulky. The product is very well put together from a quality control standpoint.

I like Wayne and think he has a good heart in making this gear, but the threads on this board are way too optimistic about this product. I will hopefully be posting pics soon that may illustrate my point, and if anybody wants to shoot me and email in the meantime I will try and answer any questions. I will be sending these back and taking my chances with the other mainstream companies' products. Again, this product is not comfortable on bikes where you need to grip the tank with your legs. For what it's worth, I have crashed before and know how hard of an impact one could sustain.

Mark
mdloops83@hotmail.com

[TwoWheelsGood]

Hi,

Kevlar Mesh II owner, 3 years with the suit, and had a chance to "field test" it yesterday with a get-off at 45-50mph that had my left leg under the bike:

Upper body: not a bruise,scratch, nothing. I mostly slid on my left arm and side. The jacket took quite a bit of damage, which it is supposed to, but, again, not a bruise or scratch on me.

Lower body: I have a bump on my knee and tiny bit of rash on that bump, largely caused by the abrasion of the pants on my knee? I was not wearing jeans or pants under the overpants. However, the pain of the knee (not much at all but tender to the touch) has me thinking that the knee armor didn't cover my knee and I slammed the knee down on the pavement.

I will send the kit to MP today or Monday and ask for a few modifications:
Reflective material on the sleeves
Send the kit in with some motocross knee-shin guards and have them sewn in. Or at a minimum tweak the positioning of the stock pads so they do their job better.
Better position of the hip pads. Pretty lucky I don't have a hip pointer, not sure how that happened.

I _almost_ rode yesterday without the pants, almost choosing jeans instead. If I had made that choice I would be in a world of hurt right now. I ride bicycles and I've lost infinitely more skin in bike crashes than I have with this. I've had worse failing to unclip at a light. My point is that I have a lot of experience dealing with road rash and, as a friend said last night, if I had road rash all down my leg and he offered me $1k to take it away, I would pay it in heart beat. That's how I look at the price of riding gear.

That said, I made the choice to ride with the pants because it's so comfortable, MUCH more than an Aerostitch (had one for 12 years). My kit was bulky too and I sent it back a couple times to have it altered. It's gotten better and, yes, I don't care for the bulky fit of the pants, especially in the ass. I think I look good (if I must say so) from the front but like J-Lo if I turn to the side. Oh well. Pair of comfortable pants under the overpants and a cable lock. Problem fixed.

Sometimes looking like a dork off the bike is just the cost of doing business. Business was good yesterday but could have been a lot more expensive.

[blitzkreig]

Anybody figure out the "Air Mesh" Kevlar Street Jeans? Are these "Air Mesh" on the front and then the "Streach Kevlar" for the whole of the back sides of the jeans ... top to bottom?

Is this "new" ... ? Seems like a good idea to me ...

Anybody seen these yet?

.

[Weird Bug]

Thanks for the information and input on your accident. Nice to know the gear helped.

ATGATTer all the way!

[mdloops]

Originally Posted by TwoWheelsGood

Hi,

Kevlar Mesh II owner, 3 years with the suit, and had a chance to "field test" it yesterday with a get-off at 45-50mph that had my left leg under the bike:

Upper body: not a bruise,scratch, nothing. I mostly slid on my left arm and side. The jacket took quite a bit of damage, which it is supposed to, but, again, not a bruise or scratch on me.

Lower body: I have a bump on my knee and tiny bit of rash on that bump, largely caused by the abrasion of the pants on my knee? I was not wearing jeans or pants under the overpants. However, the pain of the knee (not much at all but tender to the touch) has me thinking that the knee armor didn't cover my knee and I slammed the knee down on the pavement.

I will send the kit to MP today or Monday and ask for a few modifications:
Reflective material on the sleeves
Send the kit in with some motocross knee-shin guards and have them sewn in. Or at a minimum tweak the positioning of the stock pads so they do their job better.
Better position of the hip pads. Pretty lucky I don't have a hip pointer, not sure how that happened.

I _almost_ rode yesterday without the pants, almost choosing jeans instead. If I had made that choice I would be in a world of hurt right now. I ride bicycles and I've lost infinitely more skin in bike crashes than I have with this. I've had worse failing to unclip at a light. My point is that I have a lot of experience dealing with road rash and, as a friend said last night, if I had road rash all down my leg and he offered me $1k to take it away, I would pay it in heart beat. That's how I look at the price of riding gear.

That said, I made the choice to ride with the pants because it's so comfortable, MUCH more than an Aerostitch (had one for 12 years). My kit was bulky too and I sent it back a couple times to have it altered. It's gotten better and, yes, I don't care for the bulky fit of the pants, especially in the ass. I think I look good (if I must say so) from the front but like J-Lo if I turn to the side. Oh well. Pair of comfortable pants under the overpants and a cable lock. Problem fixed.

Sometimes looking like a dork off the bike is just the cost of doing business. Business was good yesterday but could have been a lot more expensive.

Lets put things into perspective here. Did any of the armor do its job like it SHOULD have? I mean, the knee pads didn't do much, and the hip pads (if you would call them that) need to be repositioned as well? So in essence, he needs to redesign the pant? I am just looking that this from a different perspective and trying to understand why nobody assesses these things as product faults, but rather trial and error. They were custom fitted correct?

If I sound like I am attacking motoport I am truely not, but I just do not seem to get it. A lot of pants would have protected you at those speeds. Many mass produced pants would have had their armor stay in place as well, and they are by no means custom fitted. Would they have been repairable? Probably not, but that is why we have insurance. Most companies will cover the cost of replacing gear.

[GoNOW]

I can understand how they would have poor fit for a sport bike. The Air Mesh is the stiffest thing I have ever seen. However, for a dual sport rider that needs to keep cool at 10MPH in the dirt and have protection at 80MPH on the freeway, I don't think they can be beat.

Preventing abrasion is the key factor I look for. Bones heal, knees can be replaced. Skin, on the other hand, is years of pure pain. If not forever.

I like the "Air Mesh" Kevlar Street Jeans. Monday, I am going to order a set. I hope they will work like a more protective set of MX pants. Also going to order a set of Air Mesh pants as over pants. For the long rides.

I just need to grow a bigger booty to fit into them.

[eaglemike]

Originally Posted by mdloops

Many mass produced pants would have had their armor stay in place as well, and they are by no means custom fitted. Would they have been repairable? Probably not, but that is why we have insurance. Most companies will cover the cost of replacing gear.

How do you know? Were you there? Have you seen the results of the other pants where the zippers fail, seams fail, or the material just abrades through? How much road rash have you experienced, and what were you wearing? You do sound like you're picking fault.

The above poster crashed with his leg leg under the bike. How would you design clothing to protect in that instance?

I have a set of these pants, and the armor pockets will be adjusted. Every person is different. This clothing is still better as-is than the two other sets of mass-produced pants I own. I've had two bounce tests (with a little assistance) and I know a little where-of I speak.

I would not suggest this pant for a sportbike. Perhaps the one piece siut they make would be better. The police pant would be better, IMHO.

all the best,

Mike

[mdloops]

Originally Posted by eaglemike

How do you know? Were you there? Have you seen the results of the other pants where the zippers fail, seams fail, or the material just abrades through? How much road rash have you experienced, and what were you wearing? You do sound like you're picking fault.

The above poster crashed with his leg leg under the bike. How would you design clothing to protect in that instance?

I have a set of these pants, and the armor pockets will be adjusted. Every person is different. This clothing is still better as-is than the two other sets of mass-produced pants I own. I've had two bounce tests (with a little assistance) and I know a little where-of I speak.

I would not suggest this pant for a sportbike. Perhaps the one piece siut they make would be better. The police pant would be better, IMHO.

all the best,

Mike

These are the only images appropriate for posting. All pics were taken after 4 days of healing an after scrubbing the road grime out of the wounds.







1) I do not even need to infer from the text that the armor did not stay in place because he said "has me thinking that the knee armor didn't cover my knee and I slammed the knee down on the pavement." Also he said he wants motoport to improve the positioning of the armor so it would do its job better, that is all I was commenting on.

2) I have seen the results when zippers and seams fail from personal experience.

3) I know what road rash feels like. I know what poor gear feels like in a crash, and I have a pretty good idea of how well something will protect me in a crash. My 2003 Honda VFR was totalled as a result of this crash.

Any more skepticism about my experience?

I will repeat, I think I have been pretty fair here. I realize I am the odd guy out because motoport is highly regarded on here, but be careful what bluffs you try calling. I am not quesitoning anybody elses qualifications or motives here, please don't question mine.

Experience with material that "abrades through"

[eaglemike]

Ok, You have experience. I was not calling a bluff, but asking a question so I'd know where you are coming from. When I read your original post I did not see where you've contacted Wayne. Have you done so? I can tell you're not happy with the fit of the pant for your purpose. Is that correct? Is there action you can take to nake things work better for you? Alteration? Exchange them? Sell them and buy something else?

I don't think you can prevent a bruise or tender knee when the bike falls on your leg. Maybe you think you can. IIRC, the guy above said that maybe the armor could have been placed better - right?

Your comment was that Wayne needed to re-design the pant. They do offer to alter the placement of the armor. I don't know if they charge for that.

I have no financial interest in Motorport/Cycleport.

Sometimes things don't work out for everyone. I do know it's disappointing to buy something and not find satisfaction with that item.

I don't recall of a single instance of a wearer of this clothing stating they would have been better protected by something else. If there is something better, buy it.

all the best,

Mike

[mdloops]

I did talk to wayne and was interested in the police pant because it has stretch kevlar on the back, and thus would be much less bulky. I have also purchased a back pad from wayne to replace the one in my icon leather jacket, so do not get the wrong impression. I decided that I did not want to wait the 5 weeks it would have taken for the police pant, spend more money to ship another pant, and possibly lose out on my investment if they did not work for me.

Could we have figured something out if I had a bigger budget, plenty of patience, and a willingness to take a sizable risk? Yes. Will the Olympia Air Glide pants I purchased protect me as well as the kevlar air mesh? Probably not. I guess this is just a risk I am willing to take to avoid further stress from my motoport dilemma. I have never been so anxious/stressed making a purchase. I guess if the pants fit your needs it is worth the wait, but for me I am out $30 and back to square one. At this point I just decided to call it quits before I lose more money.

[eaglemike]

Like I said, I can understand your frustration. I would love a more flexible pant that vents and protects as well as the mesh kevlar.

I wish you all the best in your search to a pant that fits your needs!

Mike

Edit: A friend of mine threw down his FJR about a week ago. Roughly 45mph, IIRC. He was wearing mesh kevlar. Had a gimpy ankle and slightly tender shoulder.

[mdloops]

Originally Posted by eaglemike

Like I said, I can understand your frustration. I would love a more flexible pant that vents and protects as well as the mesh kevlar.

I wish you all the best in your search to a pant that fits your needs!

Mike

Thanks Mike, no hard feelings here. Ride safe!

[hosertp]

No affiliation of Moto Port.
Sorry to hear anyone got hurt regardless of what they were wearing.
Riding gear is like a deductible, you pay in advance for the best protection, and then hope for the best.
I have a Kevlar Mesh 3/4 jacket and pants. Wayne spent a Saturday morning with me giving me more information than I wanted to hear. I was able to drive away with the jacket, and he made pants for me. Bulky? A little at first, but now they feel like they are a part of my wardrobe. I don't know what he is advertising, but I own a '04 ZX-10 too, and I wouldn't even let this gear within 10' of that bike. I wear Alpinestars leathers with that bike. I would feel sorry for the pavement that the Moto Port suit hits. I wouldn't suggest that suit for any street bike, BUT, for my '02 BMW 1150 GS, well, this is what happened this weekend:
Left LA with Moto Port liners & Gerbing heated jacket/gloves
Ditched the heated jacket liner at Frazier Park
Ditched both Moto Port liners at Taft
Rode to Santa Margarita Lake for an overnighter in fully ventilated mesh, and Tri-Armour.
Granted, expensive, but awesomely versatile. No doubt that it would protect me if I was to hit the pavement. To argue about how protective it is? IT"S BETTER THAN 95% OF ANYTHING ELSE!
On a previous winter trip, I had Alpinestars race boots and rode 15 miles in solid ice up the Crest. Managed to crash on 1 1/2" of ice in the parking lot of Newcomb's Ranch. I broke my ankle, but is that Alpinestars fault? I think not.
Wayne is a sole proprietor type of guy, devoted to protecting riders and offering a great option to corporate efforts, personally.
Gee, I'm so sorry it doesn't make your ass look good!
Too many Aerostich guys I ride with admit that this is the shit. Works for me!
hosertp

[hosertp]

Sorry for the S***, it'll never happen again. htp

[TwoWheelsGood]

Hey guys,

Sorry, I haven't checked the thread. On Thursday I crashed at about 50mph, sliding on my left side with my left leg under a VStrom 1k. On Saturday I rode a bicycle for 60 miles in the mountains and on Sunday I rode my TE450 all day in the desert. I have a LOT of road rash experience of the 20-35mph lycra kind. I'm the guy in front of you at Starbucks who your kid points at says "Daddy, why does that man's legs look like mommy's but with all of those scars on them ." I am intimately familiar with what could have been and I'm sure I'd be typing this between bandage changes, painful scrubbings, etc. I think the gear did it's job.

Having looked at the gear and my one injury, I think what happened was:

Bike was leaned a bit to the left when I grabbed too much front brake. I went down hard on left knee, elbow and shoulder. My ankle then twisted in under the bike and the bike and I become one, with my left knee pinned under the bike but it was held up a bit (full weight not on the knee) by the bars, topcase, who knows. I think the bruise/abrasion on the knee cap was caused by that initial slam to the pavement. I have some bruising on the inside of my knee but no pain. Seriously, it's nothing. We all had worse as kids playing football on the pavement.

I didn't take pictures of the jacket but probably should have. Oh well. It was pretty torn up but I don't have a single scratch, bruise, nothing. I was a little sore the next day but nothing unexpected. I've sent the kit back to motoport for repair (insurance pays the tab). I've asked them to:

1. Move the knee pads up 1.5-2 inches. If I were going to dualsport in these pants I'd take the knee pads out and use hard knee guards or braces instead.
2. Reposition the hip pads, giving up the zipper access to undergarments.
3. See if they can make the leg bottoms wider to accomodate motocross boots. I wear Sidi Crossfires in the dirt. I haven't taken these pants dualsporting but no way I'm going offroad in anything other then my Sidi's

For me, the major selling point of the gear is it is so damn comfortable. There is simply no reason to not wear the gear at almost any temperature.