Jacket / pants recommendations for S. India in January?

SFSlim · 11-23-2007, 04:47 PM

A few mates are planning a trip around the south of India from December through the end of January (or so).

All of my current gear has been selected over the years for year-round use in San Francisco, and for general all-weather touring of the Pacific Northwest. So it's pretty much all black, with an abundance of insulated and waterproof liners.

I'd love to hear from anyone here with south India experience. Can I just bring my black textile gear, sans insulating liners, and be comfortable? Or do I need to pick up something much lighter and cooler, in which case, can you recommend anything?

Thanks,

- Slim

ps. I'd rather we not look like super-MX-space-aliens if we can avoid it. Something like a classic Belstaff cut or my Hein Gericke Dakar jacket (but not in leather, natch) would be far preferable to some neon mesh monstrosity. Doubly so if it could be found in tan, or some light-reflecting, "desert-neutral" color.

SFSlim · 11-23-2007, 04:55 PM

A couple additional thoughts: Given that we're not likely to be attaining supersport speeds on our rented Enfields, I'm rating impact protection above abrasion protection, and plan to wear a combination of Dainese (V2 Neck armored underjacket) and T-Pro (Forcefield shorts & knee armor) armor underneath whatever over-garments I end up choosing.

We'll have to augment the armor with some protective over-garments, of course, but I'm willing to trade some resiliency for not baking myself to death. (The armor layer will be hot enough on its own.)

So: a jacket and pants that can be comfortably worn over armor, is (ideally) light-colored and classicly styled, and provides some abrasion protection whilst still being cool enough for south Indian temperatures.

Suggestions?

Biff's R · 11-23-2007, 05:40 PM

My guess is that the locals will be wearing shorts and t-shirts. Any level of armour is going to be adequate. I would just want to avoid hospitals in India. Good Luck.

Zen Slug · 11-23-2007, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Javarilla

what you really want, is a spiffy little getup like this...

Note the complete lack of torso protection - this'll be a factor later in our story...

JR356 · 11-23-2007, 10:52 PM

Hi,

Might want to move this to the equipment forum.

JR356

SFSlim · 11-23-2007, 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR356

Hi,

Might want to move this to the equipment forum.

JR356

Oh man - You're totally right. I thought I had posted it there, but, er...

That's it. I'm quitting quitting coffee.

Moderator?

arshishb · 11-26-2007, 10:30 AM

Your SF gear should be fine for the rides in India. Exactly which states will you be passing through/visiting?

You are right, you will not attain any sport bike speeds there but on an enfield on the right road you can comfortably blast at 100 KM/ hr = 60 MPH. Anything more than that is just pushing that 50 year old design of an engine

Lobby · 11-27-2007, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SFSlim

Oh man - You're totally right. I thought I had posted it there, but, er...

That's it. I'm quitting quitting coffee.

Moderator?

I thought the Regional Forum might have been better. Lets see...

11-23-2007, 04:47 PM	#1
SFSlim ^OP Dada Buddhist Biker Punk Joined: Jun 2004 Location: San Francisco, CA Oddometer: 1,200	Jacket / pants recommendations for S. India in January? A few mates are planning a trip around the south of India from December through the end of January (or so). All of my current gear has been selected over the years for year-round use in San Francisco, and for general all-weather touring of the Pacific Northwest. So it's pretty much all black, with an abundance of insulated and waterproof liners. I'd love to hear from anyone here with south India experience. Can I just bring my black textile gear, sans insulating liners, and be comfortable? Or do I need to pick up something much lighter and cooler, in which case, can you recommend anything? Thanks, - Slim ps. I'd rather we not look like super-MX-space-aliens if we can avoid it. Something like a classic Belstaff cut or my Hein Gericke Dakar jacket (but not in leather, natch) would be far preferable to some neon mesh monstrosity. Doubly so if it could be found in tan, or some light-reflecting, "desert-neutral" color. __________________ Everything is DARK SIDED!!!

11-23-2007, 04:55 PM	#2
SFSlim ^OP Dada Buddhist Biker Punk Joined: Jun 2004 Location: San Francisco, CA Oddometer: 1,200	A couple additional thoughts: Given that we're not likely to be attaining supersport speeds on our rented Enfields, I'm rating impact protection above abrasion protection, and plan to wear a combination of Dainese (V2 Neck armored underjacket) and T-Pro (Forcefield shorts & knee armor) armor underneath whatever over-garments I end up choosing. We'll have to augment the armor with some protective over-garments, of course, but I'm willing to trade some resiliency for not baking myself to death. (The armor layer will be hot enough on its own.) So: a jacket and pants that can be comfortably worn over armor, is (ideally) light-colored and classicly styled, and provides some abrasion protection whilst still being cool enough for south Indian temperatures. Suggestions? __________________ Everything is DARK SIDED!!!

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11-23-2007, 05:40 PM	#3
Biff's R Hill William Joined: Sep 2005 Location: Nerk, Ahia Oddometer: 247	My guess is that the locals will be wearing shorts and t-shirts. Any level of armour is going to be adequate. I would just want to avoid hospitals in India. Good Luck.

11-23-2007, 10:52 PM	#5
JR356 Beastly Adventurer Joined: May 2005 Location: Way out West Oddometer: 3,169	Hi, Might want to move this to the equipment forum. JR356

11-26-2007, 10:30 AM	#7
arshishb Studly Adventurer Joined: Dec 2006 Location: Edison, NJ Oddometer: 734	Your SF gear should be fine for the rides in India. Exactly which states will you be passing through/visiting? You are right, you will not attain any sport bike speeds there but on an enfield on the right road you can comfortably blast at 100 KM/ hr = 60 MPH. Anything more than that is just pushing that 50 year old design of an engine