I researched a lot before shelling out over 2 grand for this outfit. The pants leaked in the crotch which made a ride rather unpleasant. OK I thought, BMW should stand by their product. They have a great reputation for this. However the shop I got them off - Procycles in Sydney - tried fobbing me off with "oh they aren't meant to be water proof, only water resistant.. riiiight. I ranted and raved and they finally caved and gave me a replacement pair. Guess what - in the first shower they leaked at the left knee. Hmm. I took them back to be submitted into BMW for warranty. The accessory guy from Procycles rang today to give me the "only water resistant" line and basically to go screw myself. After I pointed out various claims on their website and several BMW advertising pages that our Department of Fair Trading would be interested in, he backpedalled. I haven't received a refund yet but am going all out for one. Anyone thinking of one of these outfits beware. They are NOT waterproof even though they are claimed to be.
Major thanks, was looking at some of their line. Figure if BMW isn't going to take care of you, then why would I think I'll be treated any different.:huh
I had a read of the BMW catalogue for that item and it does say it's only water resistant. It sounds like it may be as water resistant as you had hoped, but that's hard to deal with from a warranty stand point. http://www3.catoya.com/asp/_1071/flash/pdfs/0044.pdf
For two grand that bastard better be friggin submersible.... I'm always looking for the perfect suit. I've found that the more expensive you go, the better the fit. Water proof is another story. I just use a cheap nylon or vinyl suit over my riding wear right now. And some rain gaiters.
The actual text BMW uses in the catalog is as follows: "The fast-drying nubuck cowhide is sealed with taped seams and rubber-lined zip fasteners so that you can stay dry for several hours without any rain over-garments" In addition, they describe their "Hydrophobic leather" treatment this way: "A treatment which renders leather water-resistant." That gives them quite a serious out in the event of manufacturing defects which allow water infiltration.
I don't want to be harsh but...the suit isn't water-proof...but it isn't claimed to be (at least in the catalog I have). Sharp looking piece of kit though.
water-proof, -resistant, -whatever, it's supposed to keep you dry, and it didn't. From the BMW web site (http://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/us/en...quipment/detail.jsp&pid=144&cid=108¬rack=1 ): "The fast-drying nubuck cowhide leather is sealed with taped seams and rubber-lined zip fasteners so that you can stay dry without any rain over-garments." It says dry, not mostly dry, or dry except in certain spots, or kind of dry but not really. Sounds like your dealer is a bit weasely (or employs one). Edit: The web site listing also clearly shows the water proof symbol (with "water proof" as tool tip/pop up text) next to the Atlantis 4 (http://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/dbimages/fap/property_images/51.gif ).
Sadly water resistant and waterproof are two totally different things... Sort of like the difference between SPF 30 sunscreen and an umbrella. One delays a burn and the other prevents it completely. I always assume I'll get wet in water resistant gear sooner or later. You can argue about how dry for how long, but that's a hard one to win when arguing a warranty.
That's pretty much it. The OP doesn't give specifics as to how long his rides were, but based upon the product descriptions provided, my personal expectation would be to keep me dry for over an hour in a heavy rain. Eight hours in a torrential monsoon, no. But they make it sound like something that should hold up to typical rain showers "so that you can stay dry without any rain over-garments". If it can't do that, I'd be $2000 worth of pissed too.
I've got the Atlantis jacket and it has kept me totally try during the several times I've had it out in the rain. Not hours of torrential downpour rain, but still I am pretty happy with its water-resistance. Don't have the pants, so can't comment on those.
Perhaps they should change the name to something other than an underwater city. Is that some of their Chinese-made gear?
Every time something goes wrong, everyone says made in china - I have the atlantis 4 suit - it's made in EU - from memory, romania(?). Most BMW rider gear are made in EU, specifically the former eastern blocks. Now back to original OP, First question: Do you have the Atlantis 3 or Atlantis 4 suit? Atlantis 3, like Tiger Angel's Guardian nuback suit, is only water resistant - leaks in seams will happen. They never give the impression it's more than water resistant. Atlantis 4 is a little more complicated. Aust brochures talks about "able to ride in rain for several hours without rain garments" in one section then its symbol shows it's "waterproof".BMW's propaganda, (product info card) says that the suit with "nuback leather will absorb no more 10% of its own weight in water" AND have "waterproof zip fasteners, stretch panels and seams" this indicates to me Atlantis 4 is highly water resistant - leaks should not come through on seams and zippers, but eventually it would soak through leather and give you some damp spots. i bought mine on this assumption that it would be fine in light rain, short time in medium rain. This is good for short commuting and slight drizzles until you can get a rain coat on. Now was it a total leak or just damp - Either way, i feel if you argue with BMW (not just procycle) they should either give you another set or change to their comfortshell or give u your money back, because the product description is rather confusing if not misleading. Good luck and keep us posted about the outcome.
Atlantis 3 is waterproof only AFTER adding in the optional Gore-tex liner (which cost about $1000 AU, about about close to 1/2 of the total non-discounted price). The suit itself is not waterproof. Atlantis 4 is designed to be waterproof/highly water resistant on its own (but evidently failed with the OP) - no gore-tex optional liner is offered with the suit. If u wear the gore-tex or other WP liner anything will be waterproof.
Yeesh, that liner was optional on the A3? At least with the Rallye 2 Pro it was part of the standard package. I have found the GoreTex liners to be very effective, but quite fragile (I am an expert at tearing out the attachment loops) and rather a pain if you want to wear the suit on a warm day and encounter rain. Stripping down completely to add them is not really an option at the side of the road.
pants liner is hard to do on the side of the road - with jacket liner, i simply put it on quickly and put the jacket back on - u dont really need to loop everything in. After being hyped into wearing gore tex or other WP liners, i come to the conclusion that they are good for in cooler weather where u can put them in before the day's ride. In warm or hot weather with humidity - not going to work in any case. And as mentioned pants liner would hard to put on on the side of the road. Our rain season here coincide with warm to hot humid weather - not the best system. I am using my Atlantis 4 as a kind of 3 season suit - winter/ early spring/ late autumn where humidity is not an issue. For a leather jacket with with no effective wenting - it's surprisingly breathable, as long as u are travelling above 50km/hr and the humidity is not too bad. I have used it in 28c or 83F with 60% humidity and was comfortable and limited sweat. - and i normally sweat A LOT. The extra abrasion protection and the suppleness of leather, imo, beats RP3 / comfortshell/ Revit's CP for sure. I am yet to have it tested in heavy rain the OP mentioned. In light rain - it does bead water and kept me dry.
From what I understand the Atlantis 4 has the Gore-Tex membrane attached directly to the back of the leather. Hopefully we hear from the OP to confirm if he is talking about an Atlantis 3 or 4.
no, Atlantis 4 has no goretex backing, contrary to review from a well-known source and BMW does not advertise as such - the nubuck cowhide leather itself is hydrophobic, meaning it's "water beading", like oil wont well mix with water - (and it does - works very well in light rain, on personal experience) BMW claims that it absorbs less than 10% of its own weight in water ( :huh, i wonder whether that's including the weight of armor, cos they weight a lot). With Atlantis 3 the zipper and seams are not waterproof and rain will get in through there first, regardless the validity and extent of claim of hydrophobic capability of the leather itself.Hence it was offered with goretex liner as an option for it to be waterproof. Atlantis 4 uses the same leather AFAIK, but include waterproof zippers and seam sealed for waterproofness. I personally dont think it was designed to be totally waterproof, merely very very water-resistant, as the nubuck leather does absorbs some water, i imagine one would eventually get some dampness if u ride in heavy rain long enough - but if water "leaks", i would imagine it would be more like WP seam seal failing. BMW should NOT have placed a waterproof symbol on the garment brochure and gave the impression that it was waterproof. - Regardless what types of leak it is, if the OP has Atlantis 4, he deserves to have it replaced under warranty or $ refunded, IMO.
I know the Atlantis 4 leather itself will not let water through after an hour of being continuously drenched at 60-70mph; on the R1150GS my upper arms are right downstream from the edge of the windshield, and get soaked real well. The surface of the leather appeared completely saturated with water. The seams I can't comment on, as the rest of the suit was shielded somewhat. Be that as it may, the suit is advertised as water proof, and at least several of us bought it with the expectation of staying dry inside (with some more optimistic than others as for how long). As has been summarized already by acerider01, the OP should get the suit returned to BMW. Sadly, I think we are discussing amongst ourselves; there is no trace of the OP on this board, except for the original posting in this thread.
