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Aerostitch or Motoport for Hot Texas Adv. riding

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Pinhead

Pinhead

Joined
Jan 25, 2022
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Location
Conroe
I am interested in buying a 1piece suit and after some research it seems Aerostitch and Motoport are the best ways to go.
But I am skeptical when it comes to those 100+ days and wonder if you guys have experience with those garments.

Currently I use the BMW Rally suit for 2/3 year (yes I know it doesn’t match the bike, but who cares?) and on hot days the Klim Induction jacked with a riding Jeans.

I heard about LD Comfort base layer, and have short and long sleeve on order.

The reason for the 1piece is the ability to take it off in 2min and wearing casual street cloth under it. And it’s just super comfy.

As far as Aerostitch goes, they not really which one is for year round or summer / winter only, so please help me on that too.
Motoport seems straight forward tho.
 
I was comfortable in my Aerostich one piece up to about 80 degrees. Above that and I was too warm. I would switch to mesh two piece in summer months. I never really found one solution for year round wear in Texas.
 
I wore a one piece Aerostich (original not one of the newer models year round ) . If I were to go back to a one piece it would probably be the Lite version.
 
lddave said:
I wore a one piece Aerostich (original not one of the newer models year round ) . If I were to go back to a one piece it would probably be the Lite version.
Click to expand...

Is the lite version the summer suit or does it just have less features (pockets etc.)
 
bjhughes said:
I was comfortable in my Aerostich one piece up to about 80 degrees. Above that and I was too warm. I would switch to mesh two piece in summer months. I never really found one solution for year round wear in Texas.
Click to expand...

It sounds about right with the 80+F, MotoPort says: "Wear in comfort from 60F up to 120F" but they ask for about $2k that's why I hoped to get away with something more affordable.
 
I wear my two piece Stich year-round in the Arizona heat, but I also don't have to deal with the humidity that you face. My reasoning for the two piece suit is that when I get to my destination I can remove the jacket and my long sleeve LD Comfort is acceptable as a shirt. If I were to wear a one piece then I would have to have pants or shorts on underneath and those seams are going to cause a soreness issue on long rides, whereas under my Stich pants all I have on is my LD Comfort leggings.

When you remove your one piece are you also going to change your shoes or are you going to be wearing casual clothes with moto boots?

If I were just using the suit to commute to work then I would probably go with the one piece with work clothes underneath and a change of shoes.

I heard about LD Comfort base layer, and have short and long sleeve on order.
Click to expand...
I never saw the value in the short sleeve shirts as the major benefit of wearing LDC shirts is the ability to wet the sleeves for the evaporation process.

"Temps reaching 100 degrees are also not a problem when handled correctly. The high heat is where many riders make mistakes and place themselves in danger. The LDComfort long sleeve top can be used as a cooling garment to help you ride in temps up to 120 degrees - 49 Celsius (Tested). Pour water down the sleeves and into the neck of the LDComfort top. Zip up your outer jacket and ride with a little bit of air entering at your sleeves. That air will be immediately cooled and funneled into the main part of your jacket so you can ride in a bubble of cool air. Keep that cool air around you by making sure not to open all your vents.
Here is a big secret. DO NOT WEAR MESH when the temps get past 100 degrees. There is no control of the airflow and soon you will exhaust all the cool air. Think of this: You are riding in your car with the air conditioner running. You are comfortable. Now roll down all your windows and let out the cool air.
Happy now? Same thing when you ride your motorcycle."

I also started on the LDC shorts but quickly moved to the leggings because they help keep my legs cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

Just my $.02
 
I have a Motoport Air Mesh Kevlar custom designed and fit two piece. I wore it for 6 years before getting a KLIM Badlands Pro two piece, which I have now had for 9 years and is still my go to gear. Both of them were expensive, but they have lasted forever. Bang for the buck, they are hard to beat. When it gets around 95 and up, the Mesh is not really any cooler than my Badland Pro gear. About the only difference is when stopped, like at a light or on a trail somewhere, I can feel wind through the mesh. The downside is that I had to carry rain gear and stop to put it on or take it off. I got sick of doing the road side one legged hippity hop thing so I upgraded to GoreTex with the Badlands Pro stuff. Since then, the Motoport suit has been sitting in the closet. I don't think I will ever go back to non GoreTex (or something similar) riding gear again... ever.

The Badlands Pro two piece suit is comfy down into the low 20s with basic mid layer clothing underneath and all the vents closed. I have a heated vest that helps and keeps me from getting super bulky. I have also used the suit in temps around 110 F. So long as I was moving, it was comfortable. As TexasT mentioned, I also use the LD Comfort stuff just because I bought it way back when they were kind of the only game in town. Now, there are other similar products that are less expensive and do just as well, and I have some of those too. I got miffed with the LD people because their leggings were insanely long. I have a 34" inseam and they could stand to have about 4" cut out of them. Their response was that they do kind of a one size fits all thing and that I do exactly that, cut them and hem them myself. I did not pay that much so that I would have to turn around and alter them to make them fit :roll: So I have never ordered anymore leggings from them. This may have changed since then though. I do have two of their long sleeve turtle neck style shirts. They work very well in all temps.
 
Texas T said:
I never saw the value in the short sleeve shirts as the major benefit of wearing LDC shirts is the ability to wet the sleeves for the evaporation process.
Click to expand...


Unfortunately the “s” went missing. I ordered the long sleeve and the shorts not the short sleeves 🤣🤣

I was planing to use the motorcycle boots, the Klim GTX boots (the old ones), they look and feel like street boots.

I know about the 93F rule and mesh, wasn’t aware of it until I got the Mesh jacket 🙄

Which of the Aerostitch lines you have for Arizona?
 
Just as an FYI, I have the LD shorts as well. I used them a few times and never touched them again. I did not like the feel of not having something between my knee caps and the inside of the riding pants. It rubbed and was uncomfortable. The full length leggings are not any hotter and having that material cover my knees made a BIG difference, especially when I was hot and sweaty. YMMV.
 
Tourmeister said:
Just as an FYI, I have the LD shorts as well. I used them a few times and never touched them again. I did not like the feel of not having something between my knee caps and the inside of the riding pants. It rubbed and was uncomfortable. The full length leggings are not any hotter and having that material cover my knees made a BIG difference, especially when I was hot and sweaty. YMMV.
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks. I will see how it goes, did you ever use them for work or casual stuff or only for Motorcycling?
 
I went from the original Aerostitch to a kevlar mesh Motoport many years ago. My riding was all desert so rain wasn't a real factor, but it does get cold out there. THe Motoport is notably warmer with the liners in than the 'Stitch, and much more flexible. The ventilation with no liners is, of course, unmatched. I'm torn now that I'm in Texas because I see much more rain and don't have a convenient way to handle it, the Motoport is a pain when rainy.
 
This here's my aerostich , in the lightweight fabric
20140828-124830.jpg


I've ridden in it when the temp got into the mid to high 90s. If I can avoid it, I'll never do that again. and certainly not on an ADV bike w/ a tall windscreen.

Mid 80's tops, and I'm ok with wearing it. This suit to me is a 3 season outfit, w/ a heated jacket for the low 30-40s.

for summer, I go w/ vented jacket & my aerostich darien pants.
 
Tourmeister said:
This may have changed since then though. I do have two of their long sleeve turtle neck style shirts. They work very well in all temps.
Click to expand...
The last pair I purchased several years ago were noticeably shorter than the first pair I bought around 2012. With those I would pull them up and fold them over so that the excess length was just below my knee. There is no need to do that with the current version. I'm sure it saves them on material cost as well.
 
Pinhead said:
Which of the Aerostitch lines you have for Arizona?
Click to expand...
The regular heavy duty Roadcrafter. I rode to Duluth to do the fitting. If this is the route you go, understand that when you get your suit it will be like wearing a suit of armor for the first few weeks/months. They are extremely stiff to begin with but like a good pair of boots they do break in.
 
Few years ago I was motorcycle only in San Antonio and did not own a car. I rode year round in motoport air mesh shirt (it has mesh front and rear with stretch panels on side so very little bulk and form fitting) and ultra II pants stretch rear mesh front. I was very happy. Rain jacket on top and I was good in rain or cold weather. The material dries extremely quick when wet and I just rarely cared about my legs when it rained. Mesh is fine in very high temps if the ride duration is short. A ride around town will be cooler in mesh than a goretex suit. It’s when the ride is fast and/or extended where the hot wind dehydrates you and it gets bad. I also own the LD comfort long sleeve shirt and shorts and wear them on every ride. I have never wet them. Even ride them off-road dirt biking in place of a jersey and after many crashes it’s still in perfect condition. I’ve also had a full bmw Enduroguard suit and I was miserable 95% of the time.
 
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Kshaw said:
Few years ago I was motorcycle only in San Antonio and did not own a car. I rode year round in motoport air mesh shirt (it has mesh front and rear with stretch panels on side so very little bulk and form fitting) and ultra II pants stretch rear mesh front. I was very happy. Rain jacket on top and I was good in rain or cold weather. The material dries extremely quick when wet and I just rarely cared about my legs when it rained. Mesh is fine in very high temps if the ride duration is short. A ride around town will be cooler in mesh than a goretex suit. It’s when the ride is fast and/or extended where the hot wind dehydrates you and it gets bad. I also own the LD comfort long sleeve shirt and shorts and wear them on every ride. I have never wet them. Even ride them off-road dirt biking in place of a jersey and after many crashes it’s still in perfect condition. I’ve also had a full bmw Enduroguard suit and I was miserable 95% of the time.
Click to expand...

I've got the LD Comfort stuff yesterday and tested it this morning and afternoon. I am super impressed. When I left this morning the house it was 35 and this afternoon 75 , in combination with the BMW Rally Suit it worked just fine.
The Enduroguard seems to be not a good suit, it gets plenty of bad reviews, but I never seen one in real life so it is hard to say. I like the Klim Badlands Pro and Rally Lite Suit but they are just too pricy for OTC gear. I will most likely get a motoport one
 
I’ve been riding exclusively in my Motorport gear for the past 14 years. I have the Marathon jacket and Street Jeans combo in the stretch Kevlar and also an Air Mesh jacket. I like the versatility and customization aspects. I used to live in So Cal so it was an easy ride down for any alterations and repairs.

When I was on my big cross-country/Canada trip a several years ago, I was as comfortable as I possibly could be considering the range in climates and weather. For the pouring rain in Canada, I had Frog Toggs. Still got wet, but we rode all day and water always finds a way. For the extreme heat in Texas, a cooling vest and a hydration pack made the 120 degree temperature manageable. It was also convenient to be able to wash the gear on the road, just remove the back armor and toss it all in a front loading washer. The gear air dries overnight.

I’ve definitely got my money’s worth with the Motoport gear. I wore it daily during my 120 roundtrip into LA. So after a little over 250k miles of riding, Marathon and Air Mesh jackets have held up pretty well. I’m just about due to replace my Street Jeans. Even though price has gone up since I purchased mine, I’d still go with Motoport.

Pinhead, have you tried using a cooling vest?18DD43F0-8167-44AE-851C-651421E416E2.jpeg068B14F1-2AC1-44E5-B554-04F4CC2E6BC1.jpeg
 
VixObs said:
have you tried using a cooling vest?
Click to expand...

I'm starting to consider one for my RevIt Sand 3 jacket. They make one that zips right in. I like the fit of this jacket much better than my mesh jacket, nevermind the wider range of acceptable temperatures. I'm just wondering how effective an evaporative cooling vest would be in humid SETX. Any experience with them in humid climates?
 
I have no experience with those. But I was looking into the new AC-Vest they had on EICMA last year.

You bought the mesh Jacket because the marathon was not heat compatible?
 
Motoport. If it's too much money, buy only the jacket.
It was my ATGATT for about 12 years, six years of that almost every day.
Saved my hide in three bad get offs and the jacket survived too.
Six blocks or 6,000 miles. Everytime, everywhere.
No matter how short the ride would be or how hot the weather.
Hot humid Houston commutes to work or touring.
Poured water down the sleeves in Phoenix the last day of summer.
Hot dry desert air but felt nice and cool.
Only wore the Motoport pants when touring. Read more about it here.
http://www.best-motorcycle.com/jackets/index.shtm

oregon-coast-haystacks.jpg
 
Pinhead said:
I am interested in buying a 1piece suit and after some research it seems Aerostitch and Motoport are the best ways to go.
But I am skeptical when it comes to those 100+ days and wonder if you guys have experience with those garments.

Currently I use the BMW Rally suit for 2/3 year (yes I know it doesn’t match the bike, but who cares?) and on hot days the Klim Induction jacked with a riding Jeans.

I heard about LD Comfort base layer, and have short and long sleeve on order.

The reason for the 1piece is the ability to take it off in 2min and wearing casual street cloth under it. And it’s just super comfy.

As far as Aerostitch goes, they not really which one is for year round or summer / winter only, so please help me on that too.
Motoport seems straight forward tho.
Click to expand...
I’m a ‘beer budget’ guy when it comes to most expenses but I’ve found dealing with the triple digits of summer I always pour cold water on my head before the helmet goes on, and soak your T shirt in cold water ( it will be dry after about an hour of riding but you’ll be cool as a cucumber)…..repeat the soaking procedure at lunch or gas stops)
 
Mad Mac said:
Motoport. If it's too much money, buy only the jacket.
It was my ATGATT for about 12 years, six years of that almost every day.
Saved my hide in three bad get offs and the jacket survived too.
Six blocks or 6,000 miles. Everytime, everywhere.
No matter how short the ride would be or how hot the weather.
Hot humid Houston commutes to work or touring.
Poured water down the sleeves in Phoenix the last day of summer.
Hot dry desert air but felt nice and cool.
Only wore the Motoport pants when touring. Read more about it here.
http://www.best-motorcycle.com/jackets/index.shtm

View attachment 313662
Click to expand...

I am convinced, motoport it is. In combination with the LD Comfort stuff and a Rain jump suit it should cover more then 90% of my needs.
 
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