I own as 2001 GSX-R600 and I was wondering what jacket you would recommend for North Carolina weather. I was looking at a Jacket that had Suzuki platered all over it and was blue/white. I liked the design but wasn't ready to drop the $450 bills for something I knew nothing about. Any help would be appreciated. If you have links to examples I would greatly appreciate it.

Mate, I'm in Australia and have no idea what your weather is like, wanna give ma an idea?
Oh and I work in Celcius so try and bare with me......

Cheers mate,

This was my first post to the site and after reading a few of the other post, I have realized I struck gold finding this place. So let me introduce myself instead of just blazing on to the scene. I am a 23 programmer in Raleigh, NC. Married no children. My wife and I just returned from a trip in Europe so I don't know what the current weather is like except for the last couple days. We toured around Europe for 2 months with nothing but our packs. (Next time we take our bikes...) Anywho, appreciate all the work you guys do to answer others questions, even the guys who just show up out of nowhere and ask a question then jet. After we get settled I am sure I will become a regular to this board, but you will only see me occasionally until I get a new place.

Well on with my question:
North Carolina has sunny weather for the Summer with very few clouds. We don't get much wind so the sun feels like an incubator when you are dresse din leathers and not cruising at 90mph. During the Winter is is slush so much you want to pull out the coca-cola and mix yourself a slurpee (Icee for others :cool images/icons/smile.gif. The weather here is generally nice and not an extreme on either end except the middle of Summer when it is very hot. Winters aren't really a problem but can get painful with the slush falling. Hope that helps answer your question. If I were to compare it to a place in Europe I would say it is a lock like Northern Spain right now.

Cool, ok well we have some stinking hot weather here in Oz quite often but it can be bloody cold and really wet to. I only have my bike so she gets used all year round. To cover this I have a Dririder wet weather jacket and pants. Don't use the pants much. The jacket is good for weather up to about 20 degrees C after that you start to boil. For summer, well summer can be a stinker here, sometimes up to 48 degrees C and thats like undies and socks only weather. My leather jacket isn't anything flash, just something with a bit of padding in the right areas. Elbows and back and my pants zip into the jacket. They have no real weather/water proof lining so it's a great all rounder. I throw a jumper on occasionally when it's cold and that keeps ok in winter when it's dry.
My suggestion is have a look at some of the leathers on the market, try for something that has an inner lining. That should suit your summer, if your just coming into winter then find a good wet jacket with inner lining and the hard padding, they are excellent. Dainese make a great jacket and so does R Jays but see whats on offer and go with something comfortable.
Good luck with it!

Hey man, I'm selling mine right now. I have an AGV sport jacket, I've had it for just over a year. It has the inner removable liner for cooler weather. I payed like $260 for it and I'm letting it go to $190, let me know if want any pics and I'll send them to you.

I like Leather Jackets, i have a Joe Rocket Blaster, it was cheap so i bought it 350 canadian, and hey it matches the blue and white Gixxers (fast Color) haha

Ok as for companies, Joe Rocket is not bad, i like Teknic too, most of the companies make decent jackets!! The jacket i have does not have the best ventilation, but from what i have seen from teknic they coats seem to have good ventilation.

As I said, i think leather is the way to go, it maybe hot in the summer but well worth it for the protection, I went down with it and the coat is barely even scracthed images/icons/shocked.gif images/icons/shocked.gif

Some other compaines:

Dainese ($$$)
Spidi ($$$)
Spyke ($$$)
Alpinestars

Here are some sites for the companies and the products they offer
www.joerocket.com (http://www.joerocket.com) www.teknicgear.com (http://www.teknicgear.com) www.alpinestars.com (http://www.alpinestars.com)

This site sells them and you can get good prices!
www.kneedraggers.com (http://www.kneedraggers.com)

Cheers mates!

I appreciate all the responses. I was hoping if I could get one more favor. The jacket I tried on yesterday is at a store about 2 hours away and I don't remember their name or number. I don't have any clue who the maker was, but I sure would like to know without having to drive all the way back out there... It was a blue and white leather jacket with Suzuki printed all over it. I can't remember if it had any other references to a particular bike, but if I saw a picture I would recognize it. If anyone could toss me a link of what they think it might be I would greatly appreciate it.

i don't have a link or pic to that jacket but i'll bet it was made by vanson!!

check here for Vanson suzuki jackets!!
http://www.vansonleathers.com/store/suzuki_garments.htm

No that isn't it I have seen that one. images/icons/confused.gif Anyway keep the links coming. I am doing my own search as I wait for post. My wife is telling me that the lines and strips were more symetrical and it had a lot more text just plastered all over it. She considers it a "loud" jacket images/icons/smile.gif

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Acero:
I was wondering if anyone had any experience with these jackets:

Dainese Tattoo Jacket
Joe Rocket Blaster Jacket
Spidi Clima
Pilot Sprint
Vanson Hurricane

Those are a few I am considering. Not sure if they are going to sufficate me. I would like a pull out liner though for the variations in temperatures.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Never heard of a Piolt. The rest are top quality. Make sure you get one with removable padding (armor) and adjustable vents.

Don't count the ballistic nylon out. It is good stuff.

Just wanted to say thanks. I haven't decided exactly which one I am going to get. I don't know any local stores that carry good jackets so I can't really try before I buy. I hate that aspect and really wish I could. I guess I am just gonna through $400 bills out the window and hope something worth it flies back in... images/icons/confused.gif

Hey man I have the tattoo. It has been up in the 90's a couple of times here in DC and I've been alright with it. The only place to get one now is www.kneedraggers.com. (http://www.kneedraggers.com.) I love the thing. It's quality is unmatched but for what you're gonna pay for it, it should wipe your ass when you shit.
Now go to www.newenough.com (http://www.newenough.com) and check some of the joe rocket and tecknik leathers. They have some smokin deals. I personally crash tested a technik and I will tell you they do hold up. But get leather or that new joe rocket ballistic whatever you do.
Stef

First of all welcome to the board. Careful it is more addicting than crank. Anyway you might want to check Ebay. I just bought a Vanson Cobra ($575 new) for $375 and it's brand new (it's probably hot but what do I care, just kiddin'). Also you might want to check newenough.com for new and used leather. Just remember a good jacket will last a long fuggin' time not to mention protect your torso, so shelling out the big bucks will be worth it. Lastly there are some cool suzuki jackets at vansonleathers.com but they say they are only available at the dealer. There are also black suzuki racing jackets on suzuki.com that are pretty sweeet.

Picked up a Vanson Velociraptor for myself last weekend and the women's version of the same coat for my girlfriend. I highly recommend you check Vanson out. Jacket is a warm weather jacket with perforated torso, back, and sleeves. Jacket has adjustable waist, comes with body armor in the shoulders, elbows, and back, has Kevlar stretch panels and fits like a glove. I went directly to Vanson since it is close to me, great crew working over there, they measured me up and even have a Ducati inside so you can sit in your riding position when sizing the jackets.
Chuck

Someone said that the jacket I might be looking for is called Champion made by Fashion West... has anyone heard of this company or this jacket in particular? If not can someone help me scour the net to find a picture of it so I can see if it is the right one?

I you have some free time goto www.mawonline.com (http://www.mawonline.com) They have a pretty good site. Good for doing a little research. But they are a little slow on their delivery.

I have a Joe Rocket Speedway. It has a lot of good features. But i dont think it would be too good in your climate (poor venting).

You may want to consider one of Joe Rocket's ballistic nylon jackets. Some of the guys around here love them in the hot weather. And the slide down the pavement prety good.

Vanson has a great jacket. But lots of $$$. You get what you pay for.

Cheers guys... I knowthis may sound a bit ridiculous, but I just don't want a black jacket. Aside from the fact that black absorbs heat, I like some color in my life...

I have narrowed it down a little more, but I just can't figure out which is the best deal for me. I REALLY wish I could try these on.

Do all of these have a removable liner?

Teknic Lightning
Spidi Slider
Joe Rocket Blaster
Dainese Tattoo

Joe rocket Phoenix jacket for the hot weather.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Bmann29:
Joe rocket Phoenix jacket for the hot weather.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I don't see that Jacket on the joerocket.com web site. I am only looking for leathers so if it isn't leather nevermind on it but I appreciate it. Sorry I didn't mention that in my earlier posts.

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with these jackets:

Dainese Tattoo Jacket
Joe Rocket Blaster Jacket
Spidi Clima
Pilot Sprint
Vanson Hurricane

Those are a few I am considering. Not sure if they are going to sufficate me. I would like a pull out liner though for the variations in temperatures.

Does the internaitonal motorcycle show pass near you? If so it is worth the trip to go look. There is usualy a lot of vendors. You can try on lots of different jackets in one place. Unfortunatly the expo usualy is in the winter months.

goto www.motorcycleshows.com (http://www.motorcycleshows.com) and see when and where you can go. Also, you could make a road trip to Mariata Motorsports (1-888-dastlap) in Mariata GA. I don't know how far it is for you. But it is better than pissing away $400+

If you mail order, make sure they are willing accept returns. If a jacket doesn't fit, you want to be able to send it back.

Does this interest you?

http://www.moto-heaven.com/gsxrjacket.gif

It's a Wintex jacket. Imported by Moto-Heaven.com. Had one before when I had the Gix6 and loved it. Sold it when I bought the TL-R. Have a Monza and Rush jacket from Wintex now, and they are awesome also.

Replica GSXR goed for $320 retail.
Rush and MOnza are both $280 retail.

[ 08-28-2001: Message edited by: vlwebdesigns ]

Cheers mate... anyone else had any experience with Wintex jackets?