Modern Buddy

From what I can tell so far, the only brand name I can see that produces either stylish or normal-looking non-Robocop like clothing for scooterist/motorcyclists is Corazzo. The other ones I've found seem to produce gear that makes you look like you're a racer or some kind of special unit for the FBI/CIA.

What other brands out there on the web produce scooter clothing that is either somewhat stylish or more normal looking (and within reasonable price).

I wouldn't want to be all decked out looking like Robocop when frankly....I um...ride/drive like Grandpa. LOL. Well, not really, but I wouldn't want to give everyone else on the road the image that I look like I know how to race on a bike. I was even thinking I'd put a big red "L" on my scooter to tell everyone to stay 100 ft away. (LOL)

Well anyone from the UK can send you a big red L.

Are you commuting or just riding?

Draggin Jeans make Kevlar jeans that look like normal jeans. But they are for abrasion not bumps.

OR you can buy armoured long johns which no one can see under your daily clothes.

Or if commuting you can wear skateboard elbow and knee protectors and stow them on the scooter when not in use.

If you simply want to look cool then I am the wrong guy to give advice

Oh and the word you are looking for is CYCLIST http://oxforddictionaries.com/definitio ... t?view=uk. Not bicyclist. Yet again seperated by a common language.

Check out this jacket
http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/rive ... lin-jacket
Not 'Robo-Cop' like at all, I'm looking at getting one for my self. Pretty much resembles most of the jackets in my closet as does my Corazzo Shop Jacket.

robocop is awesome.

waspmike wrote:Well anyone from the UK can send you a big red L.

Are you commuting or just riding?

Draggin Jeans make Kevlar jeans that look like normal jeans. But they are for abrasion not bumps.

OR you can buy armoured long johns which no one can see under your daily clothes.

Or if commuting you can wear skateboard elbow and knee protectors and stow them on the scooter when not in use.

If you simply want to look cool then I am the wrong guy to give advice

Oh and the word you are looking for is CYCLIST http://oxforddictionaries.com/definitio ... t?view=uk. Not bicyclist. Yet again seperated by a common language.

I'll be both commuting and riding.

I don't exactly want to look cool, but I also don't want to impart an image of motorcycle racer which often those kinds of gear seemed to be geared towards.

Hmm...I checked my original post but I don't see the word bicyclist used at all. But bicyclist is perfectly fine in British English. I checked my Oxford Dictionary of English (not OED but the ODE which is Brit. Eng.) My primary and early secondary school education was actually in British English Then I came to the U.S. where I finished secondary school, went to university, and almost done with post-graduate school! You'll see primarily British usage in my writing but Americanisms and some American grammar will sneak in every now and then.

==============

Update: Ah, I see what you're seeing. You're referring to the left-hand margin. Yeah...I'm a bicyclist. I just logged on to the OED and it doesn't say anything about "bicyclist" being an American English or British English word. I think it occurs in both languages. Perhaps certain regions of the UK don't use the word "bicyclist". I don't know. I was educated in a former British colony :^)

KABarash wrote:Check out this jacket
http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/rive ... lin-jacket
Not 'Robo-Cop' like at all, I'm looking at getting one for my self. Pretty much resembles most of the jackets in my closet as does my Corazzo Shop Jacket.

Thanks! That looks quite nice. The price is not bad either!

I should have a review of this jacket up over the weekend, if you can wait.
http://www.gogogearla.com/categories/Ja ... 52d-Men's/

Preview: It's nice and makes me look like a very cool character, not the Transformer that some of my other jackets/gear make me look like.

Rippinyarn wrote:I should have a review of this jacket up over the weekend, if you can wait.
http://www.gogogearla.com/categories/Ja ... 52d-Men's/

Preview: It's nice and makes me look like a very cool character, not the Transformer that some of my other jackets/gear make me look like.

You got one before I got mine and I had a hand in creating it! (Mine's been waiting for me at GoGo HQ for quite a while but everyone's been going out of town or busy.)

It's not 100% my design, or even 50%, but I think the end result turned out quite well! Hopefully it'll do well and they'll be able to expand the men's line. I still have a couple "dream jacket" designs I would LOVE to use as a starting point. One is a longer trench, another is a shorter one similar to a Harrington.

Riding jackets are freakin' hard to design and make. If you want something stylish but full-featured, you're going to wind up creating styles that simply won't fit some body types. A lot of the mid-priced jackets intended for broadest mass appeal have really weird fits and dimensions. The "inverted pyramid" shape (narrow waste, wide shoulders) is pretty common. If you want to design around the bulk of armor and technical fabrics but still create something that doesn't look like a RIDING jacket, you have to make decisions on sleeve length, shoulder width, neck sizing and so on that won't fit some buyers, even if they're the right "size."

It's as complex as buying a pair of jeans these days.

The three Corazzos I own all have different fits. I thought the Max fit me great until I got the Tempeste, which was much better in the sides and better suited to my cylindrical (on a good day) shape. The Max now feels loose when I wear it. The mesh Ventata fits a lot more like a moto jacket: close on the sides and at the waist; much narrower arms. It's supposed to fit that way and really has to in order to function properly.

So, again, trying on before or buying from a place with a generous return/exchange policy is important. Not all Ms, XLs, whatevers will ft the same. Comfort and proper fit are very important on the scooter. An ill-fitting jacket will not only not function as intended in a crash, but can also be a distraction or cause discomfort when riding.

ericalm wrote:
It's not 100% my design, or even 50%, but I think the end result turned out quite well! Hopefully it'll do well and they'll be able to expand the men's line. I still have a couple "dream jacket" designs I would LOVE to use as a starting point. One is a longer trench, another is a shorter one similar to a Harrington.

I don't know if it was GoGo Gear that I saw a woman's trench coat for motorcyclist but it was one I WISHED they made for men! I LOVE that style. It wasn't a long shapeless trench but one that had shape to it.

ericalm wrote: Riding jackets are freakin' hard to design and make. If you want something stylish but full-featured, you're going to wind up creating styles that simply won't fit some body types. A lot of the mid-priced jackets intended for broadest mass appeal have really weird fits and dimensions. The "inverted pyramid" shape (narrow waste, wide shoulders) is pretty common. If you want to design around the bulk of armor and technical fabrics but still create something that doesn't look like a RIDING jacket, you have to make decisions on sleeve length, shoulder width, neck sizing and so on that won't fit some buyers, even if they're the right "size."

Thanks for the observations. My shoulders aren't wide at all and I don't have an inverted pyramid body shape. If anything, I'm more of the "Euro-cut" shape. That's why when I went to Paris almost every store had clothing that I could actually fit well in. In the U.S., it is close to impossible.

bigbropgo wrote:robocop is awesome.

srsly

Come quietly or there will be.........trouble.

And the reason why it looks like robocop, is because it's designed to protect you, it has armor......................yeah, just like robocop.

Go go does make mens jacket. My local scooter shop was so excited about it that I ordered it. Love it so far. Only flaw, the zipper is flip-flopped like a womens zipper. Also I'm usually an xl but only fit xxl.

http://www.gogogearla.com/products/GoGo ... acket.html

I plan on buying at least one GoGo Gear jacket over the off season. Certainly a mesh cafe, and possibly a trench as well.

I haven't even ordered yet, but from my preliminary contacts with Ms Battishill I am already giving GoGo Gear a "good vibes" rating. As a round girl I didn't think I would ever find a jacket-let alone a stylish one. GGG's stock sizing is truly remakable compared to other scooter/cycle gear companies; and Ms. Battishill has been nothing but respectful and sincere in our email exchange so far.


And that's the end of my rambling. I'm so looking forward to next year now that I can say with some optimism that I'm going to have proper gear.

Scootagangsta wrote:Go go does make mens jacket. My local scooter shop was so excited about it that I ordered it. Love it so far. Only flaw, the zipper is flip-flopped like a womens zipper. Also I'm usually an xl but only fit xxl.

The zippers are on the other side on most European jackets. Pretty common.

Tucano Urbano (italy) makes lovely, tasteful stuff, but it's expensive and hard to find in the U.S. I didn't read through the thread too carefully, but I don't think anyone mentioned Belstaff or Hein Gericke… again, really expensive, but nice and high quality, if you're not abusing it, it'll last for many years. There are other european brands, I visited some MC/scooter shops in France and was amazed at all the non-douchey riding gear they had. It's the opposite of here, people aren't impressed with flashy motorcycle gear, they just want to blend in.

Armadillo had some nice stuff, but I'm not sure if they're still around or available in the US, and most people seem to like Corazzo better. I'd say Corazzo is the way to go, the only bummer about it is that it's become ubiquitous among scooterists, ha.

Even Icon and Joe Rocket and some of the cheesier brands usually have a few decent jackets in their lineup, or at least the "all black" model of a Power-Rangers looking jacket is usually pretty decent. Icon made an armored flight jacket for a while, but I don't think it's available anymore.

Again, if you're not wearing it through rain and mud everyday and taking good care of it, your jacket often outlives your scooter, I've got jackets I've had for 15 years that are good as new. So it's worth spending a little money to get something aesthetically pleasing and durable that fits you just right.

illnoise wrote:Tucano Urbano (italy) makes lovely, tasteful stuff, but it's expensive and hard to find in the U.S. I didn't read through the thread too carefully, but I don't think anyone mentioned Belstaff or Hein Gericke… again, really expensive, but nice and high quality, if you're not abusing it, it'll last for many years. There are other european brands, I visited some MC/scooter shops in France and was amazed at all the non-douchey riding gear they had. It's the opposite of here, people aren't impressed with flashy motorcycle gear, they just want to blend in.

Armadillo had some nice stuff, but I'm not sure if they're still around or available in the US, and most people seem to like Corazzo better. I'd say Corazzo is the way to go, the only bummer about it is that it's become ubiquitous among scooterists, ha.

Even Icon and Joe Rocket and some of the cheesier brands usually have a few decent jackets in their lineup, or at least the "all black" model of a Power-Rangers looking jacket is usually pretty decent. Icon made an armored flight jacket for a while, but I don't think it's available anymore.

Again, if you're not wearing it through rain and mud everyday and taking good care of it, your jacket often outlives your scooter, I've got jackets I've had for 15 years that are good as new. So it's worth spending a little money to get something aesthetically pleasing and durable that fits you just right.

Thanks for the additional brand names.

About your observations in scooter/MC shops in France: I'm not surprised that shops there tend to sell more tasteful clothing.

There's something about America that people love to, shall I say, exaggerate a feature? For example, I've been a bicyclist for a long time now commuting here and there and using it as my sole source of transport. Basically all bicycle shops I go into carry the kind of racing/pro-like gear with flashy colours and corporate logos so you can pretend you're a corporate sponsored racer. Why is much of the bicyclist population so infatuated with being branded? And I mean almost literally branded. We're just a millimetre shy of being literally branded by hot iron with the corporate logos! So because I'm a serious bicyclist (but not a serious bicycle racer) means that I should go around pretending I'm a bicycle racer and all "pro"?

I don't know much about the scooter/MC community but from your observations, some of it suggests to me that there is a push (or desire) to look a certain way.

I just want to blend in (and perhaps with a little bit of style), really, and be ordinary.

By the way, I don't mind clothing being ubiquitous. There's a difference between being a pack-follower for the sack of being part of the "in" crowd, and buying the same clothes because genuinely that's what's available and that it looks fine. Though outwardly the differences could be hard to see, people often can tell by how we carry ourselves.

Wear what you dig.

Another brand that has great "neutral" gear is River Road. I recently picked up a "Laughlin" armored shop jacket style in fabric with elbow, back and shoulder CE armor for around 100 bucks, and with the liner it fits great! Without the liner it runs on the obvious big side, which is a bummer. So, keep in mind sizes run a bit big (probably for American market since the chest is the most loose part). But, they have some great non-sportbike, non leather-daddy styles that are riding position neutral and well under $250.

neotrotsky wrote:Another brand that has great "neutral" gear is River Road. I recently picked up a "Laughlin" armored shop jacket style in fabric with elbow, back and shoulder CE armor for around 100 bucks, and with the liner it fits great! Without the liner it runs on the obvious big side, which is a bummer. So, keep in mind sizes run a bit big (probably for American market since the chest is the most loose part). But, they have some great non-sportbike, non leather-daddy styles that are riding position neutral and well under $250.

I like that description : "non-leather daddy" LOL :- ) Thanks for the recommendations!

Thought I might bring this one back up as I'm looking forward to commuting to work soon.

I'm looking for something coat-length for winter, waterproof, with armor that doesn't draw attention to itself. Would also want overpants that will be warm, dry and armored as well. They should also be easy to remove once I get to work.

The Tempeste is pretty typical of what I'm looking for. Looks normal when off the bike. I've also seen some pretty good-looking stuff from Tourmaster and Touratech as well. Will hope to keep the coat price at or below $250, with pants preferably somewhat less.