Full Gear set-up: RSD, D3O, Kriega, Icon 1000

[Karmakatt]

Hi Fellas-

I ordered a bunch of Gear from Revzilla yesterday.. They gave me great ideas based on what I was looking for, what I ride and after many emails and 2 phone calls, this is what I chose:

Roland Sands Barfly Leather Jacket
Roland Sands Design (RSD) CE Rated Elbow&Shoulder Armor
D3O Viper Klim CE2 Back Protector
Icon 1000 Turnbuckle D3O Gloves
Kriega r20 Backpack
Mirrored Silver Anti-Fog Mirrored Visor

The RSD line of Armor Inserts are made by Forcefield, but I decided to step up the protection by going with a CE2 Back Protector..

If you guys have any questions I've learned a little on equipment and I'll post some pics and more info when this stuff arrives and I wear it for a bit.

The guys at Revzilla rock on and they have the best product reviews on YouTube..

KarmaKatt
VMOA 5652

 

[Traumahawk]

I have a jacket with C3 armour in the shoulders and elbows.....absolutely love it. My girlfriend REALLY wants me to get back armour...please post how you like it.

 

[Karmakatt]

I sure will Hawk..
There's alot of Jackets that come with CE1 rated Back Armor but I decided to kick it up a notch with some level 2. The D3O is becoming popular as it offers excellent protection at a lighter weight. Apparently, the fins and perforations allow for a good amount of air flow. The D3O T5 can be trimmed to fit all kinds of Jackets. And at $40.00, everybody should look into it as a possibility.

 

[Karmakatt]

Well I received my package from the good ole' US of A.
It was sent express and it took 3 business days!!
That's the fastest yet!!
I'll do this in stages..

Opened up my box which looked like perhaps it had been opened already. The tape was cut on one side and it looked alittle dodgy. Checked that all the stuff was in there and it was

The Roland Sands Barfly looks as good in person as it does on paper. I'm 6' with a 45" chest and weigh @230 lbs. The XXL fits well and I've worn it around the house for about 2 hours. The more I wear it, the more comfortable it feels. My only complaint is that the arms are a little long. Aside from that, she looks/feels better every minute I wear it.

The ICON 1000 Turnbuckle Gloves are a little large. If I ordered them again I'd go with a L instead of XL and let them stretch a bit. The pinky finger on both gloves sits kind of weird I think because there's a bit of a curve shape to the gloves to aid gripping the bars. The fingers are too long. For some reason ICON thinks that humans have very long fingers. Even if you have long fingers, these gloves are longer.. Really Nice quality leather and awesome looking/design make up for the finger length..

The Kriega r20 BackPack. Without a doubt THE most comfortable pack I've ever worn. Period. It has a clip that sits in the middle of your chest that's like a big button. It's large enough to be undone easily with your gloves on. All the Hype about this Pack is 100% accurate. It's expensive but putting it on the very first time, you will agree that the Sack sits perfectly on your back and is designed to not interfere with riding. It seems to stay in place pefectly and the weight distribution makes it feel like your not even wearing it.

I haven't installed my set of Armor yet as I'm still wearing the Jacket. I purchased the RSD line of CE Elbow and Shoulder. Just by looking at it, you can tell how easy it will be to fit those pieces. Considering it's a RSD Jacket, the RSD Armor (made by Forcefield) should fit easily.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the D3O T5 Klim Viper Back Piece. It seems to live up to it's name, with the "Intellegent Armor" whereas when struck turns solid vs. It's relaxed state where it's soft and almost pliable. Because the D3O is designed to fit many Jackets, I will have to trim to fit my Roland Sands Barfly Jacket.

I have recently suffered a back injury so I cannot yet give you an idea of what this stuff feels like while riding but I will..

Cheers,

Lee
VMOA 5652

 

[RaWarrior]

Any leather/alterations shop should be able to take up the sleeve length of the jacket. Bike jackets are often a bit generous since they assume your arms will be slightly bent all the time while riding, so just wearing it around they might seem a bit long. Adding the shoulder and elbow pads will probably take up some of the slack also.

I noticed the same thing with Icon gloves, they run big. I normally wear size large, had to exchange my last icon gloves for a medium and still had long fingers.

I check RevZilla and sportbiketrackgear since they both do good video reviews for most products. Motorcyclegear (NewEnough) also does a "fit check" to let you know if things run big/small, ect. Definitely helpful rather than guessing at arbitrary medium/large sizes that vary widely depending on manufacturer.

 

[hijacker]

Yeah, check to be sure the sleeves are too long when actually riding the bike before you do any alterations. You may find they are just right when on the bike.

 

[Karmakatt]

The RSD Jacket is softening up a bit and is literally becoming more soft and ccomfortable every time I wear it.
I've tried fitting the Armor...
First off, the Back Protector needed to be trimmed up to fit. That is expected considering the D3O T5 CE2 is designed to replace most Jackets back piece. After a few careful snips, it seems to fit nicely. The Elbow and Shoulder fit nicely inside their "Pockets".
There is a problem however..
I've tried on three RSD Jackets now. All three fit tight so I simply try on the next size. The problem with this is: increased arm length and the Armor now sits slightly off because the Jacket is really designed to fit either "perfectly" or small...NOT large.
What I'm left with now is elbow armor that covers mainly my Forearms rather than sitting 100% over my elbows. The shoulders sit well as does the D3O BP. The issue I'm having now is the Jacket seems to run-up a little around the collar/trapezoid area. I'm not sure if that's because of the Back and/or the Shoulder Armor "pushing" the Jacket up making it look and feel like the Jacket isn't "sittIng" on my shoulders. I may trim the BP or remove the Shoulder Pads completely.

 

[Traumahawk]

Could you have the pockets that the armour fits in up? so the fit more on your shoulders? It might cost a bit to have altered, but might be cheaper than another jacket, and you still have the protection.

 

[Redbone]

Yeah, check to be sure the sleeves are too long when actually riding the bike before you do any alterations. You may find they are just right when on the bike.

My Joe Rocket Sonic cuffs come almost my knuckles when standing with arms at my side but fits perfectly with my wrist closure gloves (no gaps) when riding. My elbow armor is almost below my elbow standing but slides right into place in riding position.
I have drag bars so I may have to reach a little further forward than a person with stock bars or one with more rearward sweep. Lowered seats will increase your reach as well.

 

[Karmakatt]

Great idea Hawk.. That's why I decided to buy some good stuff. Aside from the protection that gear may provide a decent Jacket, or decent anything should last a good long while. Worth the investment to relocate..
Yea Red.. I ive already noticed a difference as the Jacket loosens up a bit. The Armor may make a difference in lenth but the tale of the tape is wearing it for 1000's of miles (Kms here). Id rather have it long than short anyhow. I'll post some pics soon as well. I'm exchanging the XL ICON's to a L and a cool new design called Skelly..

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR9ZXDaDniY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[terra-firma]

Hey.

Posting from Australia. Was doing some research about the Roland Sands Barfly and a google search linked me to here. You basically helped me decide on taking the plunge with buying online internationally and without being to try stuff on, but I trust my judgement and knowledge of my sizing.

I just purchased the Barfly in black (I spent two days trying to decide between Brown or Black!!!) and also the RSD line of armour, all of it. I also bought a pair of the TCX X-street shoes in black because I wanted some riding gear I could wear on and off the bike comfortably, but be somewhat safe as well. I'm really keen to see my jacket though, have read plenty of positive feedback so I'll be sure to give my feedback here and on the site I purchased from, which was j&p cycles.

I was going to buy from Revzilla, but when I went to make the purchase it notified me that the Barfly wasn't in stock, and after having spent two days deciding what colour to buy only for there to be none left, I was somewhat annoyed at myself so I tried finding another site to buy from and it led me to j&p cycles. Turned out to be a blessing, because not only did they have all the same gear, but their shipping to Australia was half the price of Revzilla's AND they gave me a $60 discount for spending $500 or more. Revzilla had a similar discount offer but you had to make the purchase first then you received "Credit" whereas Jp just straight up discounted me. WIN.

Anyways, blabbing on now, as said above I'll post some pics, because after all, I tried googling photo's of the jacket but all I got was the same standard pictures the shops have.

 

[terra-firma]

Received my gear, here are the pics for anyone who is interested.