BMW Comfort Shell Suit: The best any weather riding gear?

[hdf]

I have the magazine, it was an interesting article. The suit costs €2,000 (it's more expensive in the UK, but that's the Brits problem).

If you have the entire magazine, you will also see that there is a comprehensive test on several textile suits - including the BMW Street Guard, Aerostich's less than attractive, but highly functional Roadcrafter, and a series of other suits. Very interesting read and the kind of testing US and other magazines should be doing.

Top prize went to a Hein Gericke suit, followed by the Aerostich. 3rd and 4th tied for points were the Weise Dynastar and the BMW Streetguard. The Rukka Armax didn't come out all that well - seventh.

[hdf]

Bear in mind that the protective pads in a Stich aren't EEC homologated. You might have to change them if you have to have a TUV like approved thing. I didn't do it in my Roadcrafter.

Quite honestly, I'd probably trade them out (on either suit) for the BMW protectors that come in the Comfort Shell. You can get the set (excluding the back protector) for something like € 100 - if memory serves me right.

[Eka]

I think the major point with Rukka has never been the most protective thing. It's rather considering to be the best wearable product with daily use and make it as good as it can be. You can't find an one piece leather suit with humps or something like from them. That new waterproof leather suit is not for race circuit either. Now there is available those stretching cordura things with kevlar. How ever, thay use kevlar in armor vest, so it's stronger than leather in there. I have never heard any police wearing bullet proof learher west with certain embroidered work.

I think it's same think with BMW suits. You could protect yourself against what ever, but you could also enjoy living and be decently protected also against mostly bad things. So mainly if you have decent suit, it would also be so noticiable and comfort, that it's actually nice to wear.

If you enjoy wearing the gear and wear it because of that constantly, it will be more protective, than one you wear over hardly ever and feel uncomfortable all the time, how ever protective it is.

After while you could start to slip wearing it, if it's too complicated or uncomfortable.

Gears should be a compromise with those. Anyone could thing himself his habits and decide the right thing for himself.

I have had different suits, but believe those more expensive ones are not just price tags.

Also leather will not be the best against wearing soon. There will come better synthetic materials, which don't suck water and will be nicer to wear sooner or later.

[Fido]

I have the magazine, it was an interesting article. The suit costs €2,000 (it's more expensive in the UK, but that's the Brits problem).

If you have the entire magazine, you will also see that there is a comprehensive test on several textile suits - including the BMW Street Guard, Aerostich's less than attractive, but highly functional Roadcrafter, and a series of other suits. Very interesting read and the kind of testing US and other magazines should be doing.

Top prize went to a Hein Gericke suit, followed by the Aerostich. 3rd and 4th tied for points were the Weise Dynastar and the BMW Streetguard. The Rukka Armax didn't come out all that well - seventh.

Did the testing you refer to....include any aspects involved in a crash...like testing the suits real time for abrasion resistance, etc?

Also, which Hein Gericke suit came out on top?

Thanks.

[hdf]

Did the testing you refer to....include any aspects involved in a crash...like testing the suits real time for abrasion resistance, etc?

Also, which Hein Gericke suit came out on top?

Thanks.

The suits were tested for abrasion resistance (using a machine, not throwing dummies off of a bike ), Burst or tear resistance, Impact resistance of the protectors, waterproofing, warmth (they use a manequin set at a particular temperature and see how much heat is lost over a specific period of time) and they finish it off with a subjective Roadtest by their riders.

The suits tested and their ranking were as follows:

1. Hein Gericke Master V GTX ProShell 51/60 points
2. Aerostich Roadcrafer 2-piece 47/60
3. Weise Dynastar II/Psycho 46/60
4. BMW Streetguard II 46/60
5. Held Oasis / Dakar 44/60
6. Halvarssons Medusa / Cobra 40/60
7. Rukka Armax 39/60
8. Dainese Panama / Hooper 37/60
9. Alpinestars Jet Road Gore-tex 37/60
10. Spada Highland / Milan 35/60
11. Buffalo Rocket / Imola 34/60
12. Frank Thomas Force Aqua Advance 29/60

[Bong]

I wore the comfort shell jacket on a 4k mile ride last week. Temps ranged from 35*-89*F, heavy rain and sunny conditions. I stayed dry in the heavy downpour and cool in 89* temps. It has 4 zippered vents for hot temps.

The price is high but the jacket can be used all year round.

[andy griff]

Hold on a minute there - did you say '4000mile ride LAST WEEK'

[SHIVA]

or did he mean 4000 meters. which is it...

[VMZ432]

I have only tried the comfort shell pants. I really wanted to like them after reading these great reviews, but I found two major problems.

1. They are uber abrasive! If you don't have tank protection, don't even try these pants. I had massive anti-gloss, million scratches, uber dull paint at knee on a new gloss black 08 tricolour tank in less than 300 km. In my mind, you could only damage your paint more by wearing sand paper on your knees.

This of course can be negated by tank slapper protection or similar (pics to follow. I have a warranty claim on the tank paint for a separate reason and will post pics of the comfort shell knee damage at the same time).

2. I am 6' 2" and despite being a tad portly the size that fit me was not quite long enough to stop cold air flowing over my boots and onto my legs. Thus I have to wear thermals underneath, making the pants somewhat worthless.

BUT, I found when I moved the knee pads up a "notch", and also had the hem let down, the fit was okay and I can use them without thermals.

So I say to you, they are good pants if you make sure they fit right (snugly) and then take steps to make them fit better if necessary. And so long as you have tank protection. But they will never be great pants. They require another iteration in design, in my mind, to be great. I feel the major issues to be reconsidered would be fit, abrasiveness on contact points, and general look.

Never-the-less.... they are better than any other textile armoured pants I have tried. So I can't help but recommend them, so long as you are aware of the above issues.

[bozaman]

I have only tried the comfort shell pants...[t]hey are uber abrasive! If you don't have tank protection, don't even try these pants. I had massive anti-gloss, million scratches, uber dull paint at [the] knee[s].

I have had the Comfort Shell suit for a few months now, and overall I absolutely love it. It's comfortable, and as Shiva described it will survive just about any weather you can throw at it. With that said, VMZ432's comments are also right on the money!

I have completely dulled the paint on my '06 Bumble Bee tank as a result of wearing the Comfort Shell pants without any kind of tank protection. Fortunately, I was considering a minor paint scheme modification so the resulting abrasion has only served to help me make the decision to move forward with my modification plans (probably in time for next season, however). You can be sure that I will have tank protection following the update however.

Don't let this deter you from the Comfort Shell - it's a fabulous compromise between comfort and protection.

[K1200S]

I have a Streetguard 2 suit which was pretty pricey. I managed to get £80 off the total price of about £820, (I think). I bought it last September and have covered over 10,000 miles in it, some of it in pretty nasty weather.

I looked at the Comfortshell suit and the Rallye 2 suit, but I decided on the Streetguard 2 because of the very fact that the other two would not meet the abrasion resistance I wanted. It stands to reason that on a BMW K1200S you need a very high level of abrasion resistance and I knew from articles in the UK press that Armacor is the best non-leather material for abrasion resistance bar none. I wanted to buy a Rukka suit, but my £850 budget would not put me in the full featured suit I wanted. Rukka use Armacor in their top suits. Hein Gericke (who Europeans will know) use Armacor too.

The Comfortshell is very stylish compared to the Streetguard 2 which often makes me feel like I look like I should be riding a Pan European with a fat bird on the back in dodgy fitting leathers! The Rallye 2 was the suit recommended by the clothing guy in my dealership based on sales volume. However, commonsense dictates since the R1200GS is the biggest seller it stands to reason that there would be more wannabe offroaders buying the Rallye 2. That was a great suit with great features and looked pretty stylish with it's black checkered details. However, again it was the Armacor that swung it for me.

I am still not convinced nor do I feel entirely safe when using my streetguard because I know at the speeds I do, only leather will suffice. The Streetguard 2 suit is also not very warm and I constantly have to wear layers to deal with temperatures below 10 deg C. I had a Spidi Gran Turismo and that was a much better looking suit, had loads of features and was warm down to -2 deg C without additional clothing but it leaked like it was the Titanic!! It was really stylish as only the Italians can do, but it hard to look good when you're soaked inside and fuming that you paid £600 for the privilege!

I don't know how many of you know this, but leather actually protects in two ways (not including impact protectors). Apart from abrasion resistance, it also absorbs and dissipates the shock of impact. It does this by having twisting slightly as it contacts the ground. This twist actually dissipates the shock. The leather whilst fitted quite tightly still has enough room to do this. Textiles only offer abrasion resistance and their only impact protection comes from the protectors that are fitted.

I suspect that there are a lot of chicken strips on some of the contributors to this forum. I for one will not ride without armoured gloves having punched the back of a car resulting in a broken knuckle. That knuckle broke because there was no knuckle armour. As for boots, Daytona Evo Sports and Security Evo race are definitely the best boots in the world bar none. However, the Sports Evo Gortex do cost double what BMW boots cost, while the Security Evo Race cost 3 times the price. If you want to see the best boot in the world look at http://www.daytona.de/

These boots knock the stuffing out of every other manufacturer, including BMW. You can replace every single part of them and even buy separate inner boots and outer boots. They will even customise them for you! I have Evo Sports Goretex and they look really silly, but boy are they comfortable, 100% waterproof, warm and I feel really safe in them. If I could have stretched to half as much again, I would have bought the Security Evo 63 since they have a Kevlar/aramid inner boot whereas mine is only plastic. The leather on my Evo Sports is so soft I often stroke it before I put them on!! LOL!

If money was no object for waterproof gear the best equipment money can buy consists of: Rukka SRO2, Rukka Raptor GTX and Daytona Evo Sports GTX (they don't do goretex for the Security Evo boot). This gear outperforms everything else by a long way even BMW's kit.

I observe this forum a lot, though I have been too busy to post over the last 6 months. It seems to me that there are lots of endorsements that are motivated by FGS. FGS affects a remarkable 90-95% of journalists. I don't know what it stands for, but I'm sure someone out there will figure it out and then understand why everything seems to be the best in the world.

[Yogibear]

Hi there

I have bought the comfort shell suit and managed to get it at half price (£400) so a bit of a bargain. I also own a streetguard suit (version 1) and find that to be perfect for weather protection but not as stylish as the comfort shell.

One issue I've had which I wanted to share to see if anyone else has had the same is to do with the way the jacket attaches to the trousers. On the srteetguard the zip goes all around the waist however in the comfortshell it is only fixed at the back.

On the first real test of the comfort shell suit in the rain the bottom of the jacket, where the waist draw string goes, gets saturated with water and water leaks through to my shirt giving me wet belly .

Now does this happen because I have a little padding in that area or do some of the fitter chaps amongst us have the same issue.

Thanks in advance for any responses

Greg

[Jamie]

Welcome aboard Yogibear

The Airflow 3 and Boulder jacket/City pants both also use the “back only” zip system to mention 2.

Been in the rain – not torrential though – with the Comfort Shell and it kept me dry but I was riding and then the belly area is pretty protected by the "S" so no, did not experience that problem before

Don't know about the "fitter" part but maybe body shape has something to do with it

[JohanGT]

I luckily never had to test my protective gear in a crash – the other BM clothing being –

- Boulder Jacket and City Pants
- Venting Machine
- Airflow 3
- Rally 2

Hi Jamie, we are also using the Boulder Jacket and City Pants. I heard a lot of good things abou the Airflow 3 and was hoping you could give us an informal comparison with these and the Comfort Shell Suit. I am especially interested in the usage in our summers and winters. It really sounds as if this Comfort Shell Suit is a good all-rounder for our environment - especially if you start the trip and 4 Celcius, turn on 35 Celcius and end up in the heavy rain? Or am I reading too much into this?

[docroz]

I appreciate the comment about the abraision fron the comfort shell--something I never even thought about---It has been cool all summer and warm so far--great in Monssoon rains--Hasnt gotten too cold in Maryland yet--But I plan on using it with a gerbings liner and heated gloves thru the winter--I havent tried the gloves yet so I dont know how dry they will keep the hands

[Jordan]

Just a quick question how much money would it be if I were to buy the sute, boots and the gloves?

[SHIVA]

the suit is about 1250 US, the boots are under 200 and the gloves under 100. S

[obsidian]

We reviewed the Comfort Shell as the 4th in our 5 way shootout. The link is here:

http://www.pacwit.com/index.php?option= ... &Itemid=20

Maybe it's the weather here compared to the states, but I found it was cold in the lower temperatures and high humidity compared to some other suits we tried.

[toddacimer]

I have had my comfort shell for about 9 months now and I love it. I rode last summer in temps up to 110 degrees and it kept me cool and then I used it all winter for ice riding in temps down to -5 degrees F. The abrasion and impact resistance is awesome. Having crashed nearly a dozen times on ice and hard packed snow I got a good feeling of how the jacket really provides protection where you need it. The elbow and forearm pads work really well and they stay in place over long slides. The jacket has also survived numerous 40-50mph tree branch hits without a sign of even a scratch. Ice riding is a bit more physically active and the jacket always felt light and comfortable. For street riding I've ridden up to 100 miles at a time in temps near 15 degrees F with a sweat shirt and long sleeve shirt and my last complaint about cold is the jacket. The wind and rain protection really is awesome

[seabiker]

I am as concerned as anyone else about abrasion resistance and of course, one has to take the manufacturers word for it. However, I was reading this document:

http://www.ntsb.gov/events/symp_motorcy ... g%20(paper).pdf

When you scroll down about 2/3rds of the way there is a picture showing the zones of impact and desired protection. It seems to me that BMW seems to cover these zones better than any other manufacturer on all fronts:
- Armor is more substantial than any I have seen, yet lightweight
- The material ( dynatec ) used in the CS is supposed to me far more abrasion resistant than cordura and others. Obviously falls short of Kevlar and leather, but everything has a compromise.
- The zone 1 areas on the CS seem to have some super abrasive ( and there probably abrasion resistant ) material that seems obviously placed for protection and not fashion since the grey material isn't exactly beautiful.

Yes, I paid full price for a CS and I've to say now having worn it in spring cold and summer warmth that it is the most comfortable jacket I've yet to wear on a bike. And looking at the protection - yes it will not match heavy weight leather, but for textile I'm sure you could do a whole lot worse and not too much better. I do hope I don't have to test and prove that their abrasion resistance works though.

[JHB1984]

i can only agree
comfort shell is very very good !

only downside, at least for myself , the collar.
on the K1200R my head angle was vers GS´ish (straight forward),
on the K1300S however the head angle is a little bit more "agressive" ... the consequence is ... friction between "synthetic leather collar" and helmet

that´s a little annoying

[badger]

A good thread, but I have to offer a different view. For the last 7 years I've used a rukka two piece suit, and it is still like new. When I say "like new", that is absolutely true and accurate. I wear it 3+ times a week on my 100 mile commute, and also for any big trips (like the 4000 miles I've done in the last 3 weeks). No issues. Still completely and utterly waterproof.

On the flip side, my friend who has the BMW suit for a few years has not had such a good run. It leaks. It looks terrible and worn. The stictching has gone several times. The main zip on my rukka jacket started to get "catchy" after 5 years of heavy use, and I took it in, got some brand new rukka to wear for 6 weeks while it was completely replaced at the rukka factory. A 5 year guarantee on clothing?! Brilliant.

The rukka armour is top - modern ventilated stuff which is supposed to work better than hard shells. If you compare it with the BMW armour the rukka stuff looks modern, designed, and fit for purpose, whereas the BMW armour looks plastic-like and crude.

Some other points from my own observations - the thermal lining of the rukka is warmer than that of the BMW suit, and the fabric seems not to get dirty so quick. Also the fit of rukka is a lot better for taller people - it is built for BIG people (big boned, I'm not talking fat ), not just BMW shape sorts.

I will say that the BMW Summer Pro gloves are brilliant. Not that much protection, but they last incredibly well (just like the winter pro gloves do too), and are very comfortable. A top bit of kit.

If you can, I would strongly recommend trying on both the BMW suit and the RUKKA gear before you buy it - IMHO the rukka stuff wins utterly hands down.

[Michael1515]

I purchased the Comfort Suit jacket this past Thursday and have put a sparsely 300 miles on it so far. Although I have rode in temps ranging from 55 in the am to 85 in the afternoon. I thought the jacket perfromed very well for such a wide range. I also wore the jacket all day while on the motorcycle safety practice range(parking lot) and it did excellent and was very comfortable.

Im not sure how it would fare over 90 degree temps......I think anything would be hot at that point, but i'll continue to wear it for the protection. Out here in SoCal the temps can dip down where a mesh jacket just doesn't do it. Also, under 45-50 degress i'll def have a layer on underneath but that I think I would on any other jacket also.

I've ordered the pants and some tank grip to protect my bike. Thanks for all the reviews and opinions!

[moteix]

Is abrasion from rubbing against the tank an issue with the comfort shell pants & jacket? I'm looking to purchase the suit but am wary on abusing the paint job. I know their are things like venture shield which can help alleviate that problem, any other suggestions if abrasion is an issue?

Thanks in advance.

[SHIVA]

Hi, I think it would be yes. If you wear the pants all the time, it will impact the tank. Actually most pants affect the paint if you hug the tank. the most popular riding pants are demin and they certainly will leave a mark in time. S