Thursday, January 13, 2022

First Ride...

 

 

Cool and sunny this morning, with the wind out of the north at 12 mph.  How cool?  57º, and thanks for asking.  It was a good first test of the Joe Rocket Survivor suit.  Being cool, I wore a long sleeve T-shirt and jeans under the riding suit.


 

It has been a long time since I've done any video, so it seemed like a good time to put the Insta360 One X2 on the Vespa.   I shot some video while riding, then when back home, downloaded, edited, and put some music and a voice over on the video.

Here is the finished video...

Impressions on the riding suit: it is comfortable.  The sizing runs small, but is pretty true to the measurements on the Joe Rocket site.  It seems to be well-made.  I haven't had the opportunity to try it when it is warmer, but I will get another ride in this afternoon or tomorrow; I had the vents closed this morning.  The suit has vents in the front and back to move air through.  Some people say it is cooler to wear this than jeans and a t-shirt... that remains to be seen.

Like my other motorcycle jackets, this has armor in the shoulders, elbows, and knees; those areas also have a second layer of RockTex (their version of Cordura).  You can close it down at the wrists to keep air from getting in, or open that and let air flow up the arms.  There are double action zippers on the legs, so you can open them from the top to act as additional venting.  The RockTex is supposed to be waterproof, although I do my best to avoid riding in the rain, especially since the Vespa doesn't have a front fender, still.

There was one comment on the scooter forum, where the guy said he smirks at riders he sees wearing a riding suit.  I used to feel the same way.  The first bit of technical riding gear I bought was back when I had a BMW R1100 RT.  The joke back then was: I can afford the bike, not sure I can afford the surgery to get my nose turned up.

Apparently, my computer is aware that I bought a riding suit.  When I opened it this morning, it said, "Would you like to look at BMW motorcycles?"

I surprised myself when I said, "Why, yes, I believe I would."  ;-)

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Out again this afternoon, at the warmest part of the day... 69º, so not quite up to our typical high for the day this time of year.  This time, it was shorts and a short sleeve t-shirt under the riding suit, and it was just fine.  No need to open any vents.  Takes about the same amount of time to put it on as it does a pair of riding pants and a jacket.  So far: good.  No photos or video this time out - just enjoying the ride.


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