Basically, following a visit to NEC last November and meeting Kate at Hideout Leather stand, I have decided that with my unusual stature of 6'3" tall, 35" inseam (stood upright) and my arms being 3" per side longer that my overall height (making me in affect 6'9" tall), does require me to have a bespoke suit made.
Now the Hideout leather suits are nice to look at and the fabric is lovely to touch, without that stereotype cereal box stiffness to it from new. They have a full CE Level 2 certification throughout the suit to and can be specified with optional D3O Level 2 chest and coccyx armour. You could also specify where and how many zipped vents you can have, whether or not you want storm cuff, storm collar or extra pockets, what size and shape they must be.
Suits are also made of C-Change fabric that is waterproof and guaranteed not to let water through, even when rider being blasted from the fire hose. The basic suit of the peg will set one back around £1800 for trousers and a jacket. However the outer of the suit, being made entirely of C-Change fabric and has no reinforced panels (made of Cordura, aramid, kevlar or similar) on any impact zones.
This makes me think that in an event of a minor or major tumble, I might have to return the suit for some very expensive patchwork, where say on my Rukka suits, the Armacor panels will simply have a minor abrasion to them and unlikely to be noticed with further use.
The suit that I have specified with extra vents etc has been priced at £2600
with 1/3 of the cost must be paid upfront for the process to start rolling. Some 4-5 weeks later, I would have to go in for the fitting and any final adjustments/requests. The whole thing can take up to 16 weeks to complete. All is well if you have a tone of cash to get rid off and started the ball rolling well before Christmas and not in mid-March. Unfortunately, I do not have such amount of money nor time to wait and at this moment in time, I have struggled to find a suit that does fit me remotely well without looking like a Jacko.....
I have tried endless amounts of riders clobber, in hope to find a suitable solution. In many cases, in other to fit my arms I had to go at least 2, sometimes 3 chest sizes up, which naturally made me look and feel terrible. The longest trousers that I can have, tend to stop at 35" at inseam, without any allowance for them to ride up the leg and naturally the knee armour is entirely in the wrong place, making it not only uncomfortable on a long ride by creating a pressure point which then does get very hot, following by numbness, but also making trouser leg ride further up the leg.
So the question I have for you my fellow non-standard comrades, what brands of riding gear have you come across that offer options for us abnormally lanky guys?
My UK sizes are 38" chest for the jacket but must have extra lenght in the torso and a minimum of extra 2"-3" on the sleeve length. Trousers normally 32"-34" waist, C3/Long but even these approximately 2.5"-3" too short according to Kate, as she pointed this out to me on current Rukka trousers that I wear.
Current Gear I wear:
Rukka Flexius, size UK42/EU52 two sizes too big but still to short in the arm.
Rukka Navigator, size UK42/EU52 two sizes too big but still to short in the arm.
Rukka AirRider Jacket, Size UK38/EU48, Fits fine but too much fabric around the waist area. Kate got it in her factory and will get it altered to my size for a £150
Rukka Forsair Trousers, Size UK32" Long/EU48 C3. Fits fine on the waist/hips but too short by 3" in the leg and knee armour need to come down by 2". Kate will get it altered for a further £150.
Rukka Armaxion Trousers, Size 34" Long/EU50 C3. once again fit ok if slightly loose around the waist without the thermal liner in. Knee armour once again a good 2" too high and leg length need to be increased.
I have been quoted for the Navigator jacket and Armaxion trouser to be altered at £650 (due to being Goretex Pro) in total an this would take 4-5 weeks to get it done. as much as it is an option I can't help but think that it is still allotted of money considering I have already spent £1650 for the two items (not to mention other jackets and trousers) and having to shell out further £650 seem to like having a complete new suit for £2600 a bit of a bargain, which it isn't.
I would desperately like to find a cheaper and better fitting alternative, without having to spend more on already very expensive gear that might have implications with warranty (TranAm, now BikerHeads
are well known for being wankers).
I really like Klim Kodiak Suit and can buy it at a discounted price from my KTM dealer. However, despite the jacket fitting rather well, but still a good 2" too short in the arm. Trousers, on the other hand, do not come in a long length bellow certain waist size (I think 32" which is too big for me) and if anything a little on the baggy side for my liking. The rest of Klim clobber is simply too baggy and if not carefull, I could possibly sail my awesome steed across La Manche without even boarding a ferry
.
So folk, any suggestions would be very welcome.
Now the Hideout leather suits are nice to look at and the fabric is lovely to touch, without that stereotype cereal box stiffness to it from new. They have a full CE Level 2 certification throughout the suit to and can be specified with optional D3O Level 2 chest and coccyx armour. You could also specify where and how many zipped vents you can have, whether or not you want storm cuff, storm collar or extra pockets, what size and shape they must be.
Suits are also made of C-Change fabric that is waterproof and guaranteed not to let water through, even when rider being blasted from the fire hose. The basic suit of the peg will set one back around £1800 for trousers and a jacket. However the outer of the suit, being made entirely of C-Change fabric and has no reinforced panels (made of Cordura, aramid, kevlar or similar) on any impact zones.
This makes me think that in an event of a minor or major tumble, I might have to return the suit for some very expensive patchwork, where say on my Rukka suits, the Armacor panels will simply have a minor abrasion to them and unlikely to be noticed with further use.
The suit that I have specified with extra vents etc has been priced at £2600
with 1/3 of the cost must be paid upfront for the process to start rolling. Some 4-5 weeks later, I would have to go in for the fitting and any final adjustments/requests. The whole thing can take up to 16 weeks to complete. All is well if you have a tone of cash to get rid off and started the ball rolling well before Christmas and not in mid-March. Unfortunately, I do not have such amount of money nor time to wait and at this moment in time, I have struggled to find a suit that does fit me remotely well without looking like a Jacko.....I have tried endless amounts of riders clobber, in hope to find a suitable solution. In many cases, in other to fit my arms I had to go at least 2, sometimes 3 chest sizes up, which naturally made me look and feel terrible. The longest trousers that I can have, tend to stop at 35" at inseam, without any allowance for them to ride up the leg and naturally the knee armour is entirely in the wrong place, making it not only uncomfortable on a long ride by creating a pressure point which then does get very hot, following by numbness, but also making trouser leg ride further up the leg.
So the question I have for you my fellow non-standard comrades, what brands of riding gear have you come across that offer options for us abnormally lanky guys?
My UK sizes are 38" chest for the jacket but must have extra lenght in the torso and a minimum of extra 2"-3" on the sleeve length. Trousers normally 32"-34" waist, C3/Long but even these approximately 2.5"-3" too short according to Kate, as she pointed this out to me on current Rukka trousers that I wear.
Current Gear I wear:
Rukka Flexius, size UK42/EU52 two sizes too big but still to short in the arm.
Rukka Navigator, size UK42/EU52 two sizes too big but still to short in the arm.
Rukka AirRider Jacket, Size UK38/EU48, Fits fine but too much fabric around the waist area. Kate got it in her factory and will get it altered to my size for a £150
Rukka Forsair Trousers, Size UK32" Long/EU48 C3. Fits fine on the waist/hips but too short by 3" in the leg and knee armour need to come down by 2". Kate will get it altered for a further £150.
Rukka Armaxion Trousers, Size 34" Long/EU50 C3. once again fit ok if slightly loose around the waist without the thermal liner in. Knee armour once again a good 2" too high and leg length need to be increased.
I have been quoted for the Navigator jacket and Armaxion trouser to be altered at £650 (due to being Goretex Pro) in total an this would take 4-5 weeks to get it done. as much as it is an option I can't help but think that it is still allotted of money considering I have already spent £1650 for the two items (not to mention other jackets and trousers) and having to shell out further £650 seem to like having a complete new suit for £2600 a bit of a bargain, which it isn't.
I would desperately like to find a cheaper and better fitting alternative, without having to spend more on already very expensive gear that might have implications with warranty (TranAm, now BikerHeads
are well known for being wankers).I really like Klim Kodiak Suit and can buy it at a discounted price from my KTM dealer. However, despite the jacket fitting rather well, but still a good 2" too short in the arm. Trousers, on the other hand, do not come in a long length bellow certain waist size (I think 32" which is too big for me) and if anything a little on the baggy side for my liking. The rest of Klim clobber is simply too baggy and if not carefull, I could possibly sail my awesome steed across La Manche without even boarding a ferry
.So folk, any suggestions would be very welcome.
