Bonneville America Forums Forums Rider Safety Forums Helmets and Gear MOTOPORT - CYCLEPORT

So...Ive been directed to this company for some riding pants. Long story short....Ive compromised on the pants for the last couple years (a little less) by wearing jeans or some ill fitting overpants.
Im a jolly fellow....read...Im a fat @ss @ 300# so good fitting riding pants are hard to find and everything I have found just doesnt feel right.

My question...anyone have Motoport or Cycleport gear and what are your thougths?

I know its expensive but that isnt an issue...I want to know about fit, feel, protection, etc....

If it matters....these are what Im looking at: AIR MESH KEVLAR PANT

Not a Motoport owner, but I've done my fair share of research on their product.

From what I gather, it seems to be hit or miss with them. Some people report great things and that the owner, Wayne, is top notch. Others report just the opposite.

My advice...head over to AVDrider.com (Adventure Rider) and check out the "equipment" forum. Do a search on "Motoport" and you'll have enough reading material to keep you busy for awhile. Lots of good pics, too.

(http://www.advrider.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=6)

If it's not too far, you might consider heading down for a personal fitting. That way there won't be any question on fit.

It's expensive, but the Kevlar material is supposed to be the cat's meow. One day...

I pretty much spent the weeknd reading about Motoport/Cycleport gear.
I am willing to drop the dough for it just wanted a cruiser riders perspective over an Adv rider.
Im not to concerned about the negative things Ive read. Judging by the timelines of the posts and the way the web site is todayI can see that Wayne has improved his methods over time. I can also see that his product has changed with feedback over time as well.
There was one very negative post I read that I immediately dicounted due to content, verbage and the fact that I must read 10 good for every one bad...and I went looking for the bad.

I may make a trip down for a fitment. My family lives down that way anyway so its an excuse to go visit.

Today I went to Motoport/Cycleport in San Marcos Ca to look at and most likely get fitted for a pair of riding pants. Since my family and friends are all in So Cal this was a dual purpose trip and I figured what better way to get the right pants than to go down and see/feel and get fitted.
Now…early on after I heard about this company that makes Kevlar gear I did some research, a LOT of research. I found enough info that ultimately made me really consider spending the $$ on this gear but that was not without some hesitation. I found a few bad reviews and carefully read them ALL the way through a few times.
What I found that was concerning was this:
1) It seems that early on the fitment process wasn’t as it is now. Now they ask for a pair of your jeans and they have you make some very specific measurements. OK…not really an issue since they will tailor as needed. The only hassle here is shipping back and forth.
2) Some people were saying how hard Wayne was to work with. Bad customer service, poor attitude…well, you get the picture. All the typical bad stuff you don’t want to hear when you’re looking at dropping a significant amount of $$.
What I experienced today was this:
1) A trip to them to get fitted is the best way. It’ll cost you less and from what I can tell will result in a better experience overall (Ill update this when I get my gear in a few weeks). Granted this is not feasible for everyone so all I will say is that you should call and ask questions if you’re not sure how to make measurements. Wayne is friendly as is the soft spoken lady that answers the phone.
2) Wayne is a nice guy. He came down and greeted me (I had an appointment so he was expecting me). There was a walk in that showed up a few minutes after I did so he had to talk to both of us. What I learned about Wayne is that he takes a ton of pride in his product and simply WILL NOT cheap out for any reason. Now I can start to see where folks might think he’s a jerk. If you ask him to cut corners he won’t. He’d rather walk the business than to 1) compromise his customer’s safety and 2) compromise the solid reputation he has built. OK…now I’m feeling better about all this.

Me and the walk in guy got a tour of the facility while experiencing the technology he uses. On the surface level it doesn’t seem like a high tech place until you start to understand that the materials are coming of a giant roll and are being cut to size one at a time. The thread being used is not the same thread your mothers sews your pants with...it’s some sort of Kevlar like the gear. The Velcro rolls are extremely high quality, the reflective materials are 3M all the way, the armor…Ill save this for later but WOW! Look….the place is no frills HIGH quality PERIOD.
SO….step one, figure out which pants I want. He’s got a sample of just about everything there for you to touch, feel and try on. I opted for the Ultra II Kevlar Pant in the Stretch Kevlar material. The Ultra II Air Kev pant would flow too much air for Seattle living but the Stretch will still flow. The pics on the web site DO NOT do justice to the materials being used. Step two is about options. Where do you want pockets, how many, what kind of armor do you want, how high to you want the reflective tape on the leg if any, etc…

The armor is cool. He has this high tech back plate form another mfg. Its heavy and almost a hard plastic. He has you put it up against the metal door frame (which has an edge on it) and punch the armor. You can feel the edge. OK…what am I supposed to feel right?! The he uses his armor…punch one…nice, punch two (harder) and I still don’t feel the hard edge. OK…I pull back and lay into it…WOW! Ok…Im sold. Wayne did a ton more explaining of the technology but all I can keep in my head is that I just pulled back on this and punched it and didn’t feel the impact in a negative way.

Earlier we had seen a sample of the materials. So here’s an interesting tid bit. We get to back and Wayne hands us a piece of this stretch material. Its already been cut and he says to go ahead and try and rip it. Looks easy enough. This stretch material resembles a cotton work shop rag and those rip like butter on a summer day. NOPE! Neither me nor the walk in guy could even get a single fiber to rip. COOL!...not yet. Impressive though!

Now we go over to the work area where Wayne has a slew of busted up gear. Some is in for repair and some is in because its what’s left of other manufacturers gear. I saw BMW riding pants that looked like they were made of tissue paper. At 30 mph the butt, thigh and knee portions of this pant were all but destroyed. A pair of Kevlar pants that had a get off at about 100mph (yes, it was during a race on a track) were looking a bit scuffed and dirty. There was a perforated leather jacket that looked like it was made of 50 year old sun dried vinyl…it was torn to bits from the shoulder down. There was some fancy German made jacket that looked ok but the seams had come apart like a banana peel, until I saw the arm that was shredded. He had one of his jackets that had a get off and slid on the side, then the front and on the back. It was very scuffed up and had one very small hole in the front pocket (the rider had something in there that caused a lump in the jacket pocket and ultimately wore a very small hole in it from the slide) but NONE of the seams split. Heck, none of the seam thread was even broke and you could see it wasn’t re-sewn. You can see where the friction was and you can tell it was on some nasty asphalt but the jacket was still wearable. BTW…any of his gear that could not be repaired was replaced free of charge!

So today I got fitted for my Ultra II Kevlar Pant (stretch) w/ one cargo pocket on my left leg (so I can stow my sunglasses or wallet and access with my left hand not my right), ¾ reflective stripe, rain liner fit to the pants, quad armor on the knees, shins, and hip armor.
I also dropped off a pair of jeans that we measured for Karen so she will be getting the same set up as above but hers will be made using her jeans as a pattern.

Stay tuned for results on:
1) My pants that I was present for the fitting.
2) Karen’s pants that are being made off a pair of jeans.
3) Pictures.
4) Gear review after some riding.

Nice write up. Thanks. There's an upholster around here that sounds like Wayne. A little cranky, but only if you want to be a cheap a$$ and cut corners. The product sounds cool. Just out of curiousity, what's a ballpark figure on this kind of riding apparel?

Heres a link to the new website: http://motoport.com/

The pants were $299 then add options from there.
Heres the Ultra II pant Ultra II
$99 for the Aero Tex liner (This was cheaper to do now than later. They will cut the pant and liner material at the saem time so they are an exact fit to each other, otherwise I would need to send the pants back to have the liner made).
$99 for the quad armor upgrade (Worth it to me since I really dont like pain )
$49 for the hip armor (Wayne has found over time that some people dont want this so its an option).
I dont beleive there was a fee (if there was it was very low) for a custom sizing cause he can take a standard pair of pants and tailor them to me.

Hes also not charging me for shipping cause I paid it all up front.

He had a set of jeans for a guy that were so wide two of his workers could fit inot them. Im sure that carried a very large custom fee.

Z,
Glad to read that you & Karen are finally getting some decent lower body protection. I always feel a little uncomfortable when I see y'all wearing just jeans.

FWIW after my little incident last April 3rd (almost 1 year already!), my Tourmaster pants only had a small, easily repairable rip in the outer fabric. I'm still not sure if I will try the chaps I ordered just before the accident.

I'm looking forward to your feedback after riding with it.

FWIW. I've always had good luck with Motoport and my conversations with Wayne. I have the stretch kevlar pants and they did well in a 40 mph get off last summer. While I had no problems with the performance of my Revit jacket in that experience (it did rip, but I was protected), I switched to the Motoport Riva jacket afterwards. I've always taken my time and done the measurements like they tell you to. I've also called and talked to Wayne when I had questions. Their website is so confusing the conversation is really a must. For me the bottom line is that I feel that these products significantly enhance my safety and the stretch kevlar fabric in the pants and the jacket is very comfortable.

Steve..since your get off one of my biggest concerns has been the lower protection. It was actually shortly after that Karen and I bought overpants that fit but thats about it. We actually dislike those pants so much we ride without more often than not. When I came across Motoport/Cycleport I was very excited. After seeing them Im even more excited and am looking forward to their arrival.

Brian...thanks for the comments. I was very happy dealing with Wayne and was looking at the Riva. Wayne was not pointing me in that direction due to my belly .
Do you have any thoughts on it? How long have you had it?

Here is a report of a crash wearing Kevlar and other material.

http://will.mylanders.com/mc/notes/read.pl?file=348

Z - Yes, the Riva is a snug fit. I'm 6'0 170 lbs and not particularly abdominally challenged. A tight fit with this jacket would would also make it difficult to get much use of the pockets. I've had the jacket since last Fall so rode in a range of weather. It takes a little while to get the armor broken in, but a very comfortable jacket.

Dick - I would say my experience with the motoport stretch kevlar pants was similar to that described in the link. There was clearly abrasions to the pants and I think a few small holes, but no damage to me. By the way, motoport repairs were fine, but they tend to take the form of a patch so you have an odd looking rectangle on the leg.

got my tracking email today.....my pants are finally on the way here.

Review to follow.

So the box arrived today and it was a biggun...20lbs...But there were two pair in there. My pair, which I was fitted for and Karen’s which were made from measurements per the web site and a pair of her jeans I took with me.

First Impression:
I pulled them out and they are hefty. I believe any overpants are hefty though. In comparison to my Firstgear HT overpants the Ultra II’s aren’t much heavier but they are bulkier. The Ultra IIs have significantly more armor as well….hip, thigh and knee/shin.
So….more protection, same or similar weight.

Build quality:
Workmanship is phenomenal. Seams are 99% perfect. Reflective tape and Velcro that has been sewn in is not binding and aligns perfectly! The armour installation is perfect! Nothing else to say. These are top notch quality, both sets!
The rain liner is like another set of overpants. They are made to fit and zip and snaps do not get in the way. These will be good on very cold days as well.

Fit:
Knowing the armour needs to mold to my body I am forgiving of the initial bulkiness. It’s more of a look than a feel. The thigh armour needs to mold in as its flat so initially it wants to straighten out. The pants were packed to keep this flat. No folding, Wayne wants it to mold to the owner not the box.
Getting them on is odd for me. I’ve never had a pair of pants that unzips down the entire right side and ¾ the left. After getting them on and off a couple times they are smooth. The zippers line up well and are smooth all the way up and down. No binding like my Firstgear pants.
Once on they hang well. Not overly bulky like off the shelf pants. The knee/shin armour makes them hang but this is to be expected. I put them on over shorts and they felt great. There is a nice liner that makes them nice against the skin.
I decided to go for a short ride so off they came and back on over some of my baggy jeans. They fit very well over my jeans. There is a sewn in belt that is adjustable. The back is a large panel of stretchy material so once the belt is adjusted they don’t sag too badly. As a matter of fact they sage less than the Firstgear.

The ride
So as the bikes warming up and I’m getting my jacket on I start to warm up. I do have on a pair of jeans and these new pants. Not out of the ordinary. I heat up faster in the other pants. Once moving the air flows very well through the Ultra II’s. As a matter of fact so well it felt like I had only the jeans on. Seriously….the armour allows the air to flow so there were no warm spots.
I would have no problem wearing these on warmer days. I can also see wearing shorts under these on very hot days and feeling great. Now I would never have imagined the thought of wearing shorts under my other pants. Actually…on warmer days I would forgo the overpants and just wear jeans. After what I saw when I visited Cycleport I would feel secure in shorts under the Ultra II’s and can see myself wearing these often.
This was my goal, feel secure and comfortable so I can stay safe when I ride.
During stopping there was only a minimal amount of slide on my seat (I was heading down hill and needed to start braking for a stop sign).

I only rode about 15 miles so I will add a long term review in a few weeks.
I am very happy. I got what I ws told I was going to get, they feel great, they fit great and I want to wear them. What else can I ask for!

Karen got home and tried her pants on...also Ultra II Stretch Kevlar.
The fit was impressive when you consider that they were made using a few measurements and a pair of jeans.
The other thing is that Karen doesnt like spening money on this motorcycle habbit and meets everything with a strong sense of resistance.
Two comments that came from her:
1) Not what I expected, they fit much better, not as bulky.
2) They make me look like a girl.

The last one made me laugh.
Fit, workmanship, feel is all as described in my review above.

"2) They make me look like a girl." Karen meant,they make you look like a girl, right
nice write up Z.they seem very expensive but if they save your ....... then theyre more than worth it (hopefully you wont be testing this theory out)

As long as I can get YOUR attention then Im happy

Z,
I'm to read glad you and Karen both invested in some quality riding gear. I hope you both enjoy many miles (or kilometers) wearing them and that they never, ever come into play.
I'm happy with how my Tourmaster pants held up last year, but I might just look into these meself.
Steve

I rode for a few hours on Friday and as I usually dont go out in the rain on purpose I figured Id make an exception on this day.
It was raining but not hard. Here in the NW we call it a rain shower. It was coming down but not windy so it wasnt too bad. It was getting my shield wet even though I have a windshield...if I was driving Id a had my wipers on slow or med.

I did not have the rain liners on but had them with me in case I needed them.
Motoport says the stretch Kevlar is good for about 30 minutes in the rain. "It is possible to ride a naked bike for 30 minutes or more before water goes through the Stretch Kevlar."

While riding I could look down at my legs and see the water beading off. I could still feel the airflow but was not getting wet.
When I got to my destination the first thing I did was check my jeans for moisture...none.

I can say that if your riding along and the rain starts to come down youll stay dry enough to get to a safe place to get your rain liner on.
I would also say that most days here in the rainy NW I would not need the liners. Come the heavy season Id put em on first.

Still

Z- This evaluation of the rain protection of the stretch kevlar is very helpful. I had missed (or forgotten) that little factoid.

So...Adding more to the review. Yesterday spanned between mid 60s to 74 in my neighborhood. I headed out with my Triumph Integra jacket (rain cover off so it was mesh), my jeans under my Ultra II pants and purposly hit the stoplight path.

When in motion the pants were very comfortable. At stops they warmed up a bit (as expected) but not as bad as I really thought they might. Heat from the motor was not an issue.

Ive now worn them a half dozen times and the armour is still stiff but seems to be molding into my body better. Its conforms faster in heat.
The fit each time is almost surprising. Im so used to my other pants being "frumpy" Im pleasantly surprised.

Im now looking forward to later in the season when it gets hot!

Just adding another update. As the weather warms up Im still very happy with these pants. I rode for a good 77 miles today, a combo of slab and stop and go city traffic with temps in the mid to high 80s.
As stated before...once moving these are very comfortable. At a standstill they are like any overpant...hot, BUT they still breath well.

Karen and I have also gone out wearing shorts underneath in weather as low as 55f. No problem.

I feel there is really only one scenario left and that will be later this summer when it gets in the 90s.

SO...all in all at this point....I dont think there is a better pair of pants out there. Pricey, Yes! worth it, Yes!