Black or Gray

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New Summer Jacket - Dainese Air Flux

i sold me rev’it levante. it was a great jacket, but was a bit big on me. i also realized that i want something a lot more light weight for manhattan commuting. after a bunch of research i was interested in the dainese air flux. i really wanted to see it in person, and after a bunch of calling around, Gold Coast BMW in Long Island had them in stock. I went there after work, they had my size in both black, and light grey. i tried them both on and went for the light grey / anthracite. click on for more photos and thoughts.

i kept reading about how this jacket felt like wearing a t-shirt. its mostly true. its very light weight, and lets a ton of air in. i was nervous about the colors from what i saw in the photos online. the “grey / anthracite” looked much more like a white jacket. the black really looked good online but i was nervous about the added heat while sitting at red lights in the city.

in person, the grey / anthracite is not white at all. its a light grey / silver. the black looked great, but i really liked the light grey. it fit well, i was excited.

i spoke to tom in the parts department. he asked me if i wanted the back protector. i read online that it was an expensive add on at $89. he told me that .. funny enough, the ducatti branded version of the same part actually went for $69. he also was kind enough to discount them 10% when i bought them together. cool dude. thanks tom! so.. key take away there, get the ducatti back protector if you need.

its not yet 90+ degrees so i can’t tell you how much it breathes, but i can already tell you its much more light weight and less obtrusive then the levante was, while having the same amount of mesh paneling.

Researching new summer jacket

Sold my rev’it levante. It didn’t fit me right. Mainly because when I was originally trying it on - I tested the fit with the thermal liner in thinking I was going to use this jacket in to the winter.
Since I have dedicated winter jackets I only really use the levante in the heat. The fit is too big for me and it bothered me so I sold it on ebay for around $175.
I’m currently researching a new jacket. Budget around $200.
Either another rev’it that fits me correctly without liner in - or the dainese air flux. Most reviews of the air flux mention how it feels like a tshirt. Sounds good to me as riding / commuting in NYC humid summer weather is tough. The more light weight and breathable the better. I just need to make sure it has enough protection.
While researching I realized no one lists jacket weights. That’s annoying. Seems like a good metric to help decide.
I’m going to head to motochanic in west New York (nj) tomorrow after work to try some on.

My Initial Gear

my first few weeks in i bought some gear. this is just a quick list with general impressions. most everything in this list was purchased from union garage, they were very helpful.

Gloves

Revit Striker gloves were recommended to me. it was the middle of the summer and they are supposed to be very breathable, and most importantly, they have iphone compatible fingers :)  ok ok most important is they are protective. they have knuckle guards and feel great. my only gripe after a few months of owning them is they seemed to have stretched a little in the palm area which gets annoying on long trips.

http://uniongaragenyc.com/shop/index.php/gloves/rev-it-striker.html

http://www.revitusa.com/en-us/#/products/FGS078

Boots

i needed something i could wear to clients and not look like a motorcycle racer. i opted for these great casual boots that are well protected. they are navy blue, with steal toe, ankle protection, a reinforced heel, and they are water proof. they also have a nice rubbery grippy sole. after a few months, i have no gripes, i love them. they are great.

http://uniongaragenyc.com/shop/index.php/boots/tcx-x-street-wp.html

http://www.tcxboots.com/eng/prodotti-dettaglio.php?prodotto=57

Jacket

again, middle of the summer, i needed something very breathable but i didnt want to have to buy another jacket for spring or fall, and maybe even winter. i loved the revit jackets at union garage but i had to find the right one at the right price. so i looked in to 3 season jackets, one that breathed the most, but still had a nice removable thick liner for the other seasons. it also had to match my bike and my style. i went with the Revit Levante in silver / black. it happens to match my bike (and helmet) great. its extremely breathable in the hot nyc summer, with huge mesh areas on the jacket. its got a great warm liner thats water proof, and it has protective padding around the elbows, shoulders, and some minor back padding. i can add a real back pad insert later when im ready to spend on it. its late september now and starting to get a little chilly so im not really sure how it will perform in the cold, but so far i love this jacket. great buy. Union Garage didnt carry this specific jacket, so they ordered it for me. they did have a lot of other very similar revit jackets that i got to try on in the shop i knew what size to order.

http://www.revitusa.com/en-us/#/products/FJT152

Helmet

i really wanted a matte white helmet, but they dont seem to exist. i looked around and could not find something i liked. i didnt like the normal round style helmets. i found a really interesting one by AFX at… Union Garage. they had it in black, i tried it on and it felt great. it had a lot of room in front of the mouth area so i wouldnt feel claustrophobic, which happens to me easily. it also has great venting for the summer…. im not sure how great it will be in the winter though. time will tell. so far i still love this helmet after months of us. its not on unions website, but i did buy it there. they only had black in stock, but ordered me the white one. it was around $120. i got a small, because i have a small head. i took off the visor on top after a week of using it, im not off road so.. not much mud flinging going on.

http://www.afxhelmets.com/helmets/dualsport/fx-39ds.php?show=pearl

Bluetooth

possibly my most appreciated piece of gear, as i use it constantly. i bought it with the helmet, as advised by union garage, and they isntalled it in to my helmet for me. i got the Sena SMH10. its so easy to use, modern, and good looking. a great rotary dial on the side that lets me easily control volume and change the song. it works great for phone calls at low speeds, music, and also really helpful, GPS. i use it with my iphone, and siri is finally really useful. she reads me text messages, lets me reply, gives me directions etc. love this thing. zero complaints. and its got a great battery. looking forward to riding with someone else that has it so we can use the “intercom” mode. union garage doesnt show it on their website, but they did have it, recommend it, sell it to me, and install it free with purchase. it was around $175 i think? helmet with bluetooth at the end was under $300 so that was right in my budget.

http://senabluetooth.com/product/intercoms/smh10/

Plate Puller

sounds lame but it is helpful. when parking in metered spots for 20 minutes or so, i just pull my license plate out. risky as it can get towed, but its good for quick run ins. otherwise when parking ill go find legal parking which usually isnt far, and park between two cars.

http://uniongaragenyc.com/shop/index.php/accessories/union-garage-platepuller.html

Top Case

BMW gave me $500 towards accesories when i financed the bike. i opted for the top case as the side cases would have made my bike too wide for city driving. i do really want more storage these days, but thats not to say the top case isnt awesome. it holds my laptop bag, helmet, gloves, ezpass, random tech tools and a sweat shirt. not all at the same time, basically the laptop and helmet trade spots through out the day. its an original BMW top case, and BMW even keyed the lock to match my bike key. easy peasy. its also easily removable so i can take it off anytime in under 20 seconds.

a shot of me and my gear very soon after i got it all.