[bimota]

Go BKS!

I just went through the glove buying process myself. I went with BKS. I recommend the same to anyone thinking about the Dainese Full Pros. They are in the top price bracket, but once you see the gloves you know they're worth it. Layers of protection on everything. You can get custom colors for about the same price as the stock Dainese. The Dainese Full Pro looked like top dollar copies of the Teknics Violator II. The BKS customer service was great too.

 

[luvmyvfr]

You can't beat Vanson gloves. Simply the best. Period.

 

[SB8RC]

Some one please tell me why Yamaha has to ruin motorcycling by making all of them dumb 4 strokes. I have enough pistons and 2 stroke oil to last forever. I will still be poluting the earth and kicking some 4 stroke ass with my RM 144

 

[Haga]

I have a pair of the 2000 Speedmasters. I picked them up for $60 just after Christmas and I love them! Fortunately they do not have the little air vents, so I don't have to ditch them or have a second pair for cold/wet riding. I went with a red/white/black combo with gold carbon fiber on it. These gloves also have seperate wrist and gauntlet fastners which is typical of more expensive gloves, and a surprisingly big plus(especially for those of us with fat hand/thin wrist syndrome). It does a little bit for comfort but it's great for protection and confidence. I'd recomend these gloves especially for the $60($72 with shipping) you can find them for now.

 

[static]

I haven't bought gloves by the company, but I have the last generation Ballistic suit and pants. I am reasonably satisfied with the jacket but I am not really happy with the build quality of the pants--others I know have the same feelings about this suit. It has kept me from considering purchasing anything else from them.

On the other hand, the local shop has started carrying Joe Rocket apparel, and the overall fit and finish seems to be better than their previous workmanship. If I got a long term review of these gloves (and the ballistic 3.0 stuff) I might consider their stuff again.

As far as the gloves go, I am interested in things like the length of time it takes for the stitching to go, how long it takes for the nice soft liner to be ripped to shreds from put-on and removal, how resistant to fading in sunlight the leather colors are. Does the velcro hold up? How about the wrist closure--does it stretch too much over time? Are the pads in the glove the stiff closed cell stuff or the squishy memory foam? How is fingertip dexterity affected?



A couple of these questions could be answered right away, but the others I would like to see answered in, oh say, six months. I do not wish a crash test for you, though.



PS they are the coolest looking gloves I've seen from JR. How much are they?

 

[blip]

Competition Accessories has them for $135, that's about as cheap as I've seen them.



Dexterity is good, excellent in fact. All of the leather and stitching is of great quality, I don't think they'll wear out over the years.



As the story said, I keep my gear for years, I'm just not hard on stuff. Some people seem to waste gloves in less than a year without crashing, so maybe I'm not the best to answer your longevity questions.



I agree that Joe Rocket stuff is getting much better in quality, and am ashamed to admit I was a little apprehensive about testing their gloves -- they just haven't had the best reputation. I still don't know about the rest of their line, but these gloves are awesome.

 

[tripm]

Either Joe Rocket is buying Helds and rebadging them or Held has a good case to sue.

 

[weak_link]

Re: or Held

Try Held gloves. They are comfortable and offer top notch protection. Hellimont sells 'em as well as other good shops.

 

[das]

Re: Joe Rocket Speedmaster = Helds?

Man, I hope Joe Rocket is reselling Helds. Maybe then I can get some in my size. The folks at Helimot were always very nice, knowledgable, and professional, but not particularly helpful.

I waited 1 full year for a certain size (I don't recall the number, maybe size 11, I think) of their #277 glove, and have nothing to show for it. The folks at Helimot don't seem capable of ordering and getting particular gloves in particular sizes. They just get a box of gloves from Held, and whatever is in there is what they get.

I eventually gave up and bought some very nice Olympias. Helds might be he best gloves in the world, but if you can't get them in your size, they might as well not exist.

 

[CBR1000F]

Brent,



You're right about the original quality of Joe Rocket stuff... I have a Ballistic series 2 piece suit, and it's "ok" at best. One of the velcro waist adjustment straps (there are 4) ripped off of my suit after a month, though that was the last thing to just fall off... so far. It also seems to fit kind of funny... when I got it, in order to get it broad enough through the shoulders and long enough in the sleeves, the chest was way too big, and bunched/rode up on me. This has not been a problem with other brands I've since tried on. On the other hand, a friend of mine bought the new Ballistic 2 piece for his wife, and it seems to be MUCH better.

 

[tdmpilot]

Re: or Held

Ditto on the Held gloves. I've got several pairs and couldn't be happier with them. They are extremely comfortable and require absolutely no break in time. They are expensive but you get what you pay for. You can also find them at Moto Market in Acton, Mass.

www.motomkt.com

 

[dbr]

you might not be able to beat 'em but they

sure dont last...w/in a week the velcro patch

tore off mine...total crap for 100+ bucks !

 

[dbr]

Re: Joe Rocket Speedmaster = Helds?

my experiance was COMPLETELY different they sized me, but didnt

have the color (plain ole black) in my size, w/in 4 weeks they

called saying they had what id requested and did i still want 'em.

imagine that they ordered 'em for me and didnt charge me til they

shipped...corbin should try this...and get this MIKE CORBIN you

wanker...they have a return policy too...dont like 'em or they

dont FIT you return 'em for a FULL refund !

 

[das]

Re: Joe Rocket Speedmaster = Helds?

Don't get me wrong, I would recommend Helimot to others, I'm just disappointed that I never got the gloves that I wanted. I sent them an outline trace of my hands, and they sent me a pair of gloves within a couple weeks.

The look, feel, and build quality of the gloves was as high as everyone says. Problem was that the fingers were just a bit too short, and dug into the tips of my fingers. I called Helimot, described the problem, and they recommended that I send the gloves back for the next largest size.

I sent them back, but they didn't have any in the larger size in stock. They refunded the money on my credit card, so no issues there. Problem was, they never seemed to get that size in that style (I was flexible on the color scheme by this time).

Like I said, they were always very nice, knowledgable and professional, but the bottom line is that they weren't able to get me the gloves.

 

[luvmyvfr]

#1 Why the hell did you get a pair of vansons with velcro? The best ones are zippered. Cheapo.

#2 They would have fixed them, must have been an exceptional mistake, I've never seen higher quality clothing from anyone.

 

[folski]

Very interesting comments about Joe Rocket and their quality improvement. My only experience is with a pair of boots (the Bullet boot) which I bought on-line after some recommendations. I sent them back after only having them on for a few minutes. Absolute junk that I wouldn't expect to last a single season --- this after having a pair of Georgia boots that have lasted through 90,000 miles over about 10 years and all kinds of weather. Nope, can't say that I'm very interested in giving Joe Rocket another chance...

And would somebodey PLEEEZE explain to me what this non-functional carbon BS on everything is all about? Cabon-look decals for your bodywork, carbon appliques for your top triple clamp, and now carbon knuckle pads on gloves? Give me a break. Don't try to lecture me on the benefits of carbon. I've been working with carbon composites for nearly 20 years in everything from rockets to robots to airplanes to sporting goods. I know carbon, what it's good for and what it's not. All the carbon on your knuckles is going to do is give you momentary impact protection before it busts into nasty little shards which will then render your gloves junk. Seems to me there are a whole lot of people out there who just have to have the coolest thing whether it works or not...

Kevlar - now that's got actual application in protective apparel. You go down with Kevlar, you're going to get good protection, the Kevlar will scuff up but in most cases won't wear through, and they'll be scarred up, but the gloves should still be perfectly functional.

Oh - and that "gold colored carbon" that one reviewer mentioned? Most knowledgable people would refer to that as Kevlar. Carbon is black - period.

 

[TheBronze]

Joe Rocket gear:



Sucks. It is very well though out in design. However, construction is bad. Seams tear out, and leak. Buttons break. And this is on the new 3.0 stuff. I would not reccomend it to anybody.



Regarding carbon fibre. I could not agree more with you! I am so sick of the whole "carbon" thing. You can get carbon look stickers to attach to your frame? Give me a break! This is for trendy toe dragging wannabees. I would like to see a real carbon fibre frame for a motorcycle. Or any other application that needs weight savings. That would kick ass. Mountain bikes have them and they work great. Of course, it would have to be painted. The raw look of carbon fibre is pretty boring. I would consider carbon replacements for things like muffler hangers and rear sets. But again, paint them. Even if it is just plain black. Paint it!



The carbon look is just a trendy gimmic. Soon it will fade away, just like garish splashy paint schemes from the late 80's/early 90's. I was glad to see them go and will be just as glad to see fake carbon add on's dissappear.

 

[telliot647]

Re: Joe Rocket Speedmaster Feedback -> Carbon Fiber

There is some useful carbon fiber stuff out there. I've seen cf wheels, swingarms (for Ducks) and gas tanks. I think they look pretty cool, but it's the weight savings that is really awesome. The stuff weighs next to nothing, especially when compared to a stock piece.

 

[Haga]

Being the owner of the comment about "gold carbon fiber" I would like to say yes, it is carbon fiber, and yes, there is a gold material covering it. Kevlar is a fabric, not a solid material. Most knowledgeable people would know that.

 

[bugsplatter]

Haga, are you sure?

I don't work for Dupont but its my understanding that kevlar is a fiber or thread much like good old carbon fiber. Of course matbe I'm smoking too much crack again but I'd swear I ve seen carbon fiber weave become hard after the addition of epooxy and heat. THink kevlar does the same as I can remember adding it to fibercglass cloth for a little more strenght and tear resistance. Of course my craCK HABIT IS GETTING A BIT OUT OF HAND.

Hope you are not smoking any...