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Bilt or Alpinestars for Leather Jacket?

Soulheater said:
I showed the picture to a guy at Cycle Gear and he said the tire is fine for now, but definitely should buy some when money permits soon. It has some life left in it.
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swap em out for some nice sport touring tires
 
n8x said:
yah but a big reason why some people may choose alpinestar, dainese stuff over others is brandname/fashion

just like how graphics on a helm can increase the price by hundreds of dollars.
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I don't understand the helmet thing...I like em plain I guess

those designs all look like tribal tats to me
 
Ok, the bilt is cheap. Thats its only plus.
Alpinestar or any major "overpriced" name brand is more protective and way more comfortable. Any disagreement on this is comical to me. That said, the bilt is better than a hoodie. But I personally won't be buying any bilt gear.

For a new rider, go buy some well armored, padded, and comfortable gear, consider a textile 2 piece. Knees palms and hips are first to hit the ground. Protect all of them, not just upper body. Keeping your entire body warm and comfortable while commuting will keep you more relaxed and focused. Forget the exhaust unless the current is damaged.
 
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Cycle Gear is almost always running 'some' sort of promotion, so don't wait (for a long time to save up money to get a lot of stuff with one coupon). If you ask nicely, I bet they'd let you use the same or similar coupon again. Get on their email list and you'll get the weekly coupons and daily specials promos.

They also have a great Clearance area where you may find another brand for cheaper. I've not tried the Bilt or Sedici brands yet, but may in the future. Some folks slam them automatically without personal proof; that's normal. Better than a hoodie for sure!!

Do get knee protection - if not leather pants. Knee/shin guards run only $25+ and you can wear 'em under jeans. Your knees will thank me 10 years from now. :laughing


I'd invest in new tires too; the higher-mileage 'sport-touring' ones will last longer while you learn and/or commute. Keep an eye on the pressures too - usually 32-36 psi works well (not what the "max" says on the tire).

Find a local mentor to help you practice in parking lots/side streets, otherwise you'll not keep those "eyes up! :shame" :laughing

:teeth
Yana:banana
 
I never understood why some folks think A* is/was associated with quality or Ralph Luaren Purple lable.

It always seemed like cheap crap too me that was too expensive. Even 8 years ago.
The leather, stitching, lining, cut of jackets jsut screamed overpriced.

To me it's one broken step above that brand that makes "bullet proof" vests. (name slips my mind now, they make shitty helemts too)
 
Soulheater said:
I showed the picture to a guy at Cycle Gear and he said the tire is fine for now, but definitely should buy some when money permits soon. It has some life left in it.
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So you showed a tiny picture of the tire to some 22 year old making minimum wage at Cycle Gear and his 12 second technical assessment from a photo is good enough for you? That's wacky. Aside from the fact that there is nothing in that picture that would lead one to assume there is 'life left in that tire', life isn't just about thread depth. It's about grip as well, which often goes well before tread does on a track tire. Don't be surprised if the first time you hit a damp spot, you have no grip and you're sliding down the road testing out the quality of that $30 Bilt jacket.
 
theAmazingKickstand said:
I never understood why some folks think A* is/was associated with quality or Ralph Luaren Purple lable.

It always seemed like cheap crap too me that was too expensive. Even 8 years ago.
The leather, stitching, lining, cut of jackets jsut screamed overpriced.

To me it's one broken step above that brand that makes "bullet proof" vests. (name slips my mind now, they make shitty helemts too)
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I've seen both out of A*, good and bad. IMO, the primary difference you're going to get with an A* over a total shit brand is the quality of the leather (both thickness and, perhaps more importantly, suppleness) and more R&D in the design and fit of the jacket, so it's more likely to fit you right on the bike. And the armor in their good jackets is typically better.

Same with Dainese. They make some really good stuff and some real crap. However, anyone who holds a $450 Dainese Laguna Seca jacket, for example, next to a Bilt or Icon jacket and can't tell the difference is a moron.
 
Archimedes said:
So you showed a tiny picture of the tire to some 22 year old making minimum wage at Cycle Gear and his 12 second technical assessment from a photo is good enough for you? That's wacky. Aside from the fact that there is nothing in that picture that would lead one to assume there is 'life left in that tire', life isn't just about thread depth. It's about grip as well, which often goes well before tread does on a track tire. Don't be surprised if the first time you hit a damp spot, you have no grip and you're sliding down the road testing out the quality of that $30 Bilt jacket.
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:laughing:laughing +1

id still like to see better pics of the tires, but ill prob just further agree w/ Archimedes afterwards. i mostly run my own takeoffs on the street and can attest to their lack of cold weather & wet grip. but i know the tires are going to be shit and have more than plenty of miles to know how to handle it... a new rider, not so much.
 
I sold him the bike. I mounted the takeoffs when I got the bike, they're both fresh. No problems with grip, the bike would pull stoppies in the rain. No issues with spin up on the power, either. The tires are fine, I've put 5k on a rear diablo supercorsa takeoff, including some more track time and a 3k mile trip on them, without any significant grip dropoff or problems. They had some minor tearing that I would have finished cleaning up before sale with a weekend ride, but he wanted the bike before I had time to ride it any more. Heat cycling of track tires is an anachronism with modern tires at street pace, having worn those exact same tires nearly down to the cords in the past and still having no slides or untoward behavior out of them. I had one diablo supercorsa go nearly a thousand track miles on my SV650 + whatever the previous person I bought the takeoffs from for the rear tire to go off at track pace, and even then it still performed fine on the street.

I have seen the tires, I mounted them, have ridden them, and they are fine for a novice rider to commute on. He'll wear through the rear in 2-3k, flat spot the front in about the same, and can swap them both out for a pair of nice fresh sport touring tires then. It's no better or worse than someone spooning on pilot powers to commute on.

Here's the original for sale thread, you can kinda see the wear on the rear tire:
http://bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=364212

They had under 200 miles on them, front and rear, when I mounted them.

kgmoto said:
Ok, the bilt is cheap. Thats its only plus.
Alpinestar or any major "overpriced" name brand is more protective and way more comfortable. Any disagreement on this is comical to me. That said, the bilt is better than a hoodie. But I personally won't be buying any bilt gear.

For a new rider, go buy some well armored, padded, and comfortable gear, consider a textile 2 piece. Knees palms and hips are first to hit the ground. Protect all of them, not just upper body. Keeping your entire body warm and comfortable while commuting will keep you more relaxed and focused. Forget the exhaust unless the current is damaged.
Click to expand...

CE approved armor is CE approved armor. I've had A* stuff shred in accidents, I've had no-name stuff hold up fine...but the important thing is being able to wear the gear. If the Bilt stuff is comfortable and fits you well, that is far more important than the brand that's slapped on it. If gear is loose and can move around, it's useless, so buy based on what you'll wear first, fit is 2nd, CE approval is 3rd (armor doesn't do shit if it doesn't stay in place), and brand name is a distant, distant 4th. All the gear and brand recognition in the world is useless if it's hanging in your closet when you crash, or the armor rotates out of the way and leaves you exposed.
 
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Archimedes said:
I would only buy a Bilt jacket if it was all I could afford and they were out of bubble wrap.
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just got a BILT jacket cause I had no money and am out of bubble wrap.
 
I'd wait a few years to buy anything bilt or sedici. Just like the Frank Thomas stuff, it was pretty damn nice for a killer price before they got the axe. This new stuff at Cgear is just too unknown and untested. In addition to the poor fit, I wont buy the Bilt gloves. I don't want the already thin leather shredding on the asphalt.

I have a 10-12 year old leather A-stars jacket. I think the model is called V-4 or V-5. Either way, I've crash tested it several times and it has held up well. The decorative parts have a few torn stitches but the rest is in great shape and holding up well. I still use it to this day and the leather is in great shape.

I can't say they are overpriced when it comes to leather jackets though when I'm seeing lots of new Astars leather jackets on the web going for $150-$300 but it's still clearance from 2010. Either way, the options are out there.
 
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after reading all this I think im still going to pickup a set of the bilt track star glove to try them out. Ill use them to commute to work which isnt that far but it will take time before i want to use them out on the back roads over my A*
 
here's my $0.02, i would rather buy SOMETHING in budget NOW, and save for better stuff as time goes (i.e. a new piece of better gear - each birthday, christmas, anniversary, whatever) rather than buy bike, and start saving for "Good Gear" and ride in T-shirts/cargo shorts/flip-flops until you can make the purchase.

again, depends on your riding (streets/freeways/twisties/track)

1st bike/1st gear - Arai helmet/ firstgear leather gloves/ cheap leather jacket (moto-look, not moto-designed) jeans and sneaks (can't remember if MSF told us to wear boots)- not the best, but is what i rode with at the time

2nd bike/2nd gear - Arai helmet/ firstgear leather gloves/ Tourmaster jacket/ leather motorcycle touring boots (dealer "freebie" - better than laces) / snowboard pants (wind resistant) or jeans

current gear - Shoei helmet/ bilt gloves/ tourmaster 2 / bilt boots (better than laces) / a* leather pants (better than snowboard pants or jeans)

full coverage and fits my budget. my plan is to replace items as I find a better fit/ better quality/ $$
 
KooLaid said:
I'd wait a few years to buy anything bilt or sedici. Just like the Frank Thomas stuff, it was pretty damn nice for a killer price before they got the axe. This new stuff at Cgear is just too unknown and untested. In addition to the poor fit, I wont buy the Bilt gloves. I don't want the already thin leather shredding on the asphalt.
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Bilt/Sedici is out of the same factory as Frank Thomas stuff.
 
Almost can ride it... Just need my insurance, but for now it's just 'vroom vroom' noises for me in the garage.
b96usm.jpg
 
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