Ah-chair-bees

That's how the euros say Acerbis. When in rome... Anyways, this past week I received the Acerbis Impact enduro jacket I bought from eBay. Got it for cheap along with some Carbon G gloves. This is the same shit that several factory teams use in Dakar so I figure it's gotta be good for my use. Really nice jacket for the summer - vents in the upper chest and one long horizontal vent in the upper back. There's also two more "vents" that can be used which are actually upper chest pockets lined with mesh to further enhance cooling while zooming across the countryside. Sleeves zip off and can be stored in the large lower back pocket. This is permanently attached and cannot be removed like on my Revit jacket. It also has a provision for a camelbak tube - access hole exiting on the upper left shoulder and a see through ID/pass pocket near the wrist on the right sleeve.
I rode around with it saturday morning and it was quite comfortable in 80degree heat. I'm liking the jacket... cool enduro styling, visible red color, suitable for all seasons. Only achilles heel is that is doesn't come with armor, not even the cheap stuff, so I'll have to get some CE shoulder and elbow pads. There's no pocket in the jacket for some back/spine armor which perplexes me. You'd figure, guys going a bazillion miles an hour thru the deserts of the Dakar and occasionally crash (not that I'm one of them), spine/back armor would be standard issue. Guess I'll have to buy a separate armor piece to protect my back. Then I gotta get the optional thermal liner too.

Motorcycle Gear

The great thing about picking up a new hobby/sport is all the gear that you get to lust over and eventually buy (if ya gots the money for it!). Example: My new bad motorscooter habit. Bike is bone stock, there's a whole lotta farkle/bling to make it go fast/sound tough/look purty. Then there's the protective gear to don while on the bike. Since I have a dual-sport bike, I kinda went overboard with acquiring jackets. I have had the bike a whole three months and now I have three jackets. First came the Joe Rocket jacket. Basic black, waist length nylon textile interpretation of the tried and true motorcycle jacket. It's decent: has torso/arm vents, armor all around and a removable thermal liner. Being black, it sucks to wear in the summer.

Gallon of gas over $2.50!?!?

Holy shit! A gallon of gas is over $2.50, and that's for regular. I've made up my decision and I'll be commuting to work on the motorcycle, weather permitting. That means if it aint raining, I'm riding. The cost to fill up the truck each week is around $40, the bike, $8. You do the math, it's a no brainer. More money for beer each week. And not the cheap domestic crap too.

White trucks

Don't ever buy a white vehicle. It's a bitch to keep clean. Yeah, it's stay's cool in the summer but white just emphasizes the dirt that any other color would hide. Next truck I buy is gonna be gold/sand or green/blue.

Revit Cayenne jacket

Just bought a Revit Cayenne jacket today at the Beemer dealer in Chesapeake. I've been looking for a quality dual sport jacket and did the requisite research on the web. The final contenders were the BMW Rallye 2 and the Revit Cayenne Jacket. Saw and tried on the Rallye jacket at the Raleigh Beemer dealer and I came away really wanting the jacket but the sticker shock kept it outta my hands, or rather, off my back. A couple DS forums really hyped the Rallye saying it was well worth the $600 price tag. I like nice, quality shit and don't mind paying premium for it but damn... So I took a look at the Revit website and the Cayenne jacket seemed like a direct competitor to the Rallye 2 and it was $100 cheaper. I buy clothing online but something with that kinda price tag and being manufactured in europe had my leery about pulling the trigger online.

Luckily, the beemer dealer at my stay during vacation is a Revit dealer and they had the jacket in stock. Almost thought I had to resort to buying online cuz the only sizes they had on the rack were large on up. The sales guy checked the computer and found that they had one in their warehouse. The jacket is almost an exact replica of the Rallye 2. Same features: pockets, vents, liners, removable tool fanny pack. It's a gorgeous jacket... It's not flashy, 'cept with all the pockets, some folks kinda look at me wierd. I also love the color, two shades of grey with black patches. I didn't want to get the all black jacket cuz of the heat build-up under the summer sun.

So I rode the ol motorscooter with the jacket on, minus the thermal and waterproof liner, opened up the all the vents (chest, arms and back) and it was really comfortable. I was surprised... the only time a kinda got hot was at a long light waiting in traffic. Now I gotta get the matching pants. Think I wait till fall when it gets cooler. I wanna get the full waterproof and warm suit for the fall/winter/spring riding season.