BMW Rally 3 jacket/pants

[sagerat]

Went over to BMW of Western Oregon (OK, they've changed their name to Euro Motorsports or something similar now that they have Ducatis, but they'll always be BMWOR to me) in Eugene to get a new H7 bulb for the GSA.  We were doing several errands, but got to squeeze in a muzzleloader stop and a motorcycle shop in exchange for futon and lamp shopping:  score!

My Rev'It! gear had died after three seasons, which is about how many seasons I get out of textiles due to year-round riding.  I'll keep the jacket for winter riding.  (BTW that three years has held constant for Tourmaster and Joe Rocket as well.)

Anyway, looked at Olympia AST gear, as I had that before Rev It.  For the price of both, I was ready to go back to Olympia.  They had great customer support when a zipper failed on the pants.  

Then I tried on the BMW Rally 3 gear.  My closest friend and bestest riding buddy is on his second Rally series of gear in twelve years and has loved both and he rides even more than me.  The Rally 3 does have an amazing fit to it.  The only word that came to mind was supple.  The suit wasn't bulky at all and felt "broken in" already.  Lots of pockets and great ventilation on the jacket.  Good reflectivity from the various patches.  The pants were really comfy as well.

I'll write a review after I've taken a few rides in the Rally 3 suit.  I got the version with yellow accents.  I really enjoyed razzing my buddy, Rene, when his original Rally 3 red faded to pink after about a year.    He'd bluster that it was salmon or burnt orange; it was pink.  His current Rally is blue and hasn't faded.

Great customer service from Scott at BMWOR.  He spent a lot of time going over the fit and the features.  

I normally get gear in high-viz, but they don't offer one in retina-searing lime green, so I'll be sartorially understated.  

And, yeah, the price made me gulp.  However, if the Rally 3 lasts as long as Rene's suits have, then the cost per year of owning the BMW gear comes out cheaper than the other textiles I've had over the years.

[Cablebandit]

I made the mistake of trying on the Ralleye III jacket the last time I was at Bob's BMW.  I've never had an off the shelf jacket feel like it was tailored to me.  I'll be interested to hear your review after living with it for a while, as that tends to bring out any shortcomings more so than just walking around the showroom.

[DangerMoney]

  However, if the Rally 3 lasts as long as Rene's suits have, then the cost per year of owning the BMW gear comes out cheaper than the other textiles I've had over the years.

Good to hear others are thinking about that as well as the fit. The fact that the BMW gear comes in sizes other than S,M, L and XL and comes in tall sizes are what drew me to BMW gear. The price was not a factor after I amortized the cost over the years of ownership.

[ST1300Rider]

I'm just a starting my third season on a Rally 3. It's flat out the best gear I've ever owned.

[Major 662]

Good to hear others are thinking about that as well as the fit. The fact that the BMW gear comes in sizes other than S,M, L and XL and comes in tall sizes are what drew me to BMW gear.

˄˄˄˄
This.

Got a BMW Airshell jacket and Airflow pants last year -- best thing ever, but you pay a pretty penny.  Twas great to find pants where you could pick a waist size and inseam, sorta like normal pants.

[sagerat]

Now if I can just figure out where the mystery zipper at the bottom of the jacket's liner goes...

Jacket and pants zip together with outside zippers.  Nothing at top of pants liners that would accommodate the zipper on the jacket.

Hmmm....  Suit is smarter than its wearer at the moment.  

[ST1300Rider]

It's for the pants when the liner is installed. That way the moisture barrier is maintained.

[sagerat]

I thought that as it makes perfect sense, but the liner is in the pants right now, but I didn't see any zipper teeth at the top of the pants liner that would then mesh with the zipper teeth and pull at the bottom of the jacket.  The liner is in the jacket as well.

I'll re-examine when I get home tonight, both with and without my bifocals.

As we're supposed to have rain for the next several days, I'll get a chance to fieldtest the suit and its liners for their waterproofing.  

[ST1300Rider]

Just zip the jacket liner to the existing zip on the pants and visualize where the moisture will go. It will then make sense. Remember that the liner is actually 3 different materials in different places and that the jacket and pants are waterproof in different areas that correspond to the breathable areas in the liner. It sounds strange but it works. I've been in the worst storms of my riding life with this suit and the only moisture that got in was through a vent that I forgot to close.

One area I have treated with a Nickwax spray is the seam of the crotch. With my bike, if you get stopped in a downpour you end up sitting in a puddle of water. I figured the more protection the better.

[jsanford]

BMW gear should come with a manual.  I only just one month ago figured out why the fleece liner on my Belise jacket had a zipper in the back.  Same when I figured out why my Rallye jacket had a zip-out fanny pack.  

One point of caution on the Rallye pants--don't go down on one knee when checking your tire pressure.  The first time I went to wash the pants, the right knee armor piece had a crack in it.  Now I squat like a baseball catcher or Ichiro.

[sagerat]

Weather tested the Ralleye 3 jacket yesterday.  Rode the Ural up to a buddy's to put in a new speedo as my odometer/trip meter had conked out at the 27,852 km mark.  As I was putting Baxter out, I noticed the raindrops were morphing into fat white blobs of sleet.  "AWESOME!" I cried.  No, really, I did.

Rode the curvy 21-mile back way to Bill's and it really began to snow about five minutes after I had left home.  By the time I got to Bill's the roads were white, the hack's nose and windshield had an 1" of wet snow plastered to them, the breath guard on my Schuberth C3 was filled with snow and ice, rendering it hors de combat, and at the stoplights large globs of wet snow would fall off the Beemer jacket, going splaaaaat.  All in all, a memorable first test of foul weather riding.

I was only slightly chilly (but dry!) on the bike, which was pretty good I thought given I was only wearing the BMW Ralleye 3 suit, the liners, and Nike Dri-Fit pants and shirt and my Smart Wool balaclava.  Temps were about 28-30F according to the thermometer on the handlebar.  The front blew through in about an hour and when we went for a longer ride to test the new speedo and its odo/trip meter, the weather was low 40s and overcast.  

I also discovered when I took the suit off at Bill's to work on the bike, the vents on the back were not fully zipped shut.    At least I answered my question about where that draft was coming from; I was blaming poor sealing on the mesh panels up front.  Nope, 'twas operator error.

[ANZAC]

Nice report on the gear  

Yes, the weather up here in the great PNW has been a real drag lately.  Record rainfall mixed with snow sucks.

[sagerat]

OK, it's been about two months and 1,500 miles of riding with the Rally 3 gear, so here's an update.

Rain
I rode the Ural over Santiam Pass two weeks ago in a frog strangler, 30-35 miles of 38-40F temps and pouring rain the whole time.  I was just cozy as all  get out.  No leaks at all.  Again, just wearing Nike Dri-Fit pants and shirt underneath liners.  Suit does get heavy as chainmail when wet as jacket and pants don't shed water at all.  Still, I was impressed at how comfortable I was as the rain just poured down.

Heat at least by PNW standards
Ahem, bought the wrong size at hat at BMWOR in Eugene, so rode the GSA on Thursday back to Eugene...via Roseburg.  Gotta love OR 138, North Umpqua Highway.  Had liners in as ride began in high 50s.  Then it was upper 60s, low 70s by Roseburg.  Decided to just open vents and keep rolling.  Temps were in low 80s by the time I reached Eugene.  I was getting warm, but still had the chest panels to open yet.  Overall, I'd say the liner is good for about a 40-degree temperature range.  80 is about the break point.  Will see how the Rally 3 vents when the real summer hits.

Comfort
Minor neck irritation by my Adams' apple with the jacket liner in, otherwise collar is really comfy.  Ditto for pants and rest of the jacket.

Quality
Everything is still stitched tight.  Zipper between jacket and pants did close, then the teeth pulled apart once, but that was operator error in not getting the zipper started securely.  I wish the zipper on the pants went to the point of your hips for ease in starting it, but that's a minor quibble.

Overall thoughts
Solid addition to my riding kit.  I'll wear my Camelbak instead of using their pocket for hydration bags; I wonder why they assume you'll route the drinking house over your right shoulder?  I always run my on the left as that's just the clutch instead of the front brake and throttle on the right.  I've always had to grab my drinking house and stuff it into my Arai XD.  Maybe true GSA riders clench the tube in their teeth at the start of the ride with ferocity of a gila monster and never let go.