John & Mick's BIG AdventureShalesy, Where's Yer Troosers?
I now have most of my outer layer. This consists of:
Boots: Altberg High Bandog Desert Boot. A desert boot that is modified for motorcycle use with a braced sole, shin guard, ankle guard and various additional patches to protect against gear lever abrasion etc.
Helmet: Arai Tour X. Not a lot to say about this except that it fits good, its not too noisy, it has room for the Autocom speakers and microphone without it pressing on the ears. Black and clear visors and I will also get a pair of goggles that will fit inside the face aperture.
Heated Gloves: The gloves are from Warm and Safe in the US of A. They look and feel like a great product. Waterproof and wind proof. I have fitted a “Heat-Troller”, also from Warm and Safe to control them.
Jacket: I looked for a long time for a jacket that would not break the bank! The BMW, Rukka and other top line jackets cost serious money, and at the end of this trip, the jacket might be worn out from dust, sand and whatever else gets chucked at us. With that in mind, a more “budget” jacket was sought.
I looked at loads! Finally settled on the Hein Gerike Journey as it seemed OK, was cheap and was not all black. Problem is that there are none left. Phoned HG’s head office in Germany but to no avail.
I looked in the Polo cataloge, also a German company, and they listed the Pharao Tour Jacket. Loads of pockets, vent flaps/zips, only €230 and available in my size and in RED and grey. I had only ever seen it in a picture but I was well impressed when it arrived! Looks and feels great for the price. Time will tell if it was a good choice.
Trousers: or Pants as they call them now.
As HG’s seem to have sold their entire stock of summer gear, I also ordered the “pants” from Polo. Called the Pharoa Light, they are not wind or
waterproof but should be light and airy. I am waiting for them to arrive as I ordered the wrong size. A German large is pretty damned big. Hope the mediums are better. Colour will be grey/black
Update 23/11: The pants have now arrived. Fit and finish is AOK but the colour is mostly black, although the label says they are grey…
I must say that Polo’s service seems to work very well. When they ship, they include a returns slip in case you need to change the size/item or whatever. Sent mine back, at my own cost, and they sent a replacement at their cost and all this, out of country.
Cant be bad!
Links for all the above are, as usual, on the links page.
The next instalment is hereCommenting is closed for this article.