[Malliketh]

Originally Posted by meetarin

2. Boots - Please recommend what would be a good pick.

Wish you a safe ride. I recently picked up the TCX Stelvio Full length boots. My size (UK 9) was not available anywhere in Mumbai but the company store was kind enough to connect with an RE store in Ahmedabad where they had a few in stock. Would recommend you connect with the stores there (I am not sure I can PM you the contact unless you message me, happy to share the number). These boots are true to size so makes decision easy. I have so far used these boots on two short rides with almost 12 hours in non stop rain each time and came back to perfectly dry feet. Also wearing them to work since a week to have dry feet and they work like a charm and short distance walking is not at all uncomfortable. Would highly recommend these for the price you get them for (just above your budget) and you’ll find enough reviews on this thread in previous posts. They are selling it for 17,850 (15% standard discount by RE on 21,000 MRP) plus they throw in a decent duffel bag worth 2k. I paid 300 for shipping from Ahmedabad though. Hope this helps!

[meetarin]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Unfortunately the royal enfield TCX are the best bang for your buck at the moment.

Knox chest inserts from royal enfield are the bomb. Take your jacket to the store and have them try on the inserts in your jacket. If it fits, its the shit!

Update - Picked up the RE Stelvio Mid WP (TCX) from the local RE store for 17.1k. The MRP was 18k, so looks like I paid a bit more. It was the last one available and that too of my size. I will ask for a duffel bag too which is a standard offer for purchases north of 5k. The boot looks really sturdy and has a toe-shifter patch too. I sat on the Himalayan in the showroom and felt a little difficulty in shifting the gears and applying rear brakes. But I guess, it needs to break in first and hope this should sort out in time.

They dont have the chest inserts in stock though, can order it for me. But I will have to research a bit more if those would fit into my jacket.

Originally Posted by Malliketh

Wish you a safe ride.
I have so far used these boots on two short rides with almost 12 hours in non stop rain each time and came back to perfectly dry feet.

Hi @malliketh, thank you for extending help I picked up the mid-rise ones today. May I know which bike you ride and how it feels riding with these on, in terms of operational comfort?

Originally Posted by TheVaas

I have the Royal Enfield Intrepid Gloves which is both wind and waterproof.
You can check out the newer Blizzard gloves or the WP ones from Solace. Viaterra Grid is a leather glove - not at all wind or waterproof. So wouldn't recommend it for Zanskar-esque climate.

Hi @TheVaas, thank you for your guidance as always! I checked out the Intrepid and Blizzard today. Somehow I felt it to be a bit slippery on the throttle. Do you have a similar experience with the Intrepid?
I also checked out the Stout and it felt quite good. These are made of leather, has a velcro loop closure and is an all-weather pair. Would you know how these are?

(Tip: Carry tea bags and put them inside each boot overnight - removes the odour 100%)

Will do

If you have external rain layers for the BBG - that should suffice. Inner rain liners are decent - but cumbersome to put on and off while on the go. Also, in case of downpour, the wet jacket tends to become heavier. Instead go for either the Rynox outer rain jacket or the Viaterra M200 (jackets and pants). Outer layers make more sense than inner ones according to my own personal experience. For the cold, the inner thermal liners of your jacket and pant would suffice and you can always have these outer ones as added layer.
Hope this helps!

I do have the BBG external layer. I agree with you the outer layers make more sense. I was thinking of getting the Rynox outer rain jacket from the long term perspective, but those seems to be out of stock in their website. Have heard really great reviews of the Viaterra M200, but it's a tad expensive than the Rynox ones.

[Drpaul]

Hello fellow BHPians,
I have recently acquired a bullet 500 used, in mint condition. Up until now I have never owned a motorcycle but have used them frequently enough, borrowed from friends and family, for city runs.

Now I find myself always preferring the bullet to commute to work unless there is torrential rains. I thoroughly enjoy the ride which is 52 kms on the winding highways of the hilly Wayanad, Kerala. Already put more than 6000kms on the odo in a few months.

I have been just wearing a basic vega open face helmet all this while and not much else for protection. Monsoons have caught hold now and sitting behind the wheel and watching other bikes on the road, I had an epiphany - riding gear is not overated .

Having put the bike in the garage, I intend to acquire full gear before I ride again.(monsoons should relent too).

As a start, I bought the royal Enfield textile(cotton) jacket with leather used in abrasion prone areas. Forgot the model name. Will attach pictures. Jacket has a good quality feel to it, has subtle branding, ykk zippers etc.

It looks cool but does not come with the armour/ pads. I had planned to add these later. But when i went to the local bike accessories shop and asked for "armour" he looked at me like I was a terrorist or something.

Here's where I want your help. The only option I found was from the royal Enfield site where CE level 2 Knox elbow and shoulder armour are available for Rs 2900/- and back protector for 2800/-. Any suggestions on alternative sites, brands or shops near me( my house is in Kochi, and stay at Wayanad for work) for level 2 shoulder, elbow and back protectors will be much appreciated.
PS. If any wants a review of the jacket let me know.

[TheVaas]

Originally Posted by meetarin

Hi @TheVaas, thank you for your guidance as always! I checked out the Intrepid and Blizzard today. Somehow I felt it to be a bit slippery on the throttle. Do you have a similar experience with the Intrepid?
I also checked out the Stout and it felt quite good. These are made of leather, has a velcro loop closure and is an all-weather pair. Would you know how these are?

The intrepid will feel a bit slippery right out of the packaging since the underside is a bit 'suede-ish' material. But about 5-10kms of riding, it'll grip really well. I've had no issues so far. Note: I do not use grip puppies or similar products over the stock Tiger's handlebar grip.

No idea about real world performance of the Stout. From the specifications, it seems to be similar to Intrepid just that Stout is goat leather material. I'm still unsure of leather's drying properties/duration. The Viaterra Grid (made of same material) takes a good one and half days to dry off completely.

was thinking of getting the Rynox outer rain jacket from the long term perspective, but those seems to be out of stock in their website. Have heard really great reviews of the Viaterra M200, but it's a tad expensive than the Rynox ones.

If you check with online retailers, they usually have stock of the Rynox rain jacket. I went with one size up of my riding jacket size (even though they suggest to go for the same size as riding jacket). I went in for Rynox because the Viaterra ones were out of stock. And I am satisfied with it.

The rain pants from Viaterra are totally worth the investment, despite the steep pricing in comparison to the competition. I went with the same size as my riding pant.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by Drpaul

As a start, I bought the royal Enfield textile(cotton) jacket with leather used in abrasion prone areas. Forgot the model name. Will attach pictures. Jacket has a good quality feel to it, has subtle branding, ykk zippers etc.

It looks cool but does not come with the armour/ pads. I had planned to add these later. But when i went to the local bike accessories shop and asked for "armour" he looked at me like I was a terrorist or something.

Here's where I want your help. The only option I found was from the royal Enfield site where CE level 2 Knox elbow and shoulder armour are available for Rs 2900/- and back protector for 2800/-. Any suggestions on alternative sites, brands or shops near me( my house is in Kochi, and stay at Wayanad for work) for level 2 shoulder, elbow and back protectors will be much appreciated.
PS. If any wants a review of the jacket let me know.

Drpaul, congratulations on your Bullet 500. Coming to the question that you asked, just head to the Royal Enfield company store that is adjacent to Oberon Mall or go to the company store that is opposite the Jawa showroom. They will have the armour that can be inserted into your jacket.

If you are looking for a full face Royal Enfield helmet, you can get it in either of these showrooms. Depending on your budget and brand preference, you can also look at AutoQueen (Kaloor), DJ Helmets (Changampuzha park) or Corsagram (Thykoodam Bridge). Please do your research and dont forget to try and buy.

Are you comfortable with the ventilation on your jacket?

[Malliketh]

Originally Posted by meetarin

Update - Picked up the RE Stelvio Mid WP (TCX) from the local RE store for 17.1k. The MRP was 18k, so looks like I paid a bit more. It was the last one available and that too of my size. I will ask for a duffel bag too which is a standard offer for purchases north of 5k. The boot looks really sturdy and has a toe-shifter patch too. I sat on the Himalayan in the showroom and felt a little difficulty in shifting the gears and applying rear brakes. But I guess, it needs to break in first and hope this should sort out in time.

Congrats on the purchase. Believe you should be eligible for a 15% discount regardless of it being the last piece. I had tried out the RE TCX Stelio Mid shoes in Mumbai to double check the size. It was the last one available as well but the discount and duffel bag offer remained the same. You should flag it to the store ASAP.

On the comfort part - the Stelvio's are my first riding shoes and I felt extremely weird shifting gears, applying brakes, putting the foot down for U-turns the very first time I sat on my bike. Within an hour of riding (I left for a 300km road trip on my first use) I got well acquainted with these boots. By the time I was headed home in the evening, the shoes felt as good as my usual footwear. I expect your experience to be the same.

May I know which bike you ride and how it feels riding with these on, in terms of operational comfort?

Like quoted above, these shoes do not require long break-in in my opinion. I have the KTM 390 Adventure. The shoes fit under the toe shifter easily. A word of advice would be to ensure your right foot is not resting on the brake pedal (if you are in the habit of that) as it might result in you applying rear brakes throughout and heating them up without realizing. The sole of these shoes are brilliant - as a testament I walk to my office in these from the parking (10 mins walk) and you don't feel like you're wearing something unusual.

I was thinking of getting the Rynox outer rain jacket from the long term perspective, but those seems to be out of stock in their website.

I have been using the Rynox H2Go Pro 2 Rain jacket this monsoon. The zipper seem sturdy and have held its own on an all day rain day. You will not regret it. It fits well over my Rynox Tornado jacket (using the same size as the jacket).

[Drpaul]

Are you comfortable with the ventilation on your jacket?

Thank you so much for the quick response. Will definitely try out RE showrooms in Kochi. No luck with the 2 I checked with in Wayanad.

I have not ridden with the jacket yet. It's been raining day in and day out since I bought it. The jacket does not come with any rain protection.

However I wore it the first day I bought, in my car with the zipper open. It felt just like a blazer. Quite comfortable in the chilly Wayanad weather we are having now. Might be a different story all zipped up and during summer. Will update.

[ayan59dutta]

Hi All,

I just bought my first bike, Suzuki Vstrom SX last week. I had started planning to buy gears for quite some time now, and have purchased/decided on what to buy for everything but the boots.

• Helmet: SMK Twister (bought last year)
• Gloves: Rynox Urban X (I ride my uncle's scooty, and can never go back to riding without these)
• Jacket: Rynox Urban X (will buy)
• Pants: Rynox Airtex/Advento/Storm Evo (Depends on what is available in my size in the store)
• Boots: I am really confused so as what boots to buy. In the last 2-3 days, I went through ~80 pages in this thread. Due to size and comfort issues & return shipping hassles, I would prefer buying from an offline store. I have a budget of 10k, and I am willing to stretch it a bit in case they're worth it.

  - Won't go for Orazo, saw some bad reviews (Shumi, Dreamwalk YT)
  - Someone suggested Raida, will check out their dealers here in Howrah/Kolkata for the Raida Discover Boots
  - I had set my eyes on RE x TCX mid-rise boots, but they're unavailable. I'm not keen on the RE Cabo WP boots after knowing that they offer very less grip. I cannot flatfoot on my bike, so can't risk a slip. A fellow rider mentioned here that their new collection will be released later this year. Should I wait or look at other options?
  - My last option would be the Trek 100 boots from Decathlon. Tying and untying the laces would be a big hassle.
  

Can anyone please suggest good brands and good offline stores for riding boots in and around Kolkata/Howrah and the suburbs?

[meetarin]

Originally Posted by TheVaas

The intrepid will feel a bit slippery right out of the packaging since the underside is a bit 'suede-ish' material. But about 5-10kms of riding, it'll grip really well. I've had no issues so far.

Okay, that is confidence inspiring! I liked the overall finish of the Intrepid/Blizzard. Will go for either then

If you check with online retailers, they usually have stock of the Rynox rain jacket.

I literally scouted a lot of websites but it's out of stock in most places :( The aqua blue color though! I like it so much.

The rain pants from Viaterra are totally worth the investment, despite the steep pricing in comparison to the competition. I went with the same size as my riding pant.

I am thinking I will continue with the Rynox outer layer as of now. Will that be too aggresive?

Originally Posted by Malliketh

Congrats on the purchase. Believe you should be eligible for a 15% discount regardless of it being the last piece. I had tried out the RE TCX Stelio Mid shoes in Mumbai to double check the size. It was the last one available as well but the discount and duffel bag offer remained the same. You should flag it to the store ASAP.

I realized the same and flagged it to the store in the evening, but they did not budge! They told me however that they will arrange for the duffel bag. They were trying to preach me the T&C and that the offer applies on its own when they feed in the Part Number, but in this case that wasnt happening. I came back home and searched on the RE website. It clearly says the offer is on ANY purchase. I immediately tweeted, but I guess the social media folks are taking it easy on the weekend!! Don't know really what to do now :/

Within an hour of riding (I left for a 300km road trip on my first use) I got well acquainted with these boots. By the time I was headed home in the evening, the shoes felt as good as my usual footwear. I expect your experience to be the same.

That sounds great!

A word of advice would be to ensure your right foot is not resting on the brake pedal (if you are in the habit of that) as it might result in you applying rear brakes throughout and heating them up without realizing.

Thank you for reminding me! I am extra cautious about this since the riding boots tend to protrude towards the brake lever.

[meetarin]

Originally Posted by ayan59dutta

Hi All,

I just bought my first bike, Suzuki Vstrom SX last week. I had started planning to buy gears for quite some time now, and have purchased/decided on what to buy for everything but the boots.

Congrats on your purchase and happy miles to you!

Pants: Rynox Airtex/Advento/Storm Evo (Depends on what is available in my size in the store)

You can go for the Storm Evo. I picked this up about 6 months back and the comfort is great.

Boots:
- I had set my eyes on RE x TCX mid-rise boots, but they're unavailable.

I just picked these up today. The trick would be to check the showrooms in smaller cities. You can still try the Chinar Park showroom. I vaguely remember they had a pair 1.5 months back.

My last option would be the Trek 100 boots from Decathlon. Tying and untying the laces would be a big hassle.

This is what I had been using since last two years. Though the protection wont be that great, the boot is very sturdy, offers very good grip and is waterproof. My suggestion would be to buy a proper pair, because otherwise the Trek 100 would gather dust, unless you are into trekking as well

Can anyone please suggest good brands and good offline stores for riding boots in and around Kolkata/Howrah and the suburbs?

I purchased the Rynox pants and my MT helmet from "Gear Up" store in Bhawanipore. My friend also purchased quite few things from them. Their behaviour is nice and they have a good stock of everything. You might want to try. There are few more stores as well and you can get the references in the "Riders Community of Bengal" Facebook group.

[Malliketh]

Originally Posted by meetarin

I literally scouted a lot of websites but it's out of stock in most places :( The aqua blue color though! I like it so much.

You can order it from Wroom store (link below). They have blue in stock. This is a store I physically visit to get a lot of my biking gear (including my rain jacket) and they are responsive over the phone as well in case of any support required.

https://wroom.co.in/products/rynox-h...ua-blue-india/

[ayan59dutta]

Originally Posted by meetarin

Congrats on your purchase and happy miles to you!

Thank you!

Originally Posted by meetarin

You can go for the Storm Evo. I picked this up about 6 months back and the comfort is great.

Okay, I'll check if Gear Up has my size available the next time I visit them.

Originally Posted by meetarin

I just picked these up today. The trick would be to check the showrooms in smaller cities. You can still try the Chinar Park showroom. I vaguely remember they had a pair 1.5 months back.

I have decided that I'll call all the showrooms one by one

Originally Posted by meetarin

This is what I had been using since last two years. Though the protection wont be that great, the boot is very sturdy, offers very good grip and is waterproof. My suggestion would be to buy a proper pair, because otherwise the Trek 100 would gather dust, unless you are into trekking as well

Does the Trek 100 offer good ankle support? It'll eliminate the necessity of carrying another pair of shoes incase I wish to do some exploring on foot. I felt like a penguin when I tried the full length Adv boots for the first time, and the mid-rise ones seemed a bit better

Originally Posted by meetarin

I purchased the Rynox pants and my MT helmet from "Gear Up" store in Bhawanipore. My friend also purchased quite few things from them. Their behaviour is nice and they have a good stock of everything. You might want to try. There are few more stores as well and you can get the references in the "Riders Community of Bengal" Facebook group.

I visited them last week with a friend for his gloves, they had just one mid-size boots in stock (Forma Voyage). Buying the first pair I have seen didn't seem right for me. It seems I'll have to wait for them to restock. I didn't have time to go through the FB group yet, will look into it and try to compile a list of stores later.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by Drpaul

Thank you so much for the quick response. Will definitely try out RE showrooms in Kochi. No luck with the 2 I checked with in Wayanad.

I have not ridden with the jacket yet. It's been raining day in and day out since I bought it. The jacket does not come with any rain protection.

However I wore it the first day I bought, in my car with the zipper open. It felt just like a blazer. Quite comfortable in the chilly Wayanad weather we are having now. Might be a different story all zipped up and during summer. Will update.

Doc, I suspect that you will find the lack of air circulation to be stifling. A fully ventilated mesh jacket is what most enthusiasts prefer, given our climatic conditions in Kerala. Once you get the armour and the rains settle down, see how comfortable you are with the jacket. If it does become a problem, then do consider getting yourself a mesh jacket. The air circulation in a mesh jacket will make your riding a lot more fun and you wont be drenched in sweat, by the time you reach your destination.

[meetarin]

Originally Posted by ayan59dutta

Does the Trek 100 offer good ankle support? It'll eliminate the necessity of carrying another pair of shoes incase I wish to do some exploring on foot.

It does! I even walked on snow wearing those during my Sikkim trip :P It doesn't require much break-in.

I have decided that I'll call all the showrooms one by one

Ha ha! Not a bad idea.

I didn't have time to go through the FB group yet, will look into it and try to compile a list of stores later.

Another store I came across is Bikers Genome. Never visited them though.

[Drpaul]

Doc, I suspect that you will find the lack of air circulation to be stifling. A fully ventilated mesh jacket is what most enthusiasts prefer, given our climatic conditions in Kerala

Yeah, I was considering the RE Streetwind which is like almost full mesh. I thought it was good VFM at 4500/-. But changed my mind cause it didn't come with a thermal liner, and it came with level 1 armour and just a foam back pad. So figured will lose its VFM proposition once I have to change these.

I thought this being cotton will be kinder than the awesome looking leather jacket they had. But with the inner synthetic lining this has, I have feeling you will be right about the heat and sweat. But for the time being it's okay I guess, it being quite chilly here in the hills. It should remain so till Feb next year. Then I think I will get the street wind or the wind farer. I can just use the same level 2 armour I buy for this. RE supplies Knox armour mostly, should be interchangeable I guess.