I have the illumination pants from HD. They are pretty good for the cold and rain. They have two zip panels on the top of your thigh to help keep cool. I wouldn't wear them in the summer.

They do limit mobility and I wear them without the zip in liner.

The illumination is the reflective strips on the legs, good for night / early morning riding.

I have the FXRG jacket which zips to the back of the pants.

As per HD requirement, they are overpriced. But sometimes it is the easiest solution to buy stuff.

They have zippers at the back of your leg to get boots through, but the fabric seemed to get stuck too easy. I put the pants on then my boots to save the headache.

They are good for what they are intended. I've never got "soaked" in the rain.

I'd say they are worth the cash, but not the best pant out there.

H

 

Thanks for the reply. Seems very few people on this forum have these pants. I take it from the above quote, that if worn in cold weather with the liner in and over jeans they would be too tight/restrictive???? If you ordered larger so that you could wear them with the liner comfortably, when you took the liner out would they then be too loose - flap in the wind, like? I'm wondering about, going from cold to hot conditions, wearing these with the liner over jeans, taking the liner out over jeans, and then wearing shorts under the shell in hot weather. Would one pair/size be able to do all that? I'm thinking about touring for a month or more next year and one pair of pants that do it all would be great, especially if they're waterproof.

I have the HD 360 Illumination Jacket and like it way better than any leather jacket I've ever had. Seems these pants should compliment that.

 

Overpants will limit your mobility, that's just the nature of the beast.

Before you buy, take a little time and look online at denier rating and abrasion resistance. The Illumination pants are 600 denier polyester, that's not very strong stuff. In the event of a crash, two things are going to happen; the fabric and/or seams will rip, allowing the armor to shift, and the polyester will melt, burning your leg. I won't post a picture of it, but my jeans and leathers kept me from getting road rash when I went down last month, but the heat buildup from the friction of me sliding burned the hell out of my knee. Had I been wearing anything polyester, they would have been cutting melted pants off of my skin.

If you're looking for a quality pair of over pants, get away from the Harley branded stuff. If you're looking for an all-season pant, check out the Olympia X-Moto, or anything that's got a higher-denier Cordura at points of impact (definitely at the knees, elsewhere's cool too). Also make sure you have both knee and hip armor that's CE-rated. You can spend a fortune on this stuff if you want, but to get something that's going to protect you in the event of a crash, and keep you warm/cool/dry, you're probably looking at around $250-$300.

Good luck.

 

Better quality motorcycle pants often use expansion/stretch panels just above the knees although the padding in the knees can make them feel bulky. They should not normally limit your range of motion though.


+1

MotoPort has a comparison of materials commonly used in motorcycle gear on their site. Polyester faired poorly in testing, Cordura, leather and Kevlar tested really well.

http://www.motoport.com/save-your-hide

 

Ok hopefully these pics upload. The one is of the liner, it appears the liner is just a waterproof type thing. The other photo is a small zip off panel. Which is just for venting.


Just realized can't upload from mobile site.

 

Since the discussion has wandered to the Tourmaster product line, I'll share my experience. I've been riding in the cold weather with the Tourmaster Overpants for a couple of years now. I have a 20 - 25 min commute to work riding at 55 mph for about half of it. These overpants have worked great for me since I can wear whatever I'd normally wear to work. I've been riding in the low to mid 20's with these and can honestly say that leg warmth has never been an issue. The cool thing is that when I arrive, I don't have a bunch of layers to remove. Just unzip each pant leg, step out, and I'm ready to go to work.

I picked Tourmaster after checking out a bunch of reviews in several forums. Most people who have owned Tourmaster have good things to say about the products. I also wear a Tourmaster Transitions II jacket and am very pleased with my choices for pants and jacket. My Tourmaster jacket & pants are way warmer than any leather version I've owned.

 

Hello!

I have the jacked and it is brilliant! Cooler in hot weather than leathers and the quilty liner is snug. I have ridden from South Coast UK to Amsterdam (Holland) in vile weather with high winds and torrential rain and I was dry - that's to say DRY!

Of course, being thrown together in China; presumably in return for a handful of rice, I have had to repair the stitching in three places and I had to re-make one of the loops that keeps the liner sleeve down by your wrist, but hey warm, dry, cool on a bike tells a lot about the materials.

Just wish Mr Beancounter over there in Harley-ville would swallow a pill and then they could get back to making high quality stuff in the USA that'd really be worth the premium price (check out what we have to pay in Europe). :-)

Will I buy the pants? Probably, but I would like to know if anybody has ridden in them in heavy rain for a prolonged ride please?

Kind regards

Keith

 

@Kermevavs. I've had the jacket for two years. Still looking for the optimal cold-weather pant.

 

I have the Illumination textile jacket AND pants.
Jacket is awesome. Lights up when headlights hit it, fully waterproof great for Spring thru Fall... enough said.
Pants, not so much. I ordered a pair from Zanotti's when they were still around. loved them in the springtime for cold weather riding. Then I got to test the waterproof qualities. Since the jacket is so good, and I owned the jacket for 2 months before I got the pants and tested it in several downpours, I didn't have my old rainpants with me when heading home from a friend's house (360 miles) in a downpour. It poured for 300 of the 360 miles, on the interstate with road spray all around. The pants are advertised as waterproof and I also had the waterproof liner zipped in. I could tell in 10 miles I was getting wet in the crotch. By the time I got home, the only part of my jeans that weren't soaked thru between the knee and ankle. the rest looked like I went swimming.

Zanotti's was willing to do an exchange for another pair and the second pair performed just as badly. The problem is, the waterproof liner zips in about 3 inches from the top of the pant - best I could tell, the water was seeping in above the waterproof liner and wicking its way down the jeans.

I now wear First Gear Pants without issue.

The illumination jacket is highly recommended. The pants, only if you never ride in the rain.

 

Which type? Do they have a removable liner? Do you wear them instead of or over jeans? " Without Issue", I assume, means warm in cold weather as well as waterproof???