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May 2011 08

Sedici Monza Mototrcycle Jacket

Posted in Essential Stuff, Gear written by Graham

Hey guys, Graham here with an update for our Essential Stuff section with a review of the Sedici Monza motorcycle jacket. These are actually made by the folks over at Cycle Gear. After years of peddling other people’s gear, they have decided to come out with their own super affordable line.

The jacket is actually just half the Monza set of riding gear, matching pants are available as well—stay tuned next week for that review. Because I’m tall have a hard time finding a one-piece jumpsuit that fits
properly, I opted to go for the two-piece, pants and jacket route, but Sedici also offers the Monza set as a one piece suit if that’s more to your tastes.

The Monza jacket is primarily leather, between 1.2 and 1.4mm thick. While the jacket doesn’t have hard plastic back and chest guards like some more serious outfits do, it does have additional padding in the front and back for protection. The shoulders are also capped with plastic armor, as well as the elbows. A big plus in my book is the pre-formed moldings for the elbow pads, which makes it more comfortable to keep you arms in the riding position.

Even though the jacket is sold separately from the pants, it does include zippers that can be sewn onto any pair of motorcycle pants, giving you nearly the protection of a full suit but offering more flexibility and practicality—I often find I want to ride with the jacket, but not bother with specialized riding pants. Who wants to walk around school or work all day wearing leather?

The jacket is vented up the entire length of the inside of the arms, but personally I found this more of a drawback than a plus. For me, riding in the chilly Bay Area air, the vented arms actually keep me too cool, forcing me to wear long sleeves under the jacket—but we’ll see, maybe the summer heat will change my mind. Luckily, the jacket features a zip-out, quilted satin liner that can be removed when the temperatures rise.

Whether you prefer to ride with pants and a jacket or a jumpsuit, Sedici’s Monza line is well worth a look.

Stay tuned for more updates, and be sure to order your copy of the 2011 print edition of Inline Performance Magazine HERE at the pre-order price for a limited time.

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