08-17-2021, 07:17 AM
Took the Zodiac along with my Olympia Dallas jacket to South Dakota for a week of riding. It was easy to bring two options since we pulled the bikes behind our truck so we had plenty of room for extra jackets, clothing, a fully stocked portable bar; you know - all the essentials. There will be, I sincerely hope, a Seat-Time report on our adventures in the Black Hills, but I thought it best if I finished this review of the BMG Zodiac jacket.
Fit & Finish
The Zodiac is very well-made. Seams are tight, good zippers, etc. The front zipper pull is on the left as is the tradition in the UK. Not a fan. I'm pretty confident that it would have been British zippers rather than tea getting tossed into Boston Harbor had the zipper been invented in the 1700s. The quality of the materials is, though, beyond good.
![[Image: e754b713a10122bdde0f51750a811d26.jpg]](https://cb1100forum.net/forum/uploads/imp/202108/e754b713a10122bdde0f51750a811d26.jpg)
It fits me great except for the sleeves which are just a tiny tiny bit short for my taste. Cheryl says that they don't look short either when riding or not so maybe that's just a personal preference. I have a 46" chest and 36" waist. My preferred shirt sleeve length is 35" and the XL fit fine with the exception of my nit-picky sleeve issue.
My only other gripe is that the collar occasionally rubs against my neck. It's annoying on long trips. They made a retro-fit for this jacket that is supposed to prevent this -- a nylon flap that covers the top of the zipper and part of the collar -- but it doesn't work well for me. Fortunately, it doesn't happen all the time.
Overall, I really like the look and feel of this jacket.
![[Image: 928eedf700d80a81e7cb90c5a10495b6.jpg]](https://cb1100forum.net/forum/uploads/imp/202108/928eedf700d80a81e7cb90c5a10495b6.jpg)
Features
The Zodiac comes with Knox armor for elbows, shoulders, and back. I the elbow and shoulder pads look substantial, but the back was just foam. I swapped in my D30 back pad from my Olympia jacket and I'm happy and reasonably safe. I feel, but it's just a feeling, that this jacket will provide better abrasion resistance than my Oly Dallas mesh jacket.
![[Image: eedfd5fb306082be60805b025b7a0793.jpg]](https://cb1100forum.net/forum/uploads/imp/202108/eedfd5fb306082be60805b025b7a0793.jpg)
There are three pockets, two on the outside and a "map" pocket on the inside. The zippers you see on the upper chest are not pockets but rather are vents. There are two more "exhaust" vents on the back. The ventilation system works fine for what it is. More on that in the "performance" portion.
![[Image: a2ec5d30dc1945cfac288da27a861374.jpg]](https://cb1100forum.net/forum/uploads/imp/202108/a2ec5d30dc1945cfac288da27a861374.jpg)
The jacket is not Hi-Viz, but that's ok for me. I opted for the yellow/black combo because I liked the way it looked, but if it makes me a little more conspicuous, I'll take it.
It is not supposed to be a waterproof jacket, but it kept me dry during the one light sprinkle I've encountered so far. All the pockets are lined it what seems to be fairly water-resistant material. the inside pocket is probably pretty resistant, but the zippers on the outside are not of the waterproof variety so stuff in them will get wet in a good rain.
There are Velcro waist adjusters on the side. One of the problems of having an XL-sized chest/shoulder area with a L-sized waist area is that most jacket manufacturers do not provide enough Velcro material to cinch up the waist properly. BMG is no exception. Not a big deal, but I will probably add a piece of Velcro to the back of the jacket (the black portion to the left side of the pic) to get things a little tighter.
![[Image: 7854e25e2db7a8d543d0b9e35050226b.jpg]](https://cb1100forum.net/forum/uploads/imp/202108/7854e25e2db7a8d543d0b9e35050226b.jpg)
Performance
The jacket performs flawlessly in every area it is supposed to EXCEPT for being cool in hot weather. This, as redbirds stated, is a spring/fall jacket (+) jacket. I added the (+) because it's still pretty comfortable in temps into the low 80s with just a t-shirt underneath. Above that though, I was baking. I did not try soaking a t-shirt or using my evaporative vest because I had the luxury of my Olympia jacket. With daytime highs in Custer, SD approaching 100f, the Olympia Dallas was the way to go. I strongly recommend the Olympia jacket over the Zodiac for extreme heat.
The Zodiac fits me almost perfectly and therefore does not balloon up at all when riding. I've had other jackets that became very uncomfortable at highway speeds or on very windy days -- sometimes the jacket lifts up and the collar hits me in the throat. Other times, it just catches the wind and tries to push me off the back of my bike. The Zodiac did not do that and the few times that I felt the wind, opening the front vents (the backs are open 24/7) let the air flow through. I'm very pleased with how it feels when riding.
Andrew, aka Capo, from this Forum owns the US version of BMG and personally helped both with sizing and expediting delivery. He also gave me a discount that I believe is available to all Forum members. He made a post here once with that offer. I assume it still stands and I assume that the readers of this review know how to use the search feature much better than I do. LOL
Bottom line is that I love this jacket. It's not a summer jacket for me, though. It will be my jacket for cool to warm weather. I will keep my Olympia Dallas for another year and the probably replace it with another one only a size smaller (that particular jacket runs at least one size larger than their other models).
If you want a good looking, fairly versatile, and well-made motorcycle jacket, take a look at the BMG Zodiac.
Fit & Finish
The Zodiac is very well-made. Seams are tight, good zippers, etc. The front zipper pull is on the left as is the tradition in the UK. Not a fan. I'm pretty confident that it would have been British zippers rather than tea getting tossed into Boston Harbor had the zipper been invented in the 1700s. The quality of the materials is, though, beyond good.
It fits me great except for the sleeves which are just a tiny tiny bit short for my taste. Cheryl says that they don't look short either when riding or not so maybe that's just a personal preference. I have a 46" chest and 36" waist. My preferred shirt sleeve length is 35" and the XL fit fine with the exception of my nit-picky sleeve issue.
My only other gripe is that the collar occasionally rubs against my neck. It's annoying on long trips. They made a retro-fit for this jacket that is supposed to prevent this -- a nylon flap that covers the top of the zipper and part of the collar -- but it doesn't work well for me. Fortunately, it doesn't happen all the time.
Overall, I really like the look and feel of this jacket.
Features
The Zodiac comes with Knox armor for elbows, shoulders, and back. I the elbow and shoulder pads look substantial, but the back was just foam. I swapped in my D30 back pad from my Olympia jacket and I'm happy and reasonably safe. I feel, but it's just a feeling, that this jacket will provide better abrasion resistance than my Oly Dallas mesh jacket.
There are three pockets, two on the outside and a "map" pocket on the inside. The zippers you see on the upper chest are not pockets but rather are vents. There are two more "exhaust" vents on the back. The ventilation system works fine for what it is. More on that in the "performance" portion.
The jacket is not Hi-Viz, but that's ok for me. I opted for the yellow/black combo because I liked the way it looked, but if it makes me a little more conspicuous, I'll take it.
It is not supposed to be a waterproof jacket, but it kept me dry during the one light sprinkle I've encountered so far. All the pockets are lined it what seems to be fairly water-resistant material. the inside pocket is probably pretty resistant, but the zippers on the outside are not of the waterproof variety so stuff in them will get wet in a good rain.
There are Velcro waist adjusters on the side. One of the problems of having an XL-sized chest/shoulder area with a L-sized waist area is that most jacket manufacturers do not provide enough Velcro material to cinch up the waist properly. BMG is no exception. Not a big deal, but I will probably add a piece of Velcro to the back of the jacket (the black portion to the left side of the pic) to get things a little tighter.
Performance
The jacket performs flawlessly in every area it is supposed to EXCEPT for being cool in hot weather. This, as redbirds stated, is a spring/fall jacket (+) jacket. I added the (+) because it's still pretty comfortable in temps into the low 80s with just a t-shirt underneath. Above that though, I was baking. I did not try soaking a t-shirt or using my evaporative vest because I had the luxury of my Olympia jacket. With daytime highs in Custer, SD approaching 100f, the Olympia Dallas was the way to go. I strongly recommend the Olympia jacket over the Zodiac for extreme heat.
The Zodiac fits me almost perfectly and therefore does not balloon up at all when riding. I've had other jackets that became very uncomfortable at highway speeds or on very windy days -- sometimes the jacket lifts up and the collar hits me in the throat. Other times, it just catches the wind and tries to push me off the back of my bike. The Zodiac did not do that and the few times that I felt the wind, opening the front vents (the backs are open 24/7) let the air flow through. I'm very pleased with how it feels when riding.
Andrew, aka Capo, from this Forum owns the US version of BMG and personally helped both with sizing and expediting delivery. He also gave me a discount that I believe is available to all Forum members. He made a post here once with that offer. I assume it still stands and I assume that the readers of this review know how to use the search feature much better than I do. LOL
Bottom line is that I love this jacket. It's not a summer jacket for me, though. It will be my jacket for cool to warm weather. I will keep my Olympia Dallas for another year and the probably replace it with another one only a size smaller (that particular jacket runs at least one size larger than their other models).
If you want a good looking, fairly versatile, and well-made motorcycle jacket, take a look at the BMG Zodiac.