BMG Zodiac Jacket

[misterprofessionality]

Interested in the review also, but I always question the colors chosen for these summer gear sorts of things. I don't care how well it vents, black isn't likely the best choice.

I think you're right, that's why Black is always offered as the cheapest option for some reason, even though black is an objectively bad color for ANY motorcycle gear in ANY season. if you think about it there's no good reason to offer black gear in the first place, except to provide a counterpoint which gives you an excuse to charge more for white/hi viz gear.

[emptysea]

There might be a lighter color that would be appealing to me, but I like the black/yellow combo on this one. I would, however, prefer that the yellow be red for reasons that should be obvious.

I've only worn the jacket on one ride and it was on a cool day. I have some comments about the fit and the features, but I will hold them for just a few more days. We're headed to Custer, SD (at the recommendation of our very own Long Ranger) starting tomorrow evening. I hope to get in a short ride upon our arrival in Custer on 7/3 and then most of the rest of that week will be the test period for this item.

Hope I'm building the suspense!

[4 Paws_imp]

BMG sells quality products. My non hot weather jacket is a BMG Mercury and haven't even considered changing it out, still quite happy after close to 15 years and LOTS of miles.

I think you just talked me into another BMG jacket, dissatisfied with my el cheapo mesh jacket. I'll wait for your report.

[Rox_imp]

I'm amazed they still make that jacket. I had a black and grey one in 2007.
It was a good jacket for the price. Mine actually came with Knox soft armor at the time.
Had it maybe 3 years. Faded a tad but I wore it everywhere though hot sun, rain and the occasional hail.

[emptysea]

Tease of my review: It's not a great HOT weather jacket. Full report to follow soon.

[redbirds_imp]

I've had a Zodiac jacket for several years. It's my go to jacket in early spring, late fall when temps run 60 to 80F. It is definitely not a summer jacket at least not in my typical summer climate. Not near enough ventilation for hot days; for hot days a Cortech vented jacket works great. I also have a BMG Mercury jacket for cold weather and it is tops for really cold days. With the liner in place it keeps torso warm and is also very water repellent. Both BMG jackets are well made and still look good years later.

[emptysea]

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.



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.

[tommymck_imp]

Great Review MTC. The only thing that I've found that works in the heat of the summer is this thing:

[url=https://www.bohnarmor.com/product/all-season-airtex-armored-riding-shirt-blue-white/?gclid=CjwKCAjwtpGGBhBJEiwAyRZX2jxkkn9B-z8BLoC2bsMtl_nYH_2H5TsoyOdmLsnKHoLGHk3HjONmlxoCQj0QAvD_BwE]Bohn Body Armor

It's pricey, but I love mine and am glad I got it. The weather recently broke, but it's been in the 100s here for about a week. This really works so long as you are moving at all....and it's very comfortable...

[specialist8]

Ultimate test? --> Profuse hot, hazy, humid July summer midday in Chicago traffic congestion, trapped and nowhere to go.

Hopefully the rider won't pass out during the jacket test.

I've had my CB1100 for 5 years in nothing but Chicago traffic and its that kind of scenario you listed that 'inspired' me to throw caution to the wind and make the choice to lane filter when jammed up with stop and go gridlock.

Can say my lane filtering has only gone bad once and that's bc i was doing it at 30+mph which other cars were also doing so it was an avoidable event i brought on myself but the taxi i merged into was a bit reckless himself. I wear my Firstgear mesh jacket whenever im on the bike in hot weather bc people are nuts out here. Hyper-vigilance alone can't keep you safe but my riding gear saved my butt in that accident. As long as i can get 20+mph in my mesh, im relatively cool since my NC Street shield doesn't reduce too much wind.


MTc, jacket looks like it was made for you. Can say that I don't see that style jacket here much in the states, but it has a very subtle 'cafe' look to it w/o trying too hard. Since you're in Chicagoland, it seems like a summer jacket starts and ends w/ a truly all-mesh jacket. I'm in the market for some riding pants so ill give this shop a look. I'm concerned having zero below the waist protection and colder weather brings extra danger to the roads.