Protection is important when your riding, yet incredibly is overlooked by many bikers.
Yes I know on a hot day your shredded jeans are nice and cool, but when you come off chances are so will big chunks of unprotected flesh.
Harley-Davidson’s apparel arm has launched its first range of performance riding jeans in the Australasian market, with three options, all being tough enough to help prevented bodily carnage.
The full range comes with ROOMOTO lining at all major contact points and pricing starts at $385 for the Original Performance riding jeans and tops out at $515 for the FXRG Performance riding jeans. These come with hip and knee removable armour for added protection out of the box, making them a very good choice for anyone who is likely to put a lot of kilometers under their belt. *ba dum tiss*(?)
Straddling the gap between the Original and FXRG Performance jeans is the Genuine Performance riding jean, with ROOMOTO linings at major contact points such as the knees and buttocks.
Harley-Davidson sent Driven a pair of the mid-range Genuine Performance riding jeans to test, and we have to say they are some of the comfiest riding trou’ we’ve yet used.
The denim is soft and flexible giving them a comfortable fit, while the ROOMOTO lining gives protection if you come off. It also does a reasonably good job of keeping your legs warm on cold mornings.
Quality and fit is excellent, with no stray threads to be found. With a slight boot cut they fit over riding boots easily, yet don’t get caught underfoot even though ours were a tad on the long side.
WOULD WE RECOMMEND THEM?
Yes, they’re a great pair of jeans that we’d happily have another pair of. I’d splash out the extra $75 for the top of the line FXRG jeans which come with CE 2 approved armour straight out of the box. They are a bit pricier than other riding jeans but provide the quality and comfort you'd expect for the price.