Forget motorcycles for a minute.

We overpay for lots of things where their intrinsic value is based on the name. Luxury brands come to mind. Whether your poison is Balenciaga, Hermes or Vacheron Constantin, the name has a lot to do with the amount charged to your card. There is a big difference between spending a boatload of money on a luxury item that no one really needs and buying equipment to keep your skin and bones intact if you lowside or an inattentive motorist plows into your group ride.

I don’t want to fall into the trap of just taking the price of materials into consideration in determining if an item is too expensive. There are manufacturing, transportation and various overhead costs associated with the retail price of goods. Back in my produce farming/processing days, the transportation was equal to or greater than the wholesale cost of the actual product. You’d be amazed how small those costs were when you look at the retail price at your local grocery store.

I have no issue with companies taking a profit, either. There’s no other reason to run a business. Otherwise, they’d be a charity. Some companies aren’t very large and do not benefit from economy of scale. However, should we, as a motorcycle community, continue to pay a small fortune for equipment that is integral for our survival in the event of an incident?

KLIM

Let’s pick on KLIM for a second. No one has ever said their products weren’t great. I’ve never heard anyone say they had a poor experience. Is their Adventure Rally Jacket worth $1800? It has buckles, pockets, D3O® armor, GORE-TEX®, HYDRAPAK® reservoir, 3M™ SCOTCHLITE™, VELCRO® and YKK® zippers. That’s a lot of other companies’ products and each one needs their piece of the pie. How much can YKK® zippers cost wholesale? What doesn’t come with GORE-TEX® these days? I said I was trying not to fall into the cost of materials trap but we’re talking about a jacket that will set you back around $2k with tax. Other than needing to differentiate it from lower jackets in their range and anything with “adventure” in the name automatically costing more, I don’t see a reason for the price.

The bottom end of KLIM’s jacket lineup arrives at $249 with the Forecast Jacket. It has some of the same brand-name materials as the Adventure Rally but it is really just a glorified windbreaker. Meh.

The least amount of money you have to spend at KLIM and still get armor is $379 for the Induction Jacket. The armor is only level 1 and the use case is limited since it is mesh. You’d have to combine it with the Forecast Jacket to use it for any but the nicest of days and you’re in for $628.

BELSTAFF

Do you want to look like you joined Ewan and Charley on their multi-episode Harley Davidson/Rivian advertisement from Ushuaia to Los Angeles? Look no further than the $1675 Long Way Up Jacket. It has YKK® zippers! Also included are D3O® armor and GORE-TEX® for your pocket change. There’s no question Belstaff is targeting a specific market with this brand association and that market traditionally has deep pockets. The company doesn’t disclose if they would refuse to sell you one of these if you pulled up on a clapped out 2006 KLR650 with stock doohickey. I bet you $5 they would certainly have 9-1-1 at the ready when you walked into their store in case things went sideways. No offense to the GS riders taking the long way to Starbucks but I don’t know if you’re allowed to have one of these either unless you also have a LiveWire in the stable.

To Belstaff’s credit, their cheapest moto-targeted jacket is only $180. The Long Way Up Rain Motorcycle Jacket is also a glorified windbreaker but it comes in $69 (nice) under the KLIM. It is arguably still priced too high but you’re paying for that cosplay cred and it still undercuts KLIM.

The Temple Motorcycle Jacket will set you back $16 more than the Induction Jacket but it is more practical having only mesh inserts instead of full mesh. It also has level 1 armor like the Induction. I guess that extra material makes it cost more. I had never seen nor heard of this jacket until starting this but I like the way it looks. If it wasn’t $395, I’d probably buy one.

SEDICI

If you don’t know, Sedici is one of the in-house brands of Comoto (Revzilla, CycleGear, JP Cycles, Rever). I thought talking about them would serve well as a contrast in price. There are other reasonably-priced brands but I’ll just stick to this one.

The Avventura Waterproof Jacket is currently their most expensive adventure-y jacket and closest comparison to the ones already mentioned. It is $270 or $243 if you are an RPM member. It doesn’t not have all of those outsourced trademarked components. The fit, finish and durability are likely more questionable at this price point. I can tolerate a lot for something 1/7th the price.

The Avventura may compare most similarly to a jacket lower in the other brands’ ranges but I’m looking at the top of each. Given that it costs less than either of the other brands’ cheapest armored jacket, I don’t think the comparison is unfair.

Sedici’s cheapest jacket has level 2 armor and comes in under $100 with membership. The Podio isn’t going to appeal to everyone’s style but if you are just looking for protection on a budget, I don’t see how you could go wrong.

SO WHY DO WE PAY?

Stealing a quote from Donut Media here…does more expensive mean more better?

KLIM and Belstaff are respected brands. If I had unlimited funds, I’d have a closet full of them. None of it would have “Long Way Up” on it but that’s personal preference. I picked on them because they were the first two that popped into my mind. You could insert any brands here and the story would look the same.

How much of the cost we’re paying is really down to materials and manufacturing and how much is the name? Are we paying more to flex on grimgram, ticktaks or when we show up at a bike night? Is high-priced gear our Balenciaga? Is a Belstaff jacket our Birkin? If I had the funds or the connections, I’d do a direct comparison between the top jackets from these brands and Sedici just to see if I can tell where that money is going. I don’t have the funds and am too introverted to make connections. Maybe someone else will do it.

If you just want level 2 armor and don’t care what it looks like, Sedici has you covered (literally) for under $100. Big brands charge big numbers. It is the motorcycle community that allows the prices to be what they are. We pay their prices and give them free advertising in return.

I really want one of those Temple jackets now. Unfortunately, I can’t justify the price tag. Do you think I could get Belstaff to sponsor me if I stretched my two-mile trip to the gas station into a 11-part miniseries? We could call it “Long Way[st] of Time.”

Why is our gear so expensive?

Go big…then go small?

Ural Gear Up: One year of ownership