Buying Gear in Europe

[markgoodrich]

I'm in the market for a new suit. The ones I'm interested in are made or at least headquartered in Europe. Some don't even have U. S. distributors.

 

Here's what I'm finding, with the dollar almost at parity with the Euro: A jacket which costs, say, $1500 here, is half that at the same label's distributor in, say, Spain. Granted that's an enticing reason to get a "free" trip to Spain...not really in the cards timewise...it appears to be difficult if not impossible to order from the European distributors. An example is Touratech gear.

 

Anyone have suggestions on how to get the stuff at the Euro price?

[realshelby]

Find a friend over there to buy it for you. PayPal the funds to them. Then ship it over.

 

You would be surprised at how often I deal with that in selling my clutch baskets Internationally. Customs charges shipping to those countries is always a factor, but shipping to the US is relatively easy.

[Guest Kakugo]

Customs charges shipping to those countries is always a factor, but shipping to the US is relatively easy.

 

No it isn't, at least if you want shipping costs to stay in the realm of sanity. A while back I bought some parts here on behalf of a chap I know in Utah.

No problem with payment, it arrived faster than a speeding bullet (thanks Paypal! ) but shipping the parts to him was a complete nightmare.

I expected just to have to fill a couple of custom forms detailing content and items value, just like you do when shipping to Japan, Switzerland or other non-EU countries. Instead I was presented with no less than six forms. It took me thirty minutes to fill them.

Of course using a carrier like DHL or UPS cuts the paperwork to a bare minimum since they'll be doing it for you, but it costs three times as much as using the Post Office.

 

So... if you plan to have a friend in Europe to buy the stuff for you or act as a middleman, please remember to budget some extra money to have him send the goods to you via UPS or another carrier. His brain will thank you.

 

[j.king]

another thing to try is to look up on one of the European eBay sites - Spain or Germany or the UK are the biggest. You should be able to find a seller who will ship internationally so if you can find the gear you want it should be possible.

 

As far as European brands are concerned - probably common not knowledge but just in case - Rukka make very high quality, well engineered gear. Pricey but worth it from what i have seen.

 

cheers

 

[1LIFE2LIVE]

Lots of folks on ADVRIDER have saved Big $$$$ by buying from sites there in Europe, here are a couple:

 

http://www.fc-moto.de/en_GB

 

http://biker-land.de/Motorcycle-Boots/waterproof/SIDI-ADVENTURE-Gore-Tex-boots.html

 

 

[markgoodrich]

Lots of folks on ADVRIDER have saved Big $$$$ by buying from sites there in Europe, here are a couple:

 

http://www.fc-moto.de/en_GB

 

http://biker-land.de/Motorcycle-Boots/waterproof/SIDI-ADVENTURE-Gore-Tex-boots.html

 

 

Thanks, good to know, unfortunately they don't carry the stuff I'm considering: Clover Tekno and Touratech Companero. But I'll save the links for other stuff.

[markgoodrich]

another thing to try is to look up on one of the European eBay sites - Spain or Germany or the UK are the biggest. You should be able to find a seller who will ship internationally so if you can find the gear you want it should be possible.

 

As far as European brands are concerned - probably common not knowledge but just in case - Rukka make very high quality, well engineered gear. Pricey but worth it from what i have seen.

 

cheers

 

Yep. I've got a ten year old Rukka suit which is all I ever wear. Armor has made pretty significant strides since then...in fact Rukka has a much better armor system now, which I bought, but only some of it fits my discontinued suit. Knee and back armor are in the closet...will fit lots of different suits....

 

The deal with the Rukka is the same deal as with lots of suits, the WP liners are on the inside, i.e. you have to disrobe if it starts raining while on a trip, put the liners in, and then put the suit back on. Not horrible, but a nuisance, but what is horrible is that like all other suits with this configuration, the outer suit gets wet, soaked, and even on a warm day if you get into a heavy rain you risk hypothermia. You're dry, but freezing. I was once so cold when checking into a hotel that when the desk clerk handed me the pen I could not hold it. It was a warm, wet summer day. But to repeat, it's not a Rukka problem, it's a design issue many other suits share.

 

The Touratech suit has my attention because the waterproof layer is the outer layer; I understand there may be fit issues with it, according to Touratech USA. The Clover suit is like the Rukka, but the outer layer has some water resistance, and appears from my research to be the most protective suit on the market.

[Guest Kakugo]

Mark, Touratech clothing is made by Stadler of Germany which incidentally was the brand which used to manufacture BMW branded clothing before they decided to nickel-dime customers with the usual corporate excuses.

You can buy straight from them or one of their dealers.

They have a 10-year warranty and, if you need repairs or alterations, they'll carry them out at the factory.

 

Regarding waterproof lining. Have you considered Gore-Tex Pro-Shell? I have a jacket and trousers from Dutch manufacturer Dane made in that material and they are the answer to every rider's prayer. If it starts raining, I usually just stop to change gloves and change glasses and ride on. No more need to fit liners or anything else.

Bear in mind Pro-Shell has always been rabidly expensive and has gone up in price a lot in the past couple of years, so much some manufacturers discontinued their Pro-Shell line.

[markgoodrich]

Yeah, I know Stadler makes the Touratech suit, in fact, the Touratech video is made at the Stadler factory. What's odd to me is that Touratech's US distributor practically refuses to sell the suit, claiming it won't fit Americans. It appears Stadler has the same exact suit in their own catalog. I've sent them an inquiry regarding price and U. S. sales.

[Guest Kakugo]

Yeah, I know Stadler makes the Touratech suit, in fact, the Touratech video is made at the Stadler factory. What's odd to me is that Touratech's US distributor practically refuses to sell the suit, claiming it won't fit Americans. It appears Stadler has the same exact suit in their own catalog. I've sent them an inquiry regarding price and U. S. sales.

 

It's strange because Stadler will take custom orders...

If Stadler cannot help they have a great dealer in Munchen: Spaetzunder .

The owner is a pleasantly off his rocker chap but will really go out a limb to help customers.

[markgoodrich]

Kakugo, Stadler referred me to their North American distributor, in Toronto. Guy seems very willing to help, but the dollar/euro advantage goes away. Stadler does have essentially the same suit as the Touratech Companero, just fewer bells and whistles, most of which I didn't want anyway. It's a few hundred dollars cheaper than Touratech, but is still a lot of dollars. For now I'm taking off next week in my ancient Rukka.