VOLUME 57 ISSUE 32 AUGUST 11, 2020 P117
S TANDOUT FEATURE
Comfort (with protection)
RIDER AN ALYSIS
I can't believe I've crossed over to the
realm of the two-piece. Two-pieces are
for old, crusty dudes who can't fit into
one-piece suits, and I'm not that guy—
yet. Or so I thought.
Straight up, I have to say this is the
most comfortable suit I've ever used.
So much so that I've used it for road
testing, and I never use leather suits for
road testing unless the photographer
absolutely demands it.
When Alpinestars revamped their
suit lineup last year, they really hit it out
of the park. I've been lucky enough to
have custom suits over the years and
aside from the extra weight of a produc-
tion suit, the fit of the new A'stars range
is just as good as any custom I've had.
The Atem is now different. It has a
tremendous amount of stretch paneling
(my favorite being behind the calf), and
the closure on the wrists and neck is
lovely and soft.
This is still an old-school suit in that
you need a back and chest protector if
you're going to the track (if you want a
Tech-Air compatible two-piece suit, you
need to go for the Missile Two-Piece).
But the good thing about the Atem is
it's not overloaded with protectors that
make the suit overly stiff when riding.
The shoulder, hip and knee protectors
cover just the right amount of area
without being bulky and overdone. They
offer a nice amount of flex, and the
perforation in the chest is excellent.
I'd have liked the leg zippers to be
LOWDOWN
a little thicker as I think over time, I'm
probably going to break them (hope-
fully not), but that's the only criticism
I can really throw at it. The zip that
connects the jacket and pants is thick
as hell, so I'll never break that one.
A validation of how much I liked the
suit, I wore it at Laguna Seca for the
Ducati Superleggera launch. A two-
piece rider on Ducati's most expensive
TWO-PIECE LEATHER SUIT
List price: $1299.95 Website: www.alpinestars.com
•Leg zips could be a little bigger,
but they are extremely light and
once closed, offer good comfort.
•Excellent fit
•Very good ventilation
•Armor shapes to the rider's body
nicely, offering excellent comfort
on long rides
and fastest ever superbike. Most of
the other guys thought I was nuts,
that was until they saw me take the
jacket off, pants still on, and revel in
the beautiful comfort and ease of
movement a two-piece can offer.
I never thought I'd say this, but
here goes. My name is Rennie Scay-
sbrook, and I ride in a two piece.
Rennie Scaysbrook
Zips on the
calf make for
a near perfect
lower leg fit.
Just part of the
stretch paneling
that adorns the
Atem V4. There
are lots of them.
