ROYAL ENFIELD STREETWIND PRO
THE FIT IS COMFORTABLE, EVEN FOR A GUY WITH A BIG TUMMY LIKE MINE
`7,950 as tested store.royalenfield.com
ROYAL ENFIELD IS ONE OF THE FEW brands in the country that not only focuses on motorcycles but also heavily on the entire experience that surrounds motorcycling. This includes merchandise, accessories and most importantly riding gear. The company is known to collaborate with big brands like Alpinestars, TCX, Icon and Rev’it. But apart from that it also makes its own riding gear. The best part about Royal Enfield’s selfbranded riding gear is that it is a good blend of affordable and quality and this means that you see many more people wearing riding gear. One of the latest creations is the Streetwind Pro and we made sure to get our review unit in a bright shade of orange.
90 per cent of the jacket is made up of high-abrasion resistant polyester mesh and the non ventilated parts are made up of 600D polyester. The impact zones use 610D polyester Cordura fabric. You get RE Ergo protech branded CE level 2 armour for the back, shoulders and elbows. You also get the same branded CE level 1 chest protectors. Zippers are YKK and you get all the traditional strap adjusters and high-vis strips where required. To add your personal flavour to the jacket you also get a velcro patch on the shoulder to stick patches and there’s also a little tab for you to hang sunglasses off of. Neat feature. And what I like the most is the fact that the RE branding is subtle and on the outside is limited to the one black badge on the chest, allowing non RE owners to also consider the jacket.
As soon as you pick the jacket up you realise the weight is majorly just of the armour, which means, wearing the jacket for longer durations doesn’t mean a lot of fatigue. The fit is comfortable, even for a guy with a big tummy like mine. The adjuster straps are placed in good locations allowing you to secure the jacket to your body better. Instead of a traditional zip under the back protector which allows you to fasten your jacket with your riding pants, RE has put suspender-like loops. While functional, I would’ve preferred the zip style fastener for more compatibility.
What I like most, is just how ventilated it is and that coupled with the relatively lightweight construction means that wearing the jacket even in real warm weather doesn’t feel like a chore. Another handy feature the jacket has is the medical tag on the left forearm which can intimate first responders about your identity, emergency contact info and blood group.
Overall, this is a great riding jacket and when you consider the `7,950 price tag, it makes for a great VFM package with good safety. ⌧