Alpinestars & Moving
 

You're asking yourself what do the two have in common, well, allow me to explain. After many months (Oct 15) of negotiating, I have finally nailed the Alpinestars auto/karting line. I needed a new line since I had dropped the other company I was dealing with. The only down side for the moment is, I don't have access to the complete line up.

This is where the move comes in, and it sucks for me, but this is another story. After close to 20 years at the track I helped build with my former partners, we are moving to a new facility, which is based on the tarmac of a closed airport. We will be smack in the middle of a road track, where stock car and motor bikes ride/race, amongst other motorsports activities.

I will continue my negotiations with Alpinestars to have access to the whole line up, which will include motorcycle apparel. This is where my story kicks in for you. I know many of you have, or have had Alpinestars equipment, and I'd like to get your thoughts on the subject, both positive and negative feedback if you will. When the time comes to promote and sell this stuff, I'll have a little knowledge from your experiences.

Thanks for the help.

I'll start. Had a pair of Italian made, Malcom Smith signature Alpinestars in 1985. They were leather inside and out and quite comfortable, although for toughness, they were better suited for dancing. Fortunately, I didn't have to test their protective capability. Currently wearing a pair of Alt-Berg Clubman model and love them. Good luck in entrepreneurial efforts.

I have A'star SMX plus boots for racing. They are my 2nd pair (of this same boot). I have had maybe a dozen crashes on them and they held up and protected very well from low speed to 100+mph offs.

They are very comfortable also.

I have a black street/race jacket, I thought a TC-1 but cant remember. The quality seems impeccable and in Italian tradition it looks amazing. Havent crashed on it but its the most expensive piece of gear I have. I only wear it on special occasions.

From what I have seen I thing a stars to be far superior to Dainese products.

I am an Alpinestars customer for life. Why? My vintage Hi-Point MX boots broke a plastic strap. I figured that was it, no mas parts for these old boots, but I contacted Alpinestars anyway. Their guy told me he'd look around. A few days later he emailed me that he'd found some--send me your address and I'll mail them out. Way cool!

Alpinestars MC line is very, very tightly aligned with Parts Unlimited down here in the USA ....basically an exclusive P.U. house brand at this point for the brick and mortar side of things, which is par for the course trend-wise with the Big Three USA distributers (P.U., T.R., and WPS). The good news is that online lowballer outfits can still undersell you on Alpinestars MC line stuff at close to your cost, even though AStars is SUPPOSED to be price protected ? LOL on that. You WILL be used as a fitting room by online shoppers, and that just sucks. Or, you can "price match the internet" and sell it at cost. Your choice.

As far as the product itself ,I've noticed a general decline in quality over the last decade, with more and more of their MC line products coming from Asian factories rather than European , Vietnam being the biggie. It used to be you could buy AS product with complete confidence in the design , function , and quality....not so, now.You have to check it out carefully for design flaws, defects,etc. You can't just rely on the label and it's reputation anymore. I have learned this the hard way, both personally and professionally. My overall impression is they are coasting a bit now on their previously well-earned laurels and brand reputation, while cutting corners on the product design/development as well as manufacturing and marketing end. Not a recipe for success in a hyper-competative market. Also , fitment is ALL OVER now size wise, and I mean all over. This makes is VERY tough to get a customer fitted correctly without stocking every single product offering in every single size, which no retailer could possibly afford to do. You can get a perfect fit in one style of jacket , and be WAY off with another model of jacket in the exact same size. This goes for gloves , suits, street boots, whatever. So that means time and money lost with more returns, yuck. Oh, and they don't have actual Alpinestars reps here in the states anymore, canned them all about five years ago....it's your Parts Unlimited guy or gal now. And since PU reps seem to spend most of their time following the Supercross circuit around or otherwise dinking off, good luck there. Hope you are in a better place up in Canada , as far as all that goes....but I suspect not , as I know P.U. has a big presence in the Canadian MC market.

Maybe not what you wanted to hear, but hope this helps a little.

I'm an AStar guy too Josh. I've used them for quite a while. I've noticed the quality slide, but to be fair I haven't been faithful to other brands to notice if it's industry wide, which I assume it is (for the most part). And said quality still isn't so low that I'd jump ship. For instance, A few years ago I bought a pair of SP2 gloves. Far from GP Tech line so I knew exactly what I was buying and so far they have totally lived up to my expectations. I wear an XL in ASatr and the sizing I find very consistent.
I currently also have an RC1 jacket - Apex pant combo that I love. Very high quality IMO. Boots are the SVX bosnian made variety, which I also find to be very satisfactory. Just my .02 here, so take it for what it's worth. I've been on 2 wheels since '91 (street anyway). Been through Joe Rocket stuff and some others. One thing I can not vouch for is how this stuff performs in an off. When I had my big one ('92), I was't fully geared.

For cold weather and textile gear, I swear by First Gear products.

I feel like most Italian brands are similar. Dazzling style, fit and finish, but just not durable.

I had a pair of Sidi gloves. They cost over $400 at the time. Soooo supple, perfect fit like they were made for me, and you could feel every ripple in the pavement.

Only issue was they were toast after a very average crash.

Needless to say I would never buy a Sidi product again. My Fieldsheer gloves lasted 5 crashes before they were done. (at 1/5 the price)

Oh yeah, forgot to write about my everyday boots. I've been using a pair of the smx2 boots (china made) for several seasons, I'd guess at the least 5. Holding up awesome, wear is minimal. They are super comfy, I have no problem walking around in these.
Stock photo:
Attachment 21719

Fit on these... I wear a 10.5 U.S. and my local storefront got it right on the first try ordering me a Euro44.
If you'd like to see an actual pic of them to show condition, I'd be more than willing. Just lmk.

Congrats on the score Josh. I hope it all works out for you, considering how hard you have worked the file.

A-Stars Fan
 

My around town boots are A-Stars SMX-1 Vented's and I love them, great bang for the buck, super comfy to walk around and event in! Both my Textile and Leather jackets are A-Stars too both are really nice to ride in...

I'm not dealing through Parts Canada(that's the name up here) I'm dealing straight with the mother house in Italy. I'll be Canadian distributor for the karting line, and local for auto. Can't be distributor if you're dealing through another distributor....discounts become to small in order to be able to resell, and dealers will not support the line.

I can get the moto line, I just need to open an account with PC, and I'll probably be able to get the 25-30%. Plus, I'd have access to all the other moto stuff they have, at dealer discount, which is fine by me, but, I'll push with the mother house. Another long road ahead I can see for this one. :rolleyes: I've been dealing with the Italian way for many years in my line of work, and that's not always easy. ;)

Hey, on the upside, the Euro is weak right now so you might make a couple extra points on that bel prodotto italiano. Good luck on your new venture....

The pants don't fit my fat ass well. LOL!

I really like thise smx2 boots. Anybody know if they make odd sizes? Like say, size US 13 EEEE or EEEEE? I got some wide ass feet. I am always blowing out the sides of my shoes.

I feel your pain there Crux as I'm a 10EEEE myself. It sure makes finding comfortable riding boots scarce. I can find ones that fit the width but are loose every where else or, conversely, fit every where but too tight across the width.

No they don't. Italian made product, and, they do not concern themselves with wide feet. See for yourself....

Size Guide | Alpinestars

Just had a look for curiosity. Just for your info, I wear a US mens 10.5 in all shoes and boots. 98% always 10.5. As stated above, my local brick/mortar ordered me the Euro 44, which equates to a US 9.5. Fit's perfect.

Nuts. I appreciate you looking Josh. Thank you.