Some of you may already be familiar with British Motorcycle Gear. For those who aren't, they have the production and marketing rights in the USA for the range of clothing which Belstaff marketed before the name was sold by Phoenix NW to the Italian design house which now uses it to market overpriced designer clothing to rock musicians, beautiful people and Milanese scooter riders.
I've recently had some very positive dealings with BMG. I first met the MD, Paul Brooks, in his sales tent in the infield at the Laguna Seca Moto GP in 2005. At that point I asked him why, although he was marketing the Belstaff Adventure Jacket in the USA, he wasn't carrying the Adventure Pants. Paul said that he didn't think there was a demand for them in the USA. I suggested to him that I thought there probably was a market for them there and I also thought they'd still sell in the UK and the rest of Europe.
Subsequently, Paul registered on Adventure Rider and began to get feedback that suggested that US riders would like the Adventure Pants. It was at that point that I renewed our acquaintance and began a sporadic dialogue with Paul via PM. That led to me hooking him up with a friend in the business and them sharing some designs which might eventually make it onto the US and UK markets under the BMG label.
While I was in California and Oregon last year, Paul asked me if I knew anyone who had a pair of the Adventure Pants which he could borrow with a view to using them as a stepping stone to a new and improved design. At that point I'd just completed a couple of days riding in San Francisco and was on my way to Eugene, Oregon to ride some more. I had taken my Belstaff Adventure Pants with me and was wearing them to ride in. Incidentally, I had a relatively low speed crash in the San Francisco Bay Area hills which left my Adventure Jacket and Pants without a mark on them. I therefore offered to send the Pants to Paul in San Diego when I got back to San Francisco and before SWMBO and I flew home. He in turn sent a UPS box to my friend Jack Walshe in the Bay Area.
Paul said that once he'd sent my pants off to China for the factory to use in making prototypes and had them returned, he'd send them back to me and as a thank you gesture he'd happily send me a jacket from the BMG range. Unfortunately, I'm a bit bigger than I remembered and the first BMG Montana jacket that arrived here in Scotland, all the way from San Diego, was just too small. Paul said he was happy to ship me another one and that I should just pass on the first one at cost to some other deserving soul. So now, I'm wearing a very fine BMG Montana leather jacket at every opportunity.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and another UPS box arrives in my local Post Office, containing........my old Belstaff Adventure Pants in a condition indistinguishable from when I last rode in them in Oregon. Paul has also said that when the new Adventure Pants are available, he'll send me a pair of those as well.
BMG are getting themselves a reputation for excellent customer service over on Adv Rider and it's no surprise. In this day and age, the companies which provided excellent customer service and trade with integrity stand out from the rest only too clearly. In all my recent dealings with Paul and BMG they've impressed me as a company who major on excellent customer service and live up to their word. I hope that even with the recently less advantageous exchange rate, BMG clothing will continue to represent good value to us here in UK. I know people who have, for example, bought the BMG Thermosport Gloves from the US and have been very happy with them. On the basis of my recent experiences I can only suggest that if you need some new kit, you should check out what BMG have to offer.
I've recently had some very positive dealings with BMG. I first met the MD, Paul Brooks, in his sales tent in the infield at the Laguna Seca Moto GP in 2005. At that point I asked him why, although he was marketing the Belstaff Adventure Jacket in the USA, he wasn't carrying the Adventure Pants. Paul said that he didn't think there was a demand for them in the USA. I suggested to him that I thought there probably was a market for them there and I also thought they'd still sell in the UK and the rest of Europe.
Subsequently, Paul registered on Adventure Rider and began to get feedback that suggested that US riders would like the Adventure Pants. It was at that point that I renewed our acquaintance and began a sporadic dialogue with Paul via PM. That led to me hooking him up with a friend in the business and them sharing some designs which might eventually make it onto the US and UK markets under the BMG label.
While I was in California and Oregon last year, Paul asked me if I knew anyone who had a pair of the Adventure Pants which he could borrow with a view to using them as a stepping stone to a new and improved design. At that point I'd just completed a couple of days riding in San Francisco and was on my way to Eugene, Oregon to ride some more. I had taken my Belstaff Adventure Pants with me and was wearing them to ride in. Incidentally, I had a relatively low speed crash in the San Francisco Bay Area hills which left my Adventure Jacket and Pants without a mark on them. I therefore offered to send the Pants to Paul in San Diego when I got back to San Francisco and before SWMBO and I flew home. He in turn sent a UPS box to my friend Jack Walshe in the Bay Area.
Paul said that once he'd sent my pants off to China for the factory to use in making prototypes and had them returned, he'd send them back to me and as a thank you gesture he'd happily send me a jacket from the BMG range. Unfortunately, I'm a bit bigger than I remembered and the first BMG Montana jacket that arrived here in Scotland, all the way from San Diego, was just too small. Paul said he was happy to ship me another one and that I should just pass on the first one at cost to some other deserving soul. So now, I'm wearing a very fine BMG Montana leather jacket at every opportunity.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and another UPS box arrives in my local Post Office, containing........my old Belstaff Adventure Pants in a condition indistinguishable from when I last rode in them in Oregon. Paul has also said that when the new Adventure Pants are available, he'll send me a pair of those as well.
BMG are getting themselves a reputation for excellent customer service over on Adv Rider and it's no surprise. In this day and age, the companies which provided excellent customer service and trade with integrity stand out from the rest only too clearly. In all my recent dealings with Paul and BMG they've impressed me as a company who major on excellent customer service and live up to their word. I hope that even with the recently less advantageous exchange rate, BMG clothing will continue to represent good value to us here in UK. I know people who have, for example, bought the BMG Thermosport Gloves from the US and have been very happy with them. On the basis of my recent experiences I can only suggest that if you need some new kit, you should check out what BMG have to offer.
Half right actually, it used to belong to jack Dee 
