This perforated version of the Super Speed 4 mainly takes us – apart from a visual update and a few small adjustments – a new step closer to a full-blown racing suit, without being a full-blown racing suit. Even more, this premium motorcycle jacket by Dainese is loaded with technology.
The Super Speed 4 is the logical (and perforated!) continuation of the Super Speed 3 and other predecessors. There’s more innovative technology in this pedigree than there is in most modern-day cars. Safety, performance and comfort go hand in hand in this motorbike jacket – although being a bit inconvenient with three parties, it works wonders here.
There isn’t much better than this. D-skin full grain cowhide leather serves as the outer layer. The harness. Wear-resistant, tear-resistant and more than likely even pretty cut-resistant, it is supplemented with more than enough elastic and bi-elastic material to sit around your upper body like a second skin. The fact that the extra ventilation zippers from the previous edition have been eliminated, has everything to do with the perforated leather panels this ‘4’ has. Together with the special Nanofeel®-lining, these are sufficient to have the riding wind circulate around your body.
The ART – because that’s what it is – is in the visible and invisible details: the aerodynamic spoiler (like a small hump), the exclusive ‘High Performance Bottom Construction’, that keeps your lower back covered in the most hunched over riding position, the integrated aluminium plate on the level 2 elbow protector; just to name a few of the most impressive ones.
Dainese provides certified composite protectors on elbows and shoulders. Furthermore, there are external (replaceable) aluminium plates on those same shoulders and elbows, on the (equally easily replaceable) 2.0 elbow sliders and the pre-shaped reinforcement between shoulder and elbow. Just to be clear, these past 3 sentences all described 30 centimetres of the Super Speed 4. You can easily fit in a double chest protector, as you could a back protector.
This motorbike jacket is designed for athletes; it fits best if the wearer is not too overweight. Then again, whoever considers buying a motorcycle jacket of this level, probably has some sporty ambitions in mind. It also means you shouldn’t expect a whole lot of individual adjustment options. There’s sharpness; everything else is ballast. Leather ‘sets’, so only the double press stud (a change compared to the previous version) in your waist can pull the Super Speed 4 even tighter. Even tighter, indeed. What’s the use, otherwise?
The back is a little longer – that High Performance Bottom Construction – than many other racing jackets. In the neck and throat area, a lot of attention went to ‘comfort’. There are two zipped pockets as well, and the ‘jacket-trousers fastening system’ – also called, the ‘connecting zipper’ – is a piece of high-level construction.
Below you will find an overview per body length of the appropriate CE homologated Dainese back protector.
| body length | Pro-Shape Back Level 1 | Pro-Armor 2.0 Level 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| <165 | => | Short level 1 | or | Short level 2 |
| 170-185 | => | Long level 1 | or | Long level 2 |
There is maintenance clothing and then there is clothing maintenance. Good, solid clothing is an investment in comfort and personal safety. So invest in its maintenance after your purchase and enjoy your gear for longer.
