Korean Job Discussion Forums

[earthbound14]

I have a contact at Joe Rocket Motorcycle gear in Canada and I'm wondering if any of you would like to get some quality Joe Rocket gear for a respectable price instead of paying through the nose at some Korean shop. Some of the Korean gear is good (custom made leather jackets can be reasonable - but the stiching is usaully pretty bad - all the stiching is fraying on my Korean jacket) and HJC makes some great helmets....but overall I haven't been all that pleased with my Korean products and I'm tired of paying twice as much to get good western gear.

Check out these sites for a comparison
In the US - Icon Field Armor Boots - 92$US discount price - 110 regularly
http://www.metricbikes-superstore.com/icon35.php

In Korea at bikeUSA Icon Field Armor Boots - 188,000 won (double the price)
http://www.bikeusa.co.kr/bemarket/shop/index.php

Joe Rocket
http://www.metricbikes-superstore.com/jrocket25.php
www.joerocket.com

In Korea the same Joe rocket gear is double the price as well, either that or it's fake and being sold in Itaewon - ya those ones are fake, good leather (although sometimes they use pig skin and tell you its cow), but the stitching is cheap and the armour isn't certified.

take a look at the site, some Joe Rocket gear is really good for the price, while some of their gear is OK.

Leather Jacket: Blaster, Sonic and CBR series are bomber for 300$
Textile Jacket: Ballistic, Meteor are good all round riding jackets 200$
Pants; Alter Ego (good all year over pant) 180$, Blaster highly rated high speed street riding pant 250$
Gloves: GPX, Highside, Nitrogen and Super Moto are all pretty beefy low priced gloves. The GPX glove is the only race ready (most protective) glove I've seen for under 100$, while the Super Motos are a good protective value at 50$ (my current cheap 50$ Japanese gloves are shite)

All the asian made gear I've seen so far is over priced shite....not being racist (for any of you sensitive types), as the Dalai Lama himself stated, I'm just looking at things realisticly without emotional judgment........Korean riding gear is generally shite and I don't trust my life with it. Them's the facts.

if anyone wants something I can put in an order. Look at the site and get back to me soon so I can put an order together.


Metric bikes doesn't currently ship internationally, but the folks at Joe Rocket have offered to ship directly from their warehouse....So far I only have the prices from their web site. It may take a few months for the order to go through so get back to me ASAP. Riding season is here!!!

Kris

ps I'm also looking for a cheap 250cc Comet (Hyosung).

[Metsuke]

I think I might be interested... when would the shipment come in?

[earthbound14]

I'm not sure about the arrival of a shipment. The company is pretty good so I expect they would have the shipment heading out the door within a few days of it being placed. Shipping by boat (ship) to Korea takes about 2 months (sometimes a month if your lucky) and may cost around 100$. You can send stuff from Korean to Canada much cheaper (just FYI - 40 - 50$). If there is enough interest we may be able to have things shipped by air (much much more expensive, but if the cost is shared by alot of people, it might be acceptable) it could be here within a week of the order being placed.

Don't forget that we will have to pay an import fee (but it will still be a great savings over the prices that are charged here in Korea).

If there is enough interest I will be making an order within the month. So figure on July as a late date for the gear to arrive, with luck we can have the gear here in a little over a month.

I'm sorry I can't give more accurate information regarding arrival, duty charges and shipment costs. This is my first time doing this, so it's all new to me. I just got the contact with Joe Rocket, they are the first Western company that aggreed to ship product here. The other companies seem satisfied with their Korean buyers.

kris

[Richard Krainium]

[IlIlNine]

I could have posted the exact same reply Kranium. Dennis Kirk's and New Enough's clearance sections are great! And also, that store in Itaewon (2nd floor there) does not sell fake stuff.

I bought a Joe Rocket Blaster jacket there and it's legit. The price was excellent too - cheaper than back home. Joe rocket, amung others, makes their stuff in Korea - I guess this shop has access to some of that stock before it gets shipped abroad. They even have my size in that store (I'm 195cm tall!)

So, to be honest, I just don't see the point of waiting 2 months for a big shipment, paying duty, etc. when you can get most of the stuff right here in Korea for a good price.

About the only thing I've had trouble finding is good racing boots that are my size.

[earthbound14]

as for the Joe Rocket gear at the shop in Itaewon, some of them are fake. I talked with the guys at Joe Rocket and they told me they have never made some of those models. And ya they are pretty damned good looking even if they may be fake (actually the fakes came out of a Chinese factory).
I actually liked the quality of the jacket and I was trying to find out if Joe Rocket had a size that would fit me or could give me contact details for the distributor/manufacturer here......most Korean made leather is pretty good (alot of big companies do make product here, and you are right if you buy what's manufactured here it is pretty damned cheap - Shimano mountain bike parts, for instances can be really cheap here). The Blaster jacket is legit. How much did you pay? I haven't seen that one in the shop yet.

Perhaps we could start a thread about which gear is made here and is cheap?

You can get a nice custom made jacket in Osan for about 240.000 won.....I still prefer the quality of companies like Joe Rocket, Alpinestar and Shift and I have yet to find the model and size that I want in Korea (I think all three of them manufacture some of there models here)....If Im going to spend this kind of cash, then I want to get top quality. That's me.

And as for the price mark up, double the cost is a little much and by your logic the Korean shop is selling this product at a lose......I don't think so.

with a bulk order we should be able to get it shipped cheaper and be able to order exactly what you want right from the manufacturer, provided you can't find it here.

I have been to too many shops and I'm tired of not getting what i want. It is hit or miss. Some of my gear has been great some has been crap.......ordering from the manufacturer is not hit or miss.

If you find what you want on the site, then this is worth while. I wouldn't have posted it if I thought otherwise.....

All the time and energy I've wasted going from shop to shop in Korea is worth going through the hassle of having gear shipped from Canada (far less of a hassle if you ask me).

So thanks for your comments and I will check out those sites, for the rest of you, let me know if there is anything you want from the site. Thanks to the previous posts you've been fully informed now......


kris

[rippa]

Howdy!

For a newbi --

Can you explain a bit more clearly where the second floor shop in Itaewon is located. I've no idea where All That Jazz is... I know Hamilton!

[earthbound14]

The shop is on the same side of the street as the KFC. If you start at the KFC and head west (toward the army base) it is a little closer than half way towards the North Face shop from the KFC. Go past a fancy leather shop until you see the Jazz joint and some racing suits hanging on the walls and stairway leading up to the second floor store. Go up! It is a small door way, so don't go looking for a big shop front.

I just bought a pair of killer Rev'It race gloves there for 80,000. They also have a really nice Alpinestar mesh summer jacket for 180,000 (same, if not cheaper than home). There are a few really nice leather jackets too, but I have yet to find the one I want in my size (they have a fairly limited stock). I've never been a fan of the pants they have there. The street riding jeans are crap and they don't have any well armoured street styled pants (all race style - tapered legs, tight fit, good but not practical for riding to work). The Korean Maxler gloves are pretty good for the price as well.

There is another shop in Chungmurro (a few actually, but one I really like) The Spidi/Nolan shop across from the Suzuki dealer. Really nice guy who has an afffordable collection of pant, jacket and gloves. He is selling some light full leather race style gloves for 30,000. Not as well armoured as more expensive gloves, but a nice glove for the price. He also had a nice pair of leather race styled pant with good armour for about 180,000 (didn't fit me - too big!!!! I'm tall and thin, so if it fits my legs it doesn't fit my ass). There is another shop across the street who sells Icon at better prices than the online shops, but he has a really limited amount of gear and some of the gear in his shop is really expensive. I bought my Icon bought there for about 50,000 more than i would have paid at home (reasonable considering the import and shipping fees).

These shops are located at eh end of the Chungmurro strip near the large intersection with the Suzuki shop and the Harley Shop (you have to walk down the street past the Hyosung dealer and the Honda dealer).

I still haven't got all the gear I want though, so again, if anyone wants stuff shipped, we should do it together to eliminate the high shipping cost (being charged double by the only shop with any real selection is not a pleasing idea for me, if a small shop in Chungmurro can sell me a pair of western boots for only 50,000 more than the retail cost at home then there is no reason we can't do the same)