Royal Enfield Levis 511 Motorcycle Jeans Review

Introduction

Royal Enfield Classic 350 Right Side View

Royal Enfield doesn’t sell just motorcycles anymore. It sells a lifestyle, and as a part of that lifestyle, it offers a whole range of clothing and riding gear. Something that very few motorcycle brands in the country do. In fact, over the last few years, we wrote quite a few articles around their new line of business. You can read the Royal Enfield Gear Store Review here and also about their ADV jacket and trouser.

But now the brand is confident about forging new partnerships in the apparel business and it already has one with the oh-so-popular Levis. It has launched a series of motorcycle clothing and the 511 motorcycle jeans are one of them. We recently received a pair from the company. So, we decided to do a long term review of it. For now, here’s the introduction.

Why Riding Denims?

I’m going to be honest here. I have always been a big fan of riding jeans. Why? It’s comfortable and practical. I know that leathers with the right CE protection are the best, but I can’t use it for two simple reasons – it’s expensive and not suitable for cities like Mumbai where the weather is hot and humid.

Almost 90 per cent of my riding happens within the city and that means the average riding speed is around 40kmph – blame the terrible traffic. As a result, I have always been fond of riding gear that offer great breathability along with comfort. The riding jeans do just that. Firstly, they looks like regular jeans. So, you won’t look odd if you wear them to the Monday morning meetings. Secondly, it offers decent amount of protection. And third, the riding jeans usually don’t cost a bomb.

The 511 Jeans

Now coming to the denim we have. It is called the Royal Enfield Levis 511 Motorcycle Jeans. It is slim cut in nature and sit below the waist. It gets the famous Cordura fabric and that means it has high abrasion resistance. There’s obviously a good amount of cotton material used as well. Additionally, these jeans are stretchable to offer a bit more comfort.

The collaboration has worked to make this jeans purposeful. So, there are pockets for knee and hip armours. While the knee armours can be slid in directly (from inside), the hip armours need to be accessed via zippers. The jeans are also equipped with reflective tape on the side-seam – something that is useful while riding at night. For comfort, the jeans have something called the Coolmax. It is claimed to keep the jeans cool and dry.