Hi there,
it's a bit late in the day for me to be posting to this thread but let's see...
Over here in Europe we seem to have a lot of extremes - too wet, too cold, too hot....... no good averages - hehe.
So getting an all round outfit is almost impossible because depending on the weather situation (which can rapidly change) you've either got too much on or too little or it's not rain proof.
To cover most situations I have a warm thick textile jacket with armour for the spring and autumn - for the summer (when we get one) I have the BMW Savanna II jacket with armour - it's has many zips for letting air into the jacket (perfect when the temps are up about 40c) and it is of good quality. BMW clothing is not cheap but it is really well made.
One of the greatest new inventions that I have seen in recent times is a vest made by Gore-Tex (called "airvantage"), you wear it under your normal jacket and it has a mouth piece into which you can blow air in or let it out as the case may be to regulate the warmth (much like a scuba vest principal).
In the really cold periods I wear an under suit from BMW it has paraffin pellets which melt or congeal, increasing or decreasing you body warmth. It works like a charm. I personally don't like bundling up because your movements start becoming restricted which can be dangerous.
Rain - this is the biggest problem, there are many Gore-Tex type jackets around as well as Z-Liners and you read/hear all sorts of great/disappointing reports about these items. I have a rain proof suit jacket+pants in my luggage when on a long trip - for all short trips I have under my saddle a "throw away" rain suit - it's for those sudden rain storms, with a bit of care the thing will last 2- 3 times but only costs about $3.00 over here.
So by taking separate care of the rain situation I have a greater freedom of choice with other products to cover the hot/cold season.
This is not an easy topic to cover since there are many solutions - but as a guide line I follow the BMW forum here which has a specific "clothing" board - this board has many many postings each day. Some of the tips sound worthwhile, other less so.
Helmets - now that's another story that almost borders on religion......
