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NAUGATUCK, CT – How often is it that a driver involved in an accident with a motorcyclist uses the excuse “I didn’t see him…” when explaining the circumstances to a cop?
Simply put, a rider clad in black atop a dark motorcycle can be invisible to motorists. That’s why John Purdy Jr. started Rocketman Z-Me Vests more than five years ago as a sideline to his full-time job running the Connecticut Rider Education Program at Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury.
John Purdy Jr.
“When I became certified (as a motorcycle safety instructor) in 1996, we were issued vests and I’ve been wearing a vest ever since,” he said. What prompted him to become a small businessman was the quality of other vests on the market. “Anybody can make a vest and put the word ‘motorcycle’ in front of it. They’re not made to be worn when you’re doing 65-70 miles per hour.”
Consequently, he came up with a sturdy design in high-visibility yellow and found someone in Connecticut to custom make them. “It’s designed by a motorcycle rider for a motorcycle rider, and tested by me wearing them and my friends wearing them.”
The friends include the editorial staff of RIDE-CT & RIDE-NewEngland. (Full disclosure: In exchange for a small number of Rocketman Z-Me Vests, the website has provided Purdy’s business with an ad on the Home page.)
Besides the basic plain vest for $45, Purdy also offer vests with custom graphics on the back for an additional $10-$25. He’s equipped members of the CitiBeemers club of New York City and the group that he often rides with on weekends. Their vests proclaims “Church of 2 Wheels – ‘Waste No Curve.'”
More recently, Purdy has taken on the scourge of drivers who text while behind the wheel with a vest that has a direct message.
Purdy says his Rocketman Z-Me Vests have been tested at up to 150 miles per hour – not on surface streets, rather on racetracks. “It didn’t fall apart,” he reported. He has also tweaked the design over the years to improve fit, wear, comfort and looks.
“If a guy is tall, I make them longer,” he said, adding that a rider’s weight can be taken into account, too, through adjustment straps on the sides. “I can add another inch or two.”
Rocketman Z-Me Vests are 100 percent American-made. Purdy said it takes about a week from a vest being ordered until delivery.
