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seeyalater |
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seeyalater Trackday Trickster
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notabikeranym... |
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notabikeranym... Formerly known as meef
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seeyalater |
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seeyalater Trackday Trickster
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Posted: 16:51 - 12 Jan 2020 Post subject: |
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Meef wrote: | IMO they're only good for mild weather conditions. Great in Spring or early autumn.
When it's really hot they're really hot, unless you've got perforated ones and are travelling at decent speed constantly. Fucking HORRIBLE in traffic in the summer, you'll bake your organs. Then again, textiles are probably worse for expelling heat than leathers in the summer, but either way you're sweating your nutsack off. Leathers are harder to clean though, bear that in mind before you get sweaty in them.
When it's cold, they're generally freezing cold in comparison to textiles (especially if you've got perforated leather). They're difficult to fit layers underneath as they're supposed to be a snug fit with some thin base-layers underneath. Anything more and you're going to permanently stretch them. In winter I'm almost exclusively wearing textiles with multiple thermal layers underneath.
They're not waterproof either. Actually rain is bad for them and they require more care so they don't start cracking and hardening. I use this Renapur wax stuff to keep water beading/rolling off the leathers, it actually works.
They look good, and they feel sleek and don't flap around in the wind at high speeds. They offer more protection. They're less comfortable, but better if you want a solid grip on the tank and the ability to touch knee/elbow/arse/tit.
Whenever it's above 9ºc I'll be in leathers. |
Thats a great reply mate thanks. I was also tempted with seperate bottons and jacket, more practical maybe than all in one. Im far from dropping a knee but agree textile have no grip on tank lol. |
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Teflon-Mike |
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Teflon-Mike tl;dr
Joined: 01 Jun 2010 Karma :
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Posted: 19:21 - 12 Jan 2020 Post subject: |
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Leathers aren't warm in the cold, especially once wind-chilled.
They are particularly warm in the warm..
A-N-D the 'sleek' tight fotted 'look' rather gets wasted by the need a nappy change arse more saggy than my exus, as soon as you step off the bike.
The 'protection' they may offer is rather nebulous too. leather has pretty good abrasion resistance... but only when its there. Thick cotton can last long enough to save skin as long, depending on the off.
Great on a race-track where you may come off at higher speed and slide along way along peculiarly grippy Delugrip before you hit anything hard and unyeilding... b-u-t its not the most practical of textiles, and a lot of the presumed 'safety' is often in the rider's head not in their apparel.
It IS significantly a fashion choice as much as anything.....
My general bike wear is pretty much my every-day street wear... Denim Jeans, cowboy boots, ubiquitous BLJ, and maybe a pair of gloves depenining on the weather!
For 'Safety'I don't pout much store in ANY bike apparel... crashing hurts, no matter what you wear or how fast you are or aren't going.... and rely primarily on observation and judgement to NOT CRASH, really.. worked pretty good so far!!!
I have a quarter century's collection of bike wear, most of which surprisingly still fits me! Favourite in that was a Scott 'Kevlar' riding jacket.. which was pretty practical as yellow anoraks go, until it got melted on a hot exhaust. The BLJ is probably well past it's best and since I can see the stitching along one arm starting to frey, I doubt that has much integrity in an 'off'. The tailor made one-piece 'Swift' race suit, on the other hand, I'd have a lot more confidence in, even pushing forty years old... its not very practical though, and has onbly been used OTR a handful. of occasions, and that saggy bum is always annoying!
More practical by far has been a two-piece full 'zip-together' touring suit I got at the same show as the Swift, actually, because they took four months to make the dang thing! Not so sure it would stand up to an off so well.. but never had to put it top the test!
Bludy cold in winter though, and looses the 'skin tight' atheistic some if you try squeeze it over anything thicker than a pair of thermals! Consequently for warmth and protection, when I commutyed every-day, I wore a paid of jeans and a wooly jumper OVER the leathrer's.. sorted the wind chill problem a tad, but bit of a pzzer when you wanted to take pizz!
You pays your money and takes your chances!
What's mote important?
a) How you look?
b)How you THINK you look.... most folk DGAS either which way, and probably think you look like a daft drowned rat anyway and are wondering why you didn't do the 'sensible' thing and take the car....
c) how safe you are?
d) how safe you THINK' you are?
And back to paying your money and taking your chances.. or taking the car!
Upfront, dont kid yourself that anything you may wear offers any more 'protection' than anything else... that's just kiddology... ride for safety don't dress for it.... then dress for comforty and practicality and what you think is most stylish! .. and be prepared to freeze your bits off, if you get or wrong or rate the 'look' higher than anything else!! ____________________ My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?' |
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chickenstrip |
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chickenstrip Super Spammer
Joined: 06 Dec 2013 Karma :
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Posted: 19:35 - 12 Jan 2020 Post subject: |
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Meef wrote: | IMO they're only good for mild weather conditions. Great in Spring or early autumn.
When it's really hot they're really hot, unless you've got perforated ones and are travelling at decent speed constantly. Fucking HORRIBLE in traffic in the summer, you'll bake your organs. Then again, textiles are probably worse for expelling heat than leathers in the summer, but either way you're sweating your nutsack off. Leathers are harder to clean though, bear that in mind before you get sweaty in them.
When it's cold, they're generally freezing cold in comparison to textiles (especially if you've got perforated leather). They're difficult to fit layers underneath as they're supposed to be a snug fit with some thin base-layers underneath. Anything more and you're going to permanently stretch them. In winter I'm almost exclusively wearing textiles with multiple thermal layers underneath.
They're not waterproof either. Actually rain is bad for them and they require more care so they don't start cracking and hardening. I use this Renapur wax stuff to keep water beading/rolling off the leathers, it actually works.
They look good, and they feel sleek and don't flap around in the wind at high speeds. They offer more protection. They're less comfortable, but better if you want a solid grip on the tank and the ability to touch knee/elbow/arse/tit.
Whenever it's above 9ºc I'll be in leathers. |
I agree with that, and it's why I've largely given up on leathers. I do have a good leather jacket, but it rarely gets an outing anymore, as the conditions are rarely right for it, and also, it's a pain to carry around if I'm doing anything much off the bike wherever I'm going. ____________________ Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE! |
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notabikeranym... |
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notabikeranym... Formerly known as meef
Joined: 02 Apr 2014 Karma :
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Posted: 20:14 - 12 Jan 2020 Post subject: |
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Oh yeah definitely. My 1 piece is a pain in the cock (literally, it sometimes squeezes my nuts to death, usually in winter when I fatten up and wear more under-layers, and then not so much when I slim down again).
That's another thing you have to consider, does your weight change?
Sometimes the cut of the suit is a real bastard and it can feel tight/loose in certain places even though generally it is the "correct" size. Finding the perfect suit can become expensive, especially if you're going for custom suits cause everything off the peg feels a bit odd here, or a bit odd there.
But yeah back to the point I was going to make, get a two piece. My one piece makes it fucking impossible to go for a piss at the side of the road when I need to without having to half undress myself.
Two piece is great for the road, but don't get one with a zip made of butter for the waist (avoid RST for this, they stretch A LOT and the zips are piss).
A one piece is less cumbersome on track/fast riding/body position etc, but is a complete pain in the dick to put on/off, and makes going to the toilet an ordeal. |
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Undinist |
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Undinist Nearly there...
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Fisty |
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Fisty Super Spammer
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Bhud |
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Bhud World Chat Champion
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stinkwheel |
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stinkwheel Bovine Proctologist
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Posted: 02:56 - 13 Jan 2020 Post subject: |
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Fit, warmth and degree of lining depends on the leathers/textiles.
I wear old-school bellstaff 2-piece leathers. Padded lining. Really thick leatehr I can get a base layer under them and waterproofs over them so they are pretty warm.
I like the flexability of adding/removing layers which is arguably less possible with many textiles. Some textiles are really cool, designed for hot weather with lots of ventilation. Others are just sweatboxes in summer, especially the ones with a waterproof membrane. So there really are no hard and fast rules.
In terms of crashing. Having crashed at speed in both, you tend to slide in leather where textiles tend to grip and roll you. So on a totally straight road with no obstacles, you'll probably stand less chance of injury from arms/legs/head flailing about in leathers. However, you do keep sliding for longer so have more change of hitting something.
I have also sustained some fairly nippy friction burns on knees and elbows from the inside of textiles. ____________________ “Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles. |
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Undinist Nearly there...
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ThatDippyTwat World Chat Champion
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xX-Alex-Xx World Chat Champion
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seeyalater |
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seeyalater Trackday Trickster
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Tdibs |
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Tdibs Traffic Copper
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Posted: 12:03 - 14 Jan 2020 Post subject: |
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Textiles for me, are much more practical, if I were to come off, I would rather be in the leathers though ____________________ Previous : 09 Vanvan 125| 02' Sv650s || Current: 1999 Xj600n | 1992 DR650 RSE | 2005 Fazer 1000 |
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1198 World Chat Champion
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BTTD |
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BTTD World Chat Champion
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Posted: 09:55 - 16 Jan 2020 Post subject: |
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Leather two peice.
I have a winter set that are leather outer with a bonded goretex inner and are totally waterproof. They have removable liners that are washable, one liner is insulated, the other not.
I also have a summer set that are perforated and well vented. The leather apparently has some reflective treatment which means they don't absorb as much heat as normal black leather. They also have a removable liner for washing. On a blazing summers day filtering through jammed up traffic sitting on top of an engine on hot black tarmac is going to be roasty in anything protective.
As for looking after leather, I clean each set once a year. Winter ones at the end of winter in the spring and summer ones at the end of summer in the autumn.
Saddle soap, followed by nixwax waterproofing and conditioning liquid.
I'm probably going to get some kevlar leggings to wear under jeans this summer and maybe a kevlar riding shirt for cruising about on the Harley. |
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seeyalater |
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seeyalater Trackday Trickster
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Posted: 09:58 - 16 Jan 2020 Post subject: |
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jnw010 wrote: | Leather two peice.
I have a winter set that are leather outer with a bonded goretex inner and are totally waterproof. They have removable liners that are washable, one liner is insulated, the other not.
I also have a summer set that are perforated and well vented. The leather apparently has some reflective treatment which means they don't absorb as much heat as normal black leather. They also have a removable liner for washing. On a blazing summers day filtering through jammed up traffic sitting on top of an engine on hot black tarmac is going to be roasty in anything protective.
As for looking after leather, I clean each set once a year. Winter ones at the end of winter in the spring and summer ones at the end of summer in the autumn.
Saddle soap, followed by nixwax waterproofing and conditioning liquid.
I'm probably going to get some kevlar leggings to wear under jeans this summer and maybe a kevlar riding shirt for cruising about on the Harley. |
helpfull too thanks |
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linuxyeti |
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linuxyeti World Chat Champion
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seeyalater |
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seeyalater Trackday Trickster
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Posted: 11:18 - 16 Jan 2020 Post subject: Re: Leathers versus material style bike gear |
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bit unfair posting my profile photo |
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Blueberry |
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Blueberry Two Stroke Sniffer
Joined: 24 Jan 2020 Karma :
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seeyalater |
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seeyalater Trackday Trickster
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Posted: 16:02 - 28 Jan 2020 Post subject: |
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Blueberry wrote: | Another vote for 2-piece leathers
I've been riding in leather pants for the last week - a thermal base layer was all I needed to keep my legs warm. Though I'm generally comfy wearing leathers above 10 Centigrade.
Whether or not the leathers are vented makes a big difference in summer.
I find my choice of base and mid layers make a big difference (e.g. merino wool is brilliant in winter and Coolmax is great in summer).
Leathers are miles more protective than textile clothing. Many leathers have achieved the CE AAA-rating for protection, but no textile suit has got more than an AA-rating. Most textiles are only A-rated, which is quite poor protection from abrasion etc.
Also, decent fitting leathers act as fracture splints, particularly for pelvis and lower extremities. But textile trousers don't.
jnw010 wrote: | Leather two peice.
I have a winter set that are leather outer with a bonded goretex inner and are totally waterproof. |
Gore-Tex Leather laminate is brilliant However, are Rukka and Aerostich Transit the only two who still make Gore-Tex Leather clothing? |
thankyou |
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Undinist |
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Undinist Nearly there...
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Posted: 21:04 - 28 Jan 2020 Post subject: |
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BKS have a lot of experience of providing the police with 2 piece leather suits to be worn all year round, in ALL temperatures. The officers are very happy with this approach. You start with perforated leathers. If the wind is too cold you have a windproof layer underneath. Add a coolmax base layer to vary the temperature. Some people have a thin waterproof shell under the leathers, some have it over.
If you want super duper luxury and you're not constrained by police budgets you can have an electric vest underneath in winter or an evaporative cooling vest for summer. This is what I'm having...got a made to measure jacket with airbag lining in the works. This is the cooling vest I've got. Haven't tried it in the heat yet. https://www.bmw-motorrad.co.uk/en/wear/ride/cool-down-vest.html |
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Bhud World Chat Champion
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Blueberry Two Stroke Sniffer
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 4 years, 79 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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