Non-Approved leather jackets

[loply]

Hi folks,

Following a discussion in IRC regarding my new leather jacket, has anybody ever had a big slide wearing a non-CE-approved leather jacket?

I dont mean to be cheeky but please only post actual experience, not just hearsay or conjecture.

Has anybody ever had a highspeed slide with a cheap jacket on and it worked perfectly? or fell to bits? or an expensive one fell to bits? etc.
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Yamaha SZR660 Caution to the wind, the throttle pinned!

[Gazdaman]

I've had a £70 Jacket, quite cheap hold up just fine in an off.

Gaz

[hustler]

[stinkwheel]

I have had a fair (well 40mph) slide in my non-branded, non-armoured leather jacket I got for 65 quid at a bike rally. Light scuffing to the leather only.

When I bought it I looked for good quality, heavy duty leather, double and triple stitched seams, minimum number of seperate pieces, good quality zip properly stitched in, good fit and a zip to attach it to my leather jeans.

You should be aware that a CE mark often only applies to the armour fitted to a jacket and not the construction of the jacket itself. You could put CE approved armour in a raincoat then attach a CE mark and a fat lot of good it would do you. Always look at the way the garment is put together, what it is made of, how well it fits and in the case of armour, if it is in the right place and unlikley to move in a crash.

A green 'RiDE recommended or best buy' label is a good indication that the item has been independantly tested as one of the best in its price range for the job intended. Be aware that the absence of one of these labels may just indicate that the magazine in question has never evaluated the item but as a guide if you are unsure what to look for, it is useful. I personally would trust this more than I would trust a CE mark
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“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.

[The Tot]

When i fell off on diesel i was wearing some thick arse leather jacket which i purchased from a market in Indonesia for about 50 quid - the hide is easily a few mm thick, with double zipped front panels which overlap. It was kinda good, even though the spill was at 15mph, i managed to slide for about 15 feet. Jacket got off relatively unscathed, light scuffing to right elbow, but unfortunately my jeans took the brunt of it and now left with a rather convenient scar on my kneecap. With regards to the jacket, i don't remember my elbow being bruised, but it did feel sore. Thankfully, the thickness of the leather was sufficient to prevent a broken arm or anything worse.

Oh usually as a rule of thumb, read bike mags to see what's in an what's out. In Camden and other markets, you'll notice people are selling the "race replica" leather jackets with branded patchwork on it like "Helmet" or "Alpinestars" and are usually in Marlboro or Lucky Strike colours. I'd question the notion of buying one of these. Leather seems thick, but the armour pads are nothing more than expanded polystyrene as opposed to the fibre reinforced pads on my HG jacket. They make look cool, but are they safe?
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The Tot 2019 Z1000SX - 2007 R1
Never argue with autism

[loply]

Titot, thats basically what Ive bought, and hence why Im trying to discover whether the leather (in particular the stitching) is likely to be up to the job.

Im considering using my old jacket (which is of similar quality/manufacturing) to test by dragging it behind my car with a few 20kg weights and bags of sand in it. I was hoping to sell it though (but it could possibly be a worthwhile exercise).

For the meantime Ill continue to collect oppinions and hopefully someone with a very similar jacket will post with a sliding experience.
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Yamaha SZR660 Caution to the wind, the throttle pinned!

[stinkwheel]

I thought I would mention that one of the very best places you can get cheap bike gear is at one of the BMF motorbike shows.

There are usually stands there selling brand name leathers that are either returns or old stock. The good thing with the returns is that they are usually labelled with the reason they were returned, you can find things such as 'missing pop-stud on pocket', 'mark on left sleeve' or 'torn lining'. Obviously if you are getting the item for 25% of the original selling price these suddenly become extremely minor issues and will not affect the overall safety of the item. I had to walk out of the Hein Gericke tent at the Kelso bike show last year before I spent everything in my wallet.
____________________
“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.

[Rory]

I've had some crashes (of varying severity) in an armour-less Buffalo leather jacket, and scuffs and scrapes aside it's been fine. It's important to note the stitching on a bike jacket though. If it's not double stiched, i.e. exposed stitching at the seams, the stitching could be destroyed when you come off, and the jacket could come to pieces.
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My Old CBR400RR | Bike Oil FAQ | Petrol FAQ

[binge]

Not leather, But I had a textile jacket (£100) With only shoulder armour. A car hit me while I was doing 40ish and I went sliding a fair 20 meters

I came out with only grazes on my hips.

<|Binge|>

[loply]

How can you identify double stitching?
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Yamaha SZR660 Caution to the wind, the throttle pinned!

[kasandrich]

You can get CE approved armour added to most jackets, I think my Sons was £37.5 for shoulders, elbows, back and knees.
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Richard

CBR1000FM

[stinkwheel]

[loply]

Not sure if I understand that properly, does this:

https://www.loply.com/loply/double.jpg

Obviouslly there is only one line of visible stitching, is there another underneath where the leather is folded under?
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Yamaha SZR660 Caution to the wind, the throttle pinned!

[loply]

My jacket has an inner liner so i cant see the underside of the leather.
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Yamaha SZR660 Caution to the wind, the throttle pinned!

[stinkwheel]

Loply, your jacket is double stitched.

The seam running from the neck to the shoulder is done like the left hand piccy I did (maybe even triple stiched, there could be a layer of zig-zag stitching under that lot) and the bit round the shoulder is like the right hand picture, they usually do stitch it folded over, my piccy was a simplification as it was too hard to show it clearly on a diagram when done like that.

The leather looks to have a nice coarse grain to it which implies it is thick cow hide which will see you right if you are grinding down the tarmac. I will add the caveat that this is just the impression I get from a photo.
____________________
“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.

[loply]

stinkwheel, are you sure its double stitched? im suspicious that it isnt, sorry to be fussy, but heres a daylight pic:

https://home.loply.com/stitch.jpg

Thats the shoulder/neck intersection (same as pic above).

you see there is one visible line of stitching, then a fold. I can tell the fold goes around past the stitching by feeling it from the inside.

I always assumed double stitching meant there were two visible lines of stitching, or something :S
____________________
Yamaha SZR660 Caution to the wind, the throttle pinned!

[stinkwheel]

Looking at that piccy, it doesn't seem as clear. It still may be that there is a second line of stitching underneath.
____________________
“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.