What should I look for when buying motorcycle leathers?
Buying my first set of motorcycle leathers and wondering what should I look for. Are there any advantages to buying textiles? Does the armour need to be CE approved? I found a 2 piece which I like on sale at £79.99, is this too cheap to be reliable??
Ignore the idiots who say textiles give better abrasion protection than leather, that's complete lunacy. Only one textile suit on the market comes anywhere near the level of protection that leather gives you, the Halvarssons Safety Suit, which is about twice as expensive as a decent set of leathers. There are very good reasons why leather is used, and most of them are to do with abrasion resistance. Textiles are generally lighter, and can be waterproofed. If you don't ride in wet conditions leather is better, and doesn't have to be too cold or too hot. Leather can be treated to make it shower-resistant, but if you get caught in a downpour a wet leather suit is not a nice thing to be inside.
If the armour is called "armour", then it must have been CE approved. Otherwise it's just "padding". The 2-piece suit you found at £79.99 does sound too cheap to be any good, although I can't tell you for certain without knowing more about it. A decent low-price leather jacket should cost £120 – £150, and trousers to go with it maybe a bit less. Try your local branch of Hein Gericke if you have one.
Remember, it's your skin you're protecting.
Don't buy leather it's cold, get a decent set of cordura textile that is CE approved, it has better abrasive protection than leather and get a decent helmet and look after it. 80 quid isn't too cheap if it is correctly rated, Lidl's have some decent kit on sale at the moment
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dont get leathers they are crap, try buying the all weather jackets and trousers they are made with a canvass material they are wind proof kind of waterproof and they have a thermol lining inside which keep you a lot warmer than leathers also very important get a bikers balaclava that is the key to keeping warm on a bike and you can purchase these from any good motorbike shop
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Make sure the chaps are ass-less. You'll found out why.
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Road,road racing,Moto-cross,flat track,desert racing,which is it. $80.00 is not to cheap if they have good protection and are easy to move in.
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me
If your armour is not CE approved you are taking a big risk – most armour is CE approved its usually the leather that's not. Check out this months TWO as it has a feature on leathers. £80 sounds very cheap but it depends why they are reduced so much – if its a discontinued line or very old stock as long as the CE marks there it should be fine. My last set cost around £200
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look at size-weight-comfort on your bike
try "joe rocket" there leather is good i have it
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well first of all leather restricts your movement but it's good protection so you want a set which has elasticated joints shoulders etc. check the stitching and how much freedom of movement you have and the price shouldn't matter after all asda jam is hartleys if you get my drift
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my leathers are comfortable
Ignore the idiots who say textiles give better abrasion protection than leather, that's complete lunacy. Only one textile suit on the market comes anywhere near the level of protection that leather gives you, the Halvarssons Safety Suit, which is about twice as expensive as a decent set of leathers. There are very good reasons why leather is used, and most of them are to do with abrasion resistance. Textiles are generally lighter, and can be waterproofed. If you don't ride in wet conditions leather is better, and doesn't have to be too cold or too hot. Leather can be treated to make it shower-resistant, but if you get caught in a downpour a wet leather suit is not a nice thing to be inside.
If the armour is called "armour", then it must have been CE approved. Otherwise it's just "padding". The 2-piece suit you found at £79.99 does sound too cheap to be any good, although I can't tell you for certain without knowing more about it. A decent low-price leather jacket should cost £120 – £150, and trousers to go with it maybe a bit less. Try your local branch of Hein Gericke if you have one.
Remember, it's your skin you're protecting.
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Work in the industry.
leather is stronger than other material,
hold arms straight out in front of you, make sure the cuff is not to high when you do this, this is your riding position &cufs want to be right no good just puting on & standing with arms down side, the arms will get shorter when they get wrinkles in the arms with use,
DOUBLE zips at front & resonable flap keep draft out also with double zip if you decide to put bigger jumper or get fatter still fits.
stretch panels help,
pockets you want to be able to get things in & out with cold fingers,
zip to join jacket & trousers to gether,
& me i like removable armour can not do with it on shoulders,
also like zip cuffs
some one says leather restricts your movement rubbish i work all day in my leather jacket & its manual work, some times in winter will work in leather jeans as well leather is very comfortable when worn in,
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all i can add to the above is get them just a little baggy
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go to a good shop that will help you pick some that fit you properly if there baggy they wont do there job and will roll up and may brake your bones.
get leathers they are the best material to use and if leathers are crap why do the racers use them?
try "j and s" for leathers or ask a biker in your area where they go and use word of mouth. if your near wiltshire or swindon george whites are very good and they have people that know how to fit you up correctly. 2 piece is your best bet especialy in the summer.
as for when its cold you can get layers to go underneath them for winter. i paid 350 for mine and they still look good and have lasted 5 years so far. make sure you clean them with leather cleaner and treat them after as this will keep them supple and keep them in top condition.
always get CE approved armour.
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Make sure the body armour is good.
Nothing else is important.
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Thicker the better. Giant zippers you can work with gloves for venting while riding. Two layers in front and two layers in back with a single layer on the side. Lower legs can have a single layer. Wear high lace up boots with steel toes. If you go synthetic go cordura. If you look to radical or to wimpish people in cars will try to kill you for fun. I have Hein Gerrich leathers.
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Have a look at some of the reviews on this site;
http://www.webbikeworld.com/Reviewed-motorcycle-products/Products.htm
Full of useful info, although an American site many of the products are available here as well, reviews are well written & very informative.
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Leather is always best for abrasion. It isn't waterproof but you can always get a one piece waterproof over suit that would negate that problem.
There's no legal minimum of what to wear, CE armour is a little more expensive, because it isn't free for the manufacturer to get it CE approved.
I fell off at 120mph with no armour, I was fine and still have the (£90) outfit. It needed a bit of polishing though.
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Here’s a couple of other sites you can check out for biker gear. http://www.A1SuperShops.net and http://www.yoursuperstore.net .
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