Leathers on the road

Poll: Leathers on the road

Total Members Polled: 172

Never ride without them: 49%
Wear them for longer rides but not local ones: 33%
Thought about them but prefer decent textiles: 12%
Purely for racers and posers: 7%
Author
Discussion

Mike600F

1,049 posts

155 months

Wednesday 25th April 2012
quotequote all
mr wiki said:
As I said, in Ride mag last year, done in a lab, abrasion test.

Tesco Jeans - 0.16s
Levis jeans - 0.56s
Textiles - 0.71s
Woven Kevlar - 1.39s
Knitted Kevlar - 3.07s
Leather Jeans - 4.74s


Cheers for that - interesting dfference between woven and knitted Kevlar.

mr wiki

373 posts

205 months

Wednesday 25th April 2012
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RizzoTheRat said:
That ride mag report is a little bit miss leading though as it doesn't give the spec of the "textiles". I can't find the report but I've seen a comparison of cordura where the thinnest spec wasn't a lot better than denim but the heaviest gave a better abrasion resistance than leather.
It does at the bottom, I'll take more upside down pics if you like?

spareparts

6,777 posts

226 months

Wednesday 25th April 2012
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moto_traxport said:
Dr Jekyll said:
I always thought the safety advantage of leathers was just protection from abrasion when sliding along the tarmac rather than from impact. So for a road rider like me whose accidents are likely to be low speed they weren't really relevant. Do they really protect from impact better than textiles?
Generally a survivble road accident is a slow speed body armour thing rather than a high speed abrasion thing.

Howevers leathers are better - they hold the armour in the right place, They don't grip so hard at first impact which induces torn stuff. They keep you in roughly the same shape and all together in one bit.
Absolutely. Abrasion resistance is absolutely key ON TRACK: when you low side at speed, you just slide... get the best gloves you can! Whatever is touching the ground will get hot, and in slow motion, you can feel the heat coming through... when you do, just flip yourself and barrel roll!

On the public road, impact resistance is critical to avoiding broken bones: leather will help keep the armour in place, and the best textiles are very close fitting and do not allow the armour to move. This is true of textiles like HG Master V and other similar top end textiles. On a public road, the speeds are much slower, and when you come off, you are very likely to roll and hopefully not hit anything else. Abrasion resistance is of lesser importance as you are less likely to slide as you would on track where there are nice long run off areas to surf the tarmac....

One thing not mentioned is the importance of boots. Good boots that can slide with external TPU armour are invaluable. They can be the difference between walking and not walking.

Motorrad

6,811 posts

186 months

Wednesday 25th April 2012
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UnluckyTimmeh said:
It depends on the weather and what bike i'm on.
What he said.

As I'm using the bike whatever the weather a textile jacket with full ce armour that actually fits properly, ce 2 back protector and textile pants/overpants with hip/knee armour.

If I could justify the cost of gore tex bonded leathers I think I'd go for a set but I believe the high quality textiles I use now offer a reasonable percentage of the protection in most situations compared to leathers. Their longevity compared to hide on the other hand is questionable.

CBR JGWRR

6,518 posts

148 months

Wednesday 25th April 2012
quotequote all
Always leathers. I wear textiles over the top when its raining.

I didn't when I rode in a blizzard though...

d8mok

1,815 posts

204 months

Wednesday 25th April 2012
quotequote all
On the 848 I always wear my 1 piece suit with back protector.

However on my monster it's a leather jacket with back protector slotted in (dainese) , with Kevlar jeans.

Both always with my sidi's and gloves etc.

To be honest I've been considering a pair of leather bottoms for a while now as I use the monster alot and ride it no slower than the 848 and it's making me a little nervous.

Yazza54

18,464 posts

180 months

Thursday 26th April 2012
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I don't understand why it would ever make someone a wannabe racer if they are wearing leathers.

Unless we're talking repsol etc matching leathers to bike. That always strikes me as a bit much for the road.

Hooli

32,278 posts

199 months

Thursday 26th April 2012
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Yazza54 said:
I don't understand why it would ever make someone a wannabe racer if they are wearing leathers.
Go for a ride in shorts, then compare how fast you go to wearing leathers.

Dr Jekyll

Original Poster:

23,820 posts

260 months

Saturday 28th April 2012
quotequote all
I must admit I'm surprised so few posters seem prepared to ride without leathers. Reading the other bike threads PH bikers generally seem less risk averse than I am, and I've never worn leathers.

Question for those who avoid riding without leathers.

Do you also avoid knee down stuff and wheelies?

RemaL

24,967 posts

233 months

Saturday 28th April 2012
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Short or long trip always leathers, trackday 1peice, long day blast 1 peice, rest 2 peice

bogie

16,342 posts

271 months

Saturday 28th April 2012
quotequote all
always wear a leather jacket (with armour/back protector), gloves, boots etc ...the choice these days on quality gear is amazing compared to 20 years ago, theres no excuse really...you can get kit for commuting on a scooter into the office that has armour in these days...you dont have to look like a steretypical power ranger or Hells angel if you dont want to wink

I dont have any leather trousers that fit now (the last power ranger suit I had, I was about 3 stone lighter LOL! Im a fair weather biker now and always too bleeding warm ...so some kevlar jeans with armour in are what I usually have on


Hooli

32,278 posts

199 months

Saturday 28th April 2012
quotequote all
Dr Jekyll said:
I must admit I'm surprised so few posters seem prepared to ride without leathers. Reading the other bike threads PH bikers generally seem less risk averse than I am, and I've never worn leathers.

Question for those who avoid riding without leathers.

Do you also avoid knee down stuff and wheelies?
I always avoid knee down & wheelies no matter what I'm wearing due to a lack of skill & no real interest in pushing myself or the bike that hard.

MrB1obby

771 posts

149 months

Saturday 28th April 2012
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I wear full textiles purely because up until this year I commuted all year round. Now I want a one piece 'power ranger' suit for the extra protection if.

RemyMartin

6,759 posts

204 months

Saturday 28th April 2012
quotequote all
Leather jacket and jeans for summer commuting and short journeys.
Full textile suit for winter duties
1 piece leathers for long hoons and trackdays.

Willy Nilly

12,511 posts

166 months

Saturday 28th April 2012
quotequote all
Dr Jekyll said:
I must admit I'm surprised so few posters seem prepared to ride without leathers. Reading the other bike threads PH bikers generally seem less risk averse than I am, and I've never worn leathers.

Question for those who avoid riding without leathers.

Do you also avoid knee down stuff and wheelies?
I do neither knee down or wheelies, not big on insurance claims or points on my license either. I wear (decent) textiles because most of the time leathers are too cold, the pockets are terrible too. My bike has done 3000 miles since I had it serviced in October, those would be quite chilly were it not for a decent base layer and the thermal lining in my textiles.

I've just had a rather square back tyre replaced too, so this, combined with not riding a 1000 cc sports bike for 1500 frantic summer miles make me a raging bender.


norman156

2,050 posts

195 months

Saturday 28th April 2012
quotequote all
I used to ride with a leather jacket and kevlar jeans with padding in the knees, didn't particularly like the idea of leather trousers on the road, though I've since changed my mind after coming off...

I'd have been pretty much uninjured with two-piece leathers so if/when I get back on I'll probably be giving those a go.

GTIR

24,741 posts

265 months

Saturday 28th April 2012
quotequote all
spareparts said:
One thing not mentioned is the importance of boots. Good boots that can slide with external TPU armour are invaluable. They can be the difference between walking and not walking.
yes

I saw a guy on a CBR6 on the A14 with full leathers, Arai helmet, gloves, and smart casual slip on office shoes! eek
A you need it to drop the bike at the lights and your foot is fooked.
At least wear lace ups!

catso

14,770 posts

266 months

Saturday 28th April 2012
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GTIR said:
At least wear lace ups!
This goes for all shoe wear, not just biking. Slip-ons are just wrong... nono