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Safe kit- leather or fabric? Safe kit- leather or fabric?
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TRAVEL Hints and Tips Post your TIPS to travellers - all the interesting little tidbits you learned on the road about packing, where to get stuff, and how to cope with problems. Please make sure the subject describes the tip clearly!
Photo by Alessio Corradini, on the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia, of two locals

I haven't been everywhere...
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Photo by Alessio Corradini,
on the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia,
of two locals



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  #1  
Old 18 Apr 2007
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Question Safe kit- leather or fabric?
Hi,
I'm going to start with my motorbike license in about a month (so looking forward to that ) and was wondering what type of kit ( jacket, trousers, gloves ect.) is safer: the ones out of leather or the fabric ones. Which ones are more effective is case of a crash/slide?

Cheers

PS: excuse any spelling mistakes please
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  #2  
Old 18 Apr 2007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Guesswho View Post
Hi,
I'm going to start with my motorbike license in about a month (so looking forward to that ) and was wondering what type of kit ( jacket, trousers, gloves ect.) is safer: the ones out of leather or the fabric ones. Which ones are more effective is case of a crash/slide?

Cheers

PS: excuse any spelling mistakes please
You are going to get a lot of mixed opinions here, I am a fan of leathers and kevlar lined jeans.

Best bet is to talk to your riding instructor
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  #3  
Old 19 Apr 2007
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Modern fabrics have give us a lot more choices Most good quality fabrics are nearly as good as leather these days, and in a lot of cases more versatile, more pockets, lighter weight, warmer and waterproof. I wear a fabric jacket complete with armour (and Gortex lining) and it has a thermal liner (which I have converted to a heated jacket), and leather trousers, jean style, my choice
As for crash protection, ultimately it is leather. But for it to be fully effective, it needs to be either zipped together (jacket and trousers) or be one piece leathers. Also the climate you will be riding in will be a big deciding factor
BruceP mentions kevlar lined jeans, I think these would be good in a warm climate (or for the tougher, younger riders;o) and would look good off the bike.
Loads of choices.

Trophymick
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  #4  
Old 19 Apr 2007
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both!
You'll probably end up buying both, with time!

But whatever you buy, buy the most expensive gear that you can afford.

Buying cheap will be a waste of your money as soon after you will think about replacing it by better quality (and more expensive) suit.

You get what you pay for!
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  #5  
Old 19 Apr 2007
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Buy Quality
Agree with above post, spend as much as you can possibly afford by buying good quality like Hein-Gericke, keep an eye on ebay, Hein-Gericke have just sold over 100 lots of returns with minor faults, i picked up a Cruise GTX Gortex jacket for £60 , rrp £279 !!
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  #6  
Old 19 Apr 2007
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Be sure when you try the suit on that you sit on a bike for a while.
I have seen people who get a size that looks good but it is too tight for riding.
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  #7  
Old 19 Apr 2007
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what to wear
I agree with the previous comments but in all reality you will need to adapte your gear with your riding style and climate( dual sport bike , race bike,touring bike,winter summer). I use different gear in the winter that I will use in the summer but they all have elbow,shoulder and back protection . I went down few times I believed that the protection did save my butt. I also will be very carefull about what helmet you will be getting.
Regarding jacket , I like to have the longer style because of the back protection they offer for the cold/mud/rain, I am a big fan of goretex but a rain suit is alway better, for the pants you can get some with knee protection ( good against cold and fall) you can look at dual sport gear as they are very resistant and confortable.
Good glove are also recommended ( summer pair with knocle protection and winter one in gortex if possible)

good luck
Hendi
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  #8  
Old 19 Apr 2007
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Do not confuse price with quality , expensive suits are not always the best .

leathers - http://www.ridetriangles.com/pdf/581/211873.pdf

safety information -http://www.roadsafety.mccofnsw.org.au/a/88.html

textile jackets --http://www.ridetriangles.com/pdf/513/199740.pdf
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  #9  
Old 24 Apr 2007
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I use my bike every day and for me it is important to have a jacket that I would use even when I drive down to the store 1 km away. So I went after looks and comfort because even the most protective jacket wouldnt be any good if you leave it at home.
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  #10  
Old 25 Apr 2007
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Gear
I had a big accident in hein gericke textile gear and it stood up really well, a lot better than i did, check the quality of the armour in the clothing you buy ce approved etc and upgrade if necessary. I thinki may have come away from my crash better if i had been wearing my back protector as well so they're worth a look.
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  #11  
Old 26 Apr 2007
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I think if you ride regularly and ride for many years you will find you accumulate a lot of gear for different purposes. I wear kevlar jeans and a soft smart-style leather jacket with thinnish summer gloves on short trips around town. On longer trips I wear the over-sized plastic/fabric gear with built-in protection, vents, zip-out insulation and the whole shebang. Around town I ride below 60 km/h and a bit of gravel-rash is more likely than broken bones. On the highway and off-road things are, of course, much different.

I agree with comments earlier that you should get good-quality, good-looking, comfortable gear so you are more inclined to wear it. A nice leather jacket will become something you will wear all the time, and with a pair of kevlar jeans it will do until you decide to spend big on the fabric stuff.
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  #12  
Old 26 Apr 2007
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Motorcycle Clothing...
Hi there "GuessWho" and "willkommen"!!

Yes, it sometimesis difficult to choose the right stuff. I also got both, leather as well as textile, very satisfied! However, I use the textile stuff more often than the leather, mainly because it is lighter, has more pockets and so on. Buying the most expensive is in my opinion not necessary!! Especially with you living in "Deutschland" (Germany), why don't you check not only the Hein Gericke but also "Motorrad Louis" homepages. I got lots of my stuff from Louis, great service, great price and great quality. Besides, they also got sales where you can really make a bargain!!
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  #13  
Old 4 May 2007
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thanks
Thanks to everybody who has answered so far with such helpful info
Klausdorth I've considered buying from "Motorrad Louis" and I also have a catalogue but I think it is better to try the kit out before you buy it and I'm afraid that there isn't a shop (filiale) near where I live.
But for now I can use my brother's jacket for lessons
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  #14  
Old 4 May 2007
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Always, but always try it on first
Quote:
Originally Posted by Guesswho View Post
I've considered buying from "Motorrad Louis" and I also have a catalogue but I think it is better to try the kit out before you buy it and I'm afraid that there isn't a shop (filiale) near where I live.
Always try kit on before you buy - the cost of a journey is much less than the cost of replacing kit that doesn't fit. I was once foolish enough to buy a pair of trousers without trying them on, and the knee armour is halfway up my thigh! They are also not very waterproof, I guess they were cheap for a reason.

You mentioned gloves, and I think gloves are at least as important as your helmet because when you fall, you put your hands out to stop yourself. When I was learning a guy on the course turned up without gloves, and I was tempted to copy him until an instructor saw his bare hands. He asked (loud enough for us all to hear) "who is your best friend? And when you fall off and your hands are bandaged, will he wipe your arse for you?" It is not a pretty thought.
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