Leather in the summer

[Doc]

I have a Fieldsheer Leather Jacket for the colder times and a Power-trip textile type with a liner, both have the CE armor.

Gloves are a MUST and I usually wear combat boots but I am looking to upgrade.

I had on a textile jacket when I crashed one summer. The thing actually MELTED from sliding on it. (but I didn't take the damage) That is my only concern with textiles.

I wear jeans but I am looking to upgrade those as well.

For all my non squidliness I still have not rocked the full leathers on the street.

[mzdagrl]

The answer is owning multiple jackets.

Yup. I have a leather suit (1-piece) for the track and serious riding...though it is still at Oxx and Amandas....., textile jacket and pants for colder weather (and normal hot weather) riding (easier to layer with as it moves more freely) and a mesh for really hot weather. Actually, I have two mesh and looking for a new one, but I really just want to get rid of the one I wear and the other is too small, so if you know a girl who wears an XS, I have a mesh she can buy.


Sorry, tangent. There is no shortage of cool gear options out there, and if you frequent newenough.com and some of the other sites you can get some great deal on old styles (also, check the for sale threads here - things always go up for sale). I have heard perf'ed leathers are good, but I have never experienced them myself.

[Stoneman]

you don't even ride regularly lately

Ewww...OUCH! Touche!

[CMG241]

I wear jeans but I am looking to upgrade those as well.

I shouldn't jinx myself but over the years going down pretty hard at times my lower half has done well in plain ol jeans.

now my old Members Only jacket was a different story. Come on I'm in my 40's!

[taxonomy]

I have a 100% perforated leather jacket made by Tunstill back in the day when they were on RT 9 in Northampton and not next to Southampton Harley.

It's beautiful, people comment on it. It may be the nicest article of clothing that I own. It has no amour. That said it's no warmer than a t-shirt on the bike. I wear it mostly for very short hops around town. Gloves always of course.

The reality is that I am not going to spend 15 minutes gearing up for a 5 minute ride. In really hot weather that jacket is the difference between riding and not.

May I make the case for Aerostich? The truly fantastic thing about a 'stich is that it's on and off in seconds. In warm weather a lot of out rides are to go swimming or something like that. With a 'stich you arrive and flash! in seconds you're wearing shorts and a t-shirt. At speed they are cool enough until it goes very hot.

That said they are really freaking hot in traffic.

Then again the reality is that a bike on a hot day in traffic is no place to be. Straddling a hot engine over baking tarmac surrounded by other hot engines, you will not stay cool. Plan an alternate route or take the cage. I think that can get genuinely dangerous.

If you look at pictures of Iron Butt competitors you'll see a lot of Aerostich (and BMW type of equivalents) Iron Butt is more or less the MotoGP of street riding, but without sponsorship. They are wearing 'stich and textile for a reason. Competition refines the breed.

Adam

[Jim]

I have a Fieldsheer Leather Jacket for the colder times and a Power-trip textile type with a liner, both have the CE armor.

Gloves are a MUST and I usually wear combat boots but I am looking to upgrade.

I had on a textile jacket when I crashed one summer. The thing actually MELTED from sliding on it. (but I didn't take the damage) That is my only concern with textiles.

I wear jeans but I am looking to upgrade those as well.

For all my non squidliness I still have not rocked the full leathers on the street.

yaaay Doc! glad to hear SOMEONE finally admits it. i knew everyone wasnt in full leathers all summer when street riding. do you take the liner out of your textile on the hot days?

[tsanto]

Lots of good replies, looks like having a couple different jackets is the way to go.

I've been shopping around (you could call it stalking) websites like newenough and kneedraggers but there doesnt seem to be too many "deals". Is now not the best time to be looking for big sales and closeouts?

[mzdagrl]

Check ebay and Craigslist.

Especially a couple months in. By then the people who scare themselves off bikes will be selling their gear (if they had any) dirt cheap.

[naked-daytrader]

Look at the evolution of ski equipment..is anyone still wearing fur lined leather jackets to ski?

Ohhh Manny Manny Manny....one should never "ASSUME" anything. You'd be surprised what you see out on the ski slopes.....Leather?? Fur??? It's all there.....

[eboos]

I use an A* MX1 jacket with the RC back protector and the A* track pants with UA heat gear for street in the summer. I pretty much use that gear all year except when I am commuting in really cold weather. I will just zip in the liner and wear my UA cold gear under when it's in the 40's to low 50's.

In the cold commutes, I wear my First Gear stuff.

[Crash Dummy Denno]

Ohhh Manny Manny Manny....one should never "ASSUME" anything. You'd be surprised what you see out on the ski slopes.....Leather?? Fur??? It's all there.....

ok - well done - you can have that one

[Jim]

nice one!

[ultraTwist]

HMMMM I posted a question about this on sportbikes.net...

This is in response to the melted jacket.

would you stay away from textiles completely after experiencing that? or would you still rock a textile?
my jacket is rated 630 or whatever

Was this a polyester or nylon jacket? The 630 is the tread count. I use leather all the time but have been looking for a nylon jacket I feel I can trust. A lot of the textiles out look great and have all the features but when you read the fine print you see that they are poly, not good.

[jwm2k3]

I have had a textile jacket. Worked fine. I hated it.

Now, leather only. I like that it feels heavy. I want to really feel the weight on me. I have a summer perf'ed one and a cold weather non-perf'ed one

[Cheese]

I have perfed leathers and textiles for the summer. I definitely prefer the leathers for protection but textile pants are more comfortable for short trips. The trouble with textiles is they sometimes don't have padding in the skin on bone areas (hips) and you'd be surprised how quickly skin will burn off and expose bone in an area like this with just a short asfault surf. On the other hand, my leather pants were in the closet the day I went surfing on my textile pants so gear is only good if it's cool and comfortable enough that you'll wear it.

[bostongixxer]

I have a Gericke perf leather jacket that I'll wear up to high 80s to 90 degree weather...beyond that, I go squid...sleaveless shirt preferred with Icon jeans.

[Doc]

yaaay Doc! glad to hear SOMEONE finally admits it. i knew everyone wasnt in full leathers all summer when street riding. do you take the liner out of your textile on the hot days?

I do take the quilted liner out in the summer.

I also don't ride if it is really hot out.

If it is too hot to be wearing the gear it is too hot to ride.

I still need to get some of those Kevlar jeans.

[Doc]

HMMMM I posted a question about this on sportbikes.net...

would you stay away from textiles completely after experiencing that? or would you still rock a textile?
my jacket is rated 630 or whatever

The textile did it's job. So I still wear textile. I find in cooler than leather.

I consider textile "throw away" where as leather I can get repaired.

[tsanto]

Just bought a A* perf leather from Kneedraggers. I wish the warm weather would get here before my jacket does.

I also considered the Joe Rocket Mesh as a second jacket for really hot days. Not much abrasion protection but atleast it has some armor. And it's only 90 bucks from newenough.

Is it summer yet?

[tsanto]

Hey just got my jacket in, how exactly is it supposed to fit. I sized it thru their chart and it feels really tight. It feels way too tight in the chest standing up, but on the bike it doesn't feel as bad.

I'm wondering if I should return it for the next size up.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

[markbvt]

If it's a sport-riding jacket, it should be snug-fitting. They're tailored for the riding position, which is why it feels okay on the bike but awkward standing up. My suggestion would be to put on a sweatshirt or fleece vest or whatever else you might wear under the jacket when it's cold out and try it on again -- if it's much too tight that way, get the next size up. If it's still okay when you're sitting on the bike, then stick with it.

As far as jackets go, I've found that vented leather is fine up to about 80 degrees or so (and I hate hot weather, so those who like high temps would probably be fine up to 85 or more). If it's colder than 60ish, I'll put the liner in my leather jacket and add a hoodie, fleece vest, or both underneath, which works fine even at 25 degrees for riding to work.

If it's over 80 or so out, I wear a Cortech GX Air mesh/leather jacket (pic below). It's got a mesh body but leather panels and armor on the elbows, shoulders, and back.

I've also got a waterproof textile jacket and pants that I'll wear if rain is threatening or if it's under 55 and I'm heading out for a longer ride (it's warmer than leather when riding longer distances). But this jacket is not vented so it gets really hot over 75 degrees or so.

I just bought a V-Strom and am going to do some touring this summer, and I've been wondering what would work best for that without buying yet another jacket and pants. Very much undecided on this one, except that it won't be the waterproof textile because it's unvented.

--mark

Cortech GX Air:

[number9]

As we say in Australia, "harden the fuck up". I grew up riding in full leathers even on 110 degree days; provided you weren't stuck in a traffic jam it wasn't so bad.

Being hot > being a squid

[wookie]

Have I got some thing for you. I bought a used bike a year or tow ago and it came with a rubber bootie that velcors on the shifter, now you can wear those flip flops.

or just tie a bandana around your big toe - problem solved.

IMO - it all depends on what is planned. An all day ride in VT and I'm going to wear full leathers. A cruise around the neighborhood or commute to work in 90 weather and I'm going to wear a very light mesh jacket (if anything). Somwhere in between and I'll wear a leather jacket.

[tsanto]

As we say in Australia, "harden the fuck up". I grew up riding in full leathers even on 110 degree days; provided you weren't stuck in a traffic jam it wasn't so bad.

Being hot > being a squid

I plan on riding in leather this summer. As for the fit, the jacket seemed too tight so i'm exchanging it for a size up.

This is my first leather so I'm a little unsure how it's supposed to fit/feel.

[Honclfibr]

I'm a big fan of my textile oversuit for the street. Leather suits are just too bulky and cumbersome to deal with when riding anywhere, I like to have my legs covered (the risk of serious injury actually increases as you travel up your body, excepting your head), and mesh is total unprotective crap that I wouldn't use for a trip to the grocery store. A good textile suit (read: cordura or equivalent) fits my needs for protection, comfort and convenience in pretty much every respect. Plus, they're a whole lot better in the rain.

Seems like most people in this thread disagree with me however, and you're all entitled to your wrong opinion