Leather clothing - the whole ensemble for todays biker.
Motorcycle leather clothing for style, safety, comfort, and durability
Motorcycle leather clothing, once made from horsehide has generally been replaced today with cowhide having a thickness from 1.1mm to 1.6mm. Asian buffalo hide is also common, and kangaroo leather, because of being supple, light and strong is now becoming popular. Leather clothing is a good choice because of its abrasion resistance required in a fall, but other materials are also used, often in combination, such as Cordura (a type of nylon), Kevlar and carbon fibre.
Motorbike leather clothing will consist of either a one piece suit, particularly used by competition riders, or separate jacket and trousers. Sometimes separates will have the facility to zip matching parts together. The jacket, will generally consist of a full leather body section, or a combination of leather and fabric, with a zipper front and a number of waterproof pockets, often a special one for your mobile phone or for documents. The jacket may also have luminous or reflective features to enable you to be easily seen both at night and during the daytime. Other safety features will include impact protection in the form of increased thickness or fixed or removable armour inserts at the shoulders and elbows and sometimes additional padding or armour is added in appropriate areas such as the back. Chest armour is often seen on off road competition motorcycle gear to protect from the debris thrown up by the motorcycle ahead.
More recently the air bag jacket has been introduced to prevent accident injury, and is used by some motorcycle racers. The downside of course is that when on the bar stool supping your favourite beer, the joker among your buddies will yank on the ripcord instantly turning you into Michelin man. You can check out some of the details on the air bag jacket link.
Leather motorcycle jackets
Biker leather jackets should have various ventilated areas to keep you cool but also look for a removable liner to keep you warm in winter and when removed, cool in summer. Also being removable it's easier to clean. (For those that do a lot of cold weather riding, review the Motorcycle thermal clothing and the Heated motorcycle clothing pages). The lining may incorporate a wick system to absorb moisture on the hot days particularly if it's not removable. Side waist adjustable straps, wrist zippers and cuff straps are there to stop the jacket from gaping and filling with air like a balloon. They also help to protect from catching on protrusions in a accident.
The vented racing jacket shown on the left from Fox Creek is made from a heavy gauge leather with zippered vents front and back for summer riding. It has a tuck away fleece neck warmer and has a couple of inside pockets Critical areas like shoulders and elbows are protected with extra layers of leather and includes a padded kidney panel.
Another heavy gauge leather jacket fromFox Creek, is the Mens Classic1. Front and rear zippered vents along with sleeve vents allow for through air flow for those hot summer days in the saddle. Additionally the liner with a tuck away fleece neck warmer can be removed if required. The front is belted and sides laced for adjustable fit. The back includes a padded and extended kidney panel. Antique brass fittings maintain the quality look. Two inside pockets one poppered and one zipped will hold your wallet or glasses.
Fox Creek do a number of other styles of jacket for him and her with impressive customer reviews. If your looking for top class American made biker leather clothing, and a service second to none, then don't miss a visit to the family owned business of Fox Creek Leather, they don't dissappoint and will ship internationally.
If your preference is for a more European style of biker leather clothing, perhaps with more colour and a great selection from the worlds top manufacturers, then check out the SportsBikeShop.co.uk. They will ship to the EU member states, United States and Canada. Shipping within the UK for orders over £25 is usually free.
The SportsBikeShop offer leather jackets from Arlen Ness, Richa, RST, Spada, Spyke, Weise and Wolf. Most makes are offered in at least 3 or 4 different colour schemes to suit all tasts for him or her.
A mid-price example is the Richa Zone jacket, a modern sports jacket made from cowhide and available in black, red or blue with white contrasting panels. CE protection is provided at the shoulders, elbows and back. It has a mesh lining and adjustable waist with a full length zip to attach matching Richa Zone or other Richa trousers if desired.
At the top of the range for leather jackets at the SportsBikeShop is the Richa Lucky style. For comfort and safety, features include; Perforations for ventilation, hump on the back, reflective stripe on the arms, adjustable waist, stretch inserts for optimal fitting, full & short length connection zip, CE approved armour to shoulders & elbows and a back protector included.
Leather trousers and chaps
Motorcycle trousers will be made from similar materials
and incorporate reinforced areas and / or fixed or removable armour inserts at the knees and hips. Sometimes ventilation is provided perhaps behind the knees. Leather chaps or leggings are popular particularly in the US and are generally worn over Jeans.
Fox Creek are now producing stylish handmade leather over-trousers with a nylon shell to wear over your normal clothes. They have a full length antique brass zipper down the side of each leg so they are easy to get on and off, and they have deep pockets front and back.
This company can also provide leather chaps if that is your preference.
Alternatively the SportsBikeShop offer a selection of makes such as Arlen Ness, Richa, RST, Spada, Spidi, Spyke, Weise and Wolf.
Richa Zone Trouser - Red in premium cowhide from SportsBikeShop matches the red Richa Zone jacket above and sports a mesh lining, elasticated waist with added protection to the shins and knees. Other colours are available to match the jacket range.
Features to decide on when buying your leather trousers are armour protection or increased thickness leather at knees and hips, reflective areas so that you are noticed at night or in poor light conditions, stretch panels and vented material to keep you cool and comfortable. Also zipped calfs for ease of putting on and think about the need (or not) of a waterproof liner, waist zipper for attaching to your jacket and pockets. Generally along with the quality, the features that you choose will add cost, the more expensive being around 3 times the price of the cheapest.
Motorcycle Gloves
A good pair of motorcycle gloves is also important particularly when riding in cold or wet weather. It’s important to keep dry and warm as fatigue can kick in and your responses can slow. Gauntlets are extended gloves which provide additional protection to the wrist by overlapping the jacket cuffs. Additional knuckle protection can be provided particularly with gloves for the racing fraternity and glove fingers can be designed with curvature for comfort.
The RST Tractech biker glove is a mid price range glove with some excellent features like comfortable pre curved fingers, carbon fibre finger and knuckle protection and kevlar palm panels. There is a double wrist and cuff closure feature and the leather is also perforated to provide ventilation in hot weather. These gloves are available in black, blue, red, white and green from the SportsBikeShop.
Motorcycle Boots
Protection for the feet and ankles are provided by a pair of motorcycle boots. They need to be tough with some flexibility and be waterproof and resistant to oil.Shins and ankles are often provided with increased impact protection to minimise accident injury.
The Milwaukee Classic Harness boot is pictured here. Inside the boot is a fully cushioned and removable insole for your comfort and at the back is a teflon coated YKK zipper for easy on and easy removal. The out sole is oil resistant and has features for good traction. Fox Creek can also supply Chippewa and Double-H boots in various styles for men and women.
To the right is the Spada Hurricane boot. This is a very popular waterproof and breathable budget boot from SportsBikeShop with reinforcement to the shin and ankle areas along with a twin zip opening for easy on and off.
Depicted on the left is a high tech boot from Sidi called the Adventure Gore-Tex Boot and available from the Sportsbikeshop. It is waterproof and designed for enduro or touring. It features a thin Gore-Tex membrane between the inner and outer lining that is wind and waterproof and allows ventilation. The upper is manufactured in top grain and split grain leather with velcro strap closure and buckles. Protection is provided around the ankle and and reflective inserts incorporated for increased visibility of the rider.
Things to look for when purchasing your motorcycle leather clothing:
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Good fit. Too loose and the armour protection could move out of place in a riding accident. The clothing would also tend to balloon out when riding. Too tight and you could suffer from fatigue after a long time riding.
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Seams double, treble or more rows of stitching. It’s important that the seams don’t burst due to tension in the material if sliding down the road in a riding mishap.
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Reinforced / armour panels at the shoulders, elbows, hips and knees for protection against impacts. Padding / back protection.
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If very cold weather riding is anticipated, then it’s worth considering heated jacket and gloves to avoid fatigue.
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High visibility clothing. A large proportion of accidents occur through other drivers not seeing the rider.
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No loose areas that could catch and tear in an accident.
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Zipped or strapped cuffs and ankles to avoid material riding up in an accident.
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Tough, strong well fitting boots. Waterproof and oil resistant with ankle protection.
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Look for recognised standards labelling for motorcycle clothing such as the European standard mark CE.
Don't forget to keep your leathers in tip-top condition by regular cleaning and conditioning with the right motorcycle leather care products.
Featured merchants:
SportsBikeShop.co.uk: The UK's leading online retailer of motorcycle helmets, clothing, jackets, boots, gloves & motorbike accessories. They stock and supply top brand motorcycle clothing from RST, Weise, Spyke, Spada, Alpinestars, & Sidi and helmets from Arai, Shoei, AGV, Caberg & HJC. They offer free UK delivery on items over a certain value and backed this up by unrivalled levels of customer care. They can also help with finance to help spread the cost of your purchase.
FoxCreekLeather.com: Fox Creek Leather is a small family run company in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern Virginia. They take pride in offering high quality American made motorcycle leathers at reasonable prices. All their jackets, vests, and chaps are covered by a lifetime guarantee.