postulated :
>Is there anything that would be good to know before buying a leather jacket?
>Brand? Lined? Zipper?
I've been riding for sometime now and discovered a few years ago that
the ballistic jackets such as the H-D FXRG are much better than
leather any day IMHO. They are lighter, more weather resistant, wind
proof, cooler in warm weather and warmer in cold. I've never done a
rag doll down the road wearing one but I know the jacket would offer
more resistance than just cow hide because of the armored inserts.
There are other brands much cheaper that are available at metric
motorcycle shops or off the net. Some may say that the standard
leather jacket looks better as part of the biker "costume" but I'll
take function over style any day. My closet has three leather jackets
gathering dust.
Just my two cents..
Ride Safe!
Greasy Rider SLOB-6
'97 FLHTCI Lehman trike
53 years of motorcyling
(This line intentionally left blank)
Greasy Rider @ invalid.com wrote:
> postulated :
>> Is there anything that would be good to know before buying a leather jacket?
>> Brand? Lined? Zipper?
>
> I've been riding for sometime now and discovered a few years ago that
> the ballistic jackets such as the H-D FXRG are much better than
> leather any day IMHO. They are lighter, more weather resistant, wind
> proof, cooler in warm weather and warmer in cold. I've never done a
> rag doll down the road wearing one but I know the jacket would offer
> more resistance than just cow hide because of the armored inserts.
> There are other brands much cheaper that are available at metric
> motorcycle shops or off the net. Some may say that the standard
> leather jacket looks better as part of the biker "costume" but I'll
> take function over style any day. My closet has three leather jackets
> gathering dust.
>
> Just my two cents..
And a damn fine two cents it was....
1st off.....leather ain't waterproof.....<sfsf>
I've got a mix of jackets, I still wear leather a lot and
can't claim to know much about different brands, but I do
prefer the look/feel/etc. (better quality) of the jackets
Harley sells to the stuff I see hanging on racks at bike
shows for $80 or $90 bucks.......I'm thinking I bought one
of Harley's cheaper jackets a few years ago and paid about
$300 for it. The leather is thick/heavy and it's got a
quilted liner (not removable), zippers are massive.
Chewed out one of my neighbor buddies recently when he
bought a bike and told me he was gonna buy a cheap leather
jacket at Bike Week........told him the jackets weren't for
looks....they were safety equipment and he should buy the
best he could afford. He bought a cheap one......I saw him
stall his bike and fall over one day up on the corner....I
don't ride with him.
Here's a pic of several of us on our way to SNIFF a couple
years ago.....me in the middle, but you can see a variety of
riding gear:
http://tiny.pl/tfvb
(oh yeah, that pic was taken up on Tioga Pass in October, it
was ONLY about 26 degrees up there at 10K feet that morning,
and I was toasty warm)
I did buy a ballistic "touring" jacket a couple years ago
from Harley (could have saved a little $$ if I'da bought it
from Joe Rocket or someone else)......it's a longer (how to
describe it) fingertip length (????) jacket with body armor
etc. and fleece lined. It's a great jacket, but I've found
that unless it's REALLY frikkin cold outside (and I live in
Arizona, d'oh) it's too hot, too heavy for me most of the time.
I've also got a Joe Rocket Phoenix 4.0 jacket I just bought
last month and I LOVE it......great for summer riding,
'specially down here in the desert. It's a ballistic mesh
with body armor in the elbows, shoulders, and spine. Only
ran about $149 (can be found a tad cheaper on-line).
My wife FINALLY broke down and let me get her a good riding
jacket....she's always preferred a tank top, but those offer
protection in the negative numbers......
She picked leather over ballistic, but her jacket is vented
and has body armor......but ran about $500.
Now for the next related topic.....CHAPS....
IMHO....forget them and get a good pair of ballistic riding
pants......I wear Joe Rocket Ballistic 4.0. They're
waterproof, lined (so keep ya warm in cold weather), have
body armor, and padding in the waist and ass to protect
those areas. I'm thinking I paid about $150 or so for these.
Most leather sets of chaps (that I've seen) don't cover your
groin or ass at all (and leather is not waterproof)
........think about that a bit.
Levi's offer just about no protection in reality.....they
shred off pretty damn quick even at very low speeds.
The boots Harley sells always seemed to me to be reasonably
priced....but had too many decorations (straps, buckles,
etc.) that served no purpose for my taste. I've always worn
a good pair of ankle high (gotta support the ankle) work
boots by Redwing or Timberland (lots of other good brands
out there I'm sure)......and right now I'm wearing a pair of
Sketchers boots....probably a little to light, but not all
that bad.
--
Steve Irving (Irv) - BS#237/SLOB#12
http://www.nite.com/bike.html
Under a black flag we shall sail.......
> 1st off.....leather ain't waterproof.....<sfsf>
> I've got a mix of jackets, I still wear leather a lot and can't claim to
> know much about different brands, but I do prefer the look/feel/etc.
> (better quality) of the jackets Harley sells to the stuff I see hanging on
> racks at bike shows for $80 or $90 bucks.......I'm thinking I bought one
> of Harley's cheaper jackets a few years ago and paid about $300 for it.
> The leather is thick/heavy and it's got a quilted liner (not removable),
> zippers are massive.
> Chewed out one of my neighbor buddies recently when he bought a bike and
> told me he was gonna buy a cheap leather jacket at Bike Week........told
> him the jackets weren't for looks....they were safety equipment and he
> should buy the best he could afford. He bought a cheap one......I saw him
> stall his bike and fall over one day up on the corner....I don't ride with
> him.
> Here's a pic of several of us on our way to SNIFF a couple years
> ago.....me in the middle, but you can see a variety of riding gear: >
> http://tiny.pl/tfvb
> (oh yeah, that pic was taken up on Tioga Pass in October, it was ONLY
> about 26 degrees up there at 10K feet that morning, and I was toasty warm)
> I did buy a ballistic "touring" jacket a couple years ago from Harley
> (could have saved a little $$ if I'da bought it from Joe Rocket or someone
> else)......it's a longer (how to describe it) fingertip length (????)
> jacket with body armor etc. and fleece lined. It's a great jacket, but
> I've found that unless it's REALLY frikkin cold outside (and I live in
> Arizona, d'oh) it's too hot, too heavy for me most of the time.
> I've also got a Joe Rocket Phoenix 4.0 jacket I just bought last month and
> I LOVE it......great for summer riding, 'specially down here in the
> desert. It's a ballistic mesh with body armor in the elbows, shoulders,
> and spine. Only ran about $149 (can be found a tad cheaper on-line).
> My wife FINALLY broke down and let me get her a good riding
> jacket....she's always preferred a tank top, but those offer protection in
> the negative numbers......
> She picked leather over ballistic, but her jacket is vented and has body
> armor......but ran about $500.
> Now for the next related topic.....CHAPS....
> IMHO....forget them and get a good pair of ballistic riding pants......I
> wear Joe Rocket Ballistic 4.0. They're waterproof, lined (so keep ya warm
> in cold weather), have body armor, and padding in the waist and ass to
> protect those areas. I'm thinking I paid about $150 or so for these.
> Most leather sets of chaps (that I've seen) don't cover your groin or ass
> at all (and leather is not waterproof) ........think about that a bit.
> Levi's offer just about no protection in reality.....they shred off pretty
> damn quick even at very low speeds.
> The boots Harley sells always seemed to me to be reasonably priced....but
> had too many decorations (straps, buckles, etc.) that served no purpose
> for my taste. I've always worn a good pair of ankle high (gotta support
> the ankle) work boots by Redwing or Timberland (lots of other good brands
> out there I'm sure)......and right now I'm wearing a pair of Sketchers
> boots....probably a little to light, but not all that bad.
> Steve Irving (Irv) - BS#237/SLOB#12
> http://www.nite.com/bike.html
> Under a black flag we shall sail.......
Ok, I didn't know that leather wasn't water proof. Thanks for adding that.
Nice photo. We've seen some of the things bikers are wearing but not much
because we haven't been out. Seems there is quite a variety.
I just took a look at the Joe Rocket Ballistic 4.0 pants and they are nice.
Thanks for letting me know what you like and don't like,
Susie
On Wed, 28 Jun 2006 07:28:56 -0700, SteveI wrote
<snip>
> Most leather sets of chaps (that I've seen) don't cover your
> groin or ass at all (and leather is not waterproof)
> ........think about that a bit.
>
> Levi's offer just about no protection in reality.....they
> shred off pretty damn quick even at very low speeds.
<snip>
I have some pairs of Draggin' Jeans jeans and a Draggin' jean jacket (I was
wearing it in New Mexico).
They're kevlar lined and when it's hot, they soak down with water pretty good
for some nice cooling.
Just another option...
Rich
--
FLTRI
FLHR
KTM
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>Brand? Lined? Zipper?