Gear choices

[Kerryxvs]

Hey lads , now that I ve the bike bought need to start looking at gear ,preferable summer gear , need advice tho ,bought a dragstar 1100 ,which is better leather or textile ,and looking for a flip face or modular helmet all advice will be heeded

[Mark K]

I ride in all weather and all year round, and started off with a £60 spada textile jacket. I have now replaced this with a m-tech leather jacket.

I find leather totally weatherproof (wind/rain) whereas the textile jacket would eventually soak through in the rain and make you cold and dripping wet.

A major plus my leather jacket has (which you may also find in some textile jackets) is a zip out thermal liner so it's warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

[Kerryxvs]

I ride in all weather and all year round, and started off with a £60 spada textile jacket. I have now replaced this with a m-tech leather jacket.

I find leather totally weatherproof (wind/rain) whereas the textile jacket would eventually soak through in the rain and make you cold and dripping wet.

A major plus my leather jacket has (which you may also find in some textile jackets) is a zip out thermal liner so it's warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Thanks for the insight Mark ,am inclined to go for leather even tho it is the more expensive option , but would be money well spent if I get caught out.

Brand wise who gives best type of leather and protection?

[2 Wheels]

Here is a bit of reading for you = http://www.yamahaclub.com/forums/topic/22669-what-do-you-wear/page__p__123918__hl__leathers__fromsearch__1#entry123918

Leather gives the best protection. They wont keep you dry.

Textile gives you good protection. They will keep you dryer.

If your gonna get one set of gear, i'd say get the leathers,,,,,,,,you can always pull on some wet gear over them when the rain comes.

I have Scot's leathers,,,,,,,jacket and trousers that zip togeather,,,,,,,,,,there dear but i feel safe in them...........cheeper leathers are available

I also have a set of Spada textiles,,,,,,,,,,i use these for the winter,,,,,,,if in heavy rain for a longish time you will get damp,,,,,,,,,,,they do my head in though cause they Flap arround in the wind.

For me leathers are better !

You just missed the gear that was in Aldi,,,,,,,,,dont knock it,,,,,,,,some of there stuff is good stuff

[Kerryxvs]

Here is a bit of reading for you = http://www.yamahaclub.com/forums/topic/22669-what-do-you-wear/page__p__123918__hl__leathers__fromsearch__1#entry123918

Leather gives the best protection. They wont keep you dry.

Textile gives you good protection. They will keep you dryer.

If your gonna get one set of gear, i'd say get the leathers,,,,,,,,you can always pull on some wet gear over them when the rain comes.

I have Scot's leathers,,,,,,,jacket and trousers that zip togeather,,,,,,,,,,there dear but i feel safe in them...........cheeper leathers are available

I also have a set of Spada textiles,,,,,,,,,,i use these for the winter,,,,,,,if in heavy rain for a longish time you will get damp,,,,,,,,,,,they do my head in though cause they Flap arround in the wind.

For me leathers are better !

You just missed the gear that was in Aldi,,,,,,,,,dont knock it,,,,,,,,some of there stuff is good stuff

Right plan is to buy two sets really , hopefully leather for summer wear and d hapless textiles for winter ,

[KirriePete]

For the shit-kicking cruiser look it's just got to be leather jacket & Draggin' jeans, probably with Altberg Hogg boots to complete the ensemble. When it rains, the Aldi/Lidl gear is as good as some more expensive brands, and can be improved by washing & re-proofing with Nikwax stuff (Tech wash to clean, TX.Direct to reproof) - the Hoggs are waterproof anyway.

Helmet? I like my Caberg Justissimo, flip-front can be removed to make it open-face, internal 'Top Gun' sun visor, some folk say they're noisy but I'm deaf in one ear anyway so don't really care! Mind you, I tried on a Shoei flippy lid a while back, if I'd had the cash spare at the time it would've been going home with me - very nice indeed!

[Leatherat]

Hi, I guess I'm some of those folk then 'cause I've got a Caberg Jussimo GT flip front helmet and they are noisy.

They also have a habit of the visor seal leaking at the top which is a PITA., but they're comfortable and cheap for a flip front. There are flip front lids that are legal to use as an open face........but the Caberg isn't one of them.

However I find it's a real godsend to be able to flip it up to speak to people, have a fag etc, so I put up with it's short comings. I paid £135.00 for mine awhile back, but I have seen them for as little as £50, although that was a sale price.

As for clothing, the Dragstar surely warrants a pair of kevlar jeans and a leather jacket, go for the textiles when you retire and buy yourself a BMW.

[Ttaskmaster]

Leather, leather, leather and only leather.

Despite all the modern advances, leather still offers the absolute best protection by far!!

It doesn't have to be expensive, either.

I bought two Frank Thomas jackets, brand new - they cost me a total of £65. One is a warm, padded Winter jacket, the other is a vented Summer one.

Normally each retails new for about £180, but I went down to Hastings on the May Day run. All the nearby bike shops had stalls selling kit that was simply 'last season', so was on clearance. Nothing wrong with them at all, they were just shifting stock - So keep an eye out on the Clearance pages of websites and in shop windows!

Trousers really ought to be leather, too, especially on a Cruiser.

If ever you have an off, it's most likely to be a low-side. Very hard to high-side a Cruiser. First thing that touches down will be your knee, then your hip and thigh. You WANT something good there to protect you.

I have Halvarsson jeans, which have hip and knee armour in them, but even the more fashionable leather is good so long as it's at least 1.2mm thick.

I also carry some cheap-ish waterproofs. The ones from Lidl and Aldi are good enough to last a while and cheap enough that you can afford to replace them each year. Even the expensive ones can fail (Lewis Leathers brand, £60, zip bust at the most inopportune moment)!

Helmets - Claire uses a Caberg flip. Noisy compared to a Schuberth, yes, but overall pretty damn good all-round value for money. I have stuck with the old 104-V2 model, myself. You can drop the sun visor and pretend you're Airwolf, ha ha!!!!!!