Leathers

Folks,

I'm curious to get some input from anyone willing to help on where you
recommend getting some decent quality, value for money leathers from.

I'm about due to get myself a new jacket and am slightly short on cash just
at the moment!!

I'm not exactly a fashion victim - just a basic set of sturdy leathers will
suffice - so I'm not after a Rossi replica one piece suit (would it really
be made of Camel leather?!)

I used to get my leathers from a company called Rawhide in Ilkeston,
Derbyshire but it seems to me that they are no longer trading - at least I
can't find a contact number / website for them anywhere.

Any useful pointers to companies you'd recommend would be most welcome!


Cheers,


Rusty.

 

What is wrong with jeans and a T-shirt? Wimp.

 

What is wrong with jeans and a T-shirt? Wimp.
If there's one thing I remember from when I used to help out at a local CBT
training organisation it was the TRL stats - "at 30mph tarmac grinds down
bone at a rate of half an inch per second"

;o)

Oh yeah. I am a wimp too by the way! Far too cold for biking at the moment!!


Rusty.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Rusty

Paging Blaney! Blaney to the blood-spattered courtesy phone, please.

Not with the right clothing, it's not. I nearly had to stop to take a
sweatshirt off on the way home Monday night, I was getting too warm.

Unless you're a nesh, hairdressing poof from the Midlands, of course.

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - There are few things in life more sinister than a
public toilet with the lid closed.

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
SBS#39 OMF#6 Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (On its hols) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"
Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single" Yamaha GTS1000

 

The message <_ccEf.3764$>

As one Rusty® to another, I got mine at a charity shop for twenty quid.

And it matches the bike's colour (Black and white? Colour?) scheme.

Leather jeans (Not proper biker stuff, but you don't tend to fall off a
chairlot so often...) also from a charity shop, new, old stock from a
local shop, and a snip at £25.

 

The message <JGcEf.27053$>

Huh! That's only because 30 mph is so slow you hit the ground hard.
Going at a sensible speed you hit the ground at an angle and slide.

And that 'half an inch per second' is sheer bollocks.

That's more like it.

Get stuff roomy enough to wear a thick sweater and a pair of trousers under!

 

Fleabay is an obvious choice but go try them on first.
Or take a trip to Coalville and visit JTSs factory shop.

http://www.jtsbikerclothing.com/

HTH
--

 

If that's true then Levi jeans are made of stronger stuff than bones.

 

I have to agree with Andy on this one. My Levi 501's must be utterly
bullet proof.

If you're worried about 30mph tarmac grinding then I suggest you aim
to throw yourself off at a higher speed and bounce.

 

<Little Britain> "Hello, do you know if anyone has died in these
leathers?" </LB>

 

The following information was produced in response to the question "how
would the abrasion resistance of human tissue fare if tested on the
impact abrasion machine in the European Standard for motorcyclists'
protective clothing?"

"This will vary hugely depending on skin area. Thin epidermis on the
arm
(0.025 mm)maybe going in one microsecond on the belt to thick epidermis
(1.5
mm) on the heel of a bare-foot walker taking one second on the belt.
The
bottom of the epidermis is the layer of living cells giving rise to the
keratinised dry exterior surface on our bodies.

"The dermis below the epidermis contains blood vessels, nerves, fat and
a lot
of collagen fibres. This gives human skin its strength and is the
equivalent to animal hides which are almost entirely collagen. It will
abrade not unlike weak wet leather I suspect, or faster as it is not
tanned
and therfore not chemically cross-linked. So the arm (0.5 mm) might
give
one hundred milleseconds, the scalp (3 mm) two seconds, and the heel
(10 mm)
five to ten seconds till you get through all the shock absorbing fat
and
fibres.

"Total guesses, I know of no data. Published results of cut testing of
forehead skin in experiments on windscreens showed wet Chammy of the
same
thickness was a good cadaver surrogate."

:-###..

HTH

 

Sounds about right - I've got the scars to prove it.
:-(

Dave

 

No bullet-holes, anyway.

Actually, the jacket is quite smart and unscuffed, and what was the
clincher, it fits...

 

Ex police BKS leathers appear on ebay quite regularly. Black with all
markings removed, washable linings, armour and full CE approval. Mine
are in very good nick and a bargain at £200.

 

Huh! That's only because 30 mph is so slow you hit the ground hard.

It's actually scientifically 100% accurate but is incredibly mis-leading in
the real world - I've actually seen the TRL report it comes from (Transport
Research Laboratory - Dept. of Transport - hence why it's incredibly
misleading in the real world!!).

It makes for a great demonstration with animal bone and a suitable grinding
wheel though. )

Basically used to use it for shock value to impress the need to wear
protective clothing to people.


Rusty.

 

I think the reason the jeans hold up is that you're not continually abrading
the same bit of the jeans, and you're not staying at a constants 30mph. I
imagine if you got dragged behind a car at a constant 30mph, with only one
butt cheek on the ground, you'd find out the stats were correct. Hardly like
the average crash though.

 

Scientifically proven tests are often totally inaccurate when it comes
to real life situations. I used to work at a research facility and we
spent months testing something for the armed forces and proved anyone
using it had about an 80% chance of being killed. Two Gulf wars have
proved that our results were bullshit.

I've got about as much faith in tests concerning human bodies and
tarmac as I now have in the tests I witnessed.

 

The message <MnsEf.24835$>

'Nuff said.

Aye, and what pressure applied to the bone, i wonder. And, a fresh bone?
Covered in skin and muscle?

Well, can't be all bad then.

Mind you, not having protective gear on makes most people drive a lot
more carefully.

 

*slaps forehead*

I can't believe I didn't think to check the Bikers Gearbox out on the web!

Found the perfect replacement for about £90 - will pop along sometime soon
to check it out IRL but it looks almost identical to my current jacket which
has lasted me *counts on fingers* over 10 years (ran out of fingers!) -
unless you count the self-done repairs to the holes in the pockets,
etc..........


Cheers for the help and advice everyone! It's appreciated.


How long 'til the summer?



Rusty.

 

people who haven't had an in depth involvement in developing laboratory
tests are often shocked to learn such tests not intended to replicate
real life situations, but to provide controlled, repeatable test
conditions, unlike the chaotic circumstances of the real world.

Also, materials and products are often tested to destruction in a
manner which might not ordinarily be observed in the real world.
Correlation with real world scenarios might or might not occur, and
will possibly be linked to the quality and extent of the background
research into the test method. Correlation might also be
threat-dependant, which could be a reason for the findings you have
reported.

Plenty of anecdotal evidence has appeared in ukrm that some "caveat
emptor" motorcycle clothing has fared well in accidents, but it is my
belief that "Conformite Europeen" still provides a better indicator of
motorcycle clothing products that have worked in the lab and will work
equally well in real life. Twelve years of experience with such
products suggests this is the case.