For a change can we talk about leather riding suits?

I own plenty of textile riding gear but I'd love to try a leather riding outfit at least once. Yes, I know about the disadvantages (weather, maintenance) and I know about the advantages (abrasion resistance that the textiles suits are trying to approach).

So as an alternative which leather riding gear do you like? Would probably already get something with decent armor (likely CE) installed from the get-go.

I really like my Vanson Leathers. http://www.vansonleathers.com/

I own a Mark 2 Cobra and Corsair jacket and a pair of their Sport Rider Pants.

Vanson.

Alpinestars

BKS
linky
The best bar none - reflected in the price which, with import duties, will probably make you fall over

Vansons are great, but can be very heavy.

Take a look at newenough.com. You might find some good deals. I have a couple of suits from cheap replica type to a Vanson. When I crashed the cheap suit it was repairable but you could see how its integrity was compromised.

Thanks for the replies so far.

I'm not looking for a sportbike look and not a Harley-cruiser look either.

Is there anything that exists that's leather but is sort of utilitarian and functional (though not waterproof) like a 'Stich? One style I've been looking for is a Highway Patrol--longer cut jacket.

Anyone have any of this BMW apparel that is hydrophobic leather?

I just pulled the trigger on buying a full leather riding suit from NewEnough. I got the FG Scout IV and the matching sport tour riding pants. I looked around long and hard before I decided to buy it. I looked at the RC and Motoport stuff, had the money to get either. I decided on the leather because everyone is always comparing the textiles to leather. The comparisons are always almost as good as leather or as good. So I figured I would by the standard instead of something "almost" as good in protection. Yeah, leather is more finicky as far as weather and care but i expect to have this suit for a long time.

As for first impressions, I like it. The leather is substantsial. The jacket came with CE armor in the elbows and shoulders, leahter is doubled up in the impact area's. It has a pocket for a back protector, will probably get a CE type protector that will fit the pocket later. The leather is treated to be more water resistant and not absorb as much, somewhere around 20-30% less than untreated leather. Per FG site they use nylon thread in all the stitching and double stich all seam's for strength. I read alot about this jacket before buying it. Most people I read about have had them for year's and are very pleased with their performance.

The sport tour pants are built as well as the jacket is. Double stiching throughout, doubled up leather in impact area's. The foam padding provided in the knee's is a little weak, not CE stuff. I bought the CorComp padding to replace it with, still working on making it fit right though. The Corcomp stuff is much more bulkier so the pants fit different when it is installed. So I tired some redneck type testing on the foam armor provided. Goes something like this, tape armor to top of workbench, punch the hell out of it and see if my hand hurts. Surprisingly, the foam took quite a bit of the force out of the impact. I still felt it, but it wasn't painful like punching the top of the workbench. Jury is still out weither I am going to use the foam or the Corcomp armor. One nice thing about the pants is that FG used water resistant zippers on the pants. Both leg zippers and pockets have them. Shouid help with the occasional shower I get stuck in while commuting.

So those are my impressions of one brand of leather riding gear out there. Hopefully I won't be disappointed with its performance, time will tell. I will try and post some pictures of the suit later, but NewEnough has a pretty good site with good pictures of it there if anybody wants to look at it.

Later.

My old brown Hein Gericke Dakar 3/4 length jacket and pants would be very close to what you described. The jacket is similar to a textile touring jacket, Olympia AST, etc. while the pants are fairly loose in the legs. The antique brown gets away from the biker look. There was a set on IBMWR the other day. (Not mine, etc.)
http://www.ibmwr.org/market/adlist.php?cat=cls

BMW Reflect Black Leather Jacket. It's cut to suit sizes, so the fit is top notch. It doesn't make you look like captain eo. It's got the cool treatment, so it doesn't get so warm. It's da bomb.

I also had the Atlantis. A damn good set of leathers. I prefer the flex panels on the atlantis over straight-leg designs.

I have a Spidi 2-piece "GTS" suit I bought through the Lockhart Philips Ebay clearance store for about .30 on the dollar ($999 suit for $315 shipped). Every so often they have batches of Spidi gear from discontinued styles and slow sellers that they liquidate. (I also got my daughter $1000 worth of leathers for the same price.)

Its all black, zip out quilted liner, CE armor, and is a more sport-touring cut than a track oriented suit. Above about 75 F it's too warm, but it is really comfortable from that temp on down to the 30s. It feels baggy to me compared to my track leathers, but has just enough room for layering underneath on really cold days.

I don't know what the current equivalent Spidi model is, but I'm happy with this suit. As of last week, there weren't any leathers on the LP Ebay outlet - it's one of those wait and watch opportunity things.

I bought my wife ( she is far more shapely than me -unless round is a shape)
a set of vented Vanson leathers for MY 49th birthday.

She sets the pace when we tour and I do love the view

First Gear Scout. It's sort of like a waist-length Killimanjaro. Pockets for shoulder, elbow and back armor. Lots of cargo pockets. Decent (for leather) water resistance. Good looks. Very durable. I'd much rather have one of these on if I ever slide on tarmac than just about any textile jacket... First Gear also makes leather overpants, a good match for the Scout.



These guys have the older version for about $300. New ones are closer to $500. http://thekneeslider.com/motorcycle-jacket/product.php?pid=F-6949&cat=

I have a Vanson jacket as well. Wonderfully made, great leather, but definitely more of a 'day' sport riding jacket than a dual-sport jacket.

Thanks for the tip. It does seem that this is what I'm looking for. The jacket for sale is not my size but funny enough there are pants on the same page of ads that are my size that I might grab.

BMW Atlantis III.

Leather suit, water-proof (yes it does work) and you can just chuck it in the washing machine.

I've been using mine for two years, comfortable, doesn't look like the normal biker leather gear, doesn't leak and comes up like new after a wash.

Check out Dainese.

Here is one of my replies to another thread:

Just a quick note: Myself and my family (father and brother) have raced in various off the rack Dainese racing leathers (including armor) over the years. We have had several 100+ mph get-offs, and they have performed wonderfully. My only complaint would be their boots...specifically the toe slider attachments....they are a little weak. However, I have no hesitation in suiting up in their gear.

Note: if you want to see the results of one of those fast crashes, check out the blue paint on the concrete wall at the end of the straight at Road Atlanta. That's the remains of a blue suzuki tlr 1000 impacting about 100 mph. While the suit was torn up and covered with that horrible red georgia clay, I walked away. Good leathers, back protectors and armor.

+1 for Dainese.

Have a Bora 1 pce in a size 46 and love it but that's a racesuit and a damn fine one too. I've had a few opportunities to use Dainese Leathers and they hold up very well...haven't binned it in this suit though.

If you want an all round suit check out Tiger Angel.

BMW Reflect jacket and pant. Fly out and see it in our showroom. Have sold a fair number of these to GS owners. Very premium build. Exactly the look you described.

If you are using it for street riding, you will be much more comfortable and just as well protected with a two piece. I have a Vanson CobraII jacket and the traveler pants. Fantastic. I have worn the pants for over 30K miles and always wear them when I tour. I often wear a textile BMW Savannah II jacket for touring, but will sometimes wear the Vanson jacket.

I used to use a Vanson 1piece race suit on the track before giving up track riding. Yes, I crash tested it and it worked fantastically well. The 1 piece suits are great for track, but not so comfortable for street riding unless you are on a sportbike. Just my opinion.

New Enough is a great resource. Vanson products are outstanding, but dealing with them directly is frustrating. Dealing with New Enough (who carries Vanson) is, however, a DREAM. Those folks are great.


Bones

Kushitani.
they also do the water-resistant and reflective leather.
codehide from cows bred especially for them and RS Taichi.

www.kushitani.co.jp
www.kushitani.com