18 protective gear

8/8/2019 18 Protective Gear

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GUIDE TO LEATHER Martin Fitzpatrick's Guide to Motorcycle Leathers

How do you tell good leathers from bad ? This is a question that has been bothering me a lot of

late, and I've been taking a look into the whole thing. I've taken a bit of time and trouble to dig

up the information, and I thought someone out there might benefit from it; especially since one

thing has become clear to me - you do not always get what you pay for.

The waters are very muddied, claims and counter claims abound, and it's all pretty difficult to

make sense of. I've spent time reading magazine articles, reading sales brochures, talking to

experts and talking to a**holes. The result is an IMPRESSION of what to look for in good

leathers - feel free to agree or disagree, but do me one favour - don't confuse the issue too

much with your postings. I'll be glad to get mail about anything you want to discuss, but please

only post stuff that you think will contribute to the thread. Thanks.

Also, I see a lot of "I know better than you / No you don't / Yes I do" crap out there. In posting

this stuff I'm not trying to prove that I'm the god of leathers or some crap. I admit openly that I

know diddly-squat about the subject - I'm only posting this because if some poor sucker out

there knows less about it than me (and I fell into that category a few weeks ago), then they

might appreciate this information (I know I would have). Don't flame me for being a smartass -

I'll just get angry and you wouldn't like me when I'm angry. Also, please don't turn this into a

discussion about whether leathers are a good thing/necessity/waste of time - I have plenty of

views on that subject myself, but this is neither the time nor the place.

Okay, so I walk into a shop and they've got rows and rows of leathers. Where do I start ? Well,

there are a lot that you can just walk right by, but you probably knew that already. Anything that

looks more like a bondage jacket than a motorcycle jacket probably is what it looks like. Little

straps on the shoulders, tassels (pleeeease !), studs (you-gotta-be-kidding), distressed leather

(you would be too), zip-off sleeves (no, really I have seen it, honest), ultra-soft leather, baggy

jackets - even if you like these things, it should be obvious that these were made not to save

your skin but to make a fashion statement. Fashion statements loose some of their impact when

delivered from a hospital bed. If you really are worried about fashion and "pulling the chics" and

so on, think on this - would you French-kiss someone with a skin-graft?

Right, we've got past the Ugly, only the Good and the Bad left. How do we tell them apart ?

Have you ever seen a suit of racing leathers ? Well, here's the bad news - they're boring (apart

from the colour schemes). None of the Mad Max shoulder pads or any of that shit - just plain old

leather, and lots of it. They have almost no straps anywhere, no pockets, very few fastenings.

They also have as few seams as possible, by being constructed of only a few, large, pieces of

leather. This reduces the number of seams - seams being the weak points of a suit. Racing

leathers are also skin tight.

No, I'm not suggesting that we all run out and buy one piece racing suits. My point is that if the

leathers you're looking at look not at all like race leathers, then this probably tells you somethingabout their quality. Not definitely, but probably. Anything extra is probably making things worse -

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eg. straps, zippers, studs, etc - they weaken the leather and in a crash will either dig into your

flesh, or rip off, leaving your flesh rubbing along the road. Use your common sense - if it looks

silly, it probably is. Don't buy leathers with "I'm a dork" spelled out in metal studs on the back

just cos the salesman says they're great.

Okay, so I've settled on something that looks the part. Is it as good as it looks ? Close

inspection time. The easiest thing to check is just the shape of the jacket. If someone tried to

physically pull it off you, would it come off easily ? If so, it will definitely come off in a crash. The

arms should get narrower towards the wrist, to stop them sliding up your arms. The body should

be shaped to stop it riding up your torso.

Next, the zips. These should NOT be metal - they should be nylon, but good chunky ones all the

same. How do you tell what they're made of? Simple, the metal ones look like metal ! If they

don't look like metal, they probably aren't, because most makers leave the metal bare because

paint would just chip off. Any coloured zips will probably be nylon (even if the colour is black).Another good clue is that cuff (ie. wrist) zips should be on the inside of the arm, not the outside.

If they haven't got that right, they've probably made some other mistakes as well.

Next, the stitching. Just take a good look at it. You should expect to see double stitching (ie. two

rows of stitching side by side) on all the major seams - front, shoulders, etc. Is the stitching

regular (ie. the gaps between the stitches are the same size) ? Are there any dropped stitches

(ie. the thread just goes straight for a bit where'd you'd expect a stitch to be) ? Learn to

recognise an inch - for me this is the distance from the tip of my index finger to the first knuckle.

Find a similar handy (no pun intended) measure. Count the number of stitches in an inch - there

should be more than 7 and less than 12 (usually 7-8 or 10). Too few and the stitching is tooweak - too many and the leather will be weakened by the stitching.

Now the actual construction of the leather. Easiest to check are the areas where there should

be double thickness leather. These are your "impact points" - the knees, hips/arse, elbows and

shoulders (UK arse = US ass). How do you tell if they're double thickness ? In some cases, it

looks really obvious, because an extra piece of leather is stitched onto the outside - however,

you still have to check that the it has been layed on top of the original leather, and not just sew

in (which would be very bad news). Get one hand inside and one outside. If it's double-layered,

you should be able to separate the layers a little by working at it with both hands. Also of great

importance is a quick look at how the garment has been designed. Has it been put together withthe minimum number of "panels" (the separate pieces of leather which make up the garment) -

remember : the more panels, the more seams; the more seams, the weaker the leathers. How

do you tighten/loosen them ? Are there buckles or stretch panels ? Buckles should be far

enough away from the impact points to avoid them digging into you when you meet the tarmac.

Stretch panels are generally made of a thinner leather, so they also should not be too near to

the impact points. The most important thing is actually the most difficult to work out - the

thickness of the leather. For this you'll just have to check the labels, or ask the staff. The leather

should be at LEAST 1mm thick - anything thinner is complete crap : most decent suits will have

at least 1.3mm and maybe up to 1.5mm if your lucky.

Right, now we come to the area that had me REALLY digging. Padding/Body armour.

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The body was never designed to get hurled from a bike and land on a hard, abrasive surface

then bounce, roll, slide and hit even harder objects along the way.

Skin, muscle tissue, nerves and bone abrade, burn, tear and generally get ripped to shreds as

they're catapulted down the road.

Would you let a friend pull you down the road on your back or stomach at walking pace (three

mph) for 20 feet? No. It would be extremely painful, so why mn the risk at thirty times that speed

wearing...

JeansBikers wear a leather jacket, jeans and boots (stereotypically). It looks good, it's convenient

and it's cool.

While the jacket and boots will help in an accident, the jeans will not. Denim bursts open in a

fraction of a second in the first two or so feet of sliding, exposing all your delicate parts todamage. Padded jeans are slightly better (very slightly) - don't rely on them.

KevlarKevlar-reinforced helmets, Kevlar-strengthened gloves, Kevlar suits.. new materials sound

great for advertisers and few manufacturers can resist putting just a little, low-quality Kevlar in

their products to give them that scientific-sounding edge.

It's a load of cobblers, because in protective clothing too little is used too sparsely. Kevlar can

work, but normally at least two layers of good-quality Kevlar are needed to give adequate

abrasion resistance. An average-standard Kevlar will tear open far too quickly to make it

worthwhile (see tear-time table).

When World Superbike runner James Whitham tested the abrasion resistance of Kevlar on his

knee sliders last year, the material burst open almost immediately. The leather he tested

stayed intact.

LeatherDead cows and goats have their uses. We can eat them and then wear the skins to give us

very good protection indeed.

However, a leather suit will not prevent all injuries, especially fractures, but in many cases it will

reduce their number, nature and severity. It will also stop you being shredded by the

sharp-edged road surface. Dead cow and goat is good stuff.

But there are many unscrupulous manufacturers making sub-standard suits. Some of themclaim that because a grand prix racer wears their name, the product is good.

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That's rubbish. For a start, while you will probably buy your leathers off the peg, the GP boys

have them tailor-made from the very best hides (if they've got any sense). And the kings of the

track are also paid Ioadsamoney to advertise brand names. Just because Johnny Speed wearsa suit with Protectorama written up the side doesn't mean that the mass-market stuff is any

good. You can pay anything from #250 to more than #1000 for a suit, here's what to look out

for:

- One and two-piece suits should be manufactured with the minimum number of

load-bearing components (panels, seams, fasteners, decoration).

Decorative panels should not form part of the suit, but should be stitched over the basic

structure. The maximum number of panels for a one-piece suit are: arms, 4-6; front, 4- 10;

back, 5-10; total panels 13-26 (stretched panels not included). The reason you want few panelsof leather stitched together is simple: seams are always the weakest areas.

Leather should have good impact, abrasion and tear strength. It should be a minimurnl of

.2 tol .3mm thick. Any leather less than 1 mm thick is generally rubbish. Take a set of Vernier

calipers into the shop, pinch the leather tight between your fingers, measure the thickness,

halve it, and you've got an accurate enough guide to how thick the hide is. It should have a tear

strength of 8 to12 kg and should be smooth on the outside so it slides easier.

Leather should be full grain split and full chromed tanned (or the equivalent). Ask the sales

people what it is, if they can't tell you, it tells you enough about the shop and the gear they're

selling to go elsewhere.

Dyes should never run - they can cause cancer. If you end up with red knees and a greencrotch after a damp ride - take them back to the shop.

Secondary protection. A second layer of leather should cover the shoulders, upper arms,

forearms and elbows, bum and hips, knees and crotch seam should be reinforced.

Stretch panels may be used above the knee, back of the waist and back of the shoulders.

A cut-out may be used behind the knee.

Ventilation panels can be used on the chest, lower abdomen, inner thigh and inner arm,

and -should not decrease the perfor mance of the suit. Holes must be not less than 9ne inch

apart. A few big holes ventilate better than lots of tiny ones.

Lining should be good airtex nylon, cotton or-a polyester/cotton mix. The lining should

allow the body to breathe so that sweat can evaporate.Seams should be well protected and~doubIe or triple stitched. Single stitching is a total no.

Thread should be low-twist, bonded monofilament polyamide (size Ticket 20) at seven or

eight stitches per inch. Very strong leather can-accept a Ticket 40 thread at 1-0 stitches per

inch. Anything over 12 per inch will weaken the leather.

Zips should be low profile, nylon, with no rough edges or raised parts. They should be well

seamed, away from impact points and have a leather protective flap behind. Metal zips are out.

Two-piece suits should be joined by a heavy-duty zip. Body armour. If the stuff is made of

the right material, it will reduce the risk of injury, but many firms use rubbish foams and claim itwill help in a crash It won't. The ONLY protective foam that should be used is called

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POLYNORBONENE, (brand name Norsorex) and should be 8mm thick. You can identify

Polynorbonene, beca-use it is black, heavy and very dense. Tests prove that Memory foam will

not help protect you.

Jackets sold with back protectors are a gimmick. Spinal protectors, like all other body

armour, will only provide soft tissue protection. They won't stop a broken back.

The Time Table

This is how quickly some materials take to hole:

Material Seconds

Denim 0.2 to 0.5

Some race gloves 0.6

Most leather gloves 1.0 to 1.8Keprotec stretch material0.9

Poor Kevlar 1.0

Two layers of waxed cotton1.3

1.3mm thick cow hide 3.8

Two layers of 1.3mm thick cowhide18

Three layers of 1.3mm thick cowhide55

Two layers of Kevlar plain weave5.6

Suede 18

Boot leather (generally 2.2mm thick)20

Leather stretch panels 20.4

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18 protective gear

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