Hi

I'm getting my bike in july and was wondering if there is a good all-round jacket

I need it to be armoured (obviously)

and since i'll get my bike in july i'll need something that is well ventilated, that hopefully can have various linings so i can ride in the fall when it gets cooler.

I checked on Amazon and the sheer variety is mind boggling

then there is the question of leather or that ballistic material

any suggestions are greatly appreciated

thanks

I'm curious about this as well. From what I've heard, stay away from textiles and go to leather. But I'm a new street rider as well, so take what I say with a grain of salt....

Textile will be cheaper to buy, more versatile, lighter, easier to keep clean, and provide adequate protection.

Leather will be more expensive to buy, less versatile, heavier, harder to clean, and provide excellent protection.

Leather is likely to be re-useable after a crash, while textile will most likely be pretty torn up.

At the end of the day, pick the gear you like that is comfortable and that you will wear every time you ride.

At the end of the day, pick the gear you like that is comfortable and that you will wear every time you ride.

That's an excellent point. Textile will protect you waaaaay better than leather if you leave the leather at home.

I've decided to go Textile.

i think it will suit me better

do you have any suggestions on name brands, alpine stars -- joe rocket?

I personally wear:

Tour Master Magnum leather jacket
A* Bio Armor back protector (in jacket)
Scorpion Deuce textile pants
AGV SP7 gloves
Icon Field Armor Boots
Scorpion EXO-1000 helmet

The jacket and pants zip together.


But I do have a textile (mesh actually) Shift Airborne jacket that I wear when it's really hot out. I don't feel as protected in it and it doesn't zip to my pants.


As far as name brands, any of the big names are good. It's more important to get gear that fits you correctly, ie nice and snug.

Last year I bought a model MJ2033 Orange mesh jacket from http://www.jafrum.com
It was on sale for $30 shipped.
When I got it, I was surprised at all the padding and strength of the material.
Alas, I sent it back because It was the most uncomfortable thing I have ever put on my body. Might I suggest going to a bike shop and just trying stuff on. See what 'feels' good on you when you are just wearing a t-shirt. It was all about the inside material for me. I just couldn't have that mesh against my skin. =)
Ultimately, I went with an Icon leather that has a ton of vents, fantastic padding, and soft inside. =)

My $0.02:

"Adequate" protection is in the eye of the beholder. Leather is absolutely preferred for protection purposes. Imagine yourself sliding along the pavement at 40 mph. Imagine hitting a curbstone with your back. Dress for that worst-case scenario. To me that means the best armor and the best abrasion resistance I can afford. Road rash SUCKS. Broken bones are worse. Winding up a cripple? You decide what's "adequate."

For some time I wore textile because it's cheap. I was never happy with the protection, though... I could easily see the pads shifting out of place the moment you hit the pavement and start sliding (put your jacket on and grab the elbow pad... can you pull it around your arm and leave your elbow exposed? If so, that's what you can expect in a crash).

The back protection that comes with just about all jackets is a total joke, too. That flimsy foam pad is going to keep me out of a wheelchair? Seriously?

Eventually I pulled all the pads out of the textile jacket and took to wearing a CE-rated armor shirt underneath (Velocity Juggernaut shirt, but there are others...). The jacket became just a disposable shell with enough room for the real armor. The concept was that the armor shirt would stay in place in a crash. The jacket could - and would - shred, but so what? I was very happy with the protection, but overall it was a hassle to get geared up.

I stumbled on a great deal in leather... I got a Frank Thomas (Cycle Gear house brand) jacket on sale for just over $100 and it's awesome. I upgraded the ridiculous back pad with an A* Bionic back protector so the armor is now good to go too. Once broken in the jacket became very comfortable. There really is no comparison... the textile jacket feels like a loose shirt now.

Perforated leather can be very comfortable. I can't imagine wearing a solid leather jacket. When it gets super-hot I just use the old swamp cooler trick... soak your shirt before putting the jacket on. Keeps you cool for quite a while.

By the way... years ago I owned a Roadcrafter suit (great workmanship, very expensive). During my research I ran across some ad hoc tests comparing materials in terms of abrasion resistance. They built a rig where they put a big sack of flour (20 lbs, IIRC) inside some jeans, inside some ballistic nylon, and inside some leather.

These sacks were attached to a hinged wooden plank mounted to the back of a pickup truck. They'd get up to speed, then tip the thing onto the pavement so the material being tested would hit and slide, just like you would in a lowside crash.

Denim failed instantly. Leather didn't fail at all. Ballistic nylon failed, but not nearly as fast as the denim.

You could do this test yourself... the ballistic nylon they use in cheap gym bags is the same stuff they use in textile jackets (don't be fooled by "denier..." that's just a measure of how fine the weave is. Nylon is nylon).

Go get a big bag of dry dog food, flour, rice, whatever, as long as it's heavy... put it in the bag, tie it to a rope, go for a drive and chuck it out the window while you hang on to the rope. See what happens.

My preference is leather. Scorpion is high quality for the money. Unfortunately, they don't make leather pants so I have their textile pants.

I bought a bilt leather jacket for 130 for my birthday and it fits me perfectly and i feel like batman when im wearing it.... lol back shoulder and elbow protection plus airflow. Cyclegear.com

By the way... years ago I owned a Roadcrafter suit (great workmanship, very expensive). During my research I ran across some ad hoc tests comparing materials in terms of abrasion resistance. They built a rig where they put a big sack of flour (20 lbs, IIRC) inside some jeans, inside some ballistic nylon, and inside some leather.

These sacks were attached to a hinged wooden plank mounted to the back of a pickup truck. They'd get up to speed, then tip the thing onto the pavement so the material being tested would hit and slide, just like you would in a lowside crash.

Denim failed instantly. Leather didn't fail at all. Ballistic nylon failed, but not nearly as fast as the denim.

You could do this test yourself... the ballistic nylon they use in cheap gym bags is the same stuff they use in textile jackets (don't be fooled by "denier..." that's just a measure of how fine the weave is. Nylon is nylon).

Go get a big bag of dry dog food, flour, rice, whatever, as long as it's heavy... put it in the bag, tie it to a rope, go for a drive and chuck it out the window while you hang on to the rope. See what happens.

you bring up some good points...
so i think i'll go for both. full leather when it's cooler and a ventilated leather jacket for summer. as a kid i flew of a 10speed bicycle and got road rash and it sucked like hell. so i'll spend the extra cash
:thumbup:

Please get leather, I am so glad I had leather when I had my hard lowside at 40mph. Yeah I busted several seams and wore a few holes but I came out almost totally unharmed. If I had my cortech textile jacket it would have not of been as pretty. The armor is just too loose and it would have torn the hell out of it.

No real need to get two jackets... the perfed jackets come with liners. I never use mine... I just layer on cooler days with a thin fleece top.

Also note there's a difference between "perforated" and "vented." Vented jackets are solid and have large openings that can be sealed. Perforated jackets flow air everywhere there are perforations.

http://www.revzilla.com/product/revit-ignition-leather-jacket

I got the Rev'it Ignition Leather jacket and it is the best of both worlds since it is a leather/mesh hybrid. Leather in all the impact areas with Dynax mesh on the chest/back and along the inside of the arms. Two zipper vents on the arms to add some air flow. It is rather expensive at $450, but I found it at motorcycle superstore for 20% off so it was a bit more palatable but still worth every penny. I have a speed and strenth textile that I haven't worn because I feel naked in it after seeing the difference in protection. Plus I can't imagine I would need it unless I was riding stop and go traffic in 80 plus degrees. If you are moving with this thing on, you will be cool.

In 70 degree weather I still wear the down vest liner because there is so much air blowing through it. In the 40-50 degree mornings, I will wear an undershirt, dress shirt, and sweater with the vest liner and maybe even the rain liner in the jacket. On the way home if it warms to the 60s, I'll lose the rain liner and ride home with everything else on. I've used this jacket in NY in Feb, Mar, Apr, May, and have yet to ride without any liners or in just a t-shirt. There is just too much air coming in!

NJ, you're not far from me. Just so you know, there's a Kawasaki Demo Day event this weekend on LI (Deer Park). I'm thinking of going Saturday if you'd like to hook up. Looking to try out the 650 and maybe a ZX6R.

I'll be heading through westchester early that morning.

Check out sportbiketrackgear.com they have a wide variety of leather jackets and many have a video review. Their closeout section is also full of great deals

dont waste your money on textiles. ive crashed in them. they dont do an adequate job. buy a real leather jacket. ive crashed in leather a few times now. most definitely worth the money.

Amen^^^^

cheap leather will do a better job than expensive textiles. spend $200 on textiles and spend $200 on leathers. you will find much much better protection from the 200 leather. hell even $100 textile vs. $100 leather the cheap leather will still win.

the problem i have with textiles is how much they deform compared to leather. leather is thicker and so its less likely to be deformed as much by things like rocks as you slide. when you slide on textiles, you feel every bit of it. sure, the textile hasn't broken. but look at your skin underneath. its still torn to shreds because the textile simply deformed over the rock or rough road or whatever it is you are sliding on. leather doesn't do that as much. leather is thick. yes both have impact pads and sliders and all that jazz. i donno, personal choice. i like my skin, so i choose leather.

unless it is purely for reasons of bad weather, in my opinion textile always loses to leather.

edit: oh look it rhymes!

what do you wear? how did you fall? how long were you sliding on the jacket and how much of your weight was actually on the jacket? did you have something underneath it like a sweater?

NJ, you're not far from me. Just so you know, there's a Kawasaki Demo Day event this weekend on LI (Deer Park). I'm thinking of going Saturday if you'd like to hook up. Looking to try out the 650 and maybe a ZX6R.

I'll be heading through westchester early that morning.

I signed up for the demo day and I'm not sure if I'm going to go. I'll decide tomorrow but if I do go I would definitely like to meet up and ride down with you. I'll PM you tomorrow.