New race leathers?

Hi Vince

I agree about one piece vs two piece in relation to useability. The supposed exception is the one piece Aerostich RoadCrafter with enormous lengths of zippers. My Roadcrafter Classic one piece is several years old. I had the entire suit made in high viz yellow, i am pretty sure it could be seen from space..... I have all the optional armour in it including a full back protector. https://www.aerostich.com/suits/sui...ssic/men-s-roadcrafter-classic-one-piece.html Having said that, while Aerostich claims it is easy to slip on and off over street clothes to be worn on work commutes and similar, I don't wear it for shorter rides as it is such a pain to get on and off. It only comes out for longer rides. I have crashed in it once, The ZX14 and I went down in the pouring rain in a tight corner. Aerostich was excellent and quick about repairing the RoadCrafter suit, the repaired suit came back from Aerostich in the U.S. so quickly I was still limping and using a cane when I got it back........

I am going to check with the local tracks about one piece vs two piece, I am not going to be entering any of the race series, just track days and private sessions so maybe a two piece willl be acceptable. If acceptable, I think I will go with a two piece.

At the moment I am thinking Ricondi kangaroo, maybe even a Laverda logo for fun.......

Paul LeClair
 
My Ricondi road suit is plain black. During my negotiations with Smarty, I think the base price covered a single colour. Multiple colours or custom graphics were at additional cost. So take it easy on the fancy stuff if you wanna keep the cost down. Mine has "LAVERDA" in white lettering on the back but I stitched it on myself.

Cow hide isn't very compliant so I dunno whether it ever "breaks in". It's also heavy. I just weighed my 2-piece road riding suit and it and it's 5kg. I reckon the kangaroo leather would be lighter, more flexible and comfortable to wear. They also come with a pouch in the front, or maybe that's only the female suits ;)

You need good flexibility in a set of track leathers so you can climb all over the bike, drag the knee, and elbow if you're keen enough! Those MotoGP guys make elbow dragging look easy.

BTW, when I said the scrutineers passed my leathers, I was only doing track days, not actual racing. But I reckon they would have been OK for racing too, even though not very practical as far as weight and flexibility are concerned. Here's what the Australian competition rules say about clothing ... "In the case of a jacket and trousers, provision must be made to attach the rear of the jacket securely to the trousers". So it seems they don't even need to zip all around.

I haven't checked Canadian, USA or international rules. But plenty of suppliers sell 2-piece racing suits so I presume they're permitted.
 
Two piece is ok for racing here. I virtually never unzip my Dainese. They have had a few meetings with the asphalt without any significant damage, still pass scrutineering. Race spec suits have better stitching methods and slightly different construction to my suit so they are less prone to damage. I think all suits these days are pretty flexible, stretch panels and stuff.
 
as I mentioned my current leather one piece race suit is 17 years old. It is heavy and very stiff, The current Daieneses suits I tired on earlier this week didn't fit my 67 year old thicker body all that well, which is what has made me look at a custom fit alternative. Maybe current design is better, with more stretch panels, etc., thna my old suit. I sure hope so.

I don't care about brand names or multi colours or graphics, great protection with armour and a comfortable fit is what I am after, and to accomodate the new air bag vest. technology. I don't heal as fast as I used to, the more protection the better.

I went ahead and ordered the Vanson race gloves earlier to day, https://www.vansonleathers.com/glov.../125-material_color-reinforced_black_deerskin they will replace my several year old Held Titan's, which have started to show their age after extensive use

Paul LeClair
 
My 2 piece touring leathers are made from Roo. Light weight is the beauty of roo and softer so breaking them in is better heavy cowhide. Ricondi price for Roo is quite reasonably. Mine aren't Rocondi. Pakistan has a huge leather industry. You'll probably find that some of the bigger brand budget suits are made there.
 
motoddrob said:
My 2 piece touring leathers are made from Roo. Light weight is the beauty of roo and softer so breaking them in is better heavy cowhide. Ricondi price for Roo is quite reasonably. Mine aren't Rocondi. Pakistan has a huge leather industry. You'll probably find that some of the bigger brand budget suits are made there.
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quite a few of the big brand suits are made in Pakistan according to Smarty

best thing about Kangaroo suits apart from being lighter and far more supple, you bounce better when you come off :D
 
Vince said:
What I do with my zip together non-leather suit and it took a while to learn, right arm in, attach the connecting zip for about 100mm, left arm in and then do the connecting zip completely. This makes it easier if you cannot see the zip to connect it.
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That’s what I do with my two piece leathers. But due to a dodgy shoulder, getting out is always better with the help of a passerby.
 
moving on from bad kangaroo jokes, for an air bag vest, I have now gone down the rabbit hole....... Alpinestars Tech Air, Helite, Dainese, Spidi Air, Klim, and likely more. I had no idea. Some require a tether, some do not, some require an annual subscription fee, some have user replacable CO 2 cartridges, others have to be sent back to the manufacturer to be re-activated, bloody hell.

is anyone on here using an air bag vest, if so which did you choose?

Paul LeClair
 
I have a basic Helite, there are numerous riders using the same in classic racing here. A lanyard attaches to the bike, in front of you (some other brands attach behind you). It is fairly solid hide, not the lightest item out there for sure, but it hasn't affected my lap times (LOL). It is designed to fit with a suit that has the back hump, and my street based two piece suit doesn't have a hump, and as a result it tends to ride up and interfere with my helmet, I could just sew on some velcro. My son uses it with his race suit, and has crashed several times on low sides, without any injury to himself or the Helite, and it is back in uses after fitting a new cartridge, a couple of minute job. I low sided off once at really low speed in the wet, but as I was still with the bike it didn't deploy. A mate had a nasty high side wearing one, spat forward over the handlebars and landed in front of the bike on his back very hard, without that Helite he would have been in a bad way, the Helite needed a few stitches redone after that one. The cartridges are bigger than the normal small ones, and I am not sure where they can be bought, I am on my last spare now. Also if using the Helite I don't need to use my separate back protector. Some riders have those systems that look like flotation vests that people use working on boats. Very few have the inbuilt type that need a certified workshop (in Italy?) to reset. It seems that there are more and more systems coming onto the market.
 
Hi Tippie

My initial reaction is that the Helite is likely the way to go. There seems to be two versions available, one meant for the racetrack with a cut out for the hump on a race suit, the other meant primarily for street riding, with adjustable buckle closures across the front. The street version also comes in high viz yellow, or in black. It is winter off-season here right now. The local suppliers are all backordered and don't have any stock on any version of the Helite at the moment. I really like the thought of the airbag being external to my leathers, with no batteries or electronics to have to fuss with, and a simple mechanical tether operation, and easily put back into use without having to send it away for recertification.

Paul LeClair
 
Paul LeClair said:
Hi Tippie

My initial reaction is that the Helite is likely the way to go. There seems to be two versions available, one meant for the racetrack with a cut out for the hump on a race suit, the other meant primarily for street riding, with adjustable buckle closures across the front. The street version also comes in high viz yellow, or in black. It is winter off-season here right now. The local suppliers are all backordered and don't have any stock on any version of the Helite at the moment. I really like the thought of the airbag being external to my leathers, with no batteries or electronics to have to fuss with, and a simple mechanical tether operation, and easily put back into use without having to send it away for recertification.

Paul LeClair
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My wife uses the same brand , but the equestrian version , works a treat , a few lessons learnt by her having to remember to take the tether of her saddle when dismounting. I went the klim route, super happy with it
 
i know of a couple of airbag suits in use here. Resupply of the cartridges seems to be an issue at this end of the world. Recent discussion on the subject of cartridges on a local forum hasn't helped much. Nail gun cartridges won't work apparently - those among several alternatives suggested.
Whatever you get, a secure line of supply would seem like one of the factors to consider.
 
Thanks Greg and all.

I tried to buy a Helite air bag vest a few minutes ago. No one I usually buy from has any stock, and I am told the Canadian supplier does not have any stock at all, unlikely to have any stock until February 2022 at the earliest apparently. Not a big deal, no motorcycling here until April/May 2022 at the earliest anyway.

General comment - it always astounds me how much knowledge is amongst the forum members, you folks have usually been there ahead of me whatever the topic, already are using air bag vests for example, when they had not even come ot my attnetion before.... Thanks!

This past weekend in North America was "Black Friday to Cyber Monday", massive sales on pretty much everything. I picked up a $700 pair of Dainese leather riding pants for $199, and a really nice $1,100 Dainese riding jacket for $399, the jacket even zips to the pants. Adding a Helite air bag vest over the street jacket should be fine for street ridng the supercharged Kawasaki H2, and the smoking deals on new street gear still leaves me a budget for a kangaroo race suit. Add to the new Dainese street gear I have a new pair of Vanson deerskin race gloves ordered, and I recently replaced my street riding boots with new Daytona Road Stars, and replaced my helmet with a new Schuberth C4Pro carbon.

I am now pretty much set for next summers riding season as far as riding gear goes, (subject to adding the Helite air bag vest when available in Februrary/March 2022), now need to gear up for the race track. My wife was teasing me that all of this preparation fo neit look like I have a reasonable chance of longer term survival I am back to preparing to make the most of everything in my life moving forward as best I can...... Carpe diem!

Paul LeClair
 
sideshow said:
the equestrian version , works a treat , a few lessons learnt by her having to remember to take the tether of her saddle when dismounting.
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My wife as well (uses a Horse Pilot brand, from France I think), plus she did get thrown pretty good and the air bag vest did its job, probably would have had a few broken ribs otherwise. Good to have a supply of cartridge cassettes on hand, not hard to change plus, in her case, they take about a week to get here if she orders them. I'm watching this thread closely because I've been thinking of getting a vest as well. good research Paul! Thx
Stu
 
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stopped by my local motorcycle big box retailer today on the way home from work. They do not have the Helite or the Alpinestar in stock in my size, but they had samples I could look at. Going just on appearance the Alpinestar looks like it would provide way more air bag coverage, especially the shoulders and upper arms. Going to do more research, no stock of either available available until February 2022 anyway. The local big box retailer is apparently in the process of being certified as a service and repair facility for the Alpinestar air bag vest which might be a consideration as well.

Paul LeClair
 
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