New leathers

[AndrewR]

Hey all,

I've been looking to get a new leather suit but have been hesitant to make a purchase due to the high costs. I came across this - AGV Sport - One Piece Racing Suit - Willow Suit - and I really like the suit and the price. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks.

Andy

[Lazarus]

Got a link?

I know quite a few people picked up the AGV SP6 suit this past winter since they were like $300 or something. I haven't seen the Willow but for the money I think the SP6 was a great deal.

Edit: I just saw the willow on their suit. Suit looks 10x better than the SP6.

[maxleanangle]

This is a very deep topic. I am not involved in the leather industry at all, just sharing a bit of what I have read.

Key to a suit is fit. Each brand fits differently. You want the best fit so the elbow armor is properly over your elbow when you hit the ground, not spun halfway around your arm leaving you grinding the point of your elbow off. Also key is that it achieves the proper fit when you include your add-on pieces, i.e. chest and back protector.

Two primary differences in suit quality are the hide itself and repairability. Pay more get more quality hides. Go to a shop and grab a $300 suit and a $1300 suit. Generally the $1300 suit's hide will be softer and more likely overall lighter. The $1300 suit will also generally have larger pieces of hide and fewer seams. Larger pieces are much more expensive than small pieces. In a crash 90+% of the time a 'failure' will be at a seam. The lower the quality of the hide and the more seams, the more opportunities for a blow-out that will a) end your day at the track b) require professional repair or c) be the end of that suit altogether.

Most good shops will repair any brand of suit. Barnacle Bill repaired my cheap suit and it has held up since with no problems. If I was shopping a new suit I would call Bill first just to get his opinion. He sees all brands and can tell you which ones hold up and which ones peel open like a hydra shok round at the slightest impact.

[KTM Rider]

Find out what size you need and then go on wera.com and buy a used suit. Many available used in good shape for great prices. I would only buy a 1 piece if you plan to go to the track or ride only in the mtns for fun. If you plan to commute or tour buy a two piece or a consider a textile suit.

[redciv1]

Just to get confirmation though. for the track a leather suit is by far the best correct? I was thinking about some matching textile pants for the street and leather for the track.

[KTM Rider]

yes for trackdays you need leather (either 1 piece or zip together 2 piece). some track day orgs may let you participate in the novice group in textiles but you need to check with them and i wouldnt suggest it. for racing, only 1 piece leather is allowed.

[Lazarus]

When exposing yourself to a high risk of crashing you want leather.

[KTM Rider]

Iron Butt guys swear by the Aerostich textile suit and it is arguable that their ridiculous annual mileage amounts exposes them to much greater chance of crashing that anyone riding on any road in any fashion 3-7k miles/yr. but I would tend to agree with you that I too would prefer to be in a leather suit in a crash than textile.

I also think leathers are a get what you pay for kind of thing. I have only ever worn Dainese suits. I have crashed in two of them, both on the track. Once was a trackday and the other a WERA practice. The trackday crash was ~110mph lowside. The WERA crash was a ~50mph highside. In both cases, not only was I unhurt, the suits were usable still. In contrast an acquaintance of the same shop I rode for was in practice at Tally one time and crashed on the warm up lap in some Teknic leathers. It was MAX 40 mph. Many seams blew out and he got road rash on his arms. I wouldnt skimp on:

Leathers
Helmets
Tires
Bike Mtc
Track time

Save your money you would otherwise spend on goofy shit like slip ons and grips that say "GSXR" on them and buy the real stuff you need and simply learn to ride your motorcycle. In the end you will be much happier and a better rider too!!

[Lazarus]

Frank regardless of mileage I think the risk for injury is greater at the track, especially racing like WERA because you are constantly pushing the bike to its and your limits, flirting with the edges of danger. But yea those cruiser guys are on the road more. I was at the light yesterday with a guy with an 08 Road King (?) he already has 35k on it... does that make sense? I have 8500 on my bike.

[KTM Rider]

Both of my crashes were on the track and were a result just as you say of pushing limits however during the same period I rode VERY little on the street. I know of guys who are in their 30s and 40s who have ridden 500k and even 1 million miles on the road on bikes. Statistically I would think that amount of road riding would yield similar or more crashes than doing 6 track days/yr. While the crash rate per mile ridden on the track is definitely higher the sheer volume of miles ridden by many touring riders might yield similar exposure. I truthfully dont know...just making a guess.

Absolutely!! Sportbikers, with VERY few exceptions, are the group who ride the least. Many of them make fun of the doctor Harley crowd yet many people buy Harleys and ride the crap out of them. Sport touring and adventure touring guys ride even more.

[Lazarus]

35000 miles in 2 years just seems like an AWFUL lot. I was like WOW! He was a nice guy though. Big bearded guy, typical harley rider. :lol:

[KTM Rider]

There are guys here that ride that much in 1 YEAR! They are of course the exception.

I guess thats my point though...

35k in 1 year on a touring bike on the road is probably a greater risk of having a crash than doing 4-6 trackdays in 1 year even if those trackdays were ridden with the bike closer to the edge of the envelope.

To each their own though I suppose.

[Lazarus]

I understand what you're saying but thinking about how and where these guys ride, I'm sure the majority of their miles are done around 60-70 mph on open roads. No risk there.

[steve c]

Only a one-piece on the track. Most promoters only allow textiles in Novice anyway. If you're going to do one track day and quit, then run textile - its cheaper than leather, but not cheaper than skin grafts. I wear my one-piece at all times.

The seams are key, but so is the thickness of the leather. You do not want any exposure to asphalt. The thickness of the leather is generally advertised, and is tied to the suit's price.The quality of the seams and thread is generally the same. Most leather can be repaired. The cheap ones can be repaired once or twice. The expensive ones more than that - generally speaking.

I wear Kobe. Best compromise in thickness and construction, imho. And, they fit me pretty well. I've crashed it hard (T2 at JGP) and wore through the 1.3 mm hide at several points. Thanks to good design on Kobe's part and a smart purchase on my part, there are two more layers of 1.3mm cowhide at those points. I did not have any seam failures.

I do have some carbon fiber thread if you ever need to sew-up a tear. Its the #2 :D

- Steve

[KTM Rider]

I understand what you're saying but thinking about how and where these guys ride, I'm sure the majority of their miles are done around 60-70 mph on open roads. No risk there.

Cruisers maybe. Guys on BMWs and KTMs and FJRs etc will usually smoke most sport bikers in the mtns and be sitting bolt upright in the seat or riding 2 up while doing it:up:

[Nikk777]

A good 2 piece zip together protects as well as a 1 piece. You can ride with any organization and race wera with a 2 piece zip together as well. I've done it so please don't try and correct me. I've crashed the 2 piece plenty. It held up very well. It was a 6th Gear brand suit that I bought new for $265 at the motorcycle show. Quality suit, zippers, construction, etc. I got my moneys worth with ~6 crashes with a couple at over 100mph.

I've now got a 1 piece Trackskinz suit that I picked up for $300. It is a great suit as well. For track/racing, a 1 piece is more comfortable and less trouble as well as lighter. The 2 piece was good because I could wear just the jacket on the street or zip the pants to it and go race. Good luck in your search. I can recommend both brands that I've worn. Others are komodo, agv, alpinestar, arlene ness, motogp, taichi, dainese, etc. (sp? could be off) closeout sales are good sources too on older models. If you get on the track, get a good back protector and some action shorts. I recommend forcefield.

Name brands usually carry quality as well although there is one particular model of a name brand suit that had a problem with the knees blowing out during crashes which left the riders with injuries that should not have happened. Forget right now but a lil research and some google searchs would help ferret out that particular suit. I want to say it was a teknic chicane or something similar. Guys picked it up on sale and then first wreck, the knee seams came apart exposing their knee to asphalt. More then one occurence of the same malfunction.

[Nikk777]

My .02 on street vs track safety...Street is more dangerous to me. I haven't been back on the street in a year. Last time I was made me nervous as could be. So many more ways to get hurt. Not to mention the threat of pit bikes in parking lots!!!! They'll break your leg! Seriously, you might be more apt to wreck at the track, but your more apt to get seriously hurt on the street if you wreck. Other vehicles hitting you, signs, obstacles to hit, etc. Plus the ambulance is sitting there waiting on you at the track, how long will it take them to get to you on the street...or even worse if you're up in the mountains...or off the side of a mountain!!! That's how I see it anyways. Safe riding to you all.

[KTM Rider]

My mistake. Per the WERA rulebook, a 1 piece leather garmet is required, however they allow a 2 piece suit that zips or snaps together to make a 1 piece pending approval of tech inspection.

I just didnt get past the "1 piece..." in the rule book when I started racing back in '05 because I wouldnt consider even doing a trackday in a 2 piece.:eek: Sorry for the bad info.