so my wife is offering to get me a new set of leathers !!! :)
I know Vansons are good.
I loved my Joe Rocket 2 peice, but didnt like the Joe Roket 1 peice.
Anyone know of a place to get leathers near indianapolis ?
If i get the vansons what options should i get ? http://www.vansonleathers.com/images/PDF/StdRR.PDF Extra padding? Extra leather ? CE armor ??
Vanson's are great, they protect real well, but they are heavy.
I think RS Tacichi are something to consider as well.
I think Alexa can tell you better. Nothing like having the people who repair leathers to let you know which are best.
im anxoiusly waiting words.
im more interested in a place i can go try some on.
Steve, email me at spyder@wi.rr.com with any questions you might have and what price point you are looking to spend.
What size are you? we have a couple of replica Alpinestar suits in stock...small sizes though.
I did hear that a new shipment of moto gp kangaroo leathers were coming to the states, and we will have some instock.
www.indysuperbikes.com
www.racingleather.com
Barnacle Bill is the MAN! great product and a great guy. his suits are impossible to beat for the dollar.
tell him secularist sent you.
so who goes and buys a suit without trying it on?
Do the custom fit suits that you get measured for fit that good ?
my wife did the measurements for my suit and we made one mistake, but Bill, with his years of experience, caught the error.
I'm 6'5" 220 and nothing would fit me right. my custom suit is just incredible and I can't believe that everyone doesn't get one made to order.
I know that lots of people are lucky enough to fit off the rack suits fairly well, but when I took into consideration pricing, fit and durability (everyone says that Bills suits will withstand a real a$$ whooping) there was no other choice for me.
I love my Vanson! It is a 100% perfect fit (after you get someone to spend 30 minutes taking about 50 measurements from you! ;) ) and it is amazing in a crash :-[! They should be great though. . . for $1800 I was hoping it would race the bike for me (https://www.ccsforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcommunity.the-underdogs.org%2Fsmiley%2Fhappy%2Flol2.gif&hash=fd1ede20e8c3c9508ca6913c1970228804571147)!
I have heard many great things about Barnacle Bill's too.
Both are great quality so you won't make a mistake with either.
Quoteso who goes and buys a suit without trying it on?
Do the custom fit suits that you get measured for fit that good ?
I do!
Trying on a suit is good, but you generally don't get an opportunity to try on a suit and then actually do laps...and that will honestly tell you how it fits.
What to do with Vansons? Call Eric Soaps at Vanson and ask what you need? Simple as that. You're a racer, and they will know what you're gonna need. That's what I do. They are making suits, and racers are falling down constantly. Additionally, they are track side in certain locations working on suits. They know where we regularly fall down and how that affects their suit. They've done the research and made changes in design over twenty some years of being at the track.
Heavy...yeah. Work? Yeah. Will the weight make a difference in your lap times? No.
Custom leathers ROCK. And they don't have to break the bank...
http://www.cbr600rr.com/pages/reviews/xes.htm
thanks for the comments guys.
Another question.
The leathers i have have 1.7mm cowhide mooo.
I notice the newer ones are 1.3-1.4 mm cowhide, i guess thier doing this for light weight ?
But are they still tough enough to not rip ? Ive crashed plenty and so far my leathers have held up well (atleast i think).
Or is this a newer, stronger, genetically altered cowhide ?
Quotethanks for the comments guys.
...
Or is this a newer, stronger, genetically altered cowhide ?
No, it's just the manufacturures trying to save on cost. I also think that feedback from the national and world racers play a part. Lighter laethers means less weight means 1/2hp they don't have to think about. Of course, if you're a factory rider and tear up your gear, you just go back to the trailer and get your back-up set. Club racers and many privateers don't have that luxury.
Vansons, Syed, Barnicle Bill (and other customs): 3-5 year lifetime hard racing, more if you race occasionally
Off the rack: 2-3 years, less if you crash alot or don't take care of them (i.e. get them cleaned and repaired regularly)
QuoteWhat size are you? we have a couple of replica Alpinestar suits in stock...small sizes though.
I did hear that a new shipment of moto gp kangaroo leathers were coming to the states, and we will have some instock.
www.indysuperbikes.com
do you have your hands on these GP's yet..or know when you will? Three of my team mates have them..these things rock! Super light and fit well. I didn't get in on the purchase the first time around..and it seemed they were gone over night. I'm looking for a set of 48's in black if you have them in reach.
What is the quality of the MotoGP kangaroos?
I see that Teknic has a kangaroo suit that lists for about $1600. Is it me, or doesn't there HAVE to be a difference in quality for the price?
You can have a poor set of leathers at a huge cost. Excessive mark up to pay for some factory guys.
Move your manufacturing some place cheap, use cheap material, pay some big names to wear a set of leathers that have the name on them...not made by the actual manufacturers offering sponsorship. Sell the production leathers at a huge profit above the cost to pay for rider.
This happens in brake pads and other things too at the pro level. The sticker will tell you where the cash comes from. You need to be there to see what's really going on.
I got hands on a set of the motogp leathers, and they seemed VERY nice. Great stitching, and super lightweight. Roo-hide is apparently tougher than Moo-hide.
As for teknic? Friends don't let friends wear teknic...
QuoteWhat is the quality of the MotoGP kangaroos?
I see that Teknic has a kangaroo suit that lists for about $1600. Is it me, or doesn't there HAVE to be a difference in quality for the price?
I have not seen the Teknic kangaroo suit, but I am not a fan of their racing suits. Fully 40% of what comes through here for repairs are Teknics. Many of these repairs could have been avoided through better construction and engineering.
The MotoGP suits are well built and engineered. I have not seen a crashed suit since these are new to the US and the season has not yet started. Statistics show that kangaroo has superior strength to cowhide and thus a thinner leather provides similar results to thicker cowhide.
While at the Indy show, I checked out many of the vendors, and Rev'It apparel had the best off the rack suit I've seen in years. They have a patented seam system that is the best in the industry. They offer 2 models: the PX1 (which you can see on their website http://www.revitusa.net/index.html), and new for 2005, the LiteOn suit, which is an engineering marvel. Best of all, these suits retail under $1000. From just what I've seen, these suits would rank at the top of my recommended list for their excellent construction, materials and price point.
I know that Rob at Lithium Motorsports is carrying both the MotoGP suits and the Rev'it poduct line. It's my understanding that you can order them directly through him. (712.546.7747) Again, the MotoGPs will not be available until April.
QuoteAs for teknic? Friends don't let friends wear teknic...
:O
Too funny, unfortunately true. :(
I have "Technic Tattoos" on both my elbows.... :-/
Friends don't let friends wear Technics? Ironically, Alexa simultaniously became my friend and talked me out of wearing Technics. I'd wiped out my suit, (along with the flesh on my elbows and knees) and someone introduced me to Alexa so I could get my suit fixed. She suggested that since it was fall, I'd be better off just buying a real suit over the winter and throwing the Technics suit away.
(I did as she said, but sold what was left of the Technics suit to another guy. He got hurt even worse than I did in the thing. :-[)
ok -- my friend told me he's buying a set of the motoGPs, we'll have a look and take it from there. Thanks,
I have an older set of the Teknic Violator and they have held up very well. Now some of the stitching has come loose, but not in pertinent areas. The suit is older and some of the newer suit have much better engineering so I looked at the dealer show and had some luck... I didn;t care for the new Teknics at all.
The MotoGP suits are great, although wearing black in the middle of summer gets rough the further south you get, and their suits are primarily black. Otherwise they had a great feel, and the Roo-hide was pretty soft even for not being broken in.
Spidi had a display up and as usual the suits they seemed to fit small, but were probably a step below the moto gp's.
The alpinestars were great. The race replica suits are top notch, they normally retail for 1700, but you can go to an oversses vendor and pick them up for 1300 +, or if you have a sposor that's a parts unlimited dealer, they can give you a nice hook up.
Overall though, if the MotoGP suits came in a primary other than black, there would be no question which suit I would pick up. For the price, construction etc... You can't go wrong for off the rack.
Alpinestars are an ok product, mostly because of their price point. Initially, I thought that the SMX suits with the exposed armor could be a good thing by helping to cut down on repair costs. It turns out, the armor crashes fantastically well, but the leather areas on the sleeves were not well engineered, and because of the hard plastic, not easily repaired either. They do offer some models with regular armor.
Alpinestars should ditch the whole sewn on hard armor and go back to conventional pockets for their upper end suits. I heard one account of a racer sending his suit to be repaired (sleeve) and Alpinestars repair facility charges him $600. Whether or not this included shipping, that's way too much to pay for a repair. I've seen these crashed (3 sets) and I cannot get into the sleeves to repair tham, and even the shoe repair people have a hard time and are not able to do the best job.
Over engineering and high price points will hurt any brand. Dianese was THE suit to get 10 years ago. They over engineered themselves into a corner price-wise, and so now I see very few come through for any reason.
Go for the best that you can afford, but make a calculated, informed purchase.
Barnicle Bill does his own custom suits ?? what price range ?
You'll probably have to give him a call (859) 336-7375.
+1000 for barnacle bill. my suit is so perfect. we too made a small mistake in out measuring and it was caught by bill and solved when he called me to ask. my suit was right around $1000- $1100 i think and being 6'3" and 275 there is no off the rack suit to even come close to my size. the design is all mine, made from a combination of pictures that i sent to him with a note. I like this from that suit and so on. I cannot wait to have him make a suit for my wife. don't know when but we will. and in the mean time he will definatly get all my business. please tell him that bambam sent ya.
do the barnicle bill perforations do the job? They look crude compared to the off the rack suits.
Quotealthough wearing black in the middle of summer gets rough the further south you get
Maybe it's a Super thing, but I've been wearing suits that have a whole lot of black since 1994.
I haven't seen the difference.
I've raced everywhere with them. I think I pretty much single handedly hammered everyone at a warm endurance race in 2001.
Radiators are black. There's a reason for that.
QuoteMaybe it's a Super thing, but I've been wearing suits that have a whole lot of black since 1994.
I haven't seen the difference.
Yeah, this coming from a guy who rode 197 miles of a 200 mile Team Challenge by himself in 104 degree heat at Mid-America. I don't think your opinion counts here Dave. You are some kind of freak! I almost died after doing a 30 minute GT race! ;)
For everyone else, yes, black does get hot in the middle of a 100 degree day. At least hotter than a perforated lightweight white suit I would say!
Quotedo the barnicle bill perforations do the job? They look crude compared to the off the rack suits.
I talked to him about that. He intentionally spaces larger holes farther apart. you get better airflow without compromising the integrity of the material (as he has seen time and time again with repairs on suits with the array of smaller holes). I'm going off memory here, so I hope I'm not putting words in his mouth. on my suit the holes look mean!!! of course my suit is old school solid black so I'll need all the help I can get this summer at VIR and Summit :D and I'm partial to all the venting.
QuoteMaybe it's a Super thing, but I've been wearing suits that have a whole lot of black since 1994.
I haven't seen the difference.
I've raced everywhere with them. I think I pretty much single handedly hammered everyone at a warm endurance race in 2001.
Radiators are black. There's a reason for that.
This is an intersting side discussion.
From all of the scientific evidence I have seen, black does not "absorb" any more heat than white or other colors when applied to different objects. For the most part, this is a wive's tale.
I do think that the thickness of the leather, the volume of the perforations, as well as their placement, along with the content and constuction of the lining materials can play a significant role in cooling on warm or hot days. If you live in the southern regions of the country where it is warmer most of the riding season, you'll need to make your gear choices appropriately.
Also, the dew point and relative humidity can affect your body's ability to cool itself effectively. The higher the relative humidity (no matter the temperature), the more difficult it will be for your body to cool due to the fact that the additional moisture produced through sweating has no where to go. This is where perforations can play a critical role by allowing air to pass over your body while riding or racing.
Just a little food for thought.
Hey secularist, lets link up at some point. I'm sponsored by Rick also, and I'd like to see your suit. In in DC, and will be at Summit 4/25 and for the races that following weekend.
CCS # 53
Venting is the key... I had unvented black leathers through that weekend in 01 which I believe Dave is speaking of (MAM, Africa hot...).
I ran a GTU, got off the bike and puked my guts out. I thought I was gonna die, and I had more than enough water going through me. I'd bet my temperature was in the 103-104 range. I was stupid hot.
Bought vented leathers over the phone on the way home... Haven't turned back since...
I think most of Africa doesn't have humidity.
My Vanson's are perfed, but still are really, really heavy. I knock over trains.