Yep, if it's too hot then don't ride. Unless u like having gravel picked out your flesh! I agree though that gloves are just as important as helmet because your instinct is to put your hands out. Honestly old leathers are also a mistake, I had some 5 year old leathers and I had a 30mph off at Donnington, and the seems just fell open because all the stitching was rotten from water damage.
I have quite a bit of gear, but almost 100% of the time am in full leathers. I have a pair of kevlar jeans that I use very occassionally if I have to be somewhere and arriving in leathers wouldn't be appropriate. But I ride even more cautiously, and it's only through town where the speeds are actually quite low, where normally I would be on my push bike in lycra - and I have had a fair amount of road rash on the push bike over the years. But as soon as I am riding anywhere at motorbike pace, full leathers. Even on the hottest days of the year in Europe. I simply don't buy the "too hot for leathers" argument either. I have a one piece white leather perforated suit that I wear on track on Euro days, or if riding to WDW, Spain, Alps etc, and even in 40 degrees, with an undersuit on to wick sweat, I am perfectly comfortable. You just need to keep drinking. But with vented gear, you are good to go and protected. I woudn't chance it, for more than an occassional 30 mph spin up the road. And even then I would wear leathers if I could.
I have Red Route jeans fitted with some additional knee and hip armour, for my tuppence worth these are for summer use only, I certainly feel more vulnerable in them and im sure I subconsciously modify my riding accordingly, The armour is probably next to useless as it moves around way too much. The only benefits are additional comfort and IMHO they look better with a leather jacket! No offs yet but as mentioned above im sure they wouldnt hold up anywhere near as well as leather, having said that I had an 80mph off about 20 years ago in work trousers, shoes and a casual thin jacket, managed to get away with just a busted and skinned arm, painful but probably should have been a lot worse!
I realise that this string is old but I thought I'd mention my sons recent accident. I always wear leathers as I'm convinced they give the best protection. So when my son got a 125 I told him to get leathers asap. He purchased an RST Nylon armoured jacket and Skintan leather pants. 3 months into his riding he was rear ended by a careless driver. There was a petrol spill resulting in both bike and car being burnt to a cinder. On going down, the fuel got on his pants and they ignited. The flames were extinguished by a brave passer by, but my son sustained burns to his back. The Nylon jacket melted in the intense heat. The plastic linking zip on the back of the pants melted. The leather showed some signs of heat damage but most importantly the high temperature was not transferred to his legs. If he was in jeans or even armoured cordura pants he'd be a goner. I'm also certain if he had a leather jacket he would not have sustained the burn injuries. He is physically making a good recovery but we're not sure yet whether he'll ride again. If he does, it'll be full leather from now on.
OMG bless him Glad he is fairly ok and recovering and hope you are too I for one never gave fire a thought
That's a sobering post and I also admit that I don't consider the flammability of the protection I wear. Glad to hear your son is ok and recovering.
Ive just had an off wearing Red Route Kevlar reinforced jeans with knee body amour . They did well, I just got a small bit of gravel rash in my left knee so relatively well impressed , the jeans ripped/got torn and certainly the knee armour did move but overall apart from a bruised hip well pleased .Maybe as stated elsewhere they didn't slide like leather but still pleased with them . The rest of me got bashed though - 2 broken ribs and a broken collar bone . Furygan leather jacket coped well , but Shuberth helmet and Alpine stars boots were trashed . Richa alpine gloves were a bit mashed but again no hand damage or skin loss .
Furygan leathers are ace. I had 3 offs in my set and they barely registered a scrape. I'd still have them if they hadnt shrunk round the waist. ahem...
If I was living in London, say, and using a bike to get around, it just wouldn't be feasible in full leathers. You're not going to go to the cinema, or shopping in that. So I can see the sense in reinforced jeans. As I don't live in London, it's leather all the time. I once fell off my bike on the way to work in Sydney on oil. I used to wear my office suit trousers and office shoes and a somewhat padded cotton jacket (it was the mid 80s). This was painful, and I rued the leathers that were hanging up in my bedroom at home. I sort of got the message after that.
It's not just the protection for me, it's whether the protection is in the right place when you need it. Leathers are closer fitting and provided you're properly sized, shouldn't move in an off. Kevlar jeans (and I own a few pairs) being looser mostly are likely to move in an accident. The movement means you could well end up with armour being less effective. Leathers fitting close and zipped and tucked into boots seems a lot safer. I wear textiles if the weather is really bad but it's a proper fitting set with full zip. Kevlar jeans I've used touring in very hot climates riding cruiser type bikes and I just acknowledge the risk to myself. I happily rode in a T shirt and kevlar jeans across Death Valley and knew the risks and loved every minute of it. I always wear proper gloves, I wouldn't even consider some of the lightweight crap people use that look fit for weeding an little else.
