Well thanks to the insurance coughing up for a new set of leathers after my SMIDSY - I'm about to press the go to print button on a 2 piece made to measure set of BKS Leathers My only 'shall I shant I' is with regard to ventilation - I have never owned a grown up set of leathers and not sure how much hotter they are going to be - they certainly weigh more - I do ride all year round but these will in the main be for double figure temperature riding I can get punch hole ventilation added later but if I want the pre holed leather then I need to order now Iguess its a lot to do with how much you feel the cold but will I regret not having some pre ventilated panels? Although I am going for ventilated stretch panels Dunno
This is always a difficult one I'm afraid, as you know the suits are extremely well made and very thick hence they are pretty warm compared to some of the other, thinner "designer" suits. I had perforated leather on the inner arms (full length) and the inner legs. When the balmy British summer hits us and it's 25 + degrees you will wish you had more, when you are heading back from a "meet" a 11pm and its 7 degrees you will wish you had less, but unless it is at the top of those temps I've never really wanted the whole of the jacket perforated. I am sure more wile pipe in. Maccaa Dont forget you can order their zip out thermal lining which may allow you some more holes for summer
I would go for plenty of ventilation as most leather suits aren't waterproof anyway so if it rains you'll end up with waterproofs over the top. I use an EDZ undershirt for when its a bit chilly. It stops the wind coming through but rolls up to the size of a fag packet when things warm up. I wear a one piece EDZ undersuit too of I'm wearing one piece leathers, bit that's usually just on track as I find one pieces to be a PITA for road use.
I like ventilated leathers. I can always wear wind resistant stuff under them if I need to. And a fleece over them too if need be.
My 3p (inflation): I have a few sets of leathers including a one piece Dainese ventilated suit with all the little holes in it. I also have a Dainese Kirishima suit which has a lot of kevlar in it that lets in quite a lot of air. If it were down to me and I only had one suit, I wouldn't have a perforated one because: Close-fitting leathers are, as you might expect, pretty warm in warm weather, but not uncomfortably so on the bike, so long as you are scooting along. When you aren't, and if it is hot, the ventilation doesn't really do that much for you, as you are still wearing a leather suit (while everyone else is in shorts and t-shirt). It doesn't matter that much in that case if it has holes or not. Unless it's really hot (like more than 30°), leathers keep your body temperature in the Goldilocks zone when you're riding. It is true that if it's hot, perforated leathers might take off a couple of degrees, but it doesn't make that much difference. On the other hand, when it's cold, perforated leathers just aren't as warm as non-perforated leathers. You don't really want cold air entering your suit. So you could say that having warm air entering your suit when it's warm isn't that handy, but cold air entering the suit when it's cold is even less handy. Where you really notice the difference is when you have stopped in the perforated suit and sweated. Then, you get a great cool feeling as you set off and the perspiration can evaporate in the air stream. But this feeling only lasts a few short miles. I wear the perforated leathers on really hot days (because, fair enough, they are a little cooler). But for most riding, I wear one of the non-perforated suits. Note that I live in Switzerland, where summers are generally warmer than the UK, so living there, there would be even less reason for your only suit being perforated. Also, I can only wear t-shirts or a ski-type thin windstopper top under my leathers. I used to wear a paddock jacket over them on very cold days, but frankly, if it's that cold, I rarely go out on the bike.
