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Z1R rider wrote:

A friend of my boys looped his gixxer at about 60 mph and landed on his butt and hands. Hands had leather gloves and butt had fabric;

His butt and upper legs lost a layer or two of skin and his hands were fine, I didn't take pictures of his jacket but it was fabric and his forarms and elbows lost a little skin.
I personaly have leather and yep it's hot at 80 degrees when stopped and hot at 95 when moving.

that's the seat of the pants!!<br><br>Post edited by: Z1R rider, at: 2007/07/09 18:12

That's why I wear leather too.I wear a full leather race suit whenever I ride, even to work. Textile gear is fine, but don't expect it to hold up after a spill. Aerostitch and www.motoport.com/ Not cheap, but good quality alternatives. A guy I know races in a kevlar suit, he's crashed and the suit held up very well. My only issue with the suit is that it looks like he is wearing pajamas.

Blue Book value on my bike is around 1400 bucksish.

Amount that my gear is worth that I ride with daily is around 2300 bucks.

If I crash, riding gear and bikes can be replaced, not skin and limbs or even life itself.

Dress for the crash, not the ride.

Thanks guys for all of your thoughts.

I am thinking now that especially while I am first riding I will use well cared for leather and a bright helmet. That 20% figure is amazing -- I've never heard it - but it makes sense. I used to work at a brewery and saw all of my coworkers leather boots fall apart within a few months under the wet conditions there. Leather oiled well in the beginning always held up 3-4 times longer. If the people were meticulous about oiling their shoes regularly, it was the soles that wore out, not the tops.

After I get a few seasons on the bike I might consider a kevlar base with a fabric and armor jacket. That seems to make sense.

fishybass wrote:

That 20% figure is amazing -- I've never heard it - but it makes sense. I used to work at a brewery and saw all of my coworkers leather boots fall apart within a few months under the wet conditions there. Leather oiled well in the beginning always held up 3-4 times longer. If the people were meticulous about oiling their shoes regularly, it was the soles that wore out, not the tops.

Yeah, it rains quite a bit here and I've seen it happen a lot. My steel toed boots, on the other hand, look scuffed but practically new after more than 10 years of use. They're just now getting some notable "crease fatigue" at the steel edge.

The way I see it, I lube my bike after a ride in the rain, why not just add your leather onto your post-rainride. Hey, put on some music and put your feet up on the couch while you give your leather a good rub down. It'll be relaxing for both rider and jacket.