suggestion on leather gear

[triway]

Yep, thickness isn't everything, the quality of the hide used would be more important to me. Thickness just makes it harder to move in.

[Nelso]

If you look at the Joe Rockets you will find they are by far the thickest leather. 1.3 to 1.6mm..
Alpine star, 1.3 to 1.4.
Tecknic 1.4 to 1.5
Dainese 1.3 to 1.4
So never let the facts get in the way of a good story. Ive crashed in my Rockets & they held up very well indeed.
Must be luck too. All crashers are not the same, & any suit will come apart, even a $4000 custom suit will.
So when I went looking for a new suit I wanted the thickest one I could find, to at least give me a fighting chance of not being hurt. So far so good.
Value for money you cant go past a rocket suit IMO
http://bikegearwarehouse6-px.rtrk.com.a ... ather-sui2

The truth is that my suit was a piece of cheap shit and fell apart because of the inferior stitching that was used in it. Why else would BGW replace it with a brand new suit and take my unpicked one back off me? I am still using the replacement suit for the road but have no confidence in it since I learnt of many other JR suits coming apart in minor crashes like a FX rider crashing at turn two at EC in 2009 and his one piece coming apart at the hip and him getting major road rash. Since it was a sponsored suit JR needed the it back to investigate what went wrong with it as they believed it shouldn't have come apart. The guy at BGW also recently admitted to me that they had a batch of JR suits that had a problem with the gluing process resulting in a few failing and coming apart, some from just general wear and tear.

So yes, never let the facts get in the way of a good story. The facts are that JR have a history of stitching failures and there is more than just the thickness of the leather which keeps you safe in an off. If you are one of the lucky ones who's JR gear has held up well in an off you should consider yourself blessed because some people did not get that luxury, but to blatantly claim that someone is making up stories and encouraging people to go out and get them, it sounds like you might just have a vested interest in JR.

[s man]

/quote]

The truth is that my suit was a piece of cheap shit and fell apart because of the inferior stitching that was used in it. Why else would BGW replace it with a brand new suit and take my unpicked one back off me? I am still using the replacement suit for the road but have no confidence in it since I learnt of many other JR suits coming apart in minor crashes like a FX rider crashing at turn two at EC in 2009 and his one piece coming apart at the hip and him getting major road rash. Since it was a sponsored suit JR needed the it back to investigate what went wrong with it as they believed it shouldn't have come apart. The guy at BGW also recently admitted to me that they had a batch of JR suits that had a problem with the gluing process resulting in a few failing and coming apart, some from just general wear and tear.

So yes, never let the facts get in the way of a good story. The facts are that JR have a history of stitching failures and there is more than just the thickness of the leather which keeps you safe in an off. If you are one of the lucky ones who's JR gear has held up well in an off you should consider yourself blessed because some people did not get that luxury, but to blatantly claim that someone is making up stories and encouraging people to go out and get them, it sounds like you might just have a vested interest in JR.

Who said your making up storys?
You seem to be reading something that isnt there. I commented on my finding with the product. I have seen $4000 suits come apart. Ive seen $800 helmets come off a riders head. Does that make them cheap shit? I think not.
I wonder if BGW would replace my suit now its scuffed up a bit.?
Every crash is different, But I think I already said that.
As for JR having a history of stitching failures, could well be, But I havent heard of it. I might have my head in the sand.
Maybe I was one of the lucky/blessed ones? I dont know, maybe it was just a simple fall & didnt extend the leathers to the point of failure? Know one will ever know, because no 2 crashers are exactly the same.
But from what I gather from your post, you just dont like JR, but you like them enough to still were them. Your choice.
I will encourage people to use them, as {IN MY CASE} they did the job they were intended to do very well. If they haden't I probebly be saying the same thing as you.
Anyway we are all intitled to have an opinion, our's differ & thats fine.

[Nelso]

It's not that I don't like them, I just don't trust them anymore. Maybe they will hold up and maybe they won't but is it worth the gamble? I'm only wearing the ones I have as they were a FREE replacement and funds haven't allowed me to replace them yet (and I have made a conscious decision not the ride fast on the road anymore and I have a Berik one piece the track; but I am still very worried about the integrity of the suit and will replace it soon). There is no way I could spend money on JR leathers now unless I had proof that they have fixed/improved the way they are put together so my advice to people was to find out more info about them and make an informed decision. The fact that JR haven't come out and made an official admission that there has been a problem (and have actively tried to hide the facts from the public) leads me to believe they haven't tried to rectify it yet, so my advice to people is what it is. I dare say they most likely used to make great leathers, hence the reputation they had, but unfortunately that reputation is fast becoming one of making an inferior product. I've said way too much on the subject now so I'll leave it at that.

[smithy5]

I bought a JR two piece GPX suit in 2008 because at the time it was the cheapest ($599) "name brand" that fitted me.
At separate times within the first three months.................
1.The stiching split on the bi-cep in a low side with only minor scuffing to the leather, despite 2 or 3 rolls on the bitumen.
2.The stiching came away on both sides of the Jacket main zip at the base, just poorly stiched cotton came undone.
3.The zip starter slot on the jacket to pants attachment broke away. Poor quality plastic zip starter.
I guess you get what you pay for and although I believe JR GPX leather is of quality thickness, the quality in putting the suit together I reckon leaves a lot to be desired. IMO the zips and the stiching are poor..... my 2 cents..........

[dilligaf]

think you can find examples of failure in most brands of suit

[s man]

Those examples, Sort of stops all the arguments in one foul swoop. All known brands & all shit em selfs!
Well done giligaf..

[Reedy]

Yeh I'd go a 1 piece

and buy an alpine stars trigger from riders discount

or you go a http://www.ridersdiscount.com/street-ge ... /31171.php

I dont have that much experience I fell off about 140km/h (hehe) but my a*s jacket held up and i painted it, well irena did.

Listen to nelso just get a 1 piece trigger from rd's 700 plus 25 shipping :)

[GPZ_Jim]

hmmm a lot of leathers that have come apart there.. however without knowing the details (speed etc) can't really jump to any conclusions pity the govt doesn't give us all race spec suits to protect us from the evils of the road

[angelofranco]

hmmm a lot of leathers that have come apart there.. however without knowing the details (speed etc) can't really jump to any conclusions pity the govt doesn't give us all race spec suits to protect us from the evils of the road

The funny thing is lower speed accidents or get offs generally cause more damage then high speed (on the track).
That is because you spend more time on the track surface at lower speeds then you do at high speeds.
At higher speeds you will end up in the grass or gravel trap very quickly in most circumstances.

The other thing that worries me is how many bike shops just sell jacket but then don't push the matching pants.
Statistics show( i will find it for you guys) that most injuries occur to the lower portion of the body more then the top.

[smithy5]

The other thing that worries me is how many bike shops just sell jacket but then don't push the matching pants.
Statistics show( i will find it for you guys) that most injuries occur to the lower portion of the body more then the top.

The old chicken or the egg statistic

[angelofranco]

On a similar note, i just found on the Hartwell website that there is a promotion going on for a free back protector.
And another offering a 10% discount on RS Taichi products.
http://www.hartwellmcc.org/forum/7-busi ... t.html#132
http://www.hartwellmcc.org/forum/8-spec ... 0.html#127

[Ed@OML]

Hi folks,

Sorry to dig up an old-ish thread, but I got a message that someone was using pics from our website on KSRC so i popped in for a look and found the convo here to be pretty interesting. We run a small shop in Sydney repairing and altering leathers and our customer base is split about 50/50 between regular road riders and racers. I just thought I'd drop in an opinion.

As triway said, "thickness isn't everything". I would go as far as to say thickness means nothing. Poorly made suits with cheap leather and sloppy stitching can be wrecked in a small spill, yet we've seen good quality suits survive several high speed crashes with very little damage at all. Obviously, any suit can be ruined in an accident depending on circumstances but overall, there is a massive difference in quality between some of the brands and you do not always get what you pay for.

I'm not going to say this brand are great or that brand are shit but if i was choosing a suit that i could rely on and i would expect to last, i would find the extra bucks to get something that was made by a professional and not mass produced in a 2nd or 3rd world sweatshop. After all, what's the difference in price really? A set of tyres? Just my 2c of course

Ed.

[oldman]

Assembly in a third world country is not always bad. It depends on the country. Pakistan for example has, (to my knowledge), a very good reputation for leather stitching as they have been sewing leather clothes together for many years. The type of thread used is also important as cheap thread will cause a suit to desintegrate due to it's lack of strength.
I crashed, (2006) at 82 MPH, (not KPM), in a Joe Rocket, two piece synthetic suit and slide a long ways unconscious as I landed on my head, (HJC helmet). The only damage to my suit was when the paramedics cut it off me with their electric scissors. Thats not to say JR suits are great, I only know it was OK for me in that particular circumstance. I ended up with a concussion, a broken right ankle, (cheap boots) and very sore neck. But alas Jim Beam and beer nursed me through the pain, the drink of the gods.

[Phil]

Hi folks,

Sorry to dig up an old-ish thread, but I got a message that someone was using pics from our website on KSRC so i popped in for a look and found the convo here to be pretty interesting. We run a small shop in Sydney repairing and altering leathers and our customer base is split about 50/50 between regular road riders and racers. I just thought I'd drop in an opinion.

As triway said, "thickness isn't everything". I would go as far as to say thickness means nothing. Poorly made suits with cheap leather and sloppy stitching can be wrecked in a small spill, yet we've seen good quality suits survive several high speed crashes with very little damage at all. Obviously, any suit can be ruined in an accident depending on circumstances but overall, there is a massive difference in quality between some of the brands and you do not always get what you pay for.

I'm not going to say this brand are great or that brand are shit but if i was choosing a suit that i could rely on and i would expect to last, i would find the extra bucks to get something that was made by a professional and not mass produced in a 2nd or 3rd world sweatshop. After all, what's the difference in price really? A set of tyres? Just my 2c of course

Ed.

Well said Ed........ I would only add that I have found CE approved armour in the leathers also works very well. Soft padding doesnt seem to work as well IMHO.