Cycle Leather

Motorcycle gloves are among the most important accessories for riding a motorcycle on the open road.  This is easy to understand once you have been out riding down the highway and had a pebble from a passing car or truck peg you square in the knuckle, Ouch!!  But you don’t want your hands all sweaty and hot on a steamy summer day either.  A great compromise between comfort and protection are fingerless leather gloves.  Fingerless gloves provide the needed protection to the knuckles, yet still leave your fingertips free to manipulate the controls and vent excess heat and moisture.  Some even have pads on the palm and heel of the hand to reduce fatigue on long trips, and perforations across the knuckles and back for even more airflow. 

Leather motorcycle clothing can also protect riders and passengers from the hot surfaces  present on an operating or recently operated motorcycle.  The engine and exhaust system get extremely hot during operation and often can remain quite hot for some time after the bike is turned off.  Exposed skin, or skin covered only by thin clothing, can sustain serious burns in a matter of seconds from contact with these surfaces. 

 Leather chaps will protect the rider’s legs from accidental contact with the engine and/or exhaust while riding and also when mounting and dismounting the bike.  Passengers should also wear leather chaps since, depending on the model of motorcycle, the exhaust system and muffler are often routed quite near to the passengers legs as well.  

If a motorcycle goes down at highway speed, or even moderate speed, the rider can slide for a considerable distance on the road surface before coming to a stop.  This sliding and or tumbling causes damaging friction, much like exposing your skin to sandpaper or a grinding wheel (not a pleasant thought at all).  Exposed skin can suffer devastating damage from exposure to the road surface, cotton shirts and jeans also offer very little protection before being torn away or shredded.

Leather motorcycle jackets and chaps provide a barrier of protection between the riders skin and the harsh road surface, absorbing impact and abrasion.  The tough leather jacket, and padding underneath, will wear away on the road surface, absorbing friction and giving the rider time to slide to a stop before the road surface reaches their vulnerable skin. 

Nobody ever climbs on their bike planning to be involved in an accident before reaching their destination or returning home, but accidents do happen - and if it happens to you, I guarantee you will be thankful you were wearing leather. 

That would be ’Unidentified Flying Road Debris’   

But seriously, if you’ve been riding more than an hour, I’m sure you are familiar with the pebbles and road debris that can be kicked up by passing vehicles and vehicles you may be following from time to time.  Wearing a leather motorcycle jacket and leather chaps protects a riders skin from these usually small, but potentially injurous missiles.  The toughness of the leather and padding will help to deflect and absorb the impacts of these objects.

And let’s not forget about ‘bugs’.  Impacting a large, hard-shelled bug at highway speed and be quite painful on bare skin or thin clothing.  And that’s if it is just an ordinary bug, you also run the risk of impacting a bee or wasp, which puts you into a whole new category of pain (I can tell you from experience).  Depending on the location of the impact, this can pose a serious safety and/or control risk to the rider operating the motorcycle.  The thick, resilient protection afforded by leather can easily absorb these impacts unscathed, sparing you the pain and risk.  For obvious reasons, we also recommend wearing a helmet, with a face-shield, and gloves.

Motorcycle leather should be treated with leather conditioner periodically.  This will help to keep it waterproof, as well as soft and comfortable, while extending it’s life.  Even in a rainstorm at highway speed a properly treated leather motorcycle jacket, along with the accompanying leather chaps and gloves will do an excellent job of keeping a rider warm and dry. 

Even when the leather becomes somewhat damp from prolonged exposure to wet weather, it still acts as an excellent windbreak to keep the rider from getting severely chilled. 

A good quality leather motorcycle jacket can also help to keep you cooler in warmer weather and protect you from the sun’s harmful rays.  These jackets have vents that can be opened to allow airflow between the jacket and the rider’s skin, carrying away excess heat and moisture in the process.

Leather motorcycle jackets, pants, vests, chaps and gloves are a trademark style for many motorcyclists. They don’t just wear these leathers to make a fashionable appearance, they wear them for comfort and protection as well.

Well folks, as reluctant as winter seems to give up it’s hold on us, the fact is that spring is now just around the corner.  That means we get to move from bitter cold snowy weather to weeks (or possibly months) of damp, chilly, rainy weather. 

My favorite rain gear for spring is a good, long leather duster, and a leather hat.  These long leather coats are so versatile; give them a coat of a quality leather water repellent product like Pecard Waterproof Dressing, and you have a really sharp looking all-weather coat that will put your standard raincoat to shame. 

Personally, I favor one made from buffalo hide, since it is tougher and more durable than cowhide, yet softer and more supple at the same time. 

Some models also include a removable cape across the shoulders which sheds rain and weather away from the shoulder and neck seams, increasing the weatherproof integrity of the coat.  Many also feature removable liners to make them cooler to wear in warmer climates or during summer rains.

This is one of the most unbelievable motorcycle designs I have ever even heard of... 

It’s motorcycle with a 48-cylinder, 4200cc engine made from 6 sets of 8 “s1/kh250″ cylinders bolted onto cut-up casings with a built-up 8-cylinder crank, gear linked and driven through a BMW gearbox, and an ignition system centered around 6, 8-cylinder Jaguar distributors.

To be honest I’m not really even sure what all of that means.  But it took him almost three years to build it and apparently he had to overcome some huge obstacles in the process (who woulda’ thought?).  It takes a small (75cc) “donkey” engine, under the seat, just to get it started.

And in case you’re wondering, you’re gonna need a lot more than just a leather motorcycle jacket for protection when you ride this beast.  The engine and box alone weigh just over a ton!  If it just falls over on you, you’re dead!

With regard to the previous article: I wonder how much EMF/ELF radiation this puppy emits??

If you thought that donning a leather motorcycle jacket and maybe some leather chaps and a helmet were all the protection you would ever need while cruising the highways on your motorcycle, think again…

A Canadian inventor has been granted a patent, by the UK, for an Electromagnetically shielded motorcycle seat.  Apparently, tests have shown that motorcycles generate massive amounts of EMF (ElectroMagnetic Field) and ELF (Extremely Low Frequency) radiation, which can penetrate through the motorcycles seat and into the riders groin and torso.   Some studies have indicated that extensive, long-term exposure to these types of radiation may be linked to numerous health problems including cancer. 

The inventor claims that steel or even lead are not sufficient to shield riders from this hazardous exposure, but the highly processed materials in his patented design can.

Should you be concerned?  Click here to read the complete article and decide for yourself.

Here is another exceedingly cool eco-friendly idea…  Wooden Scooters!!

A Portuguese craftsman, named Carlos Alberto, made this beautifully crafted Classic-style Vespa recreation.  Using an actual vespa which had fallen into disrepair as inspiration, he crafted a new curvy body for the scooter using long-tested woodworking techniques.  The backbone of the bike is crafted from steam-bent and plastic coated veneers from which the other carven wood body parts are suspended.  Even the seat and cargo tray are made of wood.

Sporting a nice brown leather motorcycle jacket or scooter jacket you would truly look ‘as one with the machine’ and nature. 

View more details about this unique scooter by clicking here.