Leathers

[northwind]

I don't see me ever getting a 1-piece, lots of reasons not to... Damage a leg or arm and the whole suit's knackered or needs repaired, not just one half... You can mix and match (ie, I often wear my leather jacket with textile trousers or vice versa, or my leathers with my mesh top) and should you change shape, you can replace just one part (for instance, when I was on crutches I developed muscles in my shoulders that I never had before, and one of my jackets stopped fitting- I could have replaced just the top). And then there's the whole "what do you do when you get off" question- I suppose this depends a bit on what you use the bike for but more often than not I'm using the bike to go somewhere rather than going for a ride, so being able to leave the jacket in the top box or put it in a bag, instead of keeping the whole suit on (melt) or having it hang off (pain in the bum) is very nice.

Of course, a full suit can be more protective under the right circumstances, but I'm not sure how often it'd make the difference. I wear a back protector anyway so even if the zip was to break there's protection under there. It's not really a frontal friction spot, I think. I've actually slid in my leather jacket without the zip done up and it didn't shift enough to allow skin contact, but I didn't go that far to be fair.

I piece for the track. Two piece for any other time. That's what I think. Two piece are so much more versatile.

Really hot day, I can take off the leather jacket and secure it to the bike. 1 piece

To be honest at the moment its a pure money thing for me.....good gear isn't cheap so I though why have 2 sets of leathers? Also I can a 2 piece set if when I need and can affordn them.

Originally Posted by BigApe

I piece for the track. Two piece for any other time. That's what I think. Two piece are so much more versatile.

Really hot day, I can take off the leather jacket and secure it to the bike. 1 piece

I just unzip to the waist and let it hang around my @rse like a wet suit! It's really not that much of a pain.

I think it's each to their own. I started off with 2 piece leathers, but since then my last two sets have been 1 piece. Then again over the past year, most of my riding has been on the track. I first bought a 1 piece Wolf suit that was great. Amazing fit at the time and very comfortable. Had to sell it because I lost a lot of weight and ended up buying a Spyke 1 piece. It was half price because it was last years model, so ended up with an 800 pound suit for 400. I couldn't rate this suit highly enough. Fit again is superb and all of the armour is held very securely in place. Haven't crashed in any of these so far (touch wood) so I don't know how well they would hold up, but like motorcycle helmets, comfort and fit should be your number 1 priority rather than brands. I'd go and try a load on and see what fits best. As others have said, made to measure suits are lovely but more expensive. I think hideout offer off-the-peg suits with a small additional cost for alteration to fit, which might be a good way to go.

[Balky001]

I didn't get on with 2-piece as I found them not to be so comfy on the bike, that's the 1 pieces big advantage + the extra protection.

The only time I fancy getting a 2 piece is when I'm walking about after a ride as the arms get in the way if you unzip to waist and you wallet can fall out of the inside pocket if you are not careful (or you walk like a monkey if you keep them done up) but this is about 1% of my 'biking'. I have vented single piece and they are very comfy and I use all year, winter with a textile over the top.

As an earlier poster mentioned, Hideout are good if you can afford tailor made but they do off peg as well. BTW, peeing is easier for men in 1 piece as its a single zip, just be careful when you do it back up

[chris8886]

Originally Posted by Balky001

just be careful when you do it back up

oooh that makes the eyes water at just the thort!!

[jambo]

Can thoroughly recommend Hideout for made to measure stuff, but you've seen me, I'm 6ft 4 odd and 10 stone & change, so I'm not exactly and "off the peg" kinda guy... I budgeted the cash based on getting nearly 10 years out of the set, they certainly weren't at the cheap & cheerful end of the scale!

I had a fieldsheer jacket and trousers for quite a while, and while they didn't fit me very well due to my odd shape, they were well built enough

Fieldsheer split with their distributer and are now Fieldsheer or FS. Apparently one of them is rubbish, unfortunately I can't remember which....

Personally I think 1 piece leathers are a waste of time unless you're racing when they're insisted on, and make people look more power-rangerish than absolutely necessary.... But that's my opinion

Jambo