Made To Measure Leathers

I'm going to trackday the GSXR at some point this year. I want some decent kit so I've been bouncing round the web doing a bit of research on what's good etc.

I have bought some Daytona Evo Sports boots as they had a good rep and were the only ones I could actually do up once my "prop-forwards' calves" were in place.

I now need to look at leathers, I've looked at most of the off the peg contenders inc Arlen Ness, Akito, ALpineStars, HG, etc without finding anything that even comes close to fitting as I commit the multiple sins of being both short and fat. If a suit will zip up the knee protectors generally appear round my ankles and my hands don't come out of the arms..

I therefore need to look at made to measure, and this is why I come seeking the collective wisdom of u.r.m

Before I get swamped in cries of "you want Crowtrees/MJK"

It appears that Crowtrees aren't doing anymore, and whilst MJK are still alive on the web, their made to measure instructions/prices aren't listed. Their prices also appear to start around the £800 mark for an off the peg suit so I've got to assume £1000 for a made to measure?

Now that's in BKS territory - which is a bit rich for my blood.

However looking round there appears to be 3 companies that will turn out a suit in 1.2 - 1.3 mm hide, with extra layers at the key points and varieties of double stitching, kevlar thread and CE armoured bits, made to measure for about £500.

These are Beconi, BTK and Leathertechuk. There's also a company called Nightingales doing Avosport made to measure for £375 via ebay (but I saw some Avosport leathers at a show last year and wasn't impressed)

Anybody got anything good or bad to say about any of these?

They look interesting and all sound like they know what they are talking about but the web has proved to be remarkably short of information on them.

Failing that is anybody going to recommend going on ebay picking the cheapest set of leathers that will zip up and cutting off arms and legs at the right length?

Suggestions to pay the extra for BKS 'cos my skin's worth it won't wash - the bike came courtesy of the Bonus Fairy and now the pot is almost empty £500 is all there will be for the foreseeable future.

Cheers

Buzz

 

snip

I had a two piece zip together set made for me by BTK. Good fit,
excellent service and if you can get to his shop in Nottingham it's well
worth it IMO. He will do any colours or styles you want and takes about
3-4 weeks to finish including one trial fitting. You choose the armour
you want and he builds it in. I had coloured perforated leather on the
sleeves of my jacket and coloured trim on jacket and trousers - cost
£600 two years ago but I think the one-piece items are slightly cheaper.
You can pay more than that for an off the peg set that doesn't fit. My
wife is 6ft tall and couldn't get anything to fit her so she had a set
made too, also excellent fit and a good quality suit.

 

Their website seems to be fully functional with prices and the news
section talks about supplying in time for Easter 2007 and TT2007. Unless
there's been a very sudden change in circumstances the web evidence
suggests they're still in business.

 

MJK are really good even though a tad expensive.
My off the peg choice would be Hein Gericke, I've crashed in them and they
held up really well.
www.hein-gericke.com

I've just measured up for my race suit with Imortal, I don't know how muc
they non-sponsored prices are though.
http://www.imortal.co.uk/aboutus.html

 

<snipped>

Just a suggestion but have you looked at Hide-Out leathers?
They are just down the road from me here, but I'm led to believe, they are
not the cheapest in the land

http://www.hideout-leather.co.uk/

--
Greybeard


FLHTCUI UK-07 Mk II
Garmin Zumo 550, To get me home!

ukrm@foxtails[dot]co[dot]uk

 

Unfortunately for the rest of us, Alec and Lynda Baumber of Crowtree
Leathers have decided to retire. Two nicer people you could not have
met, completely dedicated to their craft; they deserve a thoroughly
enjoyable retirement. It's just a shame I never got round to buying a
jacket from them to match the jeans I won. Oh well.

 

Buzz says...

As you've said, Crowtree are closing, which is a shame as they made
great kit. However, you obviously haven't called Graham at GLF
Accessories[1] to ask about pricing and measuring you up. It's quite
simple, you don't measure yourself and send them in via email or
whatever, Graham measures you up at his shop using the same measuring
tape he uses for everyone. That way he knows for certain that the
measurements he sends to the factory are correct for your leathers.
Price all depends on style and what upgrades you want, they still work
out as great value for money when compared to lesser off-the-peg stuff
with fancy names. It'll be one very fancy race suit with lots of extras
for £1000, you can budget for a bit less than that if you don't go
silly.

As for Beconi, Leathertecuk and BTK. I've only ever heard of BTK, and
been none too impressed with the stories I heard.

[1] 01525 717009, give him a call, it's worth it.





--
Lozzo
Triumph Daytona 955i SE (Black with added black bits)
Suzuki GSX-R750L trackbike (Shite with added shite bits)
Yamaha SR250 Cheasy-Rider (undergoing a transformation)
I ride way too fast to worry about cholestorol.

 

Whoosh!

--
Greybeard


FLHTCUI UK-07 Mk II
Trumpet Trophy 1200 -96, Sold
Garmin Zumo 550, To get me home!

ukrm@foxtails[dot]co[dot]uk

 

i bought some trousers from them a while ago. very strong leather and
seemingly well-made with lots of double and triple stitching and removable
gel armour.

i found them a bit too heavy and uncomfortable for regular use, but ymmv.

 

i just found that the shape of them disagreed with me. at the time i was
wearing leathers for about 12 hours a day so i was a bit fussy. if you just
wear them for a track day or something they'd probably be fine.

i didn't return, anyway.

i am the new macframe.

 

marina says...

This was one of the incidents that I was refering to in my reply to the
OP yesterday.

--
Lozzo
Triumph Daytona 955i SE (Black with added black bits)
Suzuki GSX-R750L trackbike (Shite with added shite bits)
Yamaha SR250 Cheasy-Rider (undergoing a transformation)
I ride way too fast to worry about cholestorol.

 

I've signed up with BEMSEE and will be doing Minitwins and perhaps the
Superbike 400s but I wont start for a few weeks yet. I'm awaiting the
results of a few tests.

 

The girls at Feisty reckon it's good kit.

 

I stand by what I said 4 years ago about Hideout:

'Top safety and comfort, great people, good prices. They're in a rural
area so you can combine your trip with a nice ride in the country. Not
far from the M11 (Ashdon nr Saffron Walden)

Have a look before you spend dosh anywhere else.'

<http://tinyurl.com/2g364t>


I think Kate and Sandra are providing an excellent product.

<http://www.hideout-leather.co.uk/>

 

My BTKs fitted ok, but after a lowish speed (50-60 mph) off on a
trackday they were damaged enough for me to be worried about getting
them repaired.

 

Never heard of them, I'm afraid. I know nothing more than what appears
on their site and the Wikipedia link.

 

and then gets one leg a couple of inches longer than the other.
--
Adie
(replace spam with nickname to reply)

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