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View Full Version : Bel leathers, as imported bt Wildcat_LGF



TonyB
9th June 2005, 11:53
Time, I feel, for a review of the Bel leathers I got from Wildcat_LGF. This stared off as me wanting to let Wildcat know how the liners were, and it kind of ballooned from there…

Well, the roads were dry last night, and Sky Weather reckoned it was –4°C this morning…..time to ride the bike to work to try out the removable thermal liners in my Bel leathers. Being a bloke who likes to stay warm, I got them for the jacket and the pants…

They are a bit of a fiddle to get in, and to be honest they could have done a better job of it- when you ‘assume the position’ on the bike the Velcro for the top of the pants liner and bottom of the jacket liner pulls away. Incidentally, the mesh liner tends to do the same thing, but it’s no biggy, and you don’t get uncomfortable because of it. The leathers are a bit tighter, despite the liner being very very thin- I think its Thinsulate or perhaps a copy.

By the time I’d backed the wifes car out of the garage, put one of the kids in the car seat, moved the bike from the shed, played peekaboo behind the hedge before the kids drove off, and strapped my bag to the back of the bike, I was getting pretty toasty and warm. I certainly couldn’t feel the chill in the air at all.

My ride to work starts in Heathcote, goes along tunnel road, around the ring road to Burwood, and then into Marshlands where it is always much colder in the mornings than anywhere else in Chch. It’s about 20km and aside from maybe 4k’s of 50 zone it’s all either 100, 80 or 70k zones. So it’s a good test. I’ve done this ride many times in similar temps with my Tecniks jacket and stayed pretty warm on the top half- my legs always got cold. I’ve used the same jacket to ride through the Lewis Pass in heavy rain/ sleet with the snow line nearly at the road, and stayed warm with only a cotton T-shirt underneath, so a direct comparison with the Tecniks gives me a very good idea how the leathers will go on a long cold ride. I wouldn’t even contemplate doing this ride with my old leather jacket- I would be frozen by the time I got to work.

I can happily say that my legs were toasty and warm for the entire trip- first time ever! My upper body got slightly chilled around the sides of the torso, but it was perfectly bearable. All in all my upper body was very slightly cooler than I would have been with the Tecniks jacket, I put that down to the tight fit of the leathers- no trapped air equals less insulation. I could easily have been warmer still by wearing a polyprop top under the jacket rather than a thin shirt. You definitely need a neck warmer with these leathers, they have a low racing suit styled collar, not the high collar and polar fleece neck warmer that the synthetic jackets have.

The armour and sewn in high density foam padding has an unexpected benefit- it’s all on the knees, shoulders and elbows- the bits that stick out in the breeze and normally take a bit of a hiding in terms of cold. With all that padding, they stay very warm and toasty, so the armour serves for more than just crash protection.

Speaking of the removable armour- this is CE approved. A universal fitting armour is used, with the same type being used on the knees, elbows and shoulders. It has a ‘memory foam’ on the inside, and the outside is hard plastic(?) about 1cm thick. The back protection is just a piece of high density foam, but then I guess they expect that most people are going to buy a proper back protector anyway (on my to do list). High density foam is also used on the hips, but the is the same shape as the hard CE amour, so it could be replaced with the CE armour if required. The jacket has thick padding (possibly thick high density foam) built in at all points where there is removable armour. The removable armour fits into pockets in the mesh liner- I don’t know if this is standard practice or not, but once on its very difficult to get it to move, so it should do well in a crash.

As for fit and sizing, they fit me well. I got a Large, and I’m 182ish cm tall and 80kg. I think riders with bigger forearms or calves could possibly have trouble with tightness in these areas, but they fit me just fine. Initially I found it difficult to get my feet on the pegs, as I couldn’t bend my knee enough- I actually had to lift my left leg up with both hands, ride off, stand up, then sit down with both feet on the pegs!) This soon came right, and once I got to a decent road I discovered just how much easier it was to hang off and generally move about on the bike- this must be down to the stretch panels in the cutch and upper thigh. The leathers are designed to fit when you’re on the bike- they have a bit of extra length in the back, a stretch panel at the base of the back, the sleeves are pre-curved etc. The sleeve and pant cuffs don’t ride up once you sit on the bike- everything stays exactly where it was. Mine have a bit of “saggy-butt-syndrome”, but given they have to stretch around my bony butt while I’m stretched out on the FZR, with it’s long reach to the bars and short seat to peg distance, I reckon that has to be expected… There are no pockets whatsoever. I accept this, as external pockets are weak points and can snag on things….. but it would be nice to have somewhere to put me keys! It should be easy to get a small pocket sewn into the inside of the jacket, behind the main zip. I hope to get around to that one day.

Zips, nearly forgot... the zips are very chunky YKK (the best zip brand). I think they will stand the test of time well.

All in all, I’m stoked. The leathers fit me well, I got the colours I wanted (erm…that would be black- I’m not into the power ranger look), and I’ve managed to get a set of decent quality racing leathers that are also practical for weekend fangs or long days in the saddle. Sure they don’t have the quality of armour that you would find in an expensive modern full on racing suit (e.g. moulded external plastic on the shoulders), but they are probably fitted out to the standard that was de rigeur for a top quality racing suit only 4 or 5 years ago......and they cost me $450....

So there you go. Told you it had ballooned somewhat….

madboy
9th June 2005, 13:05
Good write up Tony. Agree with you entirely. Mine (now Skunk's) were great, I just got the wrong size! Roll on the next order :niceone:

TonyB
9th June 2005, 13:26
Oops, forgot to mention I got a B-1120 two piece suit. On mine the zips work really well.

HenryDorsetCase
7th November 2005, 14:24
I just got a BEL suit off tardme for $350. It has knee sliders (FFS! what would I use knee sliders for) but from a quick look and try on here at work I am stoked. cant argue with the price.

soundbeltfarm
7th November 2005, 19:09
i got the 2 piece suit and it was F-tight but it seems to have moulded a bit now.
i feel like im wearing a gimp suit when im off the bike walking around.
but better than pulling gravel out of my arse.
ive got a long torso and short legs ( prob inbreed)
the zips were sweet but i got a piece of leather about 4cm long sewn in and got another zip for it.
the size of zips that come with the suit are not availabe in nz so i got a chunkier ykk zip and it cost me 15 bucks.
the local upholserer done it and he done an awesome job.
i got sore elbows when i first started wearing them but i used short sleeve shirts but bow they are sweet as.
i put a hole in the stretchy stuff around the ball area from a barb wire fence but thats another story.
but the hole hasn't got any bigger.
all in all im happy with them they feel tight but im not sure how tight they are meant to be.

Zapf
7th November 2005, 20:54
I usually wear 1 or 2 layers of polyprop for warmth under my 1 pce for warmth in winter. And then a goretex jacket over the top if wind chill becomes too much... hence the "man in tights" sighting...

NhuanH
7th November 2005, 21:06
I usually wear 1 or 2 layers of polyprop for warmth under my 1 pce for warmth in winter. And then a goretex jacket over the top if wind chill becomes too much... hence the "man in tights" sighting...
What, are you like the Asian version of the Michelin Man? Where you riding - Antarctica?

And by 1 pce, I do hope you mean your leathers...

MoFunthanmost
7th November 2005, 21:28
got mine a month or so ago and am stoked! :2thumbsup I got the B1153A jacket (Black with Yellow shoulders like in the brochure) with B1169 pants (all black), and have had many people stop me while getting petrol, parking etc, complementing me with a 'where'd you get the leathers?' :rolleyes:

Zips and all are good, but there is one ONLY one thing that could be improved is that the pockets the armour slot into are kept closed be a small patch of Velcro. Thing is tho that on the knees and elbows, the patches are too small/narrow, and so you get velcro scratches, (if you 're wearing a t shirt) because the pocket isnt being kept closed. Larger velcro patches would help keep those sucka's closed.

Although this DOES seem to be happening less the more worn in they get.
... or I've just grown thicker skin and arent being such a softy... :o

Thanks Wilcat BTW, awesome service and thanks for everything!