Leather trous and textile jacket for me now. Used to wear leather jacket but too hot and too heavy to carry around. Got converted to textile about 5 years ago.
Reckon a onsie over lederhosen in the winter would be spot on.....maybe Ducati should rethink their winter clothing section!!
Diavel ; learning curve after 15 yrs off bikes ; mainly UK Midlands ; all year round. Would appreciate your views on practical issues and personal experience. Manufacturers websites and dealers tend to state their stuff is the best! Thanks.
Halvarsons textiles are worth a look. Mine have stayed waterproof for years and thousands of miles. They are loaded with features, removable bits, vents etc etc, and are really good value IMHO. I love my Alpinestars leathers, which took a while to "break in", but now feel great and look like they would protect me well should the need arise. Ive also got a 2 piece set of Richa leathers, which are lower budget than Alpinestars, but brilliant for the price. Good quality Belgian made stuff with good after-sales care.
Textiles are a godsend if you feel the cold, but I don't, so it's leather all the way, with a simple waterproof overjacket for really cold days. As for waterproofing, I treated my leather jeans with Daytona water stop (from Get Geared, £10 a can) 5 years ago, and they've not let a drop of water in since.
Pros and cons: Textiles are warmer without any doubt, they're lighter and more comfortable straight off the peg. Most decent textiles are also as protective as leather (but they'll be scrap after a crash where leathers are more likely to survive), but there are massive variations in quality with textiles and many are nowhere near as protective as they claim to be, so you really need to stick with well-known brands. On the downside, I find textiles far too warm for anything other than deepest winter, the cheaper textiles look baggy very quickly, and if you're even a gram overweight they'll make you look like a tellytubby on the bike. Leather, on the other hand, are a known quantity. Most leathers, even the cheap stuff, will protect you in a crash (assuming they fit properly) and are more often than not reusable afterwards. They fit tighter and don't flap about, and once they're worn in they're as comfortable as your favourite slippers. They last for eons and are easy to maintain, and can be made completely waterproof (assuming they're not perforated) very cheaply. The big downside with leathers is that once they get cold in winter, they stay cold. The obvious solution is to buy both, but that'll get expensive. At this time of year you'd have to sway towards textiles, I think, then start saving for a set of leathers for summer. In thirty years of biking I've tried just about every type of motorcycle clothing available, and in my opinion a decent set of leathers is the better investment. Match them with decent technical base layers and a thin waterproof for really cold days and you can't go wrong.
Like everything, there is no such thing as a one size fits all imo. Leathers for the summer, textiles for the winter, and leather trousers and Halvarssons jacket for the spring and autumn would be my modus operandi.
I have crashed many times wearing both textiles and leather (but not at the same time!). Leather is a clear winner for me, though textiles are handy now and then. Plus I like looking like the red power ranger.
Maybe a leather 2 piece with textile over jacket, that way you can choose a cheaper textile without compromising safety but adding a wind and water resistant layer. Good thermals in colder months work imo better than just replacing leather with textile per se
Textiles are practical and workmanlike - a bit like a set of overalls. Useful, even necessary at times, but nothing to be proud of and not really fun. One of the good things about biking is it gives you a genuine reason to buy a good set of leathers and to wear them for most of the year, which is always a pleasure.
