CLOTHING

 
 
 
Home Page (part 1)
 First Impressions (part 2)
 The Dark Side (part 3)
The Good, the Bad and the I can live with that (part 4)

<>I did promise quite awhile ago to explain about my yachting outfit. Being an all weather commuter an essential part of your riding outfit is your waterproof attire. 

Well whilst working in the City of London I happened to stumble across a yacht chandlers in a side street off Bishopsgate opposite Liverpool Street railway station. This may seem a strange location being several miles from the nearest harbour or dock, but then ideal for the City types with wads of cash to spend on their sailing hobby.

<>It struck me that if anybody needed 100% water protection it would be sailors. A stroll through their clothing revealed a wide selection of jackets and trousers. These were grouped as to purpose, from sailing on a pond in summer to crossing the North Atlantic in mid winter.

<>Sailors like all consumers are also offered seasonal colours and tweaks in fashion design. Consequently there were regular sales of last seasons fashion items. These sales I found out later were usually around March and September. So it was at one such sale that I was able to purchase some rather expensive named brands for about half price just because the colours were about to change.

The Henri-Lloyd trousers were a full length affair with bib and braces and extra reinforcement in the seat and knees all in bright red. The jacket, a Splashdown  item was fitted with all sorts of extras. A whistle sewn in to the top pocket with a lanyard, useful if I crashed in to a ditch or field and need to summon help. A fitted hood with a formed peak, which disappeared into its own zipped pocket when not in use, ideal for when off the bike during the wet British summers. Zips inside to secure a fleece liner for extra warmth and toggles to attach a life jacket (which I thought I would give a miss). There were heavy duty plastic zips for the front fastening and on the pockets, plus generous velcro fastenings for waterproof flaps. There were plenty of pockets both inside and out, including two pockets with fleece linings to warm your hands. The internal cuffs and collar were all softly padded with waterproof material and velcro fastening to ensure a good waterproof seal. The jacket was two layered, so if water got through the outer layer it would run down the inside layer and out of the bottom. The two layers being joined together by tags of material and not stitched together at the bottom.

<>I bought extra large sizes so that I could wear my office suit underneath them and also allow for a fleece on top of that. The extra room also allowed for mobility and breathing space to avoid over heating. 

The jacket started off brilliant red and white, which I thought would help visibility compared to the still traditional black motorcycle designed clothing. With time, pollution and the MuZ’s two stroke exhaust fumes, the colours obviously got grubby looking. Even more noticeable when removing the still brilliant white hood from its pocket when it was raining.

<>To compliment this outfit, footwear was either my red Frank Thomas ankle boots for summer or black wellington boots. Later replacements to include steel toe caps. This was because one morning riding in to work having just past a car and stopping at a pedestrian crossing, the car came back up my inside and stopped with its front wheel on my left foot. God only knows how I didn’t get any broken toes, but I was looking back shouting, swearing and gesticulating at the driver trying to explain he was parked on my foot and I couldn’t go anywhere. Hence the steel toe cap wellies which I bought from Milletts I believe.

Gloves were Frank Thomas summer weight which also went a long way in to winter because

a)       they were not padded so heat from the heated grips got through easily to my hands, and

b)       the lack of padding also meant they dried out quicker after a soaking.

<>They had kevlar studs on the back for abrasion protection in event of an accident. 

My winter gloves were padded for insulation and waterproofing, but my main source of waterproofing for my hands during winter riding was to use the plastic gloves from filling stations which you can use during filling up. Pop these on before putting your gloves on and they also offer some insulation as well as keeping hands dry.

<>Additional jumpers, long johns, T-shirts, etc were worn depending on the temperature and soon I was leaving  my suits at work and so wearing casual trousers to match the weather. 

I would loose the waterproof trousers in the summer because of the heat and stay with jeans. I always wore boots, gloves and a jacket but with a short sleeved shirt even with temperatures in the 30’s some years.

<>To finish off the head I had a balaclava (silk or thin nylon) to cut out drafts and a reasonably priced helmet with easy to use visor (single handed operation) and some ventilation system. Wearing spectacles is always a problem for riders and so I always made sure the helmet had a just open position to keep misting down. Finally and quite importantly a pair of ear plugs. After a lot of experimentation in this area I settled with the orange ones which have flanges spaced along a tube which you used to grip them by. These were effective, reusable, cheap, easy to use and comfortable under a helmet. It helped that my brother regularly had these handed out to him at the factory he worked at, but can be bought in bulk cheaply at Screwfix.

Now my first yachting outfit lasted a good 4 to 5 years with I believe few problems. I did update it when I bought my Honda to a lighter version (mainly due to cost and cooler material) and supplemented the outfit with Hein-Gericke padded black trousers for the really cold winter months. These were well insulated and waterproof but the braces on them were not as good as those on the yachting ones.

Now I know some of you out there are thinking this is all well and good but yachting attire will not have much protection in the event of an accident. Which is true, leather will have better padding and abrasion resistance. I based my decision to buy it on the following points.

1)      The maximum speed of the MuZ251 is about 80mph. Generally I would not be doing more than 60-65 mph. I would not likely fall off at this speed as I would hope to have reacted to any incident likely to knock me off, so likely accident speed would be 40mph or less. In town this would be even lower. Fortunately, the only accident I did have on the MuZ was coming off on a diesel spillage on a roundabout at about 15 mph. I had my original jacket on and a short sleeved shirt underneath and jeans as it was July. The arm and pocket of the jacket were scuffed following about a 10-15’ slide and my arm was badly bruised with slight grazing on the elbow.

2)      My motorcycle was fitted with a full fairing and a rack, which in the event of an accident would absorb some of the impact and support some of the motorcycle’s weight in the event of an accident. Which was the case in the above. Both items received damage and were replaced under insurance. My fairing on my previous Honda CD200T also received crash damage (when a car u-turned in front of me), which would have been sustained by my arms or legs had it not been fitted.

3)      The more comfortable you are (drier, warmer and free to move) the more control of the motorcycle you will have and less likely to have an accident. That is where leather used to let you down (and some makes may still do).

4)      The bright colours were more visible than the traditional motorcycle black clothing of the time and did not require the additional use of fluorescent or reflective belts and jackets.

Home Page (part 1)
 First Impressions (part 2)
 The Dark Side (part 3)
The Good, the Bad and the I can live with that (part 4)