Total Motorcycle Community Forums

In general avoid "fashion leather" has thicknesses of 0.4-0.7 mm leather. Leather in the 2.0mm thickness would be very heavy, stiff and hot, so best left to cows. Motorcycle jackets with thicknesses of 1.0-1.6 mm are a good compromise. Cow is better than sheep.

Fit is also important. If the jacket is too tall for you the elbow padding will be in the wrong place, for example. Motorcycle-specific leather goods should fit you better but will cost more. They will have armour and extra padding.

I searched long and hard for a good leather jacket. Finally bought one from a friend who was selling his bike and all his gear. I wanted something with lots of pockets, vents, armor; snap at the neck but no collar. I also didn’t want to pay an exorbitant price. There is nothing wrong with Craig’s List my friend. The heavier leather the more protection but the hotter it is too.

some leathers can be thiner a be just as good . lamb is better then cow , and can be thin , but your pockets will be alot lighter.

XB08 wrote:some leathers can be thiner a be just as good . lamb is better then cow , and can be thin , but your pockets will be alot lighter.

Lamb is very fragile--not recommended for a motorcycle jacket.

They have lamb hide jackets? I thought it was either cow or Deer. Cowhide is very strong and can be very warm in the winter. My tourmaster jacket is said to be many layers of cowhide which makes it quite heavy and bulky.

Most leather in North America is sold in weight not thickness. Thickness in MM is used mainly for Continental European and Asian made leather. English Leather is measured in irons.

Each ounce (in weight of leather) is 1/64 of an inch or .75 iron. (aprox .4mm)

http://www.brettunsvillage.com/leather/conversions.html

http://reviews.ebay.com/How-the-Thickne ... 0000858717

JC Viper wrote:They have lamb hide jackets? I thought it was either cow or Deer. Cowhide is very strong and can be very warm in the winter. My tourmaster jacket is said to be many layers of cowhide which makes it quite heavy and bulky.

You can find stuff in cow, goat, lamb, sheep, deer, elk, and kangaroo.

Most motorcycle jackets are cow because goat and lamb aren't robust enough, and deer, elk, or 'roo are expensive. I have deer and elk gloves from Fox Creek. The deer is softer and more comfortable, the elk is much tougher and thus gives better protection.

The thickness of the jacket should be more than 1.4 and then it can be considered more or less safe. I didn't have to test it in real life, and thank goodness.