For me it depends on the weather. If it is wet or looks like it will be I go with textile which is fiully waterproof, but if it is warm and sunny it has to be leather. If I'm touring it is always textile for the waterproof protection.
Yes, Bryn, that jacket does look like it will suit your Bonnie nicely! Nice that it comes with armor and a zip out liner, too. So, you are responsible for my second bit of forum-related learning today (the other was in the What You Drinking Tonight? thread). I'd not heard of Furygan prior to your post so looked it up. It appears that there are very few distributors in the U.S. and that its products tend to be race-oriented. I thought I was well-versed in motorcycle jacket brands but this one was new to me! Uh oh...
Furygan are a french company Sandi going back to 1994 the UK National Lottery was launched ...and a couple of months afterward I managed to get 5 out of 6 numbers on the mid week draw.... but unfortunately so do do thousands of others £950 was spent wisely, including a lovely Furygan Leather Jacket from a local bike shop...the quality was superb, had it a year or two and then changed my bike .. the red and white jacket no longer matched.. so I sold it to a work mate for £50 Regret that to this day...so perhaps my second ever Furygan will redress the balance.
My leather jacket stoped fitting me years ago the older i get the fatter i get i have a textile jacket and a mesh jacket for summer i dont ride the trimuph in the rain only the deauville i find the textile better than leather in the wet
Well, for me there are only two jackets to wear with a Bonnie, in the dry at least. RAF Irvin Pattern sheepskin jacket or 'Brando' style leather jacket. I adore the Irvin jacket. No idea whether sheepskin is as tough as cowhide and it doesn't have any armour in it but I figure that, with all that furry sheep wool inside it, it will be like being wrapped in unburstable bubble wrap if you hit the deck. My 'Brando' style jackets on the other hand aren't as warm but they do have full armour inside them. Surprisingly I have found the Irvin to be cool in hot weather and warm in cold. I guess the point is that all that sheepy stuff creates a thermal barrier isolating your body from whatever temperature the outside world is at.
Sheepskin tears like wet cardboard....... great thermal protection but minimal abrasion resistance. Cow good, kangaroo better...... lined ballistic nylon when it’s wet. Preoccupation with ‘style’ is strictly for Northern Lasses on a night out in sub zero temperatures.
I wouldn't say I was 'pre-occupied' with style but I do like a bit of 'cool' with a bike. If I didn't I wouldn't ride a Bonnieville but rather one of those nondescript (verging on ugly) adventure bike thingies. I guess the biggest trick with any biker wear is taking great care not to fall off and test it out and, more importantly, damage the bike. When it's the Sprint I'm on and planning to be a little wilder then yes, full armoured leather head (well neck) to toe but I don't kid myself that it will really save me if I do something stupid or I find myself going full pelt into the side of a car that has just pulled out on me. Sure it helps if you are in the kind of accident where you might get some nasty gravel rash (rare in the UK, land of walls, crash barriers, wire fences, kerbs etc.) but, in the 'Sudden stop' (tree, wall, car etc.) scenario you are likely to be still dead.
Well I went and tried the Furygan Freddy at Moto Central ...fit great , all except for catching my side profile in the mirror... there was a lump sticking out at the back which looked like I was hiding a slightly deflated football under there.... the very very nice young lady assistant said it’d go away when I was sitting on the bike and leaning over .... but it was enough to put me off making the purchase ... they do have some fantastic stuff in Moto Central, and it’s only 15 minutes away from me .
That's some description of what you looked like in the mirror, Bryn! Good thing you checked out that side profile. The jacket hunt continues, eh?
These are what I mostly wear on my Bonneville... Summer - Triumph Copley Leather Jacket Winter - Triumph Newchurch Leather Jacket The Triumph Copley jacket I think is superb, it's currently on sale at Triumph direct, but quite a bit more expensive than the price I paid - https://triumphdirect.co.uk/copley-jacket-13703-p.asp
