Im in the market for a new jacket and have decided to go with leather.... so whats everybodys preference????? Solid leather with the vents ore a perf. leather??? Ill be using mine for both winter and summer.
I don't think you'd want to deal with a perforated jacket if it's going to be used in winter. You'd have to put on a bunch of layers to make up for it, and leather is already stiff enough as it is. Plus don't forget that day you go out for a 40 degree ride with a sweatshirt on under your jacket and get caught in the rain. I don't even want to think about that one.
I would try to find a solid jacket that has some vents that open and close.
I have the Perforated leather and Love it except like ^he^ said, in the colder weather. But I just wear a nylon windbreaker underneath on cool mornings, and later (when it's 30 degrees hotter) on the ride home, stuff the windbreaker in my backpack and the perforated leather is does it's job. No regrets here.
Solid leather with vents. Case in point. Just drove today from San Diego to Phoenix. 61 in SD and 80 in AZ. Just zipped open the back and chest vents and it was great. With wind chill in SD I would not have wanted to have several layers since I was limited to two small saddle bags for 4 days. On the way home it will be 95 in AZ and at 85 to 90 mph and open vents I'll be comfy.
I have a joe rocket jacket that's solid leather, but has a zip out liner vest and zip out inner arm areas. With the inner arms removed it lets in a good deal of air as long as you are moving.
I live in Jersey and I have a perforated jacket, I like it cause its cool enough for the summer and even when its semi cold I just wear underarmor and a wind breaker=success. IMO
A windbreaker over a riding jacket makes a huge different, but I think we still need to know what you consider winter. My winter is 10-15 degrees, but if you live in the south I say go for perforated.
Riding today in Phoenix and not wanting to be a squid, trust me it was tempting not to put the jacket on, helmet, pants, boots yes but leather did not seem the best idea. It was fine as long as not at a light too long.
got this and LOVE it. it's got nice vents and perforated under the arms. does get a little damp when riding in the rain and no liner so i use a different jacket for the winter.
I rock the ICON Motorhead leather jacket [up]
it has perforation on the underside of the arms, 4 zippered vents on the front (chest & shoulder) as well as 2 long ones running down the sides of the back.
Zip out liner and decent armour...
I like how it looks too
Cool, thats the exact one I was looking at too. Ive tried on 30 or 40, Ive been looking for months now, ive even ordered two off the net but none of them have fit right. for the most they are too short in the arm but the long sizes are too long in the torso.
oh ya and I live in Utah. Summers can get up to 105 and winters can get below zero. Im usually still out riding if its 25 or above.
Its the end of May and it snowed three inches yesterday and today it got up to 70.
on a serious note what is the general consensus on the durability of a full perf jacket? does its survivability drop to single use like a textile? obviously it will protect better than most textiles out there but is it torn up fairly bad after? I know that a non perf can handle multiple crashes without issue.