A follow up note, for me it depends on the weather. Warm and sunny I wear my leather jacket, cold and wet I wear my textile.
When I had my big American cruisers, Harleys and Victories, I always wore the traditional biker leather jacket with all the zippers, snaps, pockets and belt because it was the "The Uniform." Di rigueur, if you will. It weighted about 30lbs. It just didn't look right on a Triumph, though, not proper. And it is all about look, you know. I bought a high collar, plain "cafe racer" type leather jacket. Now I look proper on a Triumph
I wear what's comfortable and suits the climate/weather. Generally, I prefer plain black leather. Not the 60's style "biker" jacket because I dont like collars or big lapels that can flap in the wind. I could do with a new leather jacket. Mine is becoming a bit bagged and out of shape. Thining of gettng a Merlin Alton: Merlin Alton II Leather Jacket - Merlin Bike Gear I don't like all-weather textile suits much, except when touring or riding long distance. One thing I could do with is a cool cotton/kevlar mesh jacket for hot summer days (if we ever get any..). I should add that when I bought my Harley I did abandon my usual leather trousers and general purpose/touring boots and went with black jeans and urban style lace-up leather boots. Not to try and be cool or get the Harley "look", but because on a cruiser with a low seat height and mid-controls it was vastly more comfortable and far easier to work the foot pedals. That applies equally to the Rocket 3. It's so much more comfortable that I've adopted that apparel on all my bikes.
Not much of a leather boy.... I have a casual leather jacket and almost never wear it! So, on the bike it's usually armoured jeans with "army" boots and a shorty patch pocket style textile jacket for me, and textile trousers if wet or sometimes when away for a few days.....
Seeing as this thread has been revived, I am sure @Sandi T will join me in attesting to the fact that it's possible to have an outfit for every occasion, even (especially????) when biking......
Leather jacket (iXS) or waxed cotton (Merlin) for me most of the time. Goretex textile for touring and coldest weather. Waxed cotton is OK in winter (wore it on Saturday) with a good base layer.
Oh my, yes, @Mrs Visor. Especially when biking. It becomes even more "critical" with multiple bikes, each machine with a different style and paint color. And then, of course, there are outfit variants related to the weather, to the ride length and purpose, and--to my mood!
I must confess, I bought my current Bering leather jacket because the white stripes down the arms matched the colour of the 1050 Speed Triple I had at the time...
@Sandi T Hi Sandi, good to "see" you too. I'm very well thanks and hope you are too. I don't post very often but this topic keeps popping up through my emails, so I thought I'd reply. Got to have some style when your riding!
what size are you i have a brand new brown leather merlin leather jacket that i have only worn twice and i have lost a bit of weight and now its too big .its a merlin hixon and a size 50 i think
You might have luck selling it in the sales section of the forum https://www.thetriumphforum.com/forums/parts-accessories-clothing.22/
thanks i hadn't thought about selling it to be honest just when i saw this post and the guy is local to me i thought would mention it
Thanks for the offer. Not sure what size I am in jackets, other than I ususally take a large and I'm six feet tall, 13.5 stone with a 34-35" waist. If that helps... I'll check out some of my other jackets and see if I can find a proper size.
