THERE ARE TWO REASONS FOR WEARING LEATHER ON A MOTORBIKE: FEAR OF FALLING OFF (ISN'T THERE A TECHNICAL TERM FOR THAT PARTICULAR PHOBIA?), AND BECAUSE THEY LOOK GOOD. EXPERIENCE HAS SHOWN THAT LEATHER SUITS WHICH FULFIL THE FIRST CRITERIA GENERALLY FAIL THE SECOND. THIS IS BECAUSE IT'S TOUGH TO MAKE ANY CLOTHES OF A 'TYPICAL' SIZE LOOK GOOD ON EVERYONE; IT'S EVEN TOUGHER TO MAKE A FLEXIBLE YET PROTECTIVE BODYSUIT LOOK GOOD AT ALL. AND IT'S DAMN-NIGH IMPOSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE BOTH FOR A COMMERCIAL PRICE.

So if you're buying off the rack - as 1 did for the first decade of my riding career - then you settle for a compromised product. It's often godd but hardly ever excellent. For a price hike of around 25%, excellence is available from people like BKS leathers. Is it really worth the extra money - and time?
Made-to-measure suits take around an hour to design and size and then eight weeks to make (more in the busy season). That's a delay which instant-shoppers might find unacceptable. The customising process is also fairly complicated. and the customer is presented with a boggling variety - colours, collars, stitching, sliders, badges, belts, armour and artwork: doesn't even come near the whole list - which can be as intimidating as it is exciting.

The end product is however fabulous. If you've never experienced it then you can't possibly appreciate how pleasant it is to wriggle into a jacket and jeans which actually match your very own measurements. There are no tight spots, no slack no overlap and no unsightly lumps (apart from my own, of course). There's also a terribly smug sense of security which comes from knowing that all limbs are encased in the toughest hide, and guarded by excellent armour. Worth it? You bet.

The best decision I made was to plump for the lightweight (inevitably more expensive) body armour, which makes the joints far easier to flex than traditional forms and has helped the suit to wear-in very quickly. The worst choice was over colour. The contrasting shades chosen - gunmetal and graphite - for the main body and highlights were far to similar when the new rolls of hide were opened. BKS called to advise, and without thinking it through completely - or checking the artwork - I opted to move one shade lighter. The result, as you can see, is silver, not battleship-grey as originally intended. Snap decisions: I should have listened to my mother!

Rowena Hoseason. Editor

September 1999