I wanna buy a 2 piece waterproof textile set up. I’ve never owned any, mainly due to their cost but its time i did…!
How to **** me off in two seconds flat? make me cold & wet so they have gotta do what they say…
What have you got?
what do you think?
Richa stuff is meant to be the nutz
says the bloke who only rides in sunshine !!! 
gonna let ya tent down mate 
thats why i said MEANT to be the nuts.re: the tent.you always let everybody down so why not my tent as well:P
BIATCH :D:P
Richa? i’ll have a look at that… Its hard to find places that stock alot of this aint it…
was reading about rukka stuff PJ mentioned. looks lovely, but the jacket i liked was £1000 ! :w00t:
yeah was going to mention that but i’d rather eat for the next year…
:hehe:
do you actually ride in the wet though??
Never really been a wet weather rider but then i just aint set up for it. I went out monday morning for a nice ride but i got cold and wet on the way back and it gave me the hump…
I’m not suddenly gonna be doing coast runs in january but it would be nice to use the bike more if it looks changable. when you look out and think shall i shant i, if you can stay warm dry and toasty you just go anyway dont you…
I have Richa textile trousers not that I’ve worn them for a while and you still get wet and cold if your out for long enough. I know they’re ladies ones but don’t suppose they use different material from the men’s ones.
I don’t know if any of them keep you dry if you’re out all day. Doing my DAS the guys there had Rukka gear and even they were complaining of the wet.
I need new textiles and would probably buy Richa again as they fit well and I wont be on the bike all day in the rain!
I do (too much) winter and wet weather riding, and I’ve had a few textile suits over the years. FWIW, my better experiences have been:
a Belstaff (RIP - from the time before they were bought by an Italian fashion company) suit that’s still going strong almost 5 years after purchase, and which I wouldn’t swap for anything. Cost me about £350 for jacket and trousers at the time, which was a lot of cash, but I’ve done at least 20k miles in it in all weathers, and it’ll do the same again, touch wood. Not Goretex - but imho Goretex is unneccesary.
a pair of Hein Gericke trousers (Goretex - but their cheap goretex range. IIRC they cost just under £150 about 18m ago. Perfectly good, warm and waterproof.
I’d go to Hein Gericke if I was you. Check out the catalogue online first (they have a big range, at all sorts of price points, but the whole range won’t be in all/any of the stores). They do stuff from sub-£100 jackets up to £450+ jackets, so there will probably be something for you.
Typically, a textile suit will come with a winter zip-out lining. Try the suit both with and without the lining. Depending on the fit, you might find that with the lining in you might want to shift the elbow and knee pads up or down a little (which may or may not be possible, depending on the kit). Also, if you decide it’s likely that you’ll use the winter lining a lot - I don’t often use mine - then you might end up going for a size bigger than you’d normally take.
Also, whatever anyone tells you, the OUTER layer of a textile suit will eventually lose its water repellent quality. You can replace this to some extent with stuff like the Nikwax wash-in proofer (you just dump it in a washing m/c. V easy), but what generally happens is that the suit remains dry on the inside (the w’proof layer is typically between the outer and inner of the suit), but that the outer, cordura, layer ends up soaking in some water. In heavy rain, for long journeys, I’ll wear a waterproof over my textile gear.
Hope that’s useful.
you simply cant beat experience of winter riding to find out about his stuff can you. thats the thing about textile stuff, i cant see the water proof bit lasting more than a couple of years really, no matter what you buy?
My father commuted to london for years and said he always use to speak to the couriers as they spent hours in the rain. He had an old balieno thing and derry boots, cheap as chips but the dryest he’d ever been…
before you ask the answer was no dad, a rubber balieno suit and £10 derry boots aint gonna go with my tuono! 
Try Infinity fella they have these on offer at the mo.
http://www.infinitymotorcycles.com/product.asp?ProductID=390&ProductName=Rukka%20Sapphire%20Jacket
Here’s the full range.
http://www.infinitymotorcycles.com/search.asp
I believe we get an LB discount at Hanger Lane.
Infinity Motorcycles
12-13 Royal Parade, Hanger Lane, London, W5 1ET
Tel 020 8991 5969
I have Rukka textiles (but then I commute by bike year-round). It is totally waterproof but cost the earth.
Re other comments about the proofing wearing off, there are two elements to this. The waterproof breathable membrane (Goretex or equivalent) should not fail. It sits between the inner and outer layers of the garment. The outer is then typically treated with a water repellant to prevent the outer layer becoming saturated even when the inner is dry. This proofing can fail eventually, leaving you dry but probably cold and definitely dripping water wherever you go. As others have said, re-proof with a wash-in treatment like Nikwax.
But if you’re not going to be a regular rain-rider why not just get waterproofs to go over your leathers? Much cheaper than a full set of textile kit.
That’s what I meant (but couldn’t manage to say in anything like as clear a fashion as you’ve just done) Thanks for injecting some clarity amongst the gobbledygook:D
Do you think the outer layer on your Rukka stuff keeps its water-repellency any longer than on cheaper gear? I’m interested to know, because one of these days I know I’m going to treat myself to some more top-quality textile gear, and they’re obviously candidates for my cash, but I’m trying to understand what the tangible benefits are, given that they’re approx twice the price of decent-to-mid range gear from, say HG.
I’ve had the Rukka less than a year so too early to comment on the long-term repallancy (sp?) but so far it looks in good shape. The main benefit I’ve seen so far is that with the winter lining in, it’s significantly warmer than any kit I’ve had in the past.
I’ve bought a lot of Richa stuff over the years - used to have a mate who worked in a shop which stocked it, and I’ve bought some Hein Gericke Gortex stuff. I prefer the Richa stuff - most of it isn’t goretex - it’s some other waterproof material, but it’s worked ok for me for my 40 mile each way commute - and although it’s probably not as well made as the Hein Gericke stuff I’ve found it fits my rotund features better, and lasts almost as long despite being almost half the price…so probably better value.
I have a Rukka Armadillo jacket, and have to say - fantastic. Very warm, and very waterproof. Some of the great features:
The goretex membrane is bonded to the outer abrasive/impact layer which means the the jacket dries very quick and doesn’t soak up the water resulting in one very heavy jacket.
All the armour in the jacket is CE approved including the back protector, most of the low end Gore-Tex will only come with shoulder and elbow CE armour if you are lucky meaning that you will not have to spend extra on armour.
5 year warranty, so if it starts leaking after 4 years and 11 months you send it back and get a loan jacket while yours is being fix.
Very well made, I slid down shell grip in mine and there was virtually no damage just some scuffing to some of the stitching.
Very warm, I commuted through the snows and freezing weather in April with just the thermal layer and a polo shirt.
I did have Hein Gericke before the Rukka, and I wouldn’t have anything else now. Personally I wouldn’t look at the Mako which is their lowest level (don’t think the goretex is bonded to the outer layer), I would start at the Armadillo, £600 but well worth the money in my opinion if you are commuting all year round, as it is also cool in the summer as well.
The final thing about all Goretex is that the performance decreases as it greats dirty. So before and after winter mine gets a wash with Nikwax Techwash.
Infinity don’t do the discount anymore, but they will try and sort you out. Pop along and have a chat with the peeps down there at Hanger Lane they are a great bunch.
I haven’t bothered to read any of this thread but here is my experience. I used to work in motorcycle clothing department so I have a little insight and I ride for a living.
I have Rukka kit, it isn’t bad and the 5 year warranty is good as if it does let you down they will honor it. I also have some Alpinestar kit, gortex jacket and drystar trousers…it is brilliant and after 3 years of very heavy use is about ready to replace. the jacket and trousers together cost around £350ish from J&S and are warm comfortable and reliable.
However the best stuff I ever had when I was couriering (14 hours in the rain and motorway spray), never let me down and only cost £45 pounds all in was a set of army gortex over trousers and jacket, next month i’m buying another set. Yes they are Camo but I don’t care, XL go over my leathers and pack up small enough too.
Remember to get some Nikwax Tech wash and always follow the instructions, also if your gortex starts to let you down a little simply run a WARM iron over it and it should cure the problem.
