ScareyH22A

The sleeves on my jacket are too long. Where can I get alterations done? I'm more concerned about quality work than anything.

Son

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ScareyH22A &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The sleeves on my jacket are too long. Where can I get alterations done? I'm more concerned about quality work than anything. </TD></TR></TABLE>
Quality? Nuff said...

Z Custom Leathers
5445 Oceanus Drive #107
Huntington Beach, CA 92649

Phone: (714) 890-5721
E-mail: staff@zcustom.com

marmaladedad

+1 for ZCustom

They do awesome work. You definitely get what you pay for. And you pay a lot for what you get.

Veritas-Aequitas

I called Z's up for a new zipper and they wanted a crazy amount of money.


I lurk around the WERA boards and they all say that barnacle bill does excellent work and fixes there suits better than new. Those guys crash a lot and are much faster than any of us so I trust their word over a lot of what I read online. His custom suits are built like tanks and he is just about the nicest guy you can talk to. I called him about the zipper and he ended up talking to me for 15 minutes about leather and what zippers I had on my jacket compared to what he wanted to put on. He knew more about zippers than anyone in their right mind should. He was straight up and said Z does good work also but the price was much higher than his. He is the man and if I ever get into anything other than track days his the first person I'm calling for a suit.

Here is his site:

http://www.racingleather.com/

Veritas-Aequitas

http://forums.13x.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=12

That is the WERA board if anyone is interested.

marmaladedad

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RebornGSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Here is his site:

http://www.racingleather.com/
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Cool. I was hoping someone had more info on Barnacle Bills, since I've only heard the name thrown around.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RebornGSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">He is the man and if I ever get into anything other than track days his the first person I'm calling for a suit.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Huh? What's wrong with the suit you have now?

Veritas-Aequitas

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by marmaladeboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Huh? What's wrong with the suit you have now?</TD></TR></TABLE>

When you start to race you crash. A lot.

I think my current gear is adequate for street and light track use. It's a dainese jacket pant combo that does well for what I need it. I hope it should be good for a few crashes as long as they are under 75 mph.

If I started actually racing I'd want something that I would feel safe jumping off the bike at lets say 120mph just for ***** and giggles. My current set up wouldn't be my first choice for a few reasons.

The two piece doesn't have the added safety or comfort of a one piece not to mention the poor fit of an off the shelf suit. It has many small holes for air flow which tend to tear easier than larger punched holes. It's leather isn't as thick as a racing suit's and it's designed with many smaller pieces. This leaves more stitching and a larger number of possible failure areas.

I don't wear a custom race suit on the street because most of them look like ****. It's a silly reason but some of what I consider to be the best suits protection wise are either really ugly or way out of my price range.

I'll actually be looking into a one piece for track/hard street riding this spring once I gain a few pounds. So far my top two seem to be either Vanson or Taichi. I'll keep you updated if you want

marmaladedad

Oh I see. I thought you meant that you only ride on the track, and you were going to buy a suit for street-use.

I used to use a piece-meal 2piece for track. Although it didn't fit perfectly (compared to my custom 1piece), I enjoyed being able to remove my jacket between sessions and not have it flail around near my butt. Thankfully, I haven't had to crash-test in either my 2 or 1piece.

Do you fit off-the-rack sizes? If so, I hate you.

Veritas-Aequitas

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by marmaladeboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Do you fit off-the-rack sizes? If so, I hate you. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Not yet. I seem to have a little weight issue that you are really going to hate me for.

6' about 135lbs makes it hard to fit in anything. 15lbs before April should do the trick hopefully

marmaladedad

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RebornGSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Not yet. I seem to have a little weight issue that you are really going to hate me for.

6' about 135lbs makes it hard to fit in anything. 15lbs before April should do the trick hopefully </TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm not gonna make any "skinny" comments, because my college roommate was about that build, but dude could lift a LOT...more than me!

Good luck with putting on the weight.

DeLiRiOu5

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RebornGSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

6' about 135lbs makes it hard to fit in anything. 15lbs before April should do the trick hopefully </TD></TR></TABLE>

and I thought I was skinny...

ScareyH22A

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Son &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Quality? Nuff said...

Z Custom Leathers
5445 Oceanus Drive #107
Huntington Beach, CA 92649

Phone: (714) 890-5721
E-mail: staff@zcustom.com</TD></TR></TABLE>

Cool. Thanx, they're like 4 miles from me.

bb6h22a

Z Custom or Barnacle Bill; I'd go with the local guy since they can measure you on the spot and in person - nothing wrong with Barnacle Bill.

bb6h22a

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RebornGSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

When you start to race you crash. A lot.

I think my current gear is adequate for street and light track use. It's a dainese jacket pant combo that does well for what I need it. I hope it should be good for a few crashes as long as they are under 75 mph.

If I started actually racing I'd want something that I would feel safe jumping off the bike at lets say 120mph just for ***** and giggles. My current set up wouldn't be my first choice for a few reasons.

The two piece doesn't have the added safety or comfort of a one piece not to mention the poor fit of an off the shelf suit. It has many small holes for air flow which tend to tear easier than larger punched holes. It's leather isn't as thick as a racing suit's and it's designed with many smaller pieces. This leaves more stitching and a larger number of possible failure areas.

I don't wear a custom race suit on the street because most of them look like ****. It's a silly reason but some of what I consider to be the best suits protection wise are either really ugly or way out of my price range.

I'll actually be looking into a one piece for track/hard street riding this spring once I gain a few pounds. So far my top two seem to be either Vanson or Taichi. I'll keep you updated if you want </TD></TR></TABLE>

You going to get an off the shelf Vanson or Taichi or a custom custom piece? Vanson gear's thick and takes a while to break in, but handles scuffles with pavment well; I know people who've used RS Taichi and liked it very much, but I don't have personal experience with their line.
Dainese suits namely their Saftey Pro is an excellent suit; someone I know went down at around 150 and walked away - that's an off the shelf 1 piece and it retails for 1300 which isn't bad considering custom suits usally start at 1500 and go up from there (eg, a basic Helimot suit is 2000)
Off the shelf stuff isn't "bad" it's just a matter of fit; if it fits like ****, it'll ride like **** and will serve as a major distraction - not good.
If you can sport a custom suit, by all means. But there's more than one off the shelf suit and manufacture that'll save your *** just the same.
Regards.

Veritas-Aequitas

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bb6h22a &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

You going to get an off the shelf Vanson or Taichi or a custom custom piece? Vanson gear's thick and takes a while to break in, but handles scuffles with pavment well; I know people who've used RS Taichi and liked it very much, but I don't have personal experience with their line.
Dainese suits namely their Saftey Pro is an excellent suit; someone I know went down at around 150 and walked away - that's an off the shelf 1 piece and it retails for 1300 which isn't bad considering custom suits usally start at 1500 and go up from there (eg, a basic Helimot suit is 2000)
Off the shelf stuff isn't "bad" it's just a matter of fit; if it fits like ****, it'll ride like **** and will serve as a major distraction - not good.
If you can sport a custom suit, by all means. But there's more than one off the shelf suit and manufacture that'll save your *** just the same.
Regards.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well since that post I went down to the shop and got some really good advice from some of the guys there. We talked about all the options my brother and I have and decided to try out some off the rack Vanson leathers. They measured up my brother because I still need to pack on a few pounds and ordered him a suit.

It was the Vanson Mark III and I was very impressed with the build and thickness of the suit. My brother tried it out and it fit perfectly everywhere except the chest and hips so they are going to try and go up a size and see how it goes.

Richie Alexander(1998 AMA 750 Super Sport Champion, STAR School Instructor and Superstock class Crew Chief for Michael Jordan Motorsports) was there and gave his professional opinion of a size bigger because my brother could hardly breathe in the suit and his ***** were almost in his stomach. Well see how it goes in another few weeks when the new suit comes in.


I'm so happy we have a dealership around here that actually has some people who know what the **** they are talking about

bb6h22a

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RebornGSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Well since that post I went down to the shop and got some really good advice from some of the guys there. We talked about all the options my brother and I have and decided to try out some off the rack Vanson leathers. They measured up my brother because I still need to pack on a few pounds and ordered him a suit.

It was the Vanson Mark III and I was very impressed with the build and thickness of the suit. My brother tried it out and it fit perfectly everywhere except the chest and hips so they are going to try and go up a size and see how it goes.

Richie Alexander(1998 AMA 750 Super Sport Champion, STAR School Instructor and Superstock class Crew Chief for Michael Jordan Motorsports) was there and gave his professional opinion of a size bigger because my brother could hardly breathe in the suit and his ***** were almost in his stomach. Well see how it goes in another few weeks when the new suit comes in.


I'm so happy we have a dealership around here that actually has some people who know what the **** they are talking about </TD></TR></TABLE>

This was the whole spirit of my post; the off the shelf stuff is great, if you take time in sizing it and geting what you need. That's great man. Vanson is great stuff - saved my *** 4 times, with just minor scuffing to the leather - really good ****. Glad to hear your brother was able to fit an off the shelf suit, hopefully you'll be able to as well. Make sure though, that he actually gets on his bike, with his boots and glove to make certain that the suit doesn't bind, pinch or roll when he's actually all over the top of the bike - that's an important consideration.
PS: That Dr. Costa quote is great - that guy's a trip; poet, physician, author - a renaissance man to be sure.

ScareyH22A

Well... I just dropped my jacket off at Z Customs. Mr. Adolf was one cool cat. Told me a lot about suit fitment and how to start off on track days.

I took a look around the place and saw tons of custom suits, pants, jackets, gloves, and shoes. Gotta say the quality looks good. The armor was nice and thick as well as the high density foam on all the right places.

He's got a small room with all the different styles of suits. You can pick your favorite style, pick all the colors, get measured up, pay $995, wait 4 wks, and ride away in your custom leather suit.

$995 is for one color. I'm sure you can add perforated panels at will. I'd want it for ventilation. Don't know if the speed humps are standard but I'd want that too.

Can't wait. He's gonna take almost 3" off the sleeves. It's probably gonna take 2-3 wks. $150 seems more than reasonable for the services of such a talented gentleman.

marmaladedad

Speed humps are not standard.

ReBorn - were your brother's nuts in his stomach when he was in the rider crouch? Or only when standing straight up? My suit doesn't allow me to stand straight up, but it's perfect at all other times.

Veritas-Aequitas

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by marmaladeboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
ReBorn - were your brother's nuts in his stomach when he was in the rider crouch? Or only when standing straight up? My suit doesn't allow me to stand straight up, but it's perfect at all other times.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Both. You couldn't even fit a finger between his hip and the leather, the suit was basicly skin tight around his hips and chest.

We expected the hunched look when standing because the suits are cut shorter in the front so it doesn't bunch up when your on the bike.

Veritas-Aequitas

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bb6h22a &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">PS: That Dr. Costa quote is great - that guy's a trip; poet, physician, author - a renaissance man to be sure.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Costa is the ******* man

I want his book but the only places I can find it are in Europe and the euro exchange rate is killing me

marmaladedad

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RebornGSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Both. You couldn't even fit a finger between his hip and the leather, the suit was basicly skin tight around his hips and chest.</TD></TR></TABLE>

As long as you didn't have to measure the distance in his crotch with your finger...

ScareyH22A

LMAO!

from B.Bills

.Ash

so Z's or Vanson? I can go to either to be fitted and such...

ScareyH22A

Z Custom Testimonials: Mitch Boehm, Motorcyclist Magazine

This article appears courtesy of Motorcyclist Magazine, December 2001

It's new bike time again and while I'm psyched about the new-for-2002 models (see "New Bikes 2002" on page 33), I've gotta admit it's cowhide that's really got my attention. (Motojournalists are to new leather goodies as junkies are to dope, and I'm no different!)

See, I've finally retired my trusty black-and-gray Vanson race suit, a suit I've had since late '93, and one that's followed me through eight years of track tests, photo shoots, and AHRMA (American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association) race meetings. It's also a suit that, according to certain staffers who'll go unnamed but whose initials are M.C. and J.N., has appeared for far too many years in the pages of this magazine.

I'm not really sure what the fuss is all about. I love that suit, mostly because it fits my strangely shaped body and isn't skin tight and/or weirdly colored. I've also not crashed in it, a nearly miraculous fact given all the track miles it's seen. I've become almost superstitious about wearing it-as if I simply can't crash with it on. Plus, like all Vanson gear, it's built tough enough to survive an Iraqi battlefield, circa '91.

Despite all that, I finally heeded the vulgar catcalls and dramatic nose-pinching that accompanied every public display of those well-worn Vansons and took the folks at Z Custom (714/890-5721; http://www.zcustom.com) up on their offer to build me a brand-new custom suit. Z Custom's Debbie measured me in the company's Huntington Beach, California, office, where we spent a half-hour choosing a design and colors, and roughly two-weeks later I found myself back there trying it on. Standing before the mirror in the showroom to see how successfully the suit's hourglass stripes hid my substantial girth (not as much as I'd hoped), I realized I'd forgotten how cool it was to step into a new set of custom leathers for the very first time…the clean lining, the smell of the hide itself, the perfection of the lettering and, hopefully, the perfect fit.

The whole experience had me flashing back to my very first set of "leathers": a pair of Wheels of Man (remember them?!) vinyl MX pants I used in '75 on my XR75-my first, full year of motocross. Things improved the following year with a pair of buttery-soft Pierre Karsmakers-replica customs Bates pants; I can still remember their smell when I opened the Bates box Christmas morning.

Real street leathers didn't come until '84-a secondhand Bates suit purchased originally by a budget-conscious club racer. They were linerless, which put the rough side of the hide right against my skin-so removing them after a race at Willow Springs on a 100-degree-Fahrenheit day took some doing. (Today it's called exfoliation.) They were stinky, sweat-stained, ill-fitting, and, without a liner, would've been extremely tough on my epidermis had I fallen off in them, but I loved 'em anyway.

Actually, the incentive to get a new suit went above and beyond bad odors and worn, faded hides or the constant taunting that went with them. The Z Custom suit, like most of the top-shelf leathers coming from today's established makers, is both highly protective (even more so than the bulletproof Vanson suit it replaces) and superbly detailed, offering such features as venting, stretch sections in key areas for ease of movement, improved armor, a built-in back protector, etc.

So the catcalls and the nose-pinching have stopped. But that doesn't mean I'll be tossing those crusty old Vansons. I figure I'll pull 'em out on wet race days.
Just don't tell Cook or Norem.

Mitch Boehm, Editor in Chief

marmaladedad

Why not check out both?