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Track Days and
Road Racing School
was a small off-the-rack set that
was not small enough for my 5’2”
frame, and I still remember look-
ing at the seams in the middle of
both thighs where I had the suit
shortened so it wouldn’t swallow
my legs and thinking, “Hmmm. If
anything goes wrong here I’ll end
up wearing shorts and no skin.”
Now, ready-made leathers
are available in more size and
fit options than when I first took
to the track, but after that first
sketchy experience with ill-fitting
leathers I realized that if I truly
valued my skin, having custom
leathers made was my only option.
Up front, custom leathers
may appear to be more expensive
than an off-the-rack suit, but for
those of you who have yet to af-
ford yourself the luxury of a prop-
erly-fitting set of leathers, here is
how you can justify the expense:
`Construction quality. Custom
leathers are generally made to a
higher quality standard than your
average off-the-rack leathers.
Thicker leather gives you better
abrasion protection (yes it is heavi-
er, but you will appreciate that ex-
tra weight the first time you ask
a suit to save your skin). Sturdier
zippers mean the suit will actually
stay closed. Reinforced seams re-
duce the potential for the dreaded
seam blowout when you’re sliding
across the pavement at speeds the
human body was not designed to
experience.
`Longevity. Have you ever heard
racers use the term “one-crash
suit?” These are not that. I got
my first set of Vanson leathers al-
most 20 years ago and after mul-
tiple seasons of endurance racing
and several crashes, they are still
ready for more.
`Fit. This is important not just
for comfort, but for safety. If your
leathers don’t fit you right, the
armor could shift out of place at
a crucial moment. Your helmet
could get pushed forward and in-
terfere with your field of vision.
Your ability to move around free-
ly on the bike could be restricted.
The zippers could let go.`Aesthetic. Not at all important
from a safety standpoint but still
worth mentioning. Going custom
gives you the ability to have some
fun and express yourself with your
suit. Or, if you’re like me, more op-
portunities to formulate a better
response to the question, “Don’t
you get hot in all that BLACK?”`Value. Yes, your up-front cost
for a set of custom leathers will be
higher than for off-the-rack. But if
you amortize the cost over the du-
ration of your track-riding career,
I believe that custom leathers can
actually save you some expense
that would have otherwise been
extracted in repair or replacement
cost, or even injury.There are a number of com-
panies manufacturing custom
leathers for the racetrack. Google
can reveal their identities. Ideally
you would be measured in-person
by a rep from your company of
choice but if that is not possible,
you should be able to get the com-
pany's measurement form, which
you can then take to a tailor or a
trusted friend with a reliable mea-
suring tape to get sized up.
Then comes the fun part:
Designing your suit. One-piece
or two? Perforated leather or not?
Kevlar stretch panels? What kind
of armor? Colors, patterns, lo-
gos? Think about when and where
you’ll be spending the majority of
your time in your leathers to come
up with the safest, most function-
al, and most comfortable solution.
Also be aware that there can be
a long turn-around time (think
months) from when you submit
your measurements and design to
when your leathers arrive._The result: A comfortable, form-fit-
ting, high-performance track suit.RWLeathers For WomenCONTINUED FROM PAGE 49
Roadracing World, Trackday Directory 2019—51