Kobe Leathers

I am looking to replace a recently sold set of Dainese leathers- they were too big. A racer posted positive comments about Kobe leathers and their sponsorship efforts. The leathers are 1.7mm thick triple stitched and glued. Top of the line model sells new for less than $700.00. Great price. Anyone familiar with Kobe leathers?


Modified by socal at 4:26 AM 2/17/2005

Cheap leathers are like cheap carbon fiber... always looks good on ebay, but never really fits right or does the job.

If you really spend the money to keep a Ducati running, why not splurge on yourself and get a nice set that will protect you more than just once )if that(.

It appears-from your avatar- that you have in fact splurged! But.... is that because you saved when it came to the bike. The green machine is a Kawasaki is it not? Unless of course, like me, you have the best of both worlds: a Japanese and an Italian motorbike!

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by socal &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It appears-from your avatar- that you have in fact splurged! But.... is that because you saved when it came to the bike. The green machine is a Kawasaki is it not? Unless of course, like me, you have the best of both worlds: a Japanese and an Italian motorbike!</TD></TR></TABLE>

Ahh.. you need a history lesson, grasshopper. The only person here who's bought more Ducati motors than I have is Jeff Koch. I splurged because I can afford to.

I do not think any Italian bike with a Ducati logo attached to it is the best of any world. Now, if you have an Aprilia or an MV, I might be inclined to agree.

I had a Kobe suit before. It is better made than you might would expect it too be. You can buy them directly from http://www.1888fastlap.com The cheap one that I ordered had more protection padding than some of the higher priced ones that I looked at during that time. I ended up sending it back because it was too small and they didn't have the next size. Also, if you don't like it, return it and order one from somewhere else - they have a no hassle return policy.

Ask 999Duc how he likes his. He just brought one a few weeks ago.

Yeah check out these posts http://speedzilla.zeroforum.co...5833 for some crash test info. After reading the posts I purchased a set of kobe gloves from http://www.1888fastlap.com. I have nothing but good things to say about both. The gloves are high quality, but I haven't crash tested them yet. http://www.1888fastlap.com is an awesome company with great customer service. I highly recommend them. I had just bought a dainese suit a couple weeks before or I probably would have gotten a kobe suit from them.

Check out http://www.topendz.com for some deals on some RS-Taichi stuff.

Also, give the RST leathers a look. They've been getting some good reviews. I'll have a set of the RSTs in a week or two, I'll let you know what I think.

SoCal,
You won't find a better set of leathers at twice the price than the Kobe's. Good fit, 1.7 mil, padding and armor in all of the right places, plus the people at Marietta Motorsports are great to work with. I've got the XPro. It has a little better protection then the Carbon Star. At 6 foot, 200 pounds, 34in waist ,a 50 fits me pretty well. They are great with returns and exchanges as well.
You've got it right as to the best of all worlds.
Everyone needs a 916 for the street and track and GSXR 600 for the track only.
Oh yea, and a BMW for the long haul with my favorite passenger and a KLR for the mountains. Yee Haw!!
Dean

Spyke! I've had Bates, Dainese, and now a pair of Sypke's and by far they are much better made then the other two. I've seen Kobe's at the track and always thought they looked like they should be on the next episod of Star Track! Lot's of shine tin foil like material on them. To each his own I suppose. Spyke's do cost more, but you also pay for what you get!!

you should have seent he crap Spyke leathers that the Ferracci team got when they first came out - hopefully they're better now.

FWIW, there is no shiney, tin foil looking stuff on any of the Kobe suits corrently being offered. Actually they are fairly conservative compared to some on the market now.
Dean

With the input from this thread and the looks of that Kobe Pro Suit I am reconsidering another Dainese!

Im not a star trek fan , but I do have a Kobe X-Pro suit for the track , and a Dainese Ducati Performance Jacket / Pants combo for the street.

I like my Dainese stuff, but the Kobe is suprisingly well made and comfortable considering that they aren't a huge name brand name and the price you can get them for is a plus.

So far , the guys that have actually owned Kobe suits/gear speak highly of them , while the guys who " know someone " or " heard that ..." have negative comments .

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...=WDVW

I had that same suit (in red/black) for about $350 new. I don't think he paid no where near $500.

All my comments below are based on ownership experience and seeing firsthand how a suit handles crashes (which we see a lot of in our local race series. ). These comments are not about comfort, fit, features or anything else, just crash protection and survivability.

The top of the range Dainese, esp. the Ducati stuff is okay and will generally hold up for a few crashes. The lower range Dainese is crap- will fall apart at even the smallest fall. I've seen this time and again, especially when the newer guys (myself included) turn up with what they think are the best suits and then find out they aren't.

The Alpinestars are pretty mediocre and actually the worst suit I have ever seen is the top of the range GP replica (like what Michael Jordan was wearing when he rode the Desmosedici at a 2004 GP). Two of my buddies sprung the cash for them and they literally fell apart at the first fall. Some areas you expect suits to be a little weak like on the chest area when they are perforated. But not on the knees and elbows. The sad thing about the GP replica was that the crashes happened in the rain where the speeds were lower and there is less friction on the suit thanks to surface lubrication on the tarmac. I'd hate to have seen what would have happened if they took a high speed tumble in the dry with them.

This really bothered me cause it is THE most comfortable, lightest, coolest and sexiest suit I have ever tried on- just don't crash in it.

I haven't seen enough examples of the Spyke to comment.

But the name that keeps coming back over and over again is RS Taichi. These things are built to last. One nutcase buddy of mine has had over 10 crashes in the same suit and the stitching is still intact. I have yet to see one tear. I'm not wild about their designs or the way they print the colour onto the suits but it does last and at least it won't bleed red dye over you when you get caught in the rain.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by johan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">But the name that keeps coming back over and over again is RS Taichi. These things are built to last. One nutcase buddy of mine has had over 10 crashes in the same suit and the stitching is still intact. I have yet to see one tear. I'm not wild about their designs or the way they print the colour onto the suits but it does last and at least it won't bleed red dye over you when you get caught in the rain.

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RS-Taichi definitely makes good stuff. The other high-end leathers that you don't see much of on pro racers is Kushitani. A little pricey but really nice quality. They don't believe in paying a rider to wear their suits so you won't see them much on the pro circuit.