BBC1 7.30pm Tonight

[Alanzzg]

And dont ride like a twat

[Alanzzg]

My advice is to get the best safety wear you can afford , the cheapest is better than nothing ,
as long as you know what you are getting for your money

[MrGrumpy]

Fake leathers are better than t shirts and shorts ,
I haven't got 3 or £400 for a jacket , so yes I would have a fake one .

Yeah...and I was surprised at how long the fake jacket lasted in the abrasion test! I do wonder how long 'proper' bike textile jackets would last in the same test - there was a test in Ride a while back which suggested that the answer would be not long!

However, apart from the safety aspect, there is of course the issue is that the goods are being represented as genuine Yamaha/Dainese when they aren't. I may be happy to have a fake (though probably not fake safety gear), but I don't want to pay genuine prices for it!

[Bluebottle]

Its a pity they didnt say anything about seam strength, that is usually the weakest link

The abrasion strength isn't worth anything if the seams split as soon as the leather hits the ground because it was single stitched instead of triple stitched with decent thread

[MrGrumpy]

Its a pity they didnt say anything about seam strength, that is usually the weakest link

The abrasion strength isn't worth anything if the seams split as soon as the leather hits the ground because it was single stitched instead of triple stitched with decent thread

True - Some of the riders who inspected it said the stitching looked rubbish, though what their knowledge of these matters were wasn't stated!

[JohnR93]

Fake leathers are better than t shirts and shorts ,
I haven't got 3 or £400 for a jacket , so yes I would have a fake one .

Were they 'fake' leather or real leather unlicensed copies?

[spaceprobe]

Its an interesting point, when you are in main land China there are outlet shops everywhere. Now are they selling fakes, knocked off copies from the production line or seconds? I got a North Face coat, sells for £450 here for £22. I have been out in the rain and cold in the winter in it and its been fine, would I go fell walking in the middle of winter in it, I am not sure. Is a nylon North Face coat made in China worth £450, I think not, its the same reason I would never have an overpriced Iphone.

[Gerard C]

Spaceprobe has stated the fake dilemma very well. If you know its fake and it does the job you want it to do then from a performance point of view does it matter?
But then we have to ask our selves if the manufacturers design costs, their development costs etc. justify the manufacturers asking price. In my opinion the answer is that I'm not that bothered by labels so its price versus performance that I judge on. Of course performance and what features are worth are in the eye of the beholder. See Sylars comments on the Burgman 650. The knobs and whistles are worth it to me but not to him but the Honda and Suzuki are both good bikes by most if not all standards.

[spaceprobe]

Its an interesting point, when you are in main land China there are outlet shops everywhere. Now are they selling fakes, knocked off copies from the production line or seconds? I got a North Face coat, sells for £450 here for £22. I have been out in the rain and cold in the winter in it and its been fine, would I go fell walking in the middle of winter in it, I am not sure. Is a nylon North Face coat made in China worth £450, I think not, its the same reason I would never have an overpriced Iphone.

You're daft fell walking in the middle of winter whatever you're wearing, you'll be fine in your North Face lookee-likee coat as there aren't any fells in Brighton!

I also bought a pair of Timberland boots for £12 over £100 here. Walked in the snow (on the rare occasion we get it in Brighton), warm and dry feet.

[MrGrumpy]

Well, they trouble is with 'fake' or copy goods is that you never know exactly what you are getting. You might end up getting exactly the same thing from the same factory as the 'real' product, but without the very expensive designer label. OR, you might end up with some sort of badly designed badly made product. If you aren't an expert, its can be hard to judge.
Obviously being made in China or Pakistan is not in itself a problem - I'm told that iPhones are made in China, and I've bought quite a few Tuzo products which are made in Pakistan, which are well made, if not exactly the best design sometimes - but cheap.
The fake Yamaha race suits obviously were leather, but no doubt cheaper leather and probably not that well made. They may not have been too bad in an accident, though as I said earlier, they were masquerading as genuine stuff. Dunno how good my Tuzo leather jacket & trousers would be in crash, but they only cost £60 the pair, and didn't pretend to be by Dainese!

As for bike products, being mean, I've always shied away from very expensive high profile brands - eg Rukka suits at £800 or whatever, as there's probably decent gear much cheaper (I bought a end of line Weise jacket for £120 last year and its fabulous - you feel you could ride to the North Pole in it). There again, I fork out for Arai helmets, so obviously I'm not at all consistent!