Due to the recent spell of incredibly hot weather I would be interested in getting some moto-cross type body armour to wear on the bike instead of my leathers. Does anyone have any suggestions. Ive seen some on ebay that are CE approved for about £35 but that seems a bit cheap for good gear. Im not intending to ride hundreds of miles in it. Just a few to work and back.

I realise its not quite as safe as leathers, but its better than just a t-shirt.

Personally I'd advise against it, mate.
Better to sweat than bleed.

Better still to approach Finn, who recently bought some lovely textiles from Hein Gericke that are so light and airy he described them as "what I imagine riding naked would be like". Sure he won't mind directing you to the right ones....

I believe they are still armoured.
Myself, I have a pair of gloves (also from HG) that do this sort of thing and they are the mutts nuts!!

Rgds,
Woody.

I got the same as Finn I think (based on his recommendation ) - HG Mesh Textile trousers and jacket.
I'd wholeheartedly recommend them , very comfortable, and as you say, armoured.
It was 200 quid for both I think, plus another ~20 quid for a proper back protector to go in the jacket (it comes with a bit of foam).

When I went in they had 2 different versions of mesh gear, I think one (the cheaper) was the previous generation and then the ones I got were the newer generation (but a bit more expensive), the newer ones seemed to have more mesh so seemed like they would be cooler so thats what I got.

If you havent seen mesh gear, its like an open weave textile type material, when you have it on it just looks like regular textiles from a distance but if you hold it up to the light you can see through it.

HG arent the only ones to do mesh gear, there is joe rocket and a few others, I just went for HG as there is a shop local.

Never been down the road in it (and hopefully never will) so I cant comment on its protection level but on temparature its definately the coolest I have worn as the air just passes straight through the mesh material, even sitting at traffic lights you can feel the slightest breeze though it.

wolverine posted a review of the joe rocket jacket here. I had a look at it too (Infinity stock them), but personally preferred the HG one, YMMV.

Well it's getting that bad that I succumbed to the lure of a light jacket and left the leather at home, however I did note that I wasn't making the same progress as usual. maybe i need to visit HG

I still wear my leathers. I just have a spare shirt at work, but am lucky as they have provided a shower, not that I've ever needed to use it.

I'm with Woody, sweat rather than bleed every time.

oh ... stinky



I use my mesh jacket all the time, more comfoprtable than my current leathers, but picking up my new ones next week... so looking forward to gettin all hot n sweaty while I break them in in this heat

I'm lucky to be spoilt for choice Hein Gericke Taureg jacket & pants (well vented, designed for desert/Dakar type riding), Fieldsheer Mach1 mesh jacket and my Halvarsson Safety jacket (although its heavier than the others it uses an insulating compound which keeps your temp about the same as body temp - very good ce approved kit but it comes at a price).
Also have a foil blanket to cover my seat (when its parked), looks naff but no matter what you wear a black seat always heats up in the sun, and male or female a hot seaty crotch is never that pleasant

the big differencve between coming of when moto-Xing and coming off on the road is TARMAC !!!!!!!!!!

I's horrid stuff and flays the skin AND the flesh off the human body in no time. Did you know that you can actually die from too much damage to your skin (which is the largest organ of the body) without any other major trauma?
And if you don't die you could be left - like a friend of mine - with a limb that doesn't work properly cos there's flesh missing and tendon damage. He's lucky, he can still ride but it limits his choice of bikes as it's his cluch hand/arm.

Really not worth risking it.

Only on the way home. On the way to work at 7:00 the air is lovely and cool.

Cool... thanks for all the input, so steer clear is the suggestion. I cant really afford to buy a new jacket just for the 2 months of summer we get in the UK... will just have to grin and bear it in the leather jacket for now.

There should be some summer gear bargains at the end of the season which will have you sorted for next year. I highly reccomend the Hein Gericke Toureg clothing. Super cool.