New Gloves

Not really sure if this is the place to post this but seemed as appropriate as anywhere.

Since swapping from the Katana I decided that the bike clothing I was wearing (sports leather jacket, leather trousers, sports style boots & gloves) was wrong for a cruiser (bobber now).  I now wear either a Barbour style leather jacket, a plain black leather jacket or a gortex type.  Bought a pair of RST camo combats (fantastic - so much more comfortable than leathers) & a pair of work provided steel toe-capped boots.  Rather than the sports style gloves, I've been using a pair of kevlar lined, leather gloves - cheap & strong.

Then I saw these last week 

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MotoStuka Bloody Shanks Gloves - nice, but I'm not paying eighty quid !!!  Then I remembered I had an unused pair of these 

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Got them from Costco - about £15 for a pack of three - use them for gardening etc, dead comfy & strong.  Bought a bottle of oxblood leather dye & this is the result

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Finished them off with some leather food - not bad for less than £15 !!  If they don't work out, they go back in the shed for gardening.  Adds a touch of colour to my predominately dark attire.

Are you going for the Affleck "daredevil" look!!

Just ordered a cane & gimp mask mate !!  Going for a beer & a game of pool with Jennifer Garner tonight !!!

lucky bastard!!

Not told the missus yet

They look good Dave, looks like a rummage in the shed / greenhouse is in order

Good improvisation Dave, they look great! 

I like the gloves, good move.

That's an incredible job dying those gloves. They look damn near as good as the £80 ones!

I read a while ago that if you have a spill, toe caps boots aren't ideal, because there have been cases of the boot getting mangled and the steel toe cap doing more harm than good.  Just thought I'd pass that on... 

Ps.... I can't talk. Most of the time I just ride round in trainers!

The idea of "boots" is not toe protection you can still walk if they get busted, its ankle protection so unless you have stiff boots that can withstand your ankles being bent at 90' then everything else are simply flip flops!!

that's why I wear whatever shoes I fancy at the time on the 800! comfort first I always say.

  to your improvisation skills Dave

The reason I wear the boots I wear is not for toe protection - only biker I ever knew who had his toes injured, was a mate who had a car park on his foot at the Champs-Elysees.  I wear them for a few reasons, they have good ankle & sole protection, they're completely waterproof, & the clincher - they're free !!

I've worked on the basis that as we ride feet-forward, rather than toes-under, there's a lot less chance of feet being dragged under the bike & damaged.  And I'd like to think that after 35 years of biking, I ride a lot more defensively now than when I was 18.  I know that when I used to ride in full leathers & armoured to the hilt, I'd take a lot more risks - I'm a great believer in the theory of "risk compensation factor"

I have just bought myself a pair of these - just need to break them in

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They look bloody lovely. We need to know more....

Ok Mal - pay attention & sit quietly in class.

Buy a pair of these 

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Wells Lamont Leather Work Gloves

and a bottle of this 

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Fiebings Leather Dye  in your chosen colour - I used oxblood, but there's a whole range.  The 4oz bottle will be enough for one pair

Clean the surface of the gloves to remove any finish already there - I used acetone, any alcohol based cleaner will do.  Now this is important - wear a pair of disposable gloves !!!!  Apply the dye to the gloves - I used a small wedge of car cleaning sponge, it will flow fairly easy.  Do it in a cardboard box - it has a habit of going everywhere.  When you've finished, it'll be quite an uneven finish.  Leave overnight.  The colour will have evened out.   Repeat.  Leave overnight.  I used the small amount remaining on the back of the gloves.  Leave overnight.  I then used a Urad / Renapur type leather conditioner (darkens it down & gives it a waxy finish) & finished off with some wax cotton re-proofing wax which I ran a hot-air gun over on the low setting, just to give it some water resistance.

To be honest, I've no idea how the colour will stand up in the rain - I'll probably end up looking like I've been working in a slaughter-house - for the first few times I wear them, I'll be wearing under-gloves

Excellent, very impressed.

bigmal wrote:

They look bloody lovely. We need to know more....

Sorry Mal - did you mean the gloves or the boots?

You've had the gloves tutorial - these are the boots - Rev'it Bleeker Boots

now YOU should pay attention in class... i meant the boots :)

That's just what the majority of my school reports said - along with the famed "easily distracted".  Probably why I ended up with 3 "O" levels & have spent 35 years buggering around in no-hope jobs !!
But the boots are the dogz !!  Proper bike boots that are good enough to wear down the pub as well.  But I hope you found the glove tutorial helpful - I expect to see you with red hands at some point in the future

Cracking glove tutorial... But go on, tell us, where do you get the boots, what make are they etc....

Mals school report, didn't read a thing 

http://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_prod/205815

I'm feeling dim sim! Where did you find the make???

katsd wrote:

bigmal wrote:

They look bloody lovely. We need to know more....

Sorry Mal - did you mean the gloves or the boots?

You've had the gloves tutorial - these are the boots - Rev'it Bleeker Boots

Just above you Mal 

Dohhhhhh. 

This is where I should add a smug comment - but it looks like Sim got in first !!