Glossary

BKS only make made to measure suits and the manufacture of any leather motorcycle suit is something of a challenge: how to make them work in the riding position, yet still be comfortable off the bike? The fit will be different for different areas of the body: we rely on our 28 years of experience and feedback from thousands of previous customers (police and civilian). Factors such as under garments, personal preference and riding position are taken into account when deciding how tight or loose the suit should be made. However, safety must dictate the fit in the most important areas. Measures need to be taken over underwear only, to ensure the body shape can be accurately recorded. The measurements are detailed and extensive - there are no further fittings until the suit is completed. Your first fitting is when the suit is presented to you but if modifications are needed a free of charge alteration service is on hand. If something is not to your preference, or if you feel the suit hasn't broken-in after reasonable use (approx. 40 hours of use), this service is free for up to 12 months after the completion date. (Note: Your weight is recorded at the time of measurements, and if this changes significantly, alterations may incur a charge).

1. The suit has pre-formed arms that are lifted up and forward so that the cuffs remain at the correct length when reaching for the handlebars. The side effect of this may mean the cuff feels short and that some bagginess appears behind the shoulder blades when off the bike.
2. For the same reason, the chest is cut between 2” and 5” looser than your body measurement. More room is given at the back, and hence the suit feels tighter across the front when off the bike. (minimum 2” for race suits and up to 5” for touring jackets)
3. The suit needs extra length down the back, and is helped by a large stretch panel in the back waist of the trouser. The side effect is a dropped look to the backside.
4. The suit has pre-bent knees for sitting, especially as the lower leg is fitted and contains impact protectors. The side effect is pronounced, or 'baggy', knees when off the bike.
5. The cuffs and ankles are designed to fit over thin sleeves and thin socks respectively. For comfort reasons they need to be tailored to fit neatly under a glove and inside a boot without bulk. CE Approval dictates they must be tight enough to stay in place and not ride up.
6. Watches, especially large ones, are not normally catered for as this would mean altering one wrist size unsafely.
7. The suit comes with body armour fitted, and this plays a vital role. Unlike a helmet, hard shell materials do not work best. Lightweight plastic and foam protectors seen in less expensive suits simply encourage holes in leather. They aren’t as comfortable, and most only just meet with CE Approval at a lower level of impact.

Originally used by BKS for it’s gloves, this has since been replaced by Kangaroo. Goat skin has very good tensile strength and is favoured for gloves in many sporting activities where durability and dexterity combine.

A classification from the Cambridge Standard and equal to
European Standard Level 3 of EN13595 pts 1 – 4.
Favoured by the Police, Ministry of Defence and other
professional user groups in the Emergency Services, this
standard has been reached by only a handful of passionate
manufacturers.
At the time of writing none of the serious major brands offer a
CE Approved suit let alone to High Performance / Level 3. Have a
look at the links to our definitions on CE Approval and the
Cambridge Standard to see just how few take this seriously
enough to do so.

See armour.

Jackets make up the upper half of our two piece suits, but can also be bought alone. Our plain 100 Series jackets are the most popular, and these can be ordered in more generous sizes if you wish to wear them alone, i.e. not connected to trousers. True fitting jackets are only as long and as wide around the waist as the true fit of your made to measure trouser. This can sometimes be deemed insufficient if you really want to wear your jacket separately. Otherwise they will contain a 360 degree zip to connect as required.

Tailored with pre-cut arms that are lifted forward, jackets are anatomically shaped shorter at the front and longer in the back to allow for ultimate comfort when sitting on the bike. The neckline is scooped away from the throat and again at the back of the neck so no matter what position you ride in, there is no resistance to head movement in any direction.

Detachable linings come as standard, as does CE Approved High Performance armour, choices between perforated leather or stretch Kevlar for your inserts and BKS markings as desired. The jacket waistband can be styled plain all round or fitted with a front belt for additional styling, and a reinforced rear section containing 6mm PVC Nitrile padding to add support and protection.

You can upgrade your jacket with more ventilation if preferred and add accessories such as a back protector, Polartec fleece lining and a higher performance limb armour.

Levels of kinetic energy are measured in Joules (J) and when testing Impact Protectors the amount of energy absorbed is measured by the amounts of force in KiloNewtons (KN) passed through and onto the rider. The less force the less injury and anything less than 35KN is deemed acceptable. The European Standard suggests that when hit by an impact equivalent to 50J tested armour will pass CE Approval when 35KN or less is registered as the remaining force felt by the rider.

However, 50J is equivalent to the impacts you might receive when bouncing down the road at 30mph. Just because some impact protectors are CE marked, check again on manufacturers technical details or ask for figures to see just how good it really is.

BKS 4 - layer armour passes at 100J - twice the European Standard, and we know of nothing better offered by our competitors.

KEVLAR® is a manmade organic para-aramid fiber and is used today in a wide variety of industrial applications. It is extremely strong yet lightweight and has the advantage of reinforcing other fabrics. Such a fabric is one known by it’s brand name of Keprotec. Originally designed for downhill skiers, this is a combination fabric comprising Cordura, Kevlar and Lycra. Dupont makes all 3 fibres, which are then woven together by Schoeller, another company based in Switzerland.

We use this fabric to make the various comfort inserts found throughout our suits, but unlike suits that don’t carry the CE Approval, we add to this another layer of pure knitted Kevlar to ensure the required performance. Suits using just one layer of Keprotec will fail safety standards – beware!

Fitted at the top of the shin and offset to the side, our knee sliders come in three types and are fixed in place using very secure Velcro. The petals surrounding the slider puck can be matched to your suit from any of our normal leather colours, including the addition of gel coated Carbon fibre. The pucks are as follows:
> All Leather  - for a softer and more planed feel in corners
> Sports Compound – a high profile all rounder with a deep leading edge for extra lifespan
> Race Compound – a hard wearing polyurethane oval slider which was voted Best Slider by MCN a few years back

Our leather is 1.3mm - 1.5mm thick. It must meet with a performance criteria involving tear resistance, burst strength and abrasion resistance.  This is tested as part of the Cambridge Standard for CE Approval.  Our hides normally come from South America, although in black only we now offer two upgrade hides – Bullhide at 1.6mm to 1.8mm and Deercow 1.4mm to 1.6mm (see links) - for customers who are happy to spend a little more.

Many areas within the suit are made up from 2 layers for extra protection - always placed inside the suit; covering shoulder and top arm; elbow to cuff; hips, seat and thighs, knees and shin. These areas are defined by a minimum requirement known as zone 2 in the Cambridge Standard.  Shown in the cut outs below in light grey with the armour in place behind.

The armour is attached with 2” width Velcro to these second layers of internal leather. This ensures that protectors stay in place but also allows for comfort adjustment. Internal layers of leather are seamed separately to the outer suit to give maximum performance to seam strength.  To burst two seams independently requires more pressure than to burst one extra thick seam.