First look: Richa Cyclone GTX jacket and trousers

For most riders these days, a good solid textile riding suit makes a lot of sense as general riding kit, unless you’re looking to ride a lot on track. Modern textiles are comfy, protective, and better able to be tweaked for ideal weather protection than leathers. Current high-end suits have removable liners, waterproof membranes, tough impact protection zones and venting systems for summer use.

So we’ve got high expectations for this Richa Cyclone suit, which we’ve just got on test. We picked it because it comes in special ‘long’ fitments and our tester, Martin Hill, is a very tall chap, with long shanks, and he struggles to get trousers to fit. Martin is one of our very nice kit testers, who we’ve signed up as VD helpers, and he puts in massive mileage on his (two!) Honda VFRs, travelling about Surrey and the south-east for his job working in the aviation industry.

Martin will be testing the Cyclone out for us – and trust me, he’s very particular indeed, with a supremely analytical approach. Luckily, the Richa suit got the thumbs-up straight away for fit, style and ease of use. We’ll check back with him in a few weeks to see how the suit gets on, and will keep you posted on its performance throughout the summer and into autumn and winter.

In terms of spec, the suit ticks all the high-end boxes, with a breathable Gore-Tex membrane, removable thermal liner, D3O armour, supplied back protector, comprehensive venting system and top-level YKK zippers throughout. It’s packed with pockets and handy touches, and comes in a vast range of sizes – up to 12XL (jacket) and 6XL (trousers), incredibly.

COSTS: £429.99 (jacket) £329.99 (trousers)

FROM: www.nevis.co.uk

Also available in black/yellow, titanium and grey colourschemes.