Hi. Longtime lurker but first time poster. I found this forum extremely valuable when I was deciding on the details of a new motorcycle jacket and figured that i should help other prospective purchasers by reviewing it.
I ended up ordering an Aero J106 in Brown FQHH with detachable Mouton Collar through Carrie at Thurston Brothers, who was great to deal with. Its largely in the stock configuration other than the collar and an inside pocket and i chose a cotton tartan lining.
Its a beautiful jacket but has some drawbacks for actual motorcycle use that I figured might be useful to know for other prospective buyers.
The first issue i had when riding is that the belt is too heavy for the snaps to hold reliably and the weight of the buckle causes the belt to fall if left unbuckled. I was able to remedy that issue by adding a snap to the belt and jacket near the buckle, and another in the center of the belt through the leather panel in the rear of the jacket. For anyone considering the J106 for actual riding use you may want to see if Thurston bros or Aero can do the same for yours. Or see if its possible to add the attached half belt of other models to the J106.
The next drawback of the Aero, at least compared to the 80’s schott perfecto it replaced, is that the sleeves remain fairly wide even when zipped. This makes it hard to stay warm when riding unless you can find very large guantlett style gloves. I did discuss my concern at this possibility with Carrie when ordering but would recomend seeking specific measurement for the cuff openings if you intend to use the jacket on a bike.
For actual motorcycle use I also feel that the supplied Talon zipper is less than ideal. It works smoothly but is very small and hard to line up which made it almost impossible to use when the horsehide was still stiff and is still not very user friendly when trying to work it using cold hands when riding in colder temperatures. You may want to seek other options if you will be riding in the jacket.
I chose a cotton tartan lining and asked for room for layering as i hoped to use the jacket in a wide range of temperatures. If I was doing it again I think I would order a quilted rayon liner similar to that in my Schott. The weight of the leather alone precludes its use in warm temperatures, at least for me as I run fairly warm to begin with and ride an air cooled bike in an area with a lot of traffic. The cotton lining adds no warmth at all when the temperature drops so im glad Carrie/Aero did a great job in sizing to allow for layering, but I feel the rayon or maybe a wool tartan would be more useful in a bike jacket.
If I was ordering again I would also strongly consider the medium weight horsehide or at least enquire if the jacket could be made of a mix of the fqhh for the main panels and sleeves and lighter hide for the d-pocket and areas like the storm flap. The FQHH is gorgeous but it is heavy and can be very stiff when riding in colder temps, especially in parts of the jacket with a lot of overlapping layers. Based on the quality of this hide i would feel comfortable trusting a lighter version in a slide.
Overall I love the jacket and its just getting better with abuse, but I had a hard time finding reviews from people who actually ride when I was contemplating my order and hope some of this info will help give back to this forum for the help I did get in finding the right jacket for me.
I also couldnt recomend ordering through Thurston bros more. Carrie was incredibly helpful and getting a jacket to try on, although it was a highwayman, was very important. I’m 6’2” 280 and ordinarily wear a 52L or 50L and would never have guessed that a 48 with added length and a bit of extra room in the waist would have been the right size for me.
Good luck in the hunt for your “the jacket”. Ive found mine but would have done a few things differently in hindsight.
I ended up ordering an Aero J106 in Brown FQHH with detachable Mouton Collar through Carrie at Thurston Brothers, who was great to deal with. Its largely in the stock configuration other than the collar and an inside pocket and i chose a cotton tartan lining.
Its a beautiful jacket but has some drawbacks for actual motorcycle use that I figured might be useful to know for other prospective buyers.
The first issue i had when riding is that the belt is too heavy for the snaps to hold reliably and the weight of the buckle causes the belt to fall if left unbuckled. I was able to remedy that issue by adding a snap to the belt and jacket near the buckle, and another in the center of the belt through the leather panel in the rear of the jacket. For anyone considering the J106 for actual riding use you may want to see if Thurston bros or Aero can do the same for yours. Or see if its possible to add the attached half belt of other models to the J106.
The next drawback of the Aero, at least compared to the 80’s schott perfecto it replaced, is that the sleeves remain fairly wide even when zipped. This makes it hard to stay warm when riding unless you can find very large guantlett style gloves. I did discuss my concern at this possibility with Carrie when ordering but would recomend seeking specific measurement for the cuff openings if you intend to use the jacket on a bike.
For actual motorcycle use I also feel that the supplied Talon zipper is less than ideal. It works smoothly but is very small and hard to line up which made it almost impossible to use when the horsehide was still stiff and is still not very user friendly when trying to work it using cold hands when riding in colder temperatures. You may want to seek other options if you will be riding in the jacket.
I chose a cotton tartan lining and asked for room for layering as i hoped to use the jacket in a wide range of temperatures. If I was doing it again I think I would order a quilted rayon liner similar to that in my Schott. The weight of the leather alone precludes its use in warm temperatures, at least for me as I run fairly warm to begin with and ride an air cooled bike in an area with a lot of traffic. The cotton lining adds no warmth at all when the temperature drops so im glad Carrie/Aero did a great job in sizing to allow for layering, but I feel the rayon or maybe a wool tartan would be more useful in a bike jacket.
If I was ordering again I would also strongly consider the medium weight horsehide or at least enquire if the jacket could be made of a mix of the fqhh for the main panels and sleeves and lighter hide for the d-pocket and areas like the storm flap. The FQHH is gorgeous but it is heavy and can be very stiff when riding in colder temps, especially in parts of the jacket with a lot of overlapping layers. Based on the quality of this hide i would feel comfortable trusting a lighter version in a slide.
Overall I love the jacket and its just getting better with abuse, but I had a hard time finding reviews from people who actually ride when I was contemplating my order and hope some of this info will help give back to this forum for the help I did get in finding the right jacket for me.
I also couldnt recomend ordering through Thurston bros more. Carrie was incredibly helpful and getting a jacket to try on, although it was a highwayman, was very important. I’m 6’2” 280 and ordinarily wear a 52L or 50L and would never have guessed that a 48 with added length and a bit of extra room in the waist would have been the right size for me.
Good luck in the hunt for your “the jacket”. Ive found mine but would have done a few things differently in hindsight.
