Aero Ridley / J106 Repository Thread

[Bfd70]

This is a thread I've long wanted to join. Always liked the simple dpocket design on this. Got lucky with this one. Wiped down and some conditioner getting sun. Previous owner did most of the work but it's 80% broken in and obvious good color development so far. Cxl is manageable. Feels slightly thinner than my brown sheene. I thought the natural was thicker but glad it wasnt tbh.

I'll put some fit pics in other thread later. A tad bit big but that's me being super picky and not my usual tshirt only fit.

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I generally don’t like natural but the warmth of that color is soooo nice.

 

[Aloysius]

My Ridley came in. Wearing a slim-straight (rather than V-shaped) cross zip feels slightly off, given what I’m used to, but this isn’t a bad thing. It’s a 42 but I can’t imagine wearing any slimmer (it’s just barely bigger than my size 40 fit jacket). I’m also greatly relieved that it isn’t as scrotal as some of the Vicenza jackets I’ve seen here over the years, though I expect that would be a drawback to many.

I’m certainly not experiencing the alleged terrible Aero patterning people talk about here at all. Range of movement is excellent, even with the jacket fully fastened.

I’m curious. Are all Ridley jackets/“slim MC” jackets made by Julie?

 

[Seank]

My Ridley came in. Wearing a slim-straight (rather than V-shaped) cross zip feels slightly off, given what I’m used to, but this isn’t a bad thing. It’s a 42 but I can’t imagine wearing any slimmer (it’s just barely bigger than my size 40 fit jacket). I’m also greatly relieved that it isn’t as scrotal as some of the Vicenza jackets I’ve seen here over the years, though I expect that would be a drawback to many.

View attachment 384925

I’m certainly not experiencing the alleged terrible Aero patterning people talk about here at all. Range of movement is excellent, even with the jacket fully fastened.

I’m curious. Are all Ridley jackets/“slim MC” jackets made by Julie?

I was recently told by Carrie that Julie does make all of the Ridleys.
Nice jacket!

 

[hjv2]

My Ridley came in. Wearing a slim-straight (rather than V-shaped) cross zip feels slightly off, given what I’m used to, but this isn’t a bad thing. It’s a 42 but I can’t imagine wearing any slimmer (it’s just barely bigger than my size 40 fit jacket). I’m also greatly relieved that it isn’t as scrotal as some of the Vicenza jackets I’ve seen here over the years, though I expect that would be a drawback to many.

Hmm.... I know Aero can sew on a mouton collar but I didn't know they do it as a detachable as well. How do you find the snap-on construction? Does the mouton sit nicely and solid? Nice looking jacket nevertheless. Congrats! Does it have the Indian Ranger back as well?

 

[Bfd70]

My Ridley came in. Wearing a slim-straight (rather than V-shaped) cross zip feels slightly off, given what I’m used to, but this isn’t a bad thing. It’s a 42 but I can’t imagine wearing any slimmer (it’s just barely bigger than my size 40 fit jacket). I’m also greatly relieved that it isn’t as scrotal as some of the Vicenza jackets I’ve seen here over the years, though I expect that would be a drawback to many.

View attachment 384925


I’m certainly not experiencing the alleged terrible Aero patterning people talk about here at all. Range of movement is excellent, even with the jacket fully fastened.

I’m curious. Are all Ridley jackets/“slim MC” jackets made by Julie?

Beautiful.

 

[Aloysius]

Hmm.... I know Aero can sew on a mouton collar but I didn't know they do it as a detachable as well. How do you find the snap-on construction? Does the mouton sit nicely and solid? Nice looking jacket nevertheless. Congrats! Does it have the Indian Ranger back as well?

Aero won’t do a detachable collar. I had Thurston add it; you can send them a jacket for it and they’ll do it. Other leather shops should be able to do the same; I know people here have had success with Johnson detachable collars.

It’s extremely secure. It has a plain, one piece back, if that’s what you mean. Shows the hide beautifully.

 

[JMax]

Aero won’t do a detachable collar. I had Thurston add it; you can send them a jacket for it and they’ll do it. Other leather shops should be able to do the same; I know people here have had success with Johnson detachable collars.

It’s extremely secure. It has a plain, one piece back, if that’s what you mean. Shows the hide beautifully.

It may be buried here somewhere, but why do they not do a detachable collar? Just curious.

 

[Aloysius]

It may be buried here somewhere, but why do they not do a detachable collar? Just curious.

They did them in the wild years but the method of attachment was not up to Ken’s standards so they were (wisely) discontinued.

You can read a description of the old ones here.

I bought a jacket with a removable collar and I have to say the collar is rubbish the construction and materials are amazing but I just cant get it to sit right . The problem is the collar is just not held securely enough so it rides up then sags then sticks out or bends in a weird shape and seems to have a mind of its own. I will probaby send it back and ask them to put on a permanent fur collar which is what i should have done in the first place but the heart wants what the heart wants and at the time it wanted a removable fur collar . I went and dug out the collar just now and gave it a try..... it just annoyed me all over again that i couldnt get it to sit right LOL but was still impressed with the thickness of the fur they used

I can see why it’s not a priority for Aero as, by its very nature, a detachable collar is an add-on that is made after the jacket. No need for them to do it since a customer could always have that work done somewhere.

 

[JMax]

They did them in the wild years but the method of attachment was not up to Ken’s standards so they were (wisely) discontinued.

You can read a description of the old ones here.


I can see why it’s not a priority for Aero as, by its very nature, a detachable collar is an add-on that is made after the jacket. No need for them to do it since a customer could always have that work done somewhere.

So, they sucked at it and gave up. Got it. Weird. But got it. Thanks.

I should get one for my Chips.

 

[Aloysius]

So, they sucked at it and gave up. Got it. Weird. But got it. Thanks.

I don’t think that’s fair. For one thing, Aero did it under the previous (mis)management. For another, there are definitely trade-offs. The method used by TRMC, Thurston, and others is extremely secure, but it means you can see extra studs with the fur collar off. It’s entirely possible that Aero considers that visually unsatisfactory. The method used by Schott doesn’t show but it’s not as secure.

And being an add on, someone could always have it done.

 

[MrProper]

I was recently told by Carrie that Julie does make all of the Ridleys.

My Ridley, just like my Sheene, was also made by Julie.

 

[Mr Peabody]

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your jackets and fits are unreal

 

[Canuck Panda]

Many moons ago, I came across this photo on the interweb that brought me to lurking at this FDL. Either this or Ton's bootleggers. It's been a while and I can't remember... Anyways, this gent was my inspiration:

Many broken hearts later, here I am, with my hand (aniline see through) glazed "camo" olive / russet vicenza two tone:

I didn't do the inside kidney panel, I intend to use it as a control panel to compare with a few years down the road.
Also the nick at the back was all me. Deeper cuts (broken grain) do not take aniline dye like the rest. I honestly didn't even notice it before, but it became evident after the glaze job. Pigment/paint would take care of that, but my objective was to keep it all natural like the very first photo I posted.

Another thing to mention is that vicenza may not be the best leather for all weather motorist. Although it didn't seem to bother my inspiration who's vicenza jacket probably had more shrinkage in one arm than the other like mine:

I will always be hanging to the right and short on the left... This is NOT Aero QC problem or fault of Vicenza. Just part of life as it happens, like the nick in the back. A story about a healed stab wound would be more dramatic, but mine was probably just a small rock chip when I went to pick up my pizza.

Waiting for the glazing to set in overnight before giving a coat of oil and post some fit pics like my inspiration. And reviving this old thread. Thanks for reading.

 

[Guppy]

Aero just put these images up on their Instagram/Facebook feed, showing the aging of a natural CXL J-106 that might look familiar to longtime TFL readers:

 

[AeroFan_07]

Sure does. Makes me want to buy a similar Ridley now. Hum, Thurston has a few in stock...

 

[Twism_23]

Got my J106 Ridley from Carrie at Thurston Bros. Very happy with them once again!

 

[photo2u]

Looks good on you.

 

[Aloysius]

Got my J106 Ridley from Carrie at Thurston Bros. Very happy with them once again!

Man, everyone else’s Ridley has better sleeve creasing than mine.

You look great!

 

[Cheech]

At the risk of resurrecting a zombie thread, I’m desperate to find out the difference between a J-106 and a Ridley. The context: I placed an order for a slim-fit J-106/Ridley a week ago, but I’m not sure whether that or a regular J-106 is what I want. The folks at Aero tell me that the J-106 is already fairly slim-fitting. Carrie at Thurston Bros. merely adds the the J-106 has a “regular fit.” These generalities are not particularly informative. For instance, are the armholes bigger on the J-106? Are the shoulders narrower on the Ridley? Basically, Is the J-106 to the Cafe racer what the Ridley is to the board racer? If anyone here has owned both, I’d love to hear from you!

 

[Canuck Panda]

At the risk of resurrecting a zombie thread, I’m desperate to find out the difference between a J-106 and a Ridley. The context: I placed an order for a slim-fit J-106/Ridley a week ago, but I’m not sure whether that or a regular J-106 is what I want. The folks at Aero tell me that the J-106 is already fairly slim-fitting. Carrie at Thurston Bros. merely adds the the J-106 has a “regular fit.” These generalities are not particularly informative. For instance, are the armholes bigger on the J-106? Are the shoulders narrower on the Ridley? Basically, Is the J-106 to the Cafe racer what the Ridley is to the board racer? If anyone here has owned both, I’d love to hear from you!

I don't have the J106 or the Ridley. But I do have the Daytona and the Hooche, and from what I understand J106 = Daytona and Hooche = Ridley.

Both in size 40, both pattern will have shoulder in the 19" range. The Hooche (Ridley) measures 1" smaller P2P and 1" higher armhole than the Daytona (J106), but it fits about the same. Because the waist and hem is about the same. That's probably why Aero says they are both slim fitting, I think it's about the waist and hem.

But the Hooche/Ridley is a more modern pattern. Mobility and comfort wise. It doesn't allow layering at the same size tag size because of the higher armhole, so if you want layering you'd have go with the regular J106/Daytona or go up one size in the Hooche/Ridley and have it a bit loser at the waist. It has the lower armhole thus the 1" bigger P2P for ease of getting in and out of the jacket. Where the Hooche / Ridley excel over the regular J106/Daytona is the neck line. It doesn't put pressure on the back of the neck when I put my hands in the pockets. But J106/Daytona has no pockets for me to put my hands in so there is that. So really comes down to if you want a t-shirt only jacket that's comfortable or a jacket that can wear a sweatshirt with and still comfortable given there is no hand warmers to pull the neck forward.

If I knew about how to order the Ridley years ago, I would've gotten the Ridley, and just go up one size for layering. The neck line makes all the difference.

Armhole diffs and neck line diffs: