Aero Steerhide

[Fanch]

PAWINEGUY, your points regarding CR vs. Sheen collar and choice of color and inside pocket(s) are well made. My preference for an inside pocket is one without closure.

 

[handymike]

You may want the sleeves a touch longer (we're talking 1/2" or so) if you are going to ride with it. Keep in mind that the FQHH sleeves will ride up (shorten) 1/4-1/2" depending on how your jacket creases.
Other than that, a great fit!

 

[philosophy101]

I used Carrie and shes the one who recommended a board racer 42 fit jacket after i was dissapointed with a cafe racer fit. Very glad i was patient. I also think the lenght could be a little shorter but that s just nitpicking, i wont change a thing fit wise.

Now i have to give my custom choices.

I've changed my mind many times in the last 2 weeks since the board racer is a slightly different so here it goes.

Black FQHH
keep the exact design of the fit jacket
maybe add 2 hand warmer pockets
vintage talon brass zippers (I saw on the aero website that they had old stock)

Or
Sheene collar
Brown FQHH
maybe add 2 hand warmer pockets
vintage talon brass zippers (I saw on the aero website that they had old stock)

Or buy 2 jackets, just kidding

I concur with all the above commenters that the fit looks perfect for you. I like your second scenario with the Sheene collar and hand warmer pockets. Personally, I couldn't live without them. And I think brown would be a good color for you. Adds a bit of (visual) warmth. Good luck, and enjoy!

 

[RJR]

Looks perfect in my opinion.

 

[Mike D]

Oh, man. Brown.....black.....brown....black, etc.. I love them both

 

[Fanch]

If you don't keep the fit BR, my input would be a size 42 BR with HWM/Sheene collar. Since you ride, brown FQHH and maybe add 1/2" to 3/4" to the sleeves of your fit BR. HOWEVER, your most valuable source of input should come from Thurston Bros. Good luck with your final decision.

 

[Carlos840]

You may want the sleeves a touch longer (we're talking 1/2" or so) if you are going to ride with it. Keep in mind that the FQHH sleeves will ride up (shorten) 1/4-1/2" depending on how your jacket creases.
Other than that, a great fit!

I find the whole sleeve shortening to be somewhat of a myth!

To me, a sleeve will only really shorten when creasing if it was too long in the first place. I have 5 leather jackets, with sleeves ranging from 25" to 27.5"
As a test i put my jacket with the shortest sleeves on and marked my wrists with a pen. i then tried every single jacket i own... Guess what? all my jackets reached the same point at my wrist.
This lead me to believe that the jacket will only really shorten if it needs to.

What confirmed my suspicion was the Lewis Leathers i recently bought for my girlfriend. She has an arm slightly longer than the other, probably a little less than an inch (FYI we all have that, my right arm is 1cm longer than my left)
When the jacket was new, it was super obvious and it really looked like one sleeve was 1" longer than the other... I actually first thought that LL had screwed up the sleeves, but they were both exactly the same length.
After break in, both sleeves look the same length and reach the same point at her wrists. The sleeve on the shorter arm just creased more than the other one to make up for the difference.

So, i really believe that people saying "my sleeves shrunk by 1" actually had sleeves that were to long in the first place, which is why they creased so much.
Considering most people on this forum have a tendency to like super long sleeves, i am not surprised that most get a lot of shrinking during break in.

 

[Mike D]

This is what I sent to Carrie

-Design exactly like fit jacket but with Sheene style collar.
-Same inside pocket style as fit jacket.(no button, no closure) (least visible from the outside).
-Hand warmer pockets.
-Authentic vintage brass zippers, Talon or Conmar ( I saw on the Aero website that they had 50 year old stock.( what ever you recommend)
-Same inside lining setup but something in red.
-As dark as possible CX Brown FQHH
-I will let you give me advice on the sleeve length and body length.(Please look at my fit pics)

 

[Carlos840]

This is what I sent to Carrie

-Design exactly like fit jacket but with Sheene style collar.
-Same inside pocket style as fit jacket.(no button, no closure) (least visible from the outside).
-Hand warmer pockets.
-Authentic vintage brass zippers, Talon or Conmar ( I saw on the Aero website that they had 50 year old stock.( what ever you recommend)
-Same inside lining setup but something in red.
-As dark as possible CX Brown FQHH
-I will let you give me advice on the sleeve length and body length.(Please look at my fit pics)

Very nice!

Personally i would not change anything regarding length...
I think the body length is perfect, yes it covers your pockets, but that style is supposed to be longer, as long as the zipper starts above your belt you should be fine when sitting down.
Sleeves are perfect too, to me they are already on the longer side, but as i said earlier on, they will crease and shrink somewhat.

 

[ProteinNerd]

I personally prefer in a sheene (and most Sheene jackets seem to have) only 1 chest pocket, you didn't specify either way. Just thought I'd mention it in case it was something you missed.

 

[Mike D]

I personally prefer in a sheene (and most Sheene jackets seem to have) only 1 chest pocket, you didn't specify either way. Just thought I'd mention it in case it was something you missed.

Good point, forgot about that. I like the 2 chest pockets, well, let me think about that for a while.

 

[Superfluous]

If I received that fit jacket, I would not send it back!

What are the dimensions of the fit jacket?

 

[Mike D]

If I received that fit jacket, I would not send it back!

What are the dimensions of the fit jacket?

I want HH Not Goat.
The sleeve length is 27 inches and the body length is 26.5 inches.

 

[ButteMT61]

I want HH Not Goat.

 

[Mike D]

Carrie recommend repro talon zippers for the Board racer?? because vintage wont match the sleeves. What should I get?? Antique brass or regular???? AHHHHH, i'm not sure because i read previous posts and noticed some people said the vintage brass reproductions looked cheesy.

 

[Carlos840]

Carrie recommend repro talon zippers for the Board racer?? because vintage wont match the sleeves. What should I get?? Antique brass or regular???? AHHHHH, i'm not sure because i read previous posts and noticed some people said the vintage brass reproductions looked cheesy.

See for yourself:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/alexander-leathers-cafe-racer.80054/

I know, it's not an Aero, but it's the same hardware, I don't think it looks cheesy.

 

[Mike D]

See for yourself:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/alexander-leathers-cafe-racer.80054/

I know, it's not an Aero, but it's the same hardware, I don't think it looks cheesy.

Yes, those zippers are exactly what i am looking for. Are they vintage brass talon reproductions?

 

[Carlos840]

Yes they are!

Full disclosure, the zipper failed after a month and i now have a RiRi that is the same colour and works great.

 

[Mike D]

STYLE- Board Racer Sheene (Board Racer with Highwayman collar) with three-pocket front (left side horizontal chest pocket and two handwarmer pockets), no wind flap, J-100 style back with straight yoke, vertical seam and no kidney panel, and Olive Drab stitching

SIZE- 42

LEATHER- CXL FQHH

Brown (darkest color available)

GRAIN- Standard

ZIPPER METAL TYPE- Nickel Talon front zipper (Sunburst box) with nickel Talon bell pulls on all four pockets

LINING- Holyrood Modern lightweight tartan lining with black cotton drill in sleeves

INSIDE POCKETS- Left side vertical interior pocket with no closure

Order has been processed, no turning back now, i think it will look very nice. Thank you for all your help guys, you've been very helpfull. Now the wait begins.

 

[2wheelgrplr]

Mike D thanks for sharing your fit pics. I know you've gone with a different order, but like others here, let me start by saying that the fit jacket looked pretty close to perfect on you. Now, extra sincere thanks from my side because your fit pics are helping me decide between an Aero cafe racer (Sonoma/Fontana) and a Board Racer/Buco. I have a Fontana and like a few others here, I had to have about a half inch or so added the body to make it wider. Right now the jacket fits well on top but lower body feels a bit tight (granted I need to lose a few pounds on my waist), also upper back looks to me like they're a bit roomy - basically, I think a tubular fit might work (& look) better on me, and your pics seem to be pointing in this direction as well. Much obliged!