Clothing on my sidecar...

[Edward]

BELSTAFF BELSTAFF BELSTAFF

www.belstaff.net

oh ya... and also Belstaff. As long as you want to pay through the nose

Ha, yeah.... Belstaff have some lovely stuff, but they are on the pricey side. Thing that really killed them for me was that the more vintage looking designs (angled left breat pocket etc) are generally only available as limited edition ones, with a correspondingly higher price tag. The Che Guevara model is lovely - a repro (supposedly spot on.... I don't know for sure, but it does look great) of the jacket guevara wore on his Motorcycle Diaries trip.

 

[David Conwill]

I just discovered this in the back of The Classic Motorcycle, a British publication available at my Barnes & Noble:

It's the "Elite Patrol Jacket" in "antique brown" from bikersparadise.co.uk

I just grabbed the image off their website. They're listing it at £189, available in sizes 36-54 mens. I don't know about you, cbrunt, but this is exactly what I've been looking for.

Unfortunately, with the exchange rate being what it is, I'm afraid it's a very pricey jacket at the moment.

-Dave

 

[Edward]

My dad picked up some gear from Bikers' Paradise at one point, and found them to be great on both customer service and price. My own Brando style jacket came from Leather Paradise in the US (really helpful folks - Alex I dealt with). I've been wearing it since late 02, and it is still going strong. Cowhide. It's not the same as one of Aero's great horsehide examples (which I intend to replace it with one day), but for less than a quarter of the price it does the job admirably!

 

[cbrunt]

Hill Climb Video

Hi Gang,

Found a really nice late 1930s hill climb video. Lots of great action and several general views of enthusiasts and their clothing (both riders and bystanders).

http://www.helmethairblog.com/entries/good-motorcycle-hill-climb-video-from-the-1930s/

Many of the riders wear sweaters with company name but several are simply in street clothes. Gotta love the football helmet the one guy is wearing !! Oh for the days when racing (and other things) weren't so specialized and the average Joe with some moxy could tackle the hill...

Clint

 

[Graemsay]

I don't own a bike (yet), but I'm taking a course in how to ride them in a few weeks, so I've been doing a bit of research.

Given a choice, I'd wear a full set of leathers (either one piece or, more likely, zip together), made to measure, and with the best armour I could buy, and ideally rated to the CE standard for protective gear.

In the UK that would mean BKS, Crowtree, Hideout and MJK (Dutch). I don't know the US market, but Vanson do a made-to-measure two piece.

BKS make a suit that's got an almost traditionally styled jacket. Here's a link to the PDF describing it (I can't link direct to the page as the site is Flash based):

http://www.bksleather.co.uk/pdfs/BKS_ORIGINALS_100SPL.pdf

Or ask the classic bike racers what they wear.

Otherwise, if I was more interested in the look, I'd get an Aero or Lost Worlds jacket and a pair of leather trousers, and wear a Forcefield armoured shirt and leggings underneath.

Someone suggested an A-2. I heard someone mention that they were looking at getting a kangaroo skin one, and since that's used for lightweight race suits, it'd be the ideal choice. Again, add the armour underneath, and look at reinforcing the elbows and shoulders with a double thickness.

 

[Edward]

Another thing that occurs to me..... I remember seeing advertisements in a classic bikes mag that dad had when I was last over with the folks (February, I think).... if memory serves, it was an Italian company.... they were offering a range of armoured denim products. Priarily intended as a breathable, Summer alternative to fully armoured leathers, though they did have one model in their catalogue that looked exactly like a pair of regular 50s cut jeans, save that there was concealed armour built in. The ultimate combination of Brandoesque looks and modern safety protection?

 

[Obob]

How About This?

www.goldenagemotorcycleclothing.com

Looks pricey, but really "right". I just found this in the last day or so; been looking for this kind of stuff for years. Of course, it'd be good if I had a motorcycle first:eusa_doh: ; that's what happens when you've got almost too many "retro" projects in front of you. Oh well, it's good to be busy...

Good luck to you!

Obob

 

[Hawk_Eye]

Obviously not suitable for summer wear, but on those colder fall days I think an Irvin with 36 pattern flying boots worn with jeans would look killer on a vintage bike.

 

[Edward]

The stuff on that Golden Age site looks great.... a bit pricey, yes. Though the shirts seem competitively priced against similar western shirts I've seen selling in neo-rockabilly stores over here.... and a bonus that they're cotton, so (presumably) washable (a lot of the western shirts I have found in goth stores and what not here in London are dry clean only.... makes it a very expensive shirt if you wear it regularly!). Might look into those down the line...

 

[Lefty]

On the shirts page:

"Click here to more see shirt examples"

Is this a joke? I stopped reading at that point.
If you can't proofread your own website, I'm not going to trust you to provide me with quality goods.

 

[David Conwill]

On the shirts page:

"Click here to more see shirt examples"

Is this a joke? I stopped reading at that point.
If you can't proofread your own website, I'm not going to trust you to provide me with quality goods.

I agree, the website is somewhat underwhelming, but I get the feeling these are guys that do a lot more sales at events from a booth, internet sales being something of an afterthought.

-Dave

 

[Obob]

On the shirts page:

"Click here to more see shirt examples"

Is this a joke? I stopped reading at that point.
If you can't proofread your own website, I'm not going to trust you to provide me with quality goods.

Is this a response to my post regarding www.goldenagemotorcycleclothing.com? If so...

First of all, it's not "my" website. All I did was note a website that perhaps offered what the intial poster was looking for. When I find something new, I like to share it; I thought that that was the way people did things on these forums.

Maybe I was wrong...

Obob

 

[Lefty]

I did not think that it was your site, and I'm happy that you and everyone else here shares resources. That's what makes this such a great place, and I thank you for posting it.

I was just stating my opinion that misspellings on a website are usually an indication of overall quality and meant to offense to you at all.

 

[Obob]

Whew!

Well Lefty, I really appreciate your response; it's quite kind. Thanks!

Ya know, I didn't even see just what it was you were commenting on, till I'd looked at the thing about 15 times; it is backwards! And I really wouldn't disagree that, for what you're gonna pay for stuff on a website like that, you might wanna be a little suspect about how they do things; the details do matter.

Anyway, enough of thisfftopic: stuff! Sometime, when I get more settled around here, I might get a shot on of my grandad in some of his Harley clothes; he started selling the bikes back in '29; it was kind of a part time venture with him, but he did like to look the part when he'd ride, down to and including wearing a tie, sometimes!

Obob

 

[Edward]

Obviously not suitable for summer wear, but on those colder fall days I think an Irvin with 36 pattern flying boots worn with jeans would look killer on a vintage bike.

My understanding is that when the RAF sold off surplus Irvins cheaply in the psot war years, a lot of then ended up on the backs of bikers. My paternal grandfather, a real sharp dresser (must get photos on herev when I can get hold of them....), I know had Spitfire pilot's goggles and gauntlets for a bike he ran in the late 40s.... not sure about the jacket, though. One of the England-based FL loungers (name escapes me just now) has an Irvin that was probably pressed into such usage - the 'BSA Irvin' discussed on the Irvin thread. It's definitely a great look, though myself I'd feel more secure in horsehide, or something equally heavy in the event of a spill...

 

[scotrace]

I was just stating my opinion that misspellings on a website are usually an indication of overall quality and meant to offense to you at all.

Always a dicey game, pointing out other's errors...

 

[scotrace]

From Shorpy.com

 

[marineabilly]

Wow, I mean no disrespect to the website by any stretch - I'm sure there is a market out there for this "repop" stuff, but for their prices, you can find originals for less. I've owned many boots over the years and I'm sure the "Vibram" logo is supposed to be centered. Also, what I found interesting was when you clicked on the link to the price page, you had to click again for another page. Why not put the price list on the initial page?

I guess becuase I'm a vintage motorcycle everything collector, I found the site and contents to be... bleh...

The site actually reminds me of this site http://www.cyclemosvintagemotorclothes.com/page/page/4811577.htm, but this site is more professional and obviously more established. I wish them luck...

 

[dit dah]

cbrunt, can't see it mentioned above so:

The books by Rin Tanaka, "Motorcycle Jackets" etc (think he's done three) are superb works on the evolution of motorcycling apparel.

Well worth the money.

And there's quite a few pre-black "brown" leathers to be had

 

[Ryan]

Jeans

What about jeans? There is a company that makes riding pants that look like jeans, breath really well and have protection inside. Best part is you send in the jeans you want copied and they'll make them to match.

http://www.motoport.com/Product.asp?Clv=102514

There is also Draggin Jeans. They are not custom made like Motoports but a heavy weight material with Kevlar inside.

http://www.dragginjeans.com/default.aspx

Also look into BMW gear. They used to make a pair of riding pants that look like Khakis.