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First and foremost, huge thanks to @dudewuttheheck and Duke Mantee for making this happen. I am very grateful!
I have been a huge fan of Freewheeler products for several years and own many of their wares, including three non-leather jackets. However, obtaining one of their leather jackets has been more challenging. The primary obstacle is sizing. FW’s leather jacket sizing is all over the place with no apparent rhyme or reason. My favorite FW model – the Caboose – is too narrow and short. The Speed Master is scary narrow. I have long admired the Brakeman, but continue to believe that the sleeves will be too short. Interestingly, FW’s non-leather jackets have much better sizing (at least for me).
The Mulholland has always been the best fitting on paper. However, I initially was luke warm on the design – in particular, the stitching connecting the pockets to the center zip. However, over time, I began to appreciate the distinct look of the Mulholland more and more, including the integration of certain design elements employed by Cal Leathers and that vein of vintage moto jackets. Approximately a year ago, I made the decision to buy a Mulholland. Unfortunately, the one and only available new black Mulholland in my size – at McFly – sold days earlier. You snooze, you lose. To make matters worse, FW recently introduced the Rebels jacket which appears to replace the Mulholland, and the Rebels measurements are much less desirable for me.
For the past year, I have been monitoring Yahoo.jp auctions, but to no avail. Then, last week, @dudewuttheheck posted that Duke Mantee was selling his black Mulholland in my size. Thank you @dudewuttheheck . Duke Mantee was a pleasure to deal with and the jacket arrived a few days later. Thank you Duke.
The Shinki leather is fantastic, but completely different from many of my other Shinki jackets. The leather is much heavier than most of my Shinki jackets, with the exception of my RMC Steinbeck which also has a heavier variant of Shinki. My aversion to heavy leathers is well documented. Fortunately, this Shinki is not as heavy as the beefy Horween options. Moreover, and far more importantly, this Shinki is surprisingly pliable notwithstanding its relative heft. Not at all stiff or rigid. Likewise, it has a moldable character that differentiates it from certain mid-weight Shinki hides, which mold less. It’s a great balance – heavy, robust, and moldable, yet eminently pliable and wearable. I love this leather.
The graining on the leather is amazing! Really pops!
The construction and top stitching are stellar.
The cut is rather v-shaped – more so than the barrel shape of my body. As a result, the waist is snug when zipped – not uncomfortable, but snugger than my other jackets.
The Whizzer (similar to Hookless) main zipper is flat-out terrible. I hate to prophylactically replace operational zippers, but I might be compelled to do so here.
I was hesitant to buy a jacket with zippers on the handwarmer pockets because the teeth will scratch my watches. However, the handwarmer pockets on this jacket are shallow and, therefore, even with my hands stuffed all the way in, my wrist does not make contact with the zipper.
The FW Mulholland is a repro of a jacket from Spartan Leather Sportwear (San Francisco, California). I poked around a bit but could not find any information about the company. Is anyone familiar with this company? @tmitchell59 ? @Mysteryo ?
With the stitching connecting the pockets to the main zipper and the horizontal waistband stitching, the front layout is similar to a Cal Ventura, but with cuffs rather than zipper sleeve-ends.
The sides and back of the Mulholland are completely different from the Ventura.
Finally, I assume the jacket is named after the infamous Mulholland Drive and Mulholland Highway in So Cal, both of which are well travelled by moto and car enthusiasts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulholland_Drive . I grew up and lived most of my life (until just recently) within a few miles of Mulholland Drive and I used to drive on Mulholland Drive almost daily (not to mention the early morning weekend rips on the Mulholland Highway when I was younger). Thus, the jacket name has a particular connection for me.
I have been a huge fan of Freewheeler products for several years and own many of their wares, including three non-leather jackets. However, obtaining one of their leather jackets has been more challenging. The primary obstacle is sizing. FW’s leather jacket sizing is all over the place with no apparent rhyme or reason. My favorite FW model – the Caboose – is too narrow and short. The Speed Master is scary narrow. I have long admired the Brakeman, but continue to believe that the sleeves will be too short. Interestingly, FW’s non-leather jackets have much better sizing (at least for me).
The Mulholland has always been the best fitting on paper. However, I initially was luke warm on the design – in particular, the stitching connecting the pockets to the center zip. However, over time, I began to appreciate the distinct look of the Mulholland more and more, including the integration of certain design elements employed by Cal Leathers and that vein of vintage moto jackets. Approximately a year ago, I made the decision to buy a Mulholland. Unfortunately, the one and only available new black Mulholland in my size – at McFly – sold days earlier. You snooze, you lose. To make matters worse, FW recently introduced the Rebels jacket which appears to replace the Mulholland, and the Rebels measurements are much less desirable for me.
For the past year, I have been monitoring Yahoo.jp auctions, but to no avail. Then, last week, @dudewuttheheck posted that Duke Mantee was selling his black Mulholland in my size. Thank you @dudewuttheheck . Duke Mantee was a pleasure to deal with and the jacket arrived a few days later. Thank you Duke.
The Shinki leather is fantastic, but completely different from many of my other Shinki jackets. The leather is much heavier than most of my Shinki jackets, with the exception of my RMC Steinbeck which also has a heavier variant of Shinki. My aversion to heavy leathers is well documented. Fortunately, this Shinki is not as heavy as the beefy Horween options. Moreover, and far more importantly, this Shinki is surprisingly pliable notwithstanding its relative heft. Not at all stiff or rigid. Likewise, it has a moldable character that differentiates it from certain mid-weight Shinki hides, which mold less. It’s a great balance – heavy, robust, and moldable, yet eminently pliable and wearable. I love this leather.
The graining on the leather is amazing! Really pops!
The construction and top stitching are stellar.
The cut is rather v-shaped – more so than the barrel shape of my body. As a result, the waist is snug when zipped – not uncomfortable, but snugger than my other jackets.
The Whizzer (similar to Hookless) main zipper is flat-out terrible. I hate to prophylactically replace operational zippers, but I might be compelled to do so here.
I was hesitant to buy a jacket with zippers on the handwarmer pockets because the teeth will scratch my watches. However, the handwarmer pockets on this jacket are shallow and, therefore, even with my hands stuffed all the way in, my wrist does not make contact with the zipper.
The FW Mulholland is a repro of a jacket from Spartan Leather Sportwear (San Francisco, California). I poked around a bit but could not find any information about the company. Is anyone familiar with this company? @tmitchell59 ? @Mysteryo ?
With the stitching connecting the pockets to the main zipper and the horizontal waistband stitching, the front layout is similar to a Cal Ventura, but with cuffs rather than zipper sleeve-ends.
The sides and back of the Mulholland are completely different from the Ventura.
Finally, I assume the jacket is named after the infamous Mulholland Drive and Mulholland Highway in So Cal, both of which are well travelled by moto and car enthusiasts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulholland_Drive . I grew up and lived most of my life (until just recently) within a few miles of Mulholland Drive and I used to drive on Mulholland Drive almost daily (not to mention the early morning weekend rips on the Mulholland Highway when I was younger). Thus, the jacket name has a particular connection for me.
