JL custom m200

[Imuricecreamman]

JL does make beautiful jackets and I would love to get one and experience their patterns and build quality. But If I'd buy one of these I'd also be paying shipping costs to Europe, 10% import duties, 21% tax, clearance costs and currency conversion fees. Adding it all up I'd be paying €1400 for a $1000 dollar jacket. I can almost buy two Aero jackets for the same money. Or a Thedi with bells and whistles.

Import duties suck

I came to the same depressing conclusion. Would be cheaper to have Aero build what I want, get a cheap flight to London, train up to Scotland and pick up the jacket, throw in a few drinks and fly home

 

[TheDonEffect]

Lol we have the exact opposite problem though not as big of a gap in price.

That horween seal is looking mighty comfy. Must. Stick. To. Guns.

 

[Jin431]

looks great the neck and shoulder is also perfect, wear the jacket a bit before deciding to crop the hem, now the puller of the bottom slider is sitting flush with the hem which looks neat, I bet the area under the handwarmer to the belting around the hem will crease up as you sit and do other things while the jacket zipped, and the jacket will look shorter as result in no time probably. of if you shorten the jacket also have the zipper moved up a bit and shortened so the puller of the bottom slider remains flush with the new hem

Thank you, it's my best fitting jacket when it come to the chest/shoulder. I'll have the waist/hem tapered too to get a slimmer fit ala @navetsea style. Yes, if I have them shorten the jacket I'll keep that puller level with bottom hem. That's going to be a lot of surgery though, will that affect the front panel of the jacket if they redo the stitches?

JL does make beautiful jackets and I would love to get one and experience their patterns and build quality. But If I'd buy one of these I'd also be paying shipping costs to Europe, 10% import duties, 21% tax, clearance costs and currency conversion fees. Adding it all up I'd be paying €1400 for a $1000 dollar jacket. I can almost buy two Aero jackets for the same money. Or a Thedi with bells and whistles.

Import duties suck

I love JL, I'll always do business w/them. Loads of leather selection and They can tailor the fit from bottom up by sending a fit jacket. Construction wise they are similar to aero but with better range of motion on the shoulders. The panels match all the time, linings are the usual suspects, hardware is YKK #5/8/10 or repro talon, stitching could be neater/straighter at times but they are built well. That's a head scratcher with that added tax/import duty I don't know man that's a lot. That's a good thedi/FL money

 

[Goel]

The lighter weight horse is nice but I ended up sticking with the CXL. Seems like a good choice, as I was stuck in the rain my first day wearing it. One thing I do wonder is if sizing needs to change depending on your leather choice, with CXL being noticeably thicker and stiffer than the Vermont or Blattwerk(?).

 

[TheDonEffect]

The lighter weight horse is nice but I ended up sticking with the CXL. Seems like a good choice, as I was stuck in the rain my first day wearing it. One thing I do wonder is if sizing needs to change depending on your leather choice, with CXL being noticeably thicker and stiffer than the Vermont or Blattwerk(?).

Thank you for saying that. My primitive understanding of leather jackets was to never ever wear them in the rain, so through my education through these boards I learned that I can in fact use them in the rain, and the CXL has some good water repelling qualities, which is ultimately why I'm deciding to stick it out.

And after handling stiffer leathers like CXL, I realize that for me I really need a tailor fit because like you said, making the same jacket from the same template but using a CXL vs a light lambskin will dramatically change the fit of the jacket. With so much variation even within the same batch, it's hard to nail the fit using a universal template.

 

[Jin431]

The lighter weight horse is nice but I ended up sticking with the CXL. Seems like a good choice, as I was stuck in the rain my first day wearing it. One thing I do wonder is if sizing needs to change depending on your leather choice, with CXL being noticeably thicker and stiffer than the Vermont or Blattwerk(?).

According to Greg (Field Leathers), you reduce about 0.25" off from actual measurement. Damon from JL recommended about 3/8" so I requested that little bit of extra to get desired length/width when I ordered my cxl. When I ordered the German HH I just used the same measurement as the cxl but more tapered.

Thank you for saying that. My primitive understanding of leather jackets was to never ever wear them in the rain, so through my education through these boards I learned that I can in fact use them in the rain, and the CXL has some good water repelling qualities, which is ultimately why I'm deciding to stick it out.

And after handling stiffer leathers like CXL, I realize that for me I really need a tailor fit because like you said, making the same jacket from the same template but using a CXL vs a light lambskin will dramatically change the fit of the jacket. With so much variation even within the same batch, it's hard to nail the fit using a universal template.

I can't wait for it to rain so I can get my brown cxl wet. I did that with my previous cxl jacket and it helped mold/crease the jacket better and some grains showed up too.

I tried off the rack sizing with my first 2 purchases and it both had the same issues for me. Good on the chest/shoulder but always long in the sleeves/back length/roomy in the gut so I also am in the boat of bespoke jacket is the way to go. Vintage buys are hit and miss and I don't want to cycle thru jackets

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Why walk in the rain to get your jacket wet (and everything else)? A spray bottle of water and several soakings works just as well and you can sit and watch TV while it dries and molds to your body.

 

[TheDonEffect]

Why walk in the rain to get your jacket wet (and everything else)? A spray bottle of water and several soakings works just as well and you can sit and watch TV while it dries and molds to your body.

That is a thinking man.

 

[Jin431]

Why walk in the rain to get your jacket wet (and everything else)? A spray bottle of water and several soakings works just as well and you can sit and watch TV while it dries and molds to your body.

Yes!

 

[Psant25]

Got the mc500 fit jacket! Going ahead with the brown cxl cannot wait for this! Made a couple mods compared to my black mc500. Will update with pics when i get and all the specs. Essentially a little narrower shoulder and added length for more work/casual look for off the bike.

 

[JMax]

Got the mc500 fit jacket! Going ahead with the brown cxl cannot wait for this! Made a couple mods compared to my black mc500. Will update with pics when i get and all the specs. Essentially a little narrower shoulder and added length for more work/casual look for off the bike.

Keeping the laces? I had them removed from my Aero Chips for exactly that reason. In addition to the slightly narrower shoulders and extra bit of length.

 

[Psant25]

Keeping the laces? I had them removed from my Aero Chips for exactly that reason. In addition to the slightly narrower shoulders and extra bit of length.

Gonna keep em I like being able to adjust it. Skipping the badge holder on this one but keeping the hidden collar snaps. Come in handy as im sure i will wear riding to work on the cop bike

 

[TheDonEffect]

Nice! Can't wait to see how it turns out.

 

[ton312]

Why walk in the rain to get your jacket wet (and everything else)? A spray bottle of water and several soakings works just as well and you can sit and watch TV while it dries and molds to your body.

C'mon HD that doesn't look nearly as cool on IG.

 

[ton312]

That looks really nice. My fit jacket is no where to be found. Says delayed and still in cali. I do see they have a jacket on their website for sale size 42 even just a little long for me.

https://www.johnsonleather.com/collections/the-limiteds

Shame about the back length on that one...28" is damn near a blazer/car coat length. I'd be all over that if it were 2" shorter.

 

[Psant25]

They have had that listed for a while. I bet they would flatten the low back panel take off a couple inches for little or no cost if they got the sale. @ton312

 

[ton312]

They have had that listed for a while. I bet they would flatten the low back panel take off a couple inches for little or no cost if they got the sale. @ton312

I thought about that too...doesn't look like it has the traditional back dip though...Front looks equally long. I may inquire.

 

[Psant25]

I thought about that too...doesn't look like it has the traditional back dip though...Front looks equally long. I may inquire.

I think that bottom stitch line in the panel is like 2 inches up from the bottom hem. I think they would take under list price. I did not see this year prlly due to covid but usually over turkey week they have 25 percent off in stock leathers.

 

[roadking04]

Gonna keep em I like being able to adjust it.

I think side laces give extra options. Let them out in the colder months to allow for a hoodie, tighten up in summer for t-shirt only. My waistline is always expanding and contracting so the laces are a big plus for me. I also think they add to the look of the jacket. Can't wait to see the final product.

 

[TheDonEffect]

I just got back from my fitting today as well. They nailed the fit although taking a little bit off the sleeve length, but otherwise the fit was great. We then finalized the details, made some small cosmetic adjustments, jacket should be done in a couple of weeks, hopefully before Christmas.

Stuck to the CXL overdye, seeing all the finished CXL jackets there is making me already regret the decision, lol, but needs to be done, need to get this out of my system. This also leads to me being nervous about how it's going to fit, because nothing really can replicate stiff CXL in any sort of fabric, but at least they used a quilted material to mimic leather's thickness.

All of you who got fitted crosszips with a ton of stuff like d pockets and such on it in CXL are just nuts, lol, it's like turning into the tinman. So glad I'm going with a more relaxed fit button up with minimal details with the skived leather.