Leather Motorcycle jacket recommendations

[1911 Man]

So there is Langlitz, Vansons, Aero, and Schott. Who else makes a high quality, classic style, black motorcycle jacket?
I am looking for this style:
http://www.schottnyc.com/products/lifestyle/motorcycle/mens-classic-horsehide-racer-motorcycle.htm
The only other candidate so far is an Aero Highwayman.

Please let me know what is out there. I did a forum search, but wasn't able to find much.
Thanks!

 

[Edward]

I qualify this by emphasising that all my time on the back of a bike was spent as a pillion passenger, but..... I'm not sure that I'd consider the Highwayman. It's a boxy, wide design, which I would have thought would be subject to a lot of flapping on the bike. The better option in the Aero stable in that general style would be the fifties Halfbelt or the Rocker (or one of the other Ace Cafe range from Aero). If you did want something really neat fitting by design, maybe Aero might be able to do a Cafe Racer with the shirt-style collar (as opposed to the mandarin collar they normally have).

I suppose the other thing I would consider would be whether you want a modern, purpose-designed jacket which can accommodate armour, in which case the likes of Langlitz and Vanson are your best bet, or something more old school, like the Aeros. Personally, if I was to run a bike myself I'd be perfectly happy with Aero's FQHH, but then Id have no interest in riding at speed or modern performance bikes - something old school to pootle about on would be my thing. YMMV, of course.

 

[cuthbert]

I ride and I wouldn't recommend a jacket with a shirt collar, I tried it with my Aero 30s half belt, for biking it's better a mandarin collar with a snap.

Having said that the closest jacket to the 689HH that Aero makes is indeed the 30s half belt, mine is heavy steerhide, black and besides the problem with the shirt collar it's excellent, but I would advise a bi swing back as well, and the cafè racer is the best choice. Schott has the 141 and 641, Lost Worlds the easy rider.

From a safety point of view of course it's better a Dainese or an Alpinestars, but they are not jackets you can use for walking everyday.

 

[too much coffee]

Good Morning 1911 Man;

Have a look at "Fox Creek Leathers" out of Virginia. Their Vented Bomber MC jacket is superb. On sale now too!
It's also a good walking around off the bike jacket. Heavy naked cowhide. Superb protection.
Dress for the slide and not the ride.

Regards,
coffee

 

[dortiz]

Just bought an Aero Cafe Racer. Not a good bike jacket. No windflap behind the zipper?? Thats a basic. Best fitting though and easy to wear casually but also has many faults that prevent me from recommending it or buying another.

Lostworlds Easy Ryder is the best bike jacket I have found so far. Its as warm as the HD FXRG but heavy Horsehide instead of cheap leather. Go down and It will most certainly protect you.

For purely riding Fox Creek is a great bang for the buck. Not as nice as Aero and LW though but at half the price and all the bang on a bike its one of the best choices.

I am waiting on a Langlitz now and have only heard its the best choice hands down. Hope so : )

"I ride and I wouldn't recommend a jacket with a shirt collar" Collars flap and its annoying and painful.

 

[Edward]

I ride and I wouldn't recommend a jacket with a shirt collar, I tried it with my Aero 30s half belt, for biking it's better a mandarin collar with a snap.

Ah, yes..... good point... even FQHH will flap eventually..... You could order a stormflap on it, that might help - though then you'd have to wear it up all the time, which might be an issue with the helmet (never tried my halfbelt on with a helmet, so). The other alternative would be to have Aero fit snaps to the collar to keep it down, either exposed snaps like on a Perfecto, or covered snaps as per an A2.

From a safety point of view of course it's better a Dainese or an Alpinestars, but they are not jackets you can use for walking everyday.

Ain't that the truth! I respect anyone who wants to be as safe as possible, but there's only so far you can go with modern bike gear before you end up looking like a Power Ranger. Of course, the sensible choice would be to say 'hang style, I'll go for safety', but I know were it me I'm far too vain for that.....

 

[53Effie]

Good morning. I would also recommend Johnson Leathers in San Francisco. Very nice bike and casual jackets and at a reasonable price point similar to Fox Creek. Also, top notch customer service. As others have stated, the mandarin collar is the best choice for riding. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Aether]

I've got a CE padded sportsbike style Icon jacket, which is probably the safest and most suitable for riding, but I always go for either my Aero 50's HB or Lewis Leathers Super Monza. Can't say I've had any problems with my HB's collar flapping about, but I don't tend to go any quicker than about 130mph anyway! If I had to choose between the three for riding I'd personally go for the Lewis, it's the best fitting and most comfortable bike jacket I've ever had. Lovely supple leather too.

 

[cuthbert]

Ah, yes..... good point... even FQHH will flap eventually..... You could order a stormflap on it, that might help - though then you'd have to wear it up all the time, which might be an issue with the helmet (never tried my halfbelt on with a helmet, so). The other alternative would be to have Aero fit snaps to the collar to keep it down, either exposed snaps like on a Perfecto, or covered snaps as per an A2.

I used to own a very nice Aero A-2 but I never tested it on a bike, at the moment I've another A-2 on order at Kelso but I'm not totally convinced that the snaps would make the jacket good for riding, probably the throat latch of the G-1/M422 would work better and I'm curious to test it because it seems that Kelso is working on two WWII patterns for the M422, I pre-ordered one of these jackets too...

Ain't that the truth! I respect anyone who wants to be as safe as possible, but there's only so far you can go with modern bike gear before you end up looking like a Power Ranger. Of course, the sensible choice would be to say 'hang style, I'll go for safety', but I know were it me I'm far too vain for that.....

IMO modern bike gear is more stylish than the old stuff that my father used in the 50s, 60s and 70s, today's jacket and leathersuits come in absurd colours to match the modern bikes, not to mention the fake titanium inserts Dainese use, but on other side they are more effective in case of serious accident (the only time I fell from the bike I was wearing the half belt and the super thick Aero steerhide protected me well, the jeans of course were gone along with some skin). After all what we call today "cafè racer jackets" at the time were just the upper part of the leather suits riders like Hailwood and Agostini used, the leather wasn't particularly thick or hard like LW's horsehide but very flexible and scratch-resistant and their general style is still still preserved by the modern gear, collar included, but with armour.

Probably the most stylish "modern" bike jacket I've seen around was a Ducati jacket that was sold with the Sportclassic, it was a simple brown steerhide "cafè racer" but with armour inside, of course being a Ducati official product it was bloody expensive too.

 

[Aether]

I'd agree with Cuthbert that the modern bike stuff is a lot more stylish (and protective) than it used to be. My first bike jacket was a Hein Gericke with a tribal pattern on the front, not pretty at all!

One thing I'd add is to make sure you don't blow all of your money on a nice jacket and then buy a cheap helmet, trousers, gloves and boots. I saw a guy at a bike meet last summer on a Ducati Desmosedici in shorts and trainers! Must have spent all his hard-earned on the bike I suppose...

 

[cuthbert]

I'd agree with Cuthbert that the modern bike stuff is a lot more stylish (and protective) than it used to be. My first bike jacket was a Hein Gericke with a tribal pattern on the front, not pretty at all!

One thing I'd add is to make sure you don't blow all of your money on a nice jacket and then buy a cheap helmet, trousers, gloves and boots. I saw a guy at a bike meet last summer on a Ducati Desmosedici in shorts and trainers! Must have spent all his hard-earned on the bike I suppose...

Desmosedici? As far as I remember they costed about 100.000 euros...here.

 

[Aether]

Yep, not cheap! But looks and sounds lovely.

If you've got a spare few quid burning a hole in your pocket: http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/b...l/Ducati/DESMOSEDICI-RR/2009/_/R-NXGN-2133296

 

[Edward]

I used to own a very nice Aero A-2 but I never tested it on a bike, at the moment I've another A-2 on order at Kelso but I'm not totally convinced that the snaps would make the jacket good for riding, probably the throat latch of the G-1/M422 would work better and I'm curious to test it because it seems that Kelso is working on two WWII patterns for the M422, I pre-ordered one of these jackets too...

Ah, to clarify, I meant using A2-style collar snaps to hold a collar down while on the bike, not an A2 on a bike as such. I think that would have been fine back in the day, but that was with much lower powered bikes and a lot less traffic on the roads (plus the traffic there was understood how to deal with bikes... these days, half the car drivers don't even see a bike...). Interesting Kelso is working on adding to the line.... When funds allow, I want one of his russet A2s; I was going to go for an Aero Real Deal at a time, but now the price difference between them has doubled to in the region of GBP100 plus, I think I'll give the Kelso a shot as really what I'm after is a good looking jacket with a thirties/forties vibe for civilian use, rather than the very most accurate A2 to military spec, so.

IMO modern bike gear is more stylish than the old stuff that my father used in the 50s, 60s and 70s, today's jacket and leathersuits come in absurd colours to match the modern bikes, not to mention the fake titanium inserts Dainese use, but on other side they are more effective in case of serious accident (the only time I fell from the bike I was wearing the half belt and the super thick Aero steerhide protected me well, the jeans of course were gone along with some skin). After all what we call today "cafè racer jackets" at the time were just the upper part of the leather suits riders like Hailwood and Agostini used, the leather wasn't particularly thick or hard like LW's horsehide but very flexible and scratch-resistant and their general style is still still preserved by the modern gear, collar included, but with armour.

Yeah, I guess there's better stuff now than there was for a bit, I'm just much older school in my design tastes, I think. Last time I looked into bike trousers, there was an Italian company producing what looked like regular denim jeans, but in a very heavy denim and with built in kevlar armour panels. for me that would be the perfect compromise between form and function. Probably still need a waterproof overtrouser if riding in the wet, though.

 

[Seb Lucas]

I'd also recommend Johnson Leathers in San Fran. I have a great cafe racer from them in goat. Not for a bike since I don't ride, but their version in 3.5 oz naked cow is the bee's knees and you won't have to wait months to get one. The do great custom work and Alan is a dream to deal with.

 

[Fifty150]

Mine came from Golden Bear Sportswear in San Francisco. Every motor officer in The Bay Area has a jacket from either Golden Bear or Johnson. Give them a call. Golden Bear does not do web sales, but they do sell to the public.

 

[CodeRed]

Langlitz

 

[billyb]

Try looking at Fox Creek Leather. Made in the USA. I bought the Vented Bomber Jacket and tried on the Vented Racing Jacket which was awesome but irritated my Adam's Apple. Very, very good quality and the price is reasonable for what you get. They can also arrange for the jackets to be "tweaked" a bit on things like the torso and/or sleeve length if you are willing to wait 3 months for the jacket and willing to pay $80 per modification. I should have went that route, but I was inpatient. These jacket really are meant for riding by way of the venting and body armor pockets, but I would wear mine out on the town because it is a nice looking jacket. Also comes with a zip-in removable liner which is a nice feature. Check them out...and no I don't work for them. I actually just placed an order for an Aero Ace a few weeks back.

http://www.foxcreekleather.com/

 

[billyb]

Good Morning 1911 Man;

Have a look at "Fox Creek Leathers" out of Virginia. Their Vented Bomber MC jacket is superb. On sale now too!
It's also a good walking around off the bike jacket. Heavy naked cowhide. Superb protection.
Dress for the slide and not the ride.

Regards,
coffee

Sorry, missed this reply first read through...I totally agree with too much coffee. I love my Vented Bomber even though I should have ordered a factory modified version for $80 extra and 3 months wait...I'm all arms and shoulders and a short torso, so I should have had the jacket made shorter.

 

[too much coffee]

Hello billyb;

Glad to hear you're enjoying your Fox Creek Vented Bomber (I can't stand that name 'Bomber' when referring to a jacket). Could you tell us how the vents work while riding in the Florida weather.

What size is your jacket and what is the weight of the jacket?

Welcome to the Lounge!

Regards,
coffee

 

[Peacoat]

I'll throw in my recommendations for Fox Creek and Vanson. I have many more, but those two are my favorites. The Fox Creek is a soft, but thick leather, that is broken in right out of the box. The Vanson is a thick stiff leather that takes a lot of wear to get it broken in.

If I am going to the range to practice slow speed maneuvers (I ride competitively), I will take the Fox Creek. If I am going on a 4 or 5 hour ride, I will take either the Vanson, or the Fox Creek, depending on the temperature. The Vanson is probably my #1 road jacket, with the Fox Creek close behind it. I say the Vanson is my #1 road jacket because I think it would give better protection in the event of a go down. Although the Fox Creek should give good protection as well, and is very comfortable. I really don't know I am wearing a jacket when I have on the Fox Creek. Fox Creek also makes excellent chaps. They are the best I have owned.

The collars on my motorcycle jackets are all stiff enough to not give a problem while riding. I use a windshield during the Winter, so I don't get the direct blast of air that would cause the collar to flap. I have a couple of jackets with the Mandarin style collar, and really can't tell the difference between the two styles.

All of the suggestions above are good ones. It just depends on how much you want to spend and how long you want to wait.