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Lets see those Motorcycle Jackets!

AbbaDatDeHat

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,826

AbbaDatDeHat

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,826
My Cal.
IMG-20190130-155303.jpg
Oh yeah!! Oh yeah!!
B
 

Bfd70

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,274
Location
Traverse city
Great jacket! Currently looking at the C2, myself! Can you tell me your height, weight and which size you went for? I'm still not sure whether I should go for a 40 or 42 and whether I'll find the jacket sufficiently long for my taste!
I initiated a dialogue with Vanson regarding size. They offered to have me pay for 1 and shipped 2 with a return shipping label. They said keep the one that fits and return the other. I do think it’s silly that they no longer post measurements on their website. They used to. I am 5’10” 150#s
The jacket is a 36. I am a 36 in most everything else. Vanson has insanely good mobility and are well suited to riding. The jacket hits me mid belt. I wear mid rise jeans and have normal torso length proportions.
 

rocketeer

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,605
Location
England
Yes, Terry dies on his bike! The main thing I remember from the book is the description of the cafe racing, and the "big bikes" like the Triumph 500s doing the ton. :)
I have read the book as well, it comes across as a series of short stories rather than a novel. The film being classified in English as a Kitchen Sink Drama, meaning a more realistic down to earth look at life with all its troubles, laughs, highs and lows including controversial subjects such as domestic violence, homosexuality, abortion etc, something the English writers could portray by the bucket load.
As for a 1960s Meriden Triumph 500 doing a 'Ton', that was another version of a cafe racer bragging to his mates "You should have been with me, doing a ton down the 406"(That is the road number for the North Circular Road where the Ace Cafe was situated and not a Peugeot car haha), unless it was a fully tuned up bike you would be lucky to get 80mph out of it.
Seeya, J :)
 

tweedydon

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,052
Location
Pennington
As for a 1960s Meriden Triumph 500 doing a 'Ton', that was another version of a cafe racer bragging to his mates "You should have been with me, doing a ton down the 406"(That is the road number for the North Circular Road where the Ace Cafe was situated and not a Peugeot car haha), unless it was a fully tuned up bike you would be lucky to get 80mph out of it.
Seeya, J :)

:)

I'd be terrified doing more than about 40 on a 1960s Triumph! :)
 

Gamma68

One Too Many
Messages
1,936
Location
Detroit, MI
Just won this on eBay, cheap! Lesco brown cafe style jacket:
caEXRvP.jpg

mwJ9oMf.jpg

eOgz5Xp.jpg

Looks like a decent leather jacket. Always wanted a brown one like this. Don't know much about Lesco though. Im assuming by the Serval zippers it appears to be 70s/80s?

Nice pickup. Lesco is an underrated brand. There is a separate thread going on Lesco IDs. The company seems to have produced jackets mostly in the 1970s.
 

barnabus

One Too Many
Messages
1,477
Location
Britain's oldest recorded town
I can't imagine ever wanting to go much over 50 on a bike. I didn't like it in a car either back when I drove!
When I was learning, 50 felt terrifying on the beginner 125s. Until I got the hang of it and wanted to go a little faster, and discovered to my dismay that at 55 the little CG125 was against the throttle stop.

Now I'm getting more used to riding my own 650, I'm finding that 70(ish) feels pretty slow, even though my bike is a naked with only a small screen to deflect the worst of the wind. Funny what you get used to, especially when confidence and ability both increase.
 

So33

One of the Regulars
Messages
178
Location
Seattle
Wearing Langlitz Sidwinder. Note, double zipper added, due to long front length. Works great!
Taking the son-in-laws motorcycle out for ride that's been stored in my garage over the winter. Sunny 45 degree day. Went by his work to show him it still runs. Aren't they fun to play with! The son-in-law that is.
image.jpeg
image.jpeg
 

Clifton

New in Town
Messages
15
Location
Along the south coast, UK.
After spending too much time enjoying what others have written, and learning in the process, this is a subject I may be able to properly comment on. So, hello all from England.

I'm 63, so as long as I live to be 126 I'm just middle aged. When Mods (on scooters) and Rockers (on motorcycles) went to the seaside to hurl abuse at each other my family lived in Brighton opposite the pier so I saw many examples of the cultures clashing. Even before then though, it was bikes for me even if a Mod neighbour did take me for my first powered two wheel ride along the front. Parents made me promise to never ride a bike after they found out ....... I had my fingers crossed, though.

'Caff' was a downmarket term for cafes used by many people including comedy shows on the radio, I guess it was a way of being less serious. Cafe, pronounced like safe, was another way of playing with the word, seemed to depend on whether one was trying to play posh or slob.

I've heard cafe racers and caff racers and my similarly youthful mates and I used either without making a conscious decision.
Now, if I've succeeded to log in there should be a couple of images to illustrate.

Below, taken at The Brighton Ride with the Rockers event (different names used by diff factions).

A caf racer - Triumph engine in Featherbed frame with rear set footpegs, clip-on handlebars and a neck ache in traffic.
Then, New age Rockers with repro jackets. In Hampshire during the late 70s and early 80s a studded jacket would be reason for being refused service and/or entry to most eating and drinking places.
IMG_8293_zpsrlgpnoft.jpg.html
IMG_8293_zpsrlgpnoft.jpg

IMG_8282_zpsgzfs5uoa.jpg


For the record, I've never been tempted to shove studs through a leather, seems a terrible way to treat a jacket. Although I did watch sparks flying off the epaulette press stud on one of my jackets after discovering the front mudguard mounting was too tight for my tyre causing me to slide along the road when it locked up when forks compressed. As it was my recently self restored BSA Bantam D1 125cc I wasn't going to fast and my ego took more damage then I did. Oh,best bit, it was outside a bike shop.
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
25,074
Location
London, UK
After spending too much time enjoying what others have written, and learning in the process, this is a subject I may be able to properly comment on. So, hello all from England.

I'm 63, so as long as I live to be 126 I'm just middle aged. When Mods (on scooters) and Rockers (on motorcycles) went to the seaside to hurl abuse at each other my family lived in Brighton opposite the pier so I saw many examples of the cultures clashing. Even before then though, it was bikes for me even if a Mod neighbour did take me for my first powered two wheel ride along the front. Parents made me promise to never ride a bike after they found out ....... I had my fingers crossed, though.

'Caff' was a downmarket term for cafes used by many people including comedy shows on the radio, I guess it was a way of being less serious. Cafe, pronounced like safe, was another way of playing with the word, seemed to depend on whether one was trying to play posh or slob.

I've heard cafe racers and caff racers and my similarly youthful mates and I used either without making a conscious decision.
Now, if I've succeeded to log in there should be a couple of images to illustrate.

Below, taken at The Brighton Ride with the Rockers event (different names used by diff factions).

A caf racer - Triumph engine in Featherbed frame with rear set footpegs, clip-on handlebars and a neck ache in traffic.
Then, New age Rockers with repro jackets. In Hampshire during the late 70s and early 80s a studded jacket would be reason for being refused service and/or entry to most eating and drinking places.
IMG_8293_zpsrlgpnoft.jpg.html
IMG_8293_zpsrlgpnoft.jpg

IMG_8282_zpsgzfs5uoa.jpg


For the record, I've never been tempted to shove studs through a leather, seems a terrible way to treat a jacket. Although I did watch sparks flying off the epaulette press stud on one of my jackets after discovering the front mudguard mounting was too tight for my tyre causing me to slide along the road when it locked up when forks compressed. As it was my recently self restored BSA Bantam D1 125cc I wasn't going to fast and my ego took more damage then I did. Oh,best bit, it was outside a bike shop.


Good to hear the jacket helped protect you in that off!

Very true re what you say about leathers and studs in the 70s and 80s.... Even into the 90s, and around the areas close to the North West 200 "track" (where you'd think they'd be more open to it), a group of three or more bikers arriving together could clear a venue - and that even covered the 'safest' of biking dadwear if it was black leather. (No idea what they'd have done if an MC in full colours had trooped in! First time I remember seeing one of those was when the Outlaws rode trough Larne on the way to the ferry boat for an event in Scotland, presumably. About 1998. Shops closed their doors until they passed!) These days, I think it's more common, what with a renewed interest in bikes generally, plus a few of the big MCs have moved into NI.
 

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