Monitor's Aero FQHH Cafe Racer

[Monitor]

NO ONE SAY IT'S TOO SHORT!!!! Please, for god's sake, let the man be happy with this one!

It's a curse, I'm telling you! Let me explain! Okay, sure, perhaps that Buco repro was too short BUT in the mean time I have acquired a CR jacket that's exactly 25" in the back. Fits me perfectly, perhaps a bit too long for my taste, way over the beltline in any case. But, it was good. The missus said it's perfect, she loves it, etc. So, I'm putting together specs for this jacket, figured it should be 24.5", but Aero said let's go for 25" to be sure and I agreed. Let's go for "25.

The jacket arrived, I put it on - 'Nice jacket but it seems a bit too short, don't you think?', she says.

And there goes all the joy...

Fit pics will follow shortly so you guys decide for yourself. Be brutally honest, please and if it's too short, I'm thinking I'm gonna go for another hobby. One that won't going to cost me a dime for the remainder of my life.

 

[handymike]

For me, the front is what determines if the jacket looks too short or not. My wife is the first to say, "No...that's looking too Bolero."

 

[ykurtz]

My cafe racer was deliberately speced shorter because I wanted it to feel a certain way sitting down, i.e. perfect fit. It probably looks 1" short standing up but I am not a fan of a jacket jabbing me in the neck or thighs when I'm riding.

 

[zhz]

Am I the only think the chest of this jacket looks too wide but the waist is too narrow? But this may not be true, the best time to judge the jacket is after you put it on. So fit pics please.

 

[Bunyip]

Great stuff mate! I was sad for you to sell the j106, I really loved that jacket of yours. This looks really cool. It just look right. I never got used to the 4 pocket CR, functional as it might be, it seems to take some of the appeal out of the jacket. That looks spot on mate.

 

[ProteinNerd]

That looks great! Can't wait for the fit pics...

 

[pawineguy]

Am I the only think the chest of this jacket looks too wide but the waist is too narrow? But this may not be true, the best time to judge the jacket is after you put it on. So fit pics please.

If you look closely at the pics, the waist is not laying flat, while the chest is... so the waist is not as small as it first appears.

 

[Blackadder]

The chest-waist ratio does not look much different from a Vanson Comet.

 

[mendelboaz]

That is one dynamite jacket, my friend. I hope you wear it with sheer joy till the end of your days 25" back length is perfect by the way, IMO. That's why I love the Vanson Cometnso much, the shorter back length makes it look casual and badass, ready for action!

 

[Monitor]

Fit pictures. Taken by me for a change, auto timer, because the lady's at work which is the way I prefer it so to avoid being ridiculed. Jeans are old crummy 501, classic straight fit. Sorry for the quality, camera is crap.












For the sake of comparison, this is the other CR I've mentioned, it's exactly 25", same as Aero CR, and yet... Am I crazy or is that jacket somehow miraculously much better length? It's also longer in the back, despite being the SAME DAMN LENGTH! I have no idea what the hell is going on anymore.

 

[Monitor]

Great. Looking at the photos, now I'm convinced it's too bolero. Please everyone, advices, suggestions, opinions and just plain honesty infinitely appreciated.

 

[mendelboaz]

Nooo the length is perfect man! It's not 'too short', I hardly believe such a thing exists within certain boundaries! A lot of people are way too nitpicky about these kind of things, anyway. I think the length looks great, especially judging by the first pic. You wear the jacket like a boss.

 

[Superfluous]

Shorter than I prefer, but I prefer longer jackets.

 

[Bunyip]

It's good....stop stressing! It's a beautiful jacket, it looks good. Grab a beer and relax...your work is done.

 

[Don Tomaso]

I agree, the second jacket is a bit longer in appearance, less than an inch, I'ld say. My guess is, as it is older, it already is broken in and thus follows the shape of your torso a bit better. You can see it at the shoulder-joints, in the older jacket you see them, in the newer the sholder-line of the jacket is still straight, pulling the whole thing up a bit.
I repeat my advise I give here ever so often, don't be too concerned with fit. As long as it isn't totally off, just declare it right and be happy. Otherwise you end up checking you apearance in every window and you'll be regarded as a narciss.

 

[dan_t]

It's good....stop stressing! It's a beautiful jacket, it looks good. Grab a beer and relax...your work is done.

Or go for a ride!
It looks brilliant!

 

[navetsea]

it is short but it looks and fits cool and proportional, chest pockets placement looks great too, probably you just have longer legs since your jeans fit a bit shortish on you.
your other jacket is more roomy on the body, so it create different silhouette along your waist area, I like the new one better, look more sporty.

Do you normally wear tucked in shirt/ t-shirt? if you wear it over un tucked shirt, probably it could flare your shirt out a little since it is quite slim at your waist.

 

[Monitor]

Yeah, it looks good now, but I don't think you're taking shrinkage into account! lol

Thanks everyone, keep 'em coming.

I agree that it doesn't look bad at all, just that I was really hoping for a jacket that wasn't this short. I have an MC jacket that's short, figured the CR should be a bit longer, was absolutely sure of the measurements because I had that other jacket to compare the length to... Yet it came out nearly as short as my D-pocket. None of this has anything to do with Aero, of course, all my fault...

Navetsa, tucked. It actually looks even shorter over an un tucked shirt... The fit is otherwise perfect. Great around the chest, wasit, shoulders.

 

[Edward]

Edward, the mods were; angled pockets (no hand-warmers comes as a standard, actually), inside sleeve zipper (can't say why exactly but I prefer 'em placed there), tapered sleeves at the cuffs (hate it when I can push my hand through a zippered sleeve opening), BR collar with two snaps, main zipper positioned as on the BR... What technovox said, really - the best of both worlds is what I was going for!

That's interesting re the handwarmers; for soem reason, I'd assumed they were the norm. I think it does look better without them.

Length-wise, I think it looks great - and really, 3/4" shrinkage, if some bizarre voodoo happens your jacket, wouldn't make it too short either. If anything, for my tastes the other jacket is a little long for this style. As long as a jacket comes over my belt, that's fine with me. In my experience, modern bike jackets are generally an inch or two longer than those with a vintage cut, maybe that's partly the difference? Either way, I think the Aero looks much sharper.

 

[Monitor]

Edward, nope. Most vintage CR's had either chest pockets or hand-warmers, but rarely ever both - Brimaco / British Cycle Leathers being the only exception. I think the hand-warmers only CR's appeared during the 70's. Earlier CR's (Buco, Becks / Schott, Brooks, Fidelity, etc.) had only chest pockets.

These jeans are the highest I got... The jacket is above the belt with any other pants I have and that's what's bothering me. But I don't believe in the shrinkage thing at all, really.