Post Pics of Your Cafe Racer Jackets

[Bonneville]

That really is a stylish jacket, ...I can tell that a 641 isn't going to work with my 52 year old pot

 

[Bonneville]

Cafe racer on a cafe racer. lol lol lol

What make/model jacket are you wearing in the pic Captain? You can tell from the photo that it's real quality. Love the lustre. (and love the Thrux. All you need now is a set of real deerskin gauntlets from Churchill Leather Glove Co., the best. I've got a Bonneville Black myself, best bike i've ever had. Triumphrat.net is great too)

 

[Navin323i]

Old picture:
Snakeskin boots and snakeskin belt.

Same jacket about 17 years later.
Dog is dead, hair is gone, jacket is still going strong.

Fantastic pics, Griff!! I can't believe how well your jacket aged in 17 years... what a phenomenal patina!

 

[Navin323i]

Here is my contribution to this thread... it's a cafe racer style jacket that was obtained from a Nordstroms Outlet place a few years ago. Brand name is "Blend" and is a silver canvas/fabric jacket with black leather accents on the collar, arms, pockets, and down the main zipper area.

The jacket was a gift from my younger brother... he bought that particular jacket because he liked how the jacket color coordinates perfectly with my BMW showcar/daily-driver which is silver with black carbon fiber accents. It's definitely a different jacket compared to the other jackets I have which are predominantly all black... I definitely plan on going with some shade of brown/tan/red for my next Aero jacket purchase.

I had my 5 year old daughter take this picture with my camera... not bad at all... definitely a ton better than what I could have done at the age of 5, lol.

 

[captaincaveman1]

Thanks - it's a Schott 689 in horse. After a year of use in all kinds of weather the grain really pops out now.

I have gloves just wasn't wearing them. This jacket gets worn more off the bike than on. There's better stuff out there now as far as moto gear is concerned. The old-fashioned stuff looks much better of course which is what makes it worth owning IMO.

What make/model jacket are you wearing in the pic Captain? You can tell from the photo that it's real quality. Love the lustre. (and love the Thrux. All you need now is a set of real deerskin gauntlets from Churchill Leather Glove Co., the best. I've got a Bonneville Black myself, best bike i've ever had. Triumphrat.net is great too)

 

[sportride67]

oh yes, the cafe racer jacket! Yum! I've been wearing this style of jacket since 1999. I was always a fan of this jacket going back to when I first saw it on the guy in the original Nightmare on Elm Street and I was lucky enough to finally find one at a vintage clothing store. It was an old Reed jacket at a place called Jack Hammer in Seattle (now gone), which needed a lot of work. My second was a late 1960's early 70's Harley Davidson AMF jacket which I still have (in pix below). It's broken in soo perfectly and its my daily wearin' jacket. I've had two Buco's, a Vanson, a Schott and probably one or two (possibly more) others I can't think of right now. As of right now, I have several Harley Davidson AMF area cafe racers, the most recent a 1950's single chest pocket "shirt" also below.
1. the two pocket 2. the single pocket

 

[Mojo1975]

Vanson Insurrection Cafe' Racer:

 

[Mojo1975]

oh yes, the cafe racer jacket! Yum! I've been wearing this style of jacket since 1999. I was always a fan of this jacket going back to when I first saw it on the guy in the original Nightmare on Elm Street and I was lucky enough to finally find one at a vintage clothing store. It was an old Reed jacket at a place called Jack Hammer in Seattle (now gone), which needed a lot of work. My second was a late 1960's early 70's Harley Davidson AMF jacket which I still have (in pix below). It's broken in soo perfectly and its my daily wearin' jacket. I've had two Buco's, a Vanson, a Schott and probably one or two (possibly more) others I can't think of right now. As of right now, I have several Harley Davidson AMF area cafe racers, the most recent a 1950's single chest pocket "shirt" also below.
1. the two pocket 2. the single pocket

...LOL...I used to manage Dreamland, the big brother to Jack Hammer! Great Harley cafe' racer...I like 'em as much as Buco J-100s...simple and elegant!!!

 

[jeep44]

 

[sportride67]

...LOL...I used to manage Dreamland, the big brother to Jack Hammer! Great Harley cafe' racer...I like 'em as much as Buco J-100s...simple and elegant!!!

of course! I remember Dreamland! What a great store from the past! Its soo sad it is no longer around.

 

[ron521]

Here I am in Sept 2010 with my Schott 141, purchased in Summer 2009.
I wore it quite a lot last winter, and not too much this summer.
It's very comfortable, offers excellent freedom of motion, and works quite well as a casual jacket.

 

[too much coffee]

Sharp looking Schott, Ron and looks like a good fit! That's steer correct? Wish my Schott 689 had the zip out liner like the 141.
Regards, coffee

 

[ron521]

Schott's 141 is cowhide, and they used to make a 641 in steerhide as well, which isn't on their website at present, perhaps simply out of stock.
There are several other styles of cafe racer jackets available, but currently, I believe that the 641 is available only as the 641HH (horsehide).
The 641's are made to a slightly different pattern, a bit trimmer fitting, and Schott advises customers to buy one size larger than their regular size.

 

[Rawky]

Wow Ron. Thats an awesome looking jacket. I WANT IT!!!! :rage:

 

[ron521]

I note that my photo has oddly vanished, as well as those in some posts I had made in the classified section.
Or am I the only one who cannot view my own photos?
Could anyone offer enlightenment with regard to this?

Update, later the same day:
Now the photos are back. I have no idea where they went earlier.

 

[Navin323i]

Love your Schott 141 jacket, Ron! I was actually going to get that jacket initially, which is how I stumbled upon this site where I first discovered Aero Leather, so I went the Aero route instead for my leather jacket purchase.

How do you find the placement of the zippers on the arm cuffs? They appear to be in a possibly annoying spot, especially when wearing your jacket while driving a car... the zippers would probably come into contact alot with the steering wheel (definitely a peeve of mine, but then again a legitimate concern of mine since my steering wheel has a lot of carbon fiber accents so the zipper could potentially scratch the clearcoat on the carbon).

 

[ron521]

I haven't noticed any problem while driving either a Miata or a Toyota truck, but I suppose on some cars there could be contact, depending on the proximity and angle of the steering wheel.

I've seen a few older cycle jackets from the 50's and 60's in which the zippers are on top of the sleeves, perhaps to deal with this particular issue.

 

[Navin323i]

I haven't noticed any problem while driving either a Miata or a Toyota truck, but I suppose on some cars there could be contact, depending on the proximity and angle of the steering wheel.

I've seen a few older cycle jackets from the 50's and 60's in which the zippers are on top of the sleeves, perhaps to deal with this particular issue.

Yeah, with the angle of my steering wheel as you can see in my picture below, I definitely would have issues with the jacket zipper potentially scratching the clearcoat on my carbon fiber accents...

 

[GriffDeLaGriff]

lol thats alot of carbon lol

In the future when archeologists dig up your area they will say: all we found was this carbon heart, and a steering wheel, and a stickshift....and um..also a handbrake, a front panel, a sidepanel, framing for a stereo and a bunch of other things including a NYPD jacket, but basically there is nothing left!!!

Theoretically the carbon should outlive us all.

But about the zippers...cant you just unzip the sleeves halfway? I know the zipper "trails" will still be down there but it might help?

 

[Mojo1975]

I haven't noticed any problem while driving either a Miata or a Toyota truck, but I suppose on some cars there could be contact, depending on the proximity and angle of the steering wheel.

I've seen a few older cycle jackets from the 50's and 60's in which the zippers are on top of the sleeves, perhaps to deal with this particular issue.

In terms of vintage jackets, I'm pretty sure that only a Buco J-100 has the sleeve zips on top and therefore, will solve this problem. In terms of new jackets, the Vanson Hardcore, the Vanson VAJ-3, or the new Buco Repo. J-100 are three jackets that would do the trick, as each has the sleeve zips on the top of the jacket. Each of the three jackets mentioned above are quite different, but each has design relics from the past embedded into the current design (the new J-100s are pretty close to the old 1950s J-100s)...