Seen the new BMW horsehide jacket?

[Guppy]

Just because it looks awful new doesn't mean it won't age beautifully. I don't know anything about these, but having seen Schott and Vanson leather new vs broken in and patina'd, it's like night and day.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

I purchased the BMW Pure Boxer jacket and think it is a work of art! I wasn't even looking for or in need of a leather jacket but this is so beautiful I couldn't resist. Limited value on my R18 motorcycle unless weather is particularly nice but the jacket can be worn on a casual basis also. Really happy with this purchase. I would like to learn more of its manufacture ie. Who made it for BMW? What type of Cordura leather was used? etc, etc.

 

[Guppy]

What type of Cordura leather was used? etc, etc.

Cordura is a synthetic fiber, I believe it's a type of nylon. Not leather.

 

[Philip Kearns]

My mistake. I meant to say Cordovan.

 

[Guppy]

My mistake. I meant to say Cordovan.

I thought you might have meant that after I posted.

I doubt it's cordovan. It's most likely front quarter horsehide. Who tanned it, I have no idea. Whoever made it for BMW would know.

 

[Philip Kearns]

I thought you might have meant that after I posted.

I doubt it's cordovan. It's most likely front quarter horsehide. Who tanned it, I have no idea. Whoever made it for BMW would know.

Having read a little about Cordovan leather I would tend to agree with you however, the sales leaflet specifically refers to Cordovan leather. I have written to BMW asking for more background info on who made it etc.
Regardless it is a beautiful piece in my eyes at least. I will keep you posted if I hear back from BMW.

 

[BB1239]

This is quite the old thread, but thought I'd add some info I gathered, as I recently purchased one of these to try it out. I know I checked this forum and this thread before I bought one, and I suspect others would as well, so I'll add this.
If anyone else is curious to get their hands on one, Revzilla is offering this jacket new, selling off their old closeout stock of them apparently, for quite a deal. Was originally a $1,200 jacket. Now $449.

Now, on to my impression of the jacket. It would appear to be sanded leather, the finish was abnormally smooth. Probably 1.2mm thickness. The finish was so smooth it made me wonder if it was even leather at all. Upon closer inspection, the jacket appeared to show some grain in the stressed areas around the bottom hem from sitting down in the jacket, indicating that it may indeed show some character if worn enough. It did smell like leather, and the removable throat latch passed the burn test. It is labelled as Cordovan leather, seems hard to believe but I suppose it's possible. Tag said "made in Vietnam". No idea by whom, or who the tannery was. A search for that info doesn't yield much. The leather was very uniform in its thickness, as might be expected of sanded leather. The aroma was quite nice actually, almost like a veg-tan.

For me personally, I'm not a fan of the overly smooth processed look, which is why I also don't like new Vanson Competition Weight jackets, and why I returned this jacket. I'm sure both would age well given enough time, but until the vintage stock dries up I'll take the short cut every time and just buy a used jacket.

The jacket length in the front was a bit longer than ideal for riding in an upright position, but it wasn't horrible and would be usable for riding. The leather in the body of the jacket is so pliable and flexible that the collar does not push up into your throat despite the length (just below the belt on me by about 1.5"). The collar is also pliable and flexible, allowing the bottom of your helmet to "push it down" as needed, almost forming a wind-tight seal in that area. When the collar is up, there is a snap-on throat latch to seal out wind and keep the collar from flapping around. The zips are Talon all around, except the inside pocket zips which are YKK. Lots of inside pockets. The removable thermal liner is orange and dark brown with diamond pleats, and can be worn as a vest without the jacket on. It has a blacked-out rubber BMW roundel on the left chest area. The stitching on the jacket was a subdued shade of orange, and the jacket looks like a muted dark brown. The stitching, to my untrained eye, seemed to be very straight and well done. I suspect some of you may be able to find flaws in it, but I could not.

I like shirt-collar style leather jackets, and the idea of one in allegedly horsehide for $449 new, was what drew me in. The idea of having an armored jacket which could be worn off the bike was worth a try. To me, a jacket with a BMW badge on the arm, and non-removable armor, just doesn't work off the bike. So I packed it up and returned it already.

I did take some random pics of it, I'll try to upload if this new price drop deal sparks anyone's interest. It may be someone's cup of tea, just wasn't mine.

 

[jchance]

This is quite the old thread, but thought I'd add some info I gathered, as I recently purchased one of these to try it out. I know I checked this forum and this thread before I bought one, and I suspect others would as well, so I'll add this.
If anyone else is curious to get their hands on one, Revzilla is offering this jacket new, selling off their old closeout stock of them apparently, for quite a deal. Was originally a $1,200 jacket. Now $449.

Now, on to my impression of the jacket. It would appear to be sanded leather, the finish was abnormally smooth. Probably 1.2mm thickness. The finish was so smooth it made me wonder if it was even leather at all. Upon closer inspection, the jacket appeared to show some grain in the stressed areas around the bottom hem from sitting down in the jacket, indicating that it may indeed show some character if worn enough. It did smell like leather, and the removable throat latch passed the burn test. It is labelled as Cordovan leather, seems hard to believe but I suppose it's possible. Tag said "made in Vietnam". No idea by whom, or who the tannery was. A search for that info doesn't yield much. The leather was very uniform in its thickness, as might be expected of sanded leather. The aroma was quite nice actually, almost like a veg-tan.

For me personally, I'm not a fan of the overly smooth processed look, which is why I also don't like new Vanson Competition Weight jackets, and why I returned this jacket. I'm sure both would age well given enough time, but until the vintage stock dries up I'll take the short cut every time and just buy a used jacket.

The jacket length in the front was a bit longer than ideal for riding in an upright position, but it wasn't horrible and would be usable for riding. The leather in the body of the jacket is so pliable and flexible that the collar does not push up into your throat despite the length (just below the belt on me by about 1.5"). The collar is also pliable and flexible, allowing the bottom of your helmet to "push it down" as needed, almost forming a wind-tight seal in that area. When the collar is up, there is a snap-on throat latch to seal out wind and keep the collar from flapping around. The zips are Talon all around, except the inside pocket zips which are YKK. Lots of inside pockets. The removable thermal liner is orange and dark brown with diamond pleats, and can be worn as a vest without the jacket on. It has a blacked-out rubber BMW roundel on the left chest area. The stitching on the jacket was a subdued shade of orange, and the jacket looks like a muted dark brown. The stitching, to my untrained eye, seemed to be very straight and well done. I suspect some of you may be able to find flaws in it, but I could not.

I like shirt-collar style leather jackets, and the idea of one in allegedly horsehide for $449 new, was what drew me in. The idea of having an armored jacket which could be worn off the bike was worth a try. To me, a jacket with a BMW badge on the arm, and non-removable armor, just doesn't work off the bike. So I packed it up and returned it already.

I did take some random pics of it, I'll try to upload if this new price drop deal sparks anyone's interest. It may be someone's cup of tea, just wasn't mine.

Thanks for the review. I was looking this up on Revzilla, which offers a 10% off on the first order. The “made in Vietnam” is a turn-off though.

I saw two pictures from the reviews on Revzilla complaining about damages from the shipping process. The pics show the close-up quality of the leather (or lack thereof).

 

[BB1239]

I think they learned their lesson on shipping, mine was packaged very well. I can't argue with the criticism of the leather, I share that sentiment. I mean, the smooth finish would probably help in a slide, as it wouldn't catch traction on pavement and flip you over, but for all the other moments of jacket ownership I'd just hate it. It feels like it would make very good car seat material though hahaha.

 

[BB1239]

I'd never handled a leather quite like that, but admittedly I have much less experience than most of you on this forum. It felt uniform in its thickness, did not feel spongy at all (which is a good thing IMO). It felt very pliable and flexible, while feeling firm at the same time, almost like it would stay where you bent it. It really did feel like leather and not vinyl, but to say it had no character would be an understatement. Running your hands across the surface, it feels smoother than human skin. Definitely heavily sanded. I'm sure the vegan leather crowd would fall in love with it.