This Cafe' Racer is kinda Great!!!

[Mojo1975]

Our vintage Brimaco Cafe' Racers were just getting too pricey, especially since the original Brimaco Cafe' Racers had very, very questionable leather quality. Therefore, we took 3.0 to 3.5 oz. leather and stole the pattern, which has always been one of the best vintage patterns we could get our hands on! People have always loved that Brimaco fit, but, certainly, wouldn't want to have an "off" on a bike wearing one. So here's our version, with all YKK zips; incredible cowhide that is slightly pebbled; action back at the shoulders; industrial 1 3/4" elastic connecting shoulder gussets; all seams double- and triple-stitched; black cotton twill liner; reproduction tag under our house name; and all around great fit.

What we've found in our shop is that a lot of riders and non-riders alike take this jacket over a Vanson or an Aero. The leather is on par with Vanson and Aero, yet more supple. The jackets really do seem to fit some body types much better than our PLU-2 and PLU-3 Vansons; our Model B Vansons; and our Aero cafe' racers.

We also have these jackets in a two pocket version that has no action back and is incredibly streamlined. The two-pocket version is very popular as well. And, don't forget the women's reproduction Brimaco jackets, which suck in at the small of the back, making your lady look so freakin' fine it's unreal. Take a look at the pictures and see what you think! Peeps really do love these... :thumb:

 

[Grayland]

Wow, that is smoking. Are these available on your website?

 

[Mojo1975]

Wow, that is smoking. Are these available on your website?

So far they've sold out faster than we could photograph them. However, we just finished getting 24 ready for sale here at Thunderhill Raceway Park, CA, our second location. So, no, they aren't up on our website yet. Yet, they are for sale. We wanted to let the folks of The Fedora Lounge see them first.

Here's a custom one with America stripes and VERY cool patches that we recently did for a customer...it came out amazing! This particular customer wanted the jacket as much as possible to original Brimaco specifications, so he didn't want the armholes top-stitched. But we're not going to let a jacket out of our shop without it being able to last a life time, so we still convinced him to go with "hidden" triple-stitched armhole seams, much like Helimot or Zooni do on their race suits; the cotton twill liner; and YKK zippers for jacket durability, jacket longevity, and overall safety. However, with our off-the-rack Brimaco reproductions, like I said above, everything is double- and triple-stitched in the traditional sense, so the armholes are top-stitched.

 

[Grayland]

I really like the streamlined look, the pebble grain, and especially the slim sleeves. Is that a 70's Schwinn bicycle I see in the background?

 

[karhu21]

That jacket sure kicks it although my personal preference would be an optional shirt collar with press studs a la A2.
Other than that it looks very well made and fits very well.

 

[Mojo1975]

I really like the streamlined look, the pebble grain, and especially the slim sleeves. Is that a 70's Schwinn bicycle I see in the background?

Thanks! The leather is absolutely great. I'm not going to say I like it better than Vanson's cowhide or Aero's FQHH, but I do like it just as much. The pebbled grain of the leather is really cool and reminds me of understated goat. The pebbling is just there, barely enough to be noticed. And yes, the sleeves are slim, especially in the biceps, which is in stark contrast to Vanson and Aero. We've had some large bodybuilder types in the shop that this jacket didn't work for, as the body is too straight and the arms too slim.

Ahhhh yes, the Schwinn! A girl gave that to me about a year ago and I've hung onto it ever since! I use it to get around the paddock, whether in my race suit on trackdays or just on a regular day of working. They were testing an F1 prototype out at Thunderhill yesterday and I kept taking the Schwinn out to various corners to watch! For reference on how fast this F1 prototype was going, the motorcycle track record is held by Josh Hayes at 1:46.1. They were just practicing, same track formation, doing 1:34s!!!

That jacket sure kicks ass although my personal preference would be an optional shirt collar with press studs a la A2.
Other than that it looks very well made and fits very well.

We can definitely do a shirt collar as an option, but with our Aero 1930s Slimfit Halfbelts and Vanson Enfields in stock, there's little reason. Plus, I don't think people who want the shirt collar want quite as slim a fit as people who want a mandarin collared cafe' racer. At least that's our experience in the shop.

 

[volleykinginnc]

that looks awesome.....but if it's not on your website how do I go about getting pricing.....also, do you have that in dark brown or is black the only option?

 

[Mojo1975]

that looks awesome.....but if it's not on your website how do I go about getting pricing.....also, do you have that in dark brown or is black the only option?

We've gone with tried and true black for this batch, given that over 95% of our cafe' racer customers want black. However, dark brown certainly isn't out of the question for the future, as we have access to every color imaginable.

The pricing on these is absolutely incredible. We had always wanted to get a jacket that was at a lower price point than Vanson or Aero, but of similar quality, durability, and overall style. We felt horrible when a mid-twenty something, probably just out of college, came to us and all we had to offer them was Vanson, Aero, Schott, and vintage jackets that ranged from $500 to $2500. Therefore, we're filling that "hole" in our collection with these suckers, which retail for $399.99 USD. Again, a lot of people actually like them better than our $1000.00 jackets, so I think it's safe to say we've succeeded in filling that "hole" in our collection with an affordable, incredibly well fit, quality jacket.

If any Fedora Loungers would like to order, just call my cellular--206-550-3545--seven days a week, between 9am and 6pm PST. It also works best to order by phone so that Carrie, Sally, and I can size you properly and get that amazing fit. Since these are in stock, we'll ship the day of the order.

I gotta say, I've been doing this for a long, long time, having worked at and managed the ORIGINAL premium outerwear shop in the United States--DREAMLAND--and this is the nicest $400 leather jacket you'll ever get your hands on!

 

[mrc]

These jackets are really amazing. They differ from Aero in that they're much tighter through the shoulders, chest, lower chest and back. The differ from Vanson in that they're, like Wade said above, straighter. Where Vanson jackets get larger as you go up the torso, these jackets are about the same through the upper chest/back as they are through the mid-section. I've been lucky enough to try one on. I really liked it and, while the cowhide is different from Vanson's, it's top-notch stuff!

 

[ShrunkinCowboy]

Always nice to have another option on Cafe Racer jackets.
My 5' 1" tall daughter, still rides around in her 60's Brimaco jacket.

Steve

 

[CeeDee]

This is going to be my next cafe' racer! So slim, great back, incredible people...I can't say enough about Insurrection or their products! I just hope my 43" chest will fit into one of these.

 

[Dinerman]

An original Brimaco for comparison. Looks great!

 

[Mojo1975]

^^^Great Brimaco...the chocolate brown ones were really cool! We had thought about going with NOS Lightening zippers, but we couldn't find the quantity that we needed for the jackets. It's probably for the best though, as the YKK zippers are much stronger and much more readily available.

Here's my favorite Brimaco ever! I wore it for a number of years and finally sold it for a huge price to a collector who practically ripped it off of me...LOL... I'm still sad I sold it... To me, the royal blue Brimaco is THE Brimaco collector's piece, but, I have to be honest, they don't sell particularly fast. I think people are afraid to make that much of a "statement"...

 

[mrc]

Pretty much all of Insurrection's motorcycle jackets are very slim-fitting. Like I said earlier in this thread, this Brimaco reproduction is along those lines as well, which will probably mean I'm out $400.00. Over the past few years, I've spent a lot of money at Insurrection, but never once have I been sad about it! Their jacket cuts are incredible!

 

[Faster]

Pretty much all of Insurrection's motorcycle jackets are very slim-fitting. Like I said earlier in this thread, this Brimaco reproduction is along those lines as well, which will probably mean I'm out $400.00. Over the past few years, I've spent a lot of money at Insurrection, but never once have I been sad about it! Their jacket cuts are incredible!

Amen! Well said!

 

[Bonneville]

Nice jacket but the pronounced pebbling suggests its "corrected grain" does it not? While I appreciate that you're a vendor and excited about your wares, not sure I would put it on par with the aero and vanson hides as you suggest.

 

[Mojo1975]

Nice jacket but the pronounced pebbling suggests its "corrected grain" does it not? While I appreciate that you're a vendor and excited about your wares, not sure I would put it on par with the aero and vanson hides as you suggest.

It's full-grain leather... Don't jump to such quick conclusions based on a superficial remark about the grain of the leather...

 

[volleykinginnc]

It's full-grain leather... Don't jump to such quick conclusions based on a superficial remark about the grain of the leather...

I'm not sure I believe your response....you better shoot me a size 42 just so I can be certain! ha ha.

BTW I love the blue....very distinctive....however, I'm not sure if I'm good enough at what I do to wear that bold of a color.

 

[Mojo1975]

I'm not sure I believe your response....you better shoot me a size 42 just so I can be certain! ha ha.

BTW I love the blue....very distinctive....however, I'm not sure if I'm good enough at what I do to wear that bold of a color.

...LOL... Yeah, you have to be willing to put yourself "out there" to wear the blue, that's for sure!!!

 

[Bonneville]

It's full-grain leather... Don't jump to such quick conclusions based on a superficial remark about the grain of the leather...

Actually Mojo my "conclusion" was based on the pictures. As I said, very nice jacket but I usually don't see pronounced pebbling on high end cow/steer leathers. I find cheaper cow leathers that have been buffed and then corrected (stamped) usually have pronounced pebbling. Aero and Vanson cow is smooth and stiff. I find all the corrected cow hides to be pebbled and heavily 'milled' for softness.
Had you not characterized the jacket's leather as being on par with an Aero and Vanson leather I wouldn't have mentioned it.
That said I'm sure they're great jackets non the less.