Vanson Chopper, OTR fit

[Carlos840]

Here’s another Chopper fit and impressions thread. While I was measuring and posting about my Sheene in another thread, UPS arrived with this hunk of leather.
I was going to order from TB but they’re out of stock for 12 or more weeks which puts me right in the middle of riding season.
I’m never sure when my last riding season will be due to my age and health issues so wanted to pull the trigger ASAP as I’ve had a hankering for one of these for a while.
Vanson just happened to have a TB reject in their nearly new pile. It’s a brand new size 42 with a very small, now corrected construction issue. If I didn’t know it was there I wouldn’t have noticed it, and hence an appropriate healthy discount.
Like many I toggle between 42 and 44 so needed some measurements to nail this one down and always worrying about my monkey arms.
After a week of trying to get the dude that answers the phone on weekdays to provide some measurements (“the jacket was far away in storage, difficult to get to”) I called on a Sat and got Kim to provide me with what I needed (oddly the jacket wasn’t far away in storage after all). Unfortunately the nape of neck to sleeve length she provided of 36.5 is about an inch longer than what I measure on arrival and sure enough, I’m light on length... story of my life!!

So here is what I measure it at:

*Shoulders - 20”
*P2P - 22.5”
*Length - 27”
*Sleeves - 26” straight down
*Nape of neck to end of sleeves - 35.5” (the guy that answers the phone on weekdays says it’s a very difficult measure unless one is experienced)
*Hem - 21” outside of buckles with one more hole to let out.

My first experience with comp weight of any kind. This is more matte than shiny. Smells almost petroleum like. I’m never sure if the sleeve end gussets are a true representation of the thickness but I measure 1.3-1.4mm with my digital calipers if that means anything and my cheap ass luggage scale indicates 6.5lbs. UPS said 8lbs. Somewhere in between I’d say.
Won’t have a chance to get on the bike for a bit because we’re off camping tomorrow for a week. And on the bike is what this jacket is made for.

Fit impressions are it’s damn near perfect except for my sleeve length. I’m resigned to always being short on length unless I go custom, and even then it’s a crap shoot (hello 5*), so I’ve kinda learned to live with it. I wear gauntlets on the bike so it’s not like anyone will shout out as I’m riding down the road “hey sucker you’re an inch shy on length”!

Special thanks to @JMax for advice and recommendations!!

Comments welcome!

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That looks great, really nice fit.
Like you i wear gauntlets and i actually prefer shorter sleeves as i found long sleeves can be hard to shove inside the gauntlet.

 

[Carlos840]

Here’s another Chopper fit and impressions thread. While I was measuring and posting about my Sheene in another thread, UPS arrived with this hunk of leather.
I was going to order from TB but they’re out of stock for 12 or more weeks which puts me right in the middle of riding season.
I’m never sure when my last riding season will be due to my age and health issues so wanted to pull the trigger ASAP as I’ve had a hankering for one of these for a while.
Vanson just happened to have a TB reject in their nearly new pile. It’s a brand new size 42 with a very small, now corrected construction issue. If I didn’t know it was there I wouldn’t have noticed it, and hence an appropriate healthy discount.
Like many I toggle between 42 and 44 so needed some measurements to nail this one down and always worrying about my monkey arms.
After a week of trying to get the dude that answers the phone on weekdays to provide some measurements (“the jacket was far away in storage, difficult to get to”) I called on a Sat and got Kim to provide me with what I needed (oddly the jacket wasn’t far away in storage after all). Unfortunately the nape of neck to sleeve length she provided of 36.5 is about an inch longer than what I measure on arrival and sure enough, I’m light on length... story of my life!!

So here is what I measure it at:

*Shoulders - 20”
*P2P - 22.5”
*Length - 27”
*Sleeves - 26” straight down
*Nape of neck to end of sleeves - 35.5” (the guy that answers the phone on weekdays says it’s a very difficult measure unless one is experienced)
*Hem - 21” outside of buckles with one more hole to let out.

My first experience with comp weight of any kind. This is more matte than shiny. Smells almost petroleum like. I’m never sure if the sleeve end gussets are a true representation of the thickness but I measure 1.3-1.4mm with my digital calipers if that means anything and my cheap ass luggage scale indicates 6.5lbs. UPS said 8lbs. Somewhere in between I’d say.
Won’t have a chance to get on the bike for a bit because we’re off camping tomorrow for a week. And on the bike is what this jacket is made for.

Fit impressions are it’s damn near perfect except for my sleeve length. I’m resigned to always being short on length unless I go custom, and even then it’s a crap shoot (hello 5*), so I’ve kinda learned to live with it. I wear gauntlets on the bike so it’s not like anyone will shout out as I’m riding down the road “hey sucker you’re an inch shy on length”!

Special thanks to @JMax for advice and recommendations!!

Comments welcome!

View attachment 324842 View attachment 324843 View attachment 324844 View attachment 324845

That looks great, really nice fit.
Like you i wear gauntlets and i actually prefer shorter sleeves as i found long sleeves can be hard to shove inside the gauntlet.

 

[Tom71]

Looks great on you. Sleeves are short but not so much that I would perceive it as a big thing.

My Chopper is much the same, leather wise. Thick, robust but weirdly pliable at the same time. Even after 5+ years of wearing it reallly hard, it doens´t show much of any "character". Not my favourite leather, but one tank of a jacket still.

Wear it in good health. It sure looks killer on you!

 

[Tom71]

Looks great on you. Sleeves are short but not so much that I would perceive it as a big thing.

My Chopper is much the same, leather wise. Thick, robust but weirdly pliable at the same time. Even after 5+ years of wearing it reallly hard, it doens´t show much of any "character". Not my favourite leather, but one tank of a jacket still.

Wear it in good health. It sure looks killer on you!

 

[navetsea]

congrats!! looks like a great fit.

 

[Edward]

Very nice. I've long suspected that somebody at Vanson is a big Lewis fan; I see some echoes of the classic LL designs (the Super Monza here), **but** for my money, Vanson do it in a way which very much makes it their own. I particularly like this one - it rather reminds me of the sort of jackets I remember seeing motorcyclists wearing back in the 70s and into the early 80s. Very classy. I don't as of yet own a Vanson, but this would be one of the models I would definitely like to own one day.

 

[ton312]

Fit looks good minus the sleeve length. For me, that’s too short but of course that comes down to personal preference.

 

[El Marro]

Congratulations on the new Chopper! This is one of my favorite Vanson styles and I own it in both comp weight and Octagon. Yours looks awesome, too bad about the sleeves but a great fit overall.

 

[dubpynchon]

Sweet, you can't go wrong with a Chopper, I should wear mine more often but it has a lot of competition, like most of us here. The sleeves look fine to me but I know it's a personal thing.

 

[AeroFan_07]

Given what you have indicated, I think you did well here. Agree could use a sleeve stretch (for motorcycle use) but get on that bike and enjoy it. Sure hope your health improves and you have many more years of riding seasons!

 

[Aerielle Max]

That looks good. I can't wait to rock this look when COVID dies down.

 

[TREEMAN]

I think competition weight leather varies very much. From heavily sanded top grain ( where you can see large pore holes ) to a naked or semi aniline top grain that is very lightly sanded or not sanded at all , with all the natural scars that the animal has encountered during it’s lifetime. Seems like it’s pot luck on which one you will end up with.