Edward
Bartender
- Messages
- 25,074
- Location
- London, UK
The strap at the top is designed to stop the zip falling down and opening the jacket on the bike Edward .... it was a common feature on racing suits from the early 60's and translated over to jackets from the late 60's ... a surprisingly effective feature similar to the strap across the zip at the base of the cuff ... it stops the zip puller from lifting and therefore "unlocking" the zip allowing the slider to ... ever ... slide ... and open the zip. Almost all high end leather motorcycle jackets and suits now have this feature ( though the straps are now normally secured with hook and loop ( Velcro) rather than press studs.
HTH
ah! Yes, that makes sense.... didn't connect in my head that it could perform the same function as the same on the cuffs. Still looks odd to my eye, but less irritating for being functional. Velcro, though.... brrr..... give me studs every time over that!
My bicycle gloves are made of tough sheepskin. During a spill where my wheel ate my rear derailleur, when my hands hit the ground I could not even feel the pavement, and the gloves have no marks.
Sheepskin is tougher than lambskin - Johnston & Murphy use it to line their shoes, even the insoles.
Definitely tougher than lambskin. Closer to goat in some ways in my experience, though I don't think I'd trust it for motorcycle use, unless it was dirt track motocross racing. Makes for a much lighter jacket to wear than heavy horse, though!