Leather jacket in UK- Who still wears one?

Still have and use my double breasted leather jacket I bought in Sydney 1979. Belstaff I had been using was not cutting it for keeping out the cold and wet despite proper treatment. I used Dubbin on my leather. Have never had water intrusion with it. It's a bit snug nowadays! Would last another 40 years by the look of it.
 
MarnixSFC said:
I ‘lived’ in a green Motomod jacket (made in France IIRC) in my early motorcycle years. Reasonably warm and dry at the time so pretty decent gear. Never tested the protection, fortunately.

Marnix
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I never tire of these old photos... how I miss that world.
With that angelic face and your French jacket, you must have broken quite a few kitty-cats' hearts—I won't say any more.
A real lover.
 
The first time I spent a fortune on good gear- no, not that kind of gear- I thought I could wear it, and it would last forever. More silly me. Luckily, I found a clever lady who could work miracles and add structural expansion panels. Most modern gear now has those same panels made out of stretch Kevlar fabric.
 
Zips are a pain in the ass on everything .......... Even big chunky jackets seem to be fitted with zips which just aren`t up to the job and have to be replaced with something heavy duty and more suitable ......... I`ve had to beat a path to Brunel Tailoring on Pig Sty Hill in Bristol two or three times in recent years for this very thing to be attended to .........

The pathetic excuse for a zip on the Alpinestars leather jacket I have at the moment will be next before too long .........


And what is it with boots .......... I always used to be a UK size 9 ........ but the Vietnamese / Pakistani / Malayasian idea of a UK size 9... ( this is where they are all made now ) .... bears no resemblance to what is needed to comply with my plates of meat .......

I reckon they all have small feet over there , and then look at a UK size 9 and think ...... " No , that can`t be right ...... far too big ....... I think we`ll make it a bit smaller .... "

It`s not just the sole size ...... It`s trying to get your feet into the things in the first place ......... Even going two sizes bigger means I can`t get my ankle to go into the stupidly narrow opening ....... and even if I can , it`s impossible to get the zip or velcro to do up ..........

The Ugly Sisters struggling to get Cinderella`s shoe to fit is nothing compared to what I`ve been going through .........

So I`ve given up on motorcycle boots as such now ......... Go for industrial / work safety shoes or ankle boots instead ........ A fraction of the price , and going for a size up rather than size down .... ( UK size 11 ) ..... means they are easier to slip on and off , as well as being just as secure when done up ...........
 
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YKK size 10 plastic zip, the best available. They can be hard to find and a bit complicated to specify. Google helps. It helps to find the right zip before you get your gear fixed, instead of waiting for the repairer to do it. Guess how I know You need the correct length; type undoable at the bottom. And colour. And just to add to the confusion, Euro zips connect the opposite way to American zips. So random. What I mean is the zip pull bit, to me, should be on the left; my Dainese is, and every other zip, except my USA-made jacket, is on the right. It's just so odd, but that's what they do.
 
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piranha-bro2 said:
Maybe our feet follow the path of our waistlines, Rocket!! :cool:
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Bloody cheek !!!

Actually , when I `ve turned up for my annual health and long term condition check ... ( never realised I had a long term condition ) .... at the local surgery for the last couple of years , I`ve been told I`m borderline obese ........ again , Bloody cheek !!! .......

No way would I consider myself fat ....... I reckon they use a height / weight calculation ....... I`m only about 5` 8" , but weigh 95 kg ( pushing 15 stone in old money ) when ready to hit the town ... ( not bollock naked ) ........

50 seems to be the obesity threshold on the scale they use ........ a couple of years ago I was registering around 49 ...... this year I was down to 47 , so as I said ........ Fat ? ...... No way , bugger off .......... Chunky and muscular is the way I prefer to look at it ............ :) ...............
 
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Mastroianni said:
Our Australian friends are set to release a study in late October on equipment from the past and present.
There are clearly going to be some surprises.

https://www.caradisiac.com/les-equipementiers-jouent-ils-avec-notre-securite-224202.htm

https://www.motocap.com.au/

https://australasianroadsafetyconference.com.au/
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It doesn`t surprise me really ......... design down to a price , and down to a minimum standard ...... or down to a price , but down to a higher standard , then get it approved and have it made as cheaply as possible over in the Far East ..........

( Those 10 year old Malaysians certainly know how to stitch a jacket together ,,,,,, " You .... You work harder or you no go home tonight ...... " ) :)

You can`t blame any of the manufacturers really ......... It`s a competitive and shrinking market .......

It`s only old gits who ride bikes and require jackets and so on that have to comply with a Euro-standard ....... Clothing companies have to make a profit whilst marketing products that meet Euro-standards by law if advertised for motorcycle use , and I doubt if the number of sales of these items to said old gits justifies all the effort involved .......

Easiest way out for them would to dump all the Kevlar and armour , forget about having to comply with safety standards , and market the jackets and so on as purely fashion items ..........


With that in mind , I remember in one of the Ducati pits at a WSB round in the `nineties I spotted a bloke wearing a WOOL jumper with the legend stitched on the back ....... " Dainese - For Riders Only " ..........

Now THAT`S the way to go ................
 
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Back in 1987, I had a racing suit made by Swift leathers of Northampton. At the time they were making suits for GP racers and my set cost £1500 back then. Boss of Swift was a Paul Varnsverry who was very hands on and was striving to make the safest suits in the world. Mine had full Pro tek body armour, articulated back panels, fire / friction retardant lining instead of nylon- all state of the art stuff. He went on to set the industry safety standards to all motorcycle clothing. I’ve had nylon lined leather trouser melt on my knees when I came off- if that had been a one piece suit it would have been really nasty. To be honest, even the cheap leathers now are much better constructed than the crap motorcycle city sold in the 80’s.
 
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