Leather jacket options | GTAMotorcycle.com

Leather jacket options

sburns

sburns

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Hey GTAM's

In search of a leather jacket, cruiser style.

So far a couple of options I have seen are Olympia, Joe Rocket, and Harley Davidson.

The HD jacket was pretty much near perfect, rain resistant/waterproof, armor, removable liner, vents, and decent set of pockets (liner and without), and reflective patches/lines. It checks a lot of boxes except price.

The other 2 have pretty much all that except waterproofing and reflective lines.

Found these at GP bikes & HD.
I did visit Doc's Leathers, wasn't too impressed. A lot of consignment mixed in with new, and mostly older styles etc.

Where else should I be looking and what brands to look for, any other input welcome!
 
Have you tried browsing on a site like Revzilla? Not sure what they may carry for cruiser types, but they typically review their gear, have nice video/photo and equipment breakdown.
 
I find leathers to be incredibly hot and uncomfortable for most of the riding season. I had a white S&S Twist of Fate was great on the open road, unbearable in slow traffic. A friend of mine bought black, I learned the meaning of "crazy from the heat" -- he went mental a couple of times.

If you go leather, make sure the liner comes out and the jacket has adequate chest, sleeve and back vents. Also consider color -- there is no way to make a black leather jacket comfortable in the summer.
 
Check out Vanson Leathers. Probably the best leather bike jackets money can buy.A little pricey but not outrageous in my opinion.They make jackets for the California Highway Patrol among other things.
 
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I wear a Tourmaster leather jacket. Not sure of the exact style you are looking for, but worth checking out.
 
If coming past Hamilton a little bit is something you're open to, tons of bike gear is an awesome place to shop for gear. True mom & pop operation with alot of selection and the best prices that I've ever seen. http://www.tonsofbikegear.com/
 
Thanks for the tips

@Robbo where might one find Tourmaster leather jackets.

@Bobo - same, is there a place I can check out Vanson leather.

I know leather might be a issue in the summer, but everyone I have talked to wears them, safer etc. Yes a removable liner is must have option for more comfort.

@ JTR I will look at all options - thanks will check them out.

For a sense of what I am considering here are a couple options
https://olympiamotosports.com/en-CA/products/men/jackets/bishop-s-black
https://www.riderschoice.ca/product/alpinestars-oscar-charlie-leather-jacket/

Both of these have classic retro styling but with updated features.

I'll be at the show on Saturday hopefully it will present some more options.
 
An interested my choice in $USD however is First Manufacturing. I recently saw a distressed Brando style for under $200.00

If you have a USA shipping point like Kinek, which I currently use, you can have it shipped there and simply declare and pay the tax.

They have some pretty nice styles and quality
 
Royal distributing actually has a large number of "cruiser style" leathers in quality name brands. Pricing is always good.
Otherwise try townmoto?

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I have a Roland Sands leather Jacket . Model is the Ronin. Town Moto Toronto sells it. Love it. Fairly cool in the summer as the sleeves are perforated.
 
Do you want the jacket for style or protection? It it's primarily for protection look for double stitching, quality name (dainese, vanson, hein gericke, furygan, revit etc). Honestly I've seen some leather jackets on the market that look great but would never survive a crash (and they weren't designed to). Vanson stuff is phenomenal but they don't sell through retail outlets that I'm aware of....you buy direct. I've had a Vanson jacket I purchased off ebay....beautiful jacket. I've had Dainese stuff....well made with quality leather. Hein Gericke is another maker who you'll find makes very protective leather gear. Best bet imho is to try kijiji first. Be vary wary of cheap quality leather jackets unless you are looking for fashion.
 
Bobo said:
Check out Vanson Leathers. Probably the best leather bike jackets money can buy.A little pricey but not outrageous in my opinion.They make jackets for the California Highway Patrol among other things.
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Absolutely! You get what you pay for.
 
I also agree with the kijiji suggestion, I got my Joe Rocket jacket virtually brand new for about 1/3 the retail cost. Even with the vents it can be slightly uncomfortable around the end of July, but the protection is worth the discomfort. BTW, I think the reason it only gets a bit hot, and not deadly hot, is because it's a leather/textile hybrid. It has Leather in the areas that need protection, and textile where they can get away with it. Also something to look into.
 
JTR said:
I also agree with the kijiji suggestion, I got my Joe Rocket jacket virtually brand new for about 1/3 the retail cost. Even with the vents it can be slightly uncomfortable around the end of July, but the protection is worth the discomfort. BTW, I think the reason it only gets a bit hot, and not deadly hot, is because it's a leather/textile hybrid. It has Leather in the areas that need protection, and textile where they can get away with it. Also something to look into.
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Reminds me of the old saying “don’t dress for the weather, dress for the crash”
 
It might be good to look at perforated leather, and don't get black if you can help it.
 
Thanks all for the feedback.

Basically a bit of both, protection and style.

@iceman - I was at Royal Dis today. They had a limited selection, the person there even said they don't really carry that much. There was one option for me, but had no armor.

@Dino Z - I do have a USA shipping address, I've purchased many items for my business. I will have to take a look. If I can find a less expensive HD jacket it might be worth it.

@Baggsy - is this because of visibility at night or heat, or both?

What are your thoughts on the harder armor vrs the flex armor (which is suppose to be better) style?
 
Both. I've had a black leather jacket with no vents. I still have a small suit that my kids wore when they were younger, but they didn't ride on the back that often.
 
sburns said:
Thanks for the tips

@Robbo where might one find Tourmaster leather jackets.

@Bobo - same, is there a place I can check out Vanson leather.

I know leather might be a issue in the summer, but everyone I have talked to wears them, safer etc. Yes a removable liner is must have option for more comfort.

@ JTR I will look at all options - thanks will check them out.

For a sense of what I am considering here are a couple options
https://olympiamotosports.com/en-CA/products/men/jackets/bishop-s-black
https://www.riderschoice.ca/product/alpinestars-oscar-charlie-leather-jacket/

Both of these have classic retro styling but with updated features.

I'll be at the show on Saturday hopefully it will present some more options.
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I bought mine from Parker Bros. Powersports and they’ve been out of business for years.

Their jackets could be under the Tourmaster or Cortech label. In Canada, GP Bikes and Fortnine carry these brands but looks like they only stock their textile jackets. You could check at the show Saturday and see if you like the style/quality/sizing of their product and ask if they’d order in a leather jacket for you. You can view the leather jackets online at Cortech.net

Btw, I do like the look of the Olympia Jackets...they have two...Vincent and Bishop. Keep an eye out for those at the show too.
 
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If you have to have HD, the FXRG line is the top of the line up and only jackets rated as waterproof. And very expensive. I would never pay the list price on them. Sometimes find used on eBay or Kijiji for a decent price.

I have a couple of HD branded leather jackets and both are pretty good. One is perforated and a good summer jacket. The other is a good 3 season. The 3 season has the Willy skull on the back. I prefer something a little more subtitle but, when picking up something used and the cut and fit works, I deal with it.

A simple black leather jacket of great quality is Fox Creek Leather. They have clearance sales from time to time. Hand made in the USA if that is something of importance.

I have one and it’s a great. Got it from a friend down in Florida who kinda out grew it. Fits me perfect.

I don’t have back protection with my leathers. But do have elbow and shoulder pads.







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