What's the jacket of choice for your R18?

[Petrus]

Thanks Marcilio. I found out the BMW Twin Stripes jacket is discontinued,

it's adventure and sports gear now.

 

[HUNTS]

Thanks Marcilio. I found out the BMW Twin Stripes jacket is discontinued, so I'm now looking at the Vanson Drifter w/Stripes, which I like better - without all the branding.

For those playing at home….

 

[Manhattan Matte]

For those playing at home….

Yes, that's the jacket. I called the company this morning to get sizing and availability info. A 10-week wait to get one made at the 50 yr. old factory in Massachusetts. I can still fit into my 30-year old Vanson Manx jacket that's in great shape, but I think I'll go ahead and order a new Drifter MK2 with stripes for my 70th birthday to take me through the rest of my riding years. You only live once.

 

[Petrus]

. You only live once.

so the saying goes but does being reanimated count?

But good for you; ¡A3VT!

(a tre ve te - atreverse - go for it)

 

[HUNTS]

I think that I’m going to purchase this in the next few days…

 

[Judge]

oh man that had me laughing; só recognisable. GOOD for you!!! If you were a girl I´d send you a virtual hug with kiss.

Waxed cotton. Ooof the memories: back in the day it was the only thing water proof short of a boiler suit. It had to be cleaned and reproofed regularly to keep it waterproof and apart from smelling, half the countryside stuck to it and you had guaranteed black nail rims. It was a large part of the reasons why motorcyclist were banned from nigh all cafés, bars, restaurants. Then something weird happened when better proofing stuff was invented; it became upmarket fashionable
How about thát for a turn of events!
But then motorcyclists went from being a banned threatened species so rare we started greeting eachother on the road, to hords of dentists and lawyers playing 'wild' in brand spanking new leathers

Funny that you mention waxed cotton. I still break out a Barbour International from time to time. My significant other gifted me an airbag vest that she insists I wear, and when she actually pins me down on the issue, I find that an oversized waxed‑cotton jacket is the easiest thing to wear over a bulky vest.

Stuart Fillingham has a very entertaining review of the jacket—and its history—here:

As he notes, this is a very easy jacket to layer, pair with separate armor, or in my case, add the airbag system. It's a nice alternative to a leather jacket to have on hand.

 

[Petrus]

Thanks for that!
Yes indeed; I even rode a Norton Domi
I have a collection of reprinted road tests from those days and NÓ leather is featured by the testing journalists until surprisingly late.
Totally logical as the riding gear was áll about weather protection. Not a thought about other protection which was a good thing because after a few rewaxes it slid quite well over the road

Ah, the air bag... Over here the Guardia Civil riders loathe it as according to them the risk of accidental inflating outweighes the questionable extra safety. Questionable because unlike a race track, even discounting other vehicles the real world is líttered with road furniture. Again apart from cars this is the killer. Infamous are guard rails mountings. No integral helmet or explosive bag will protect you from those. Lower protective rails do. Over here the various autonomous states invest quite a lot of money in fitting those.

Anyway, let's accept it adds protection. Then what about the downgrading from leather to waxed cotton to fit one.

All in all twó wonderful illustrations of the relativity of perception:
1. the café racers wore grimy cotton over a woolen sweater over a newspaper.
2. protective gear is a sliding scale; deliberate choice of words, see 1.

Next week the nostalgic chrome jet helmet I bought will arrive. Not reverting to the fatty cotton I wore with it as I have >300 sunny days/year here. The woolen/cashmere jacket may júst beat it

 

[Petrus]

The above youtube also mentions womens Barbour/Belstaff.
I went to the farm again this afternoon for another dog sidecar training session thus with the sidecar.
When leaving I noticed a Ducati 9xx stopped just before the entrance of the village. Looked weird. First thought the rider had one of those food distributing boxes strapped to his back but that did not fit with the sports bike. Looked better and it was his female passenger.
Did not give it another thought untill in the next village, where I made a quick stop, I had to give them way and pulled out behind them.
Not only a late model hypersport Ducati also both in very smart looking matching high tech leather gear.
The svelte female with lóóng black braid was with her phone in her one hand giving directions to the rider with her other hand, her braid swishing with the gestures.
Out of the village, onto the provincial road she crouched basically ón his back, arms around. Them unfamiliar, me familiar with the road I could keep up and enjoy the view.
Right now the crux.
FINALLY
If anything happens, she will be launched and stylishly fly forward in the speed traveled at. The outfit will not matter much if at all unless she has the unlikely luck to hit nothing.

 

[FVallely]

I bought a Vanson model B last year. Long wait but very happy with it. Lots of jackets on-site at the facility in Fall River - no wait if they have your model/size. Very helpful spending time making sure you purchase the right fit. They are definitely bike oriented.

 

[Noelpolar]

..... Right now the crux.
FINALLY
If anything happens, she will be launched and stylishly fly forward in the speed traveled at. The outfit will not matter much if at all unless she has the unlikely luck to hit nothing.

Ah..... so the ride was mostly a perv... sounds nice.....

 

[HUNTS]

Something was bothering me about the quality and/or suitability of my previous choice, so I’m going with this one instead….

 

[Noelpolar]

Something was bothering me about the quality and/or suitability of my previous choice, so I’m going with this one instead….
View attachment 21089

Is it a motorcycle jacket (rated and with armour?)

 

[bdalameda]

I still have my Bates leathers from back in the 1970's when I used to Flat Track and also compete in AFM road racing. The last time I looked at my old leathers they still had salt on the bottom of the legs from when I went to Bonneville to try and set land speed records in the 250 production class in 1975 and 1976 on a Suzuki X6. I did set a record that I held for less than two hours! I am happy to see that Bates is still in business making racing leathers as well as jackets and pants. Pricey but hand crafted. Most Road Racers and Flat Trackers wore Bates leathers on the west coast. If you want a genuine leather racing type jacket this is where you can get one. I am sure Vanson is similar.

https://batesleathers.com/

 

[HUNTS]

Is it a motorcycle jacket (rated and with armour?)

There was no armour and it was an online (eBay only) business that I couldn’t find any info on.

 

[Petrus]

I still have my Bates leathers from back in the 1970's when I used to Flat Track and also compete in AFM road racing. The last time I looked at my old leathers they still had salt on the bottom of the legs from when I went to Bonneville to try and set land speed records in the 250 production class in 1975 and 1976 on a Suzuki X6. I did set a record that I held for less than two hours! I am happy to see that Bates is still in business making racing leathers as well as jackets and pants. Pricey but hand crafted. Most Road Racers and Flat Trackers wore Bates leathers on the west coast. If you want a genuine leather racing type jacket this is where you can get one. I am sure Vanson is similar.

https://batesleathers.com/

thanks for sharing what the magazines wrote about and mán you áre/were a speed record holder and that is übercool.

 

[Petrus]

The woolen/cashmere Hugo Boss jacket is already in. Quite neat!
Fits perfect.
Needs strip of velcro though to keep the flap down over the zipper. Bringing it to a local seamster in a moment. Photos when the scarf is in too.

 

[DRACKO]

Ha! That's what my lovely wife says whenever I'm looking at motorcycle paraphernalia ! I'm looking online at the TwinStripes BMW jacket and see it's on sale in a few places. Can anyone who has this jacket tell me it fits "true to size" - meaning, if I purchase the size I normally wear, will it fit, or will it be too big or too snug? Thanks in advance.

View attachment 21015

@Manhattan Matte, that’s actually my favorite jacket! I went to the dealership to try it on last month and the quality and cut are just spectacular.
Regarding the fit: I usually wear an XL in regular clothes, but for this one, the XXL was the sweet spot for me (not too tight, not too loose, just a perfect tailored fit). So, you might want to consider sizing up. The salesman gave me a reality check. He told me: 'It’s a gorgeous piece, but think twice before dropping the cash.' Since we’re in Florida, he joked that I’d probably just end up watching it gather dust in the closet, waiting for those 5 days of 'winter' we get once a year! He also gave me a pro-tip: wait until November, as they usually have great deals on apparel then.

 

[HUNTS]

@Manhattan Matte, that’s actually my favorite jacket! I went to the dealership to try it on last month and the quality and cut are just spectacular.
Regarding the fit: I usually wear an XL in regular clothes, but for this one, the XXL was the sweet spot for me (not too tight, not too loose, just a perfect tailored fit). So, you might want to consider sizing up. The salesman gave me a reality check. He told me: 'It’s a gorgeous piece, but think twice before dropping the cash.' Since we’re in Florida, he joked that I’d probably just end up watching it gather dust in the closet, waiting for those 5 days of 'winter' we get once a year! He also gave me a pro-tip: wait until November, as they usually have great deals on apparel then.

And then buy it real cheap and sell it to me

 

[Manhattan Matte]

@Manhattan Matte, that’s actually my favorite jacket! I went to the dealership to try it on last month and the quality and cut are just spectacular.
Regarding the fit: I usually wear an XL in regular clothes, but for this one, the XXL was the sweet spot for me (not too tight, not too loose, just a perfect tailored fit). So, you might want to consider sizing up. The salesman gave me a reality check. He told me: 'It’s a gorgeous piece, but think twice before dropping the cash.' Since we’re in Florida, he joked that I’d probably just end up watching it gather dust in the closet, waiting for those 5 days of 'winter' we get once a year! He also gave me a pro-tip: wait until November, as they usually have great deals on apparel then.

Thanks for the sizing info Dracko. I found out the BMW Twin Stripes jacket was discontinued, so I ordered a new Vanson Drifter MK2 w/Stripes - Perforated. Have to wait 10 weeks for it to be made and shipped. My old Vanson is perforated, too, for ventilation, and it has been a good jacket for what we call "winter" here in Texas. I have an armored mesh Sedici for the baking hot summers here.

 

[Petrus]

Referring back to the real world waxed cotton and movie leather:

I have collected reprints of UK road tests from well before WW2 untill 1980. Post war till say 1970 being 'our' vintage window, my observation is that the road testers used one piece waxed cotton coverall, two piece waxed cotton and versions of rubber/nylunn coated wool/cotton long coats and ditto baggy pants.
In the collection covering 1950 till 1960 there is ONE leather outfit when the smallest tester, Vic Willoughby, is doing top speed testing on The MIRA test track.

The period covering 1970 - 1980 sees a shift as modern nylon materials appear. Yes indeed hi-viz patches too. Noooo leather.

This is the same as my perception of my motorcycling as life style. Leather was just for racing.

Helmets much the same. Logically no full faced appearing before the end of the seventies and then only exceptionally. We by and large did not go full face for racing until the FIM made it mandatory. It has to be seen in the perspective that all but the top few racer, we were all on a budget only just enough for shoestrings. I mean the first years I róde my bike to circuits even in Belgium and Germany. Weather or no weather. Prepaired it on track. Monday morning to work on same bike.
If you dropped it, needed to hitch a ride back.

The full faced became only common on the road after the Japanese superbikes became common.
This observed, the first 'modular' helmets appeared pronto, 1980s!
Me, for road use, returned to open face when wind tunnel tested fairings became the norm. Again surprisingly early; The 1980! Moto Guzzi and ditto BMW RS are notable examples.

All in all in mý opinion our outfits are héavily influenced by external factors, by our perception of motorbike riding as much as by the practical reasons,
Me too btw. Not so much the racing image or politically correct safety crap but no doubt by ´tribal' aspects. No way was I going boy racer or born-to-be-wild-one.
Since (pre)pensioned moving to Andalucía rain proof has become a non issue so now it is all about comfort, style with mínimal protective pads if at all. Shoulder pads I woúld like in all jackets but that is because of the ti shoulder

A less applicable perspective are the tests published from 1930 - 1940. Mostly very sturdy trench coats* and not a single helmet. It must be noted that traffic was less dense, road surface often dirt and the speeds só low that in some photos the rider is smóking!
* during the sixties, early seventies in the Netherlands my father, uncles and granddad all rode their two wheeler wearing a heavy leather trench coat. Warm faux mole skin lining and buttoned straps to tie the flaps to the legs.