Best black biker for non-biker?

[Bigbenbs]

You didn't specify if you want a real MC jacket to wear as a style piece, or a style piece based on MC jacket style.

However, you could take a look at Vanson's offerings. They have it all, cafe racers, cross zips and you name it. Just be warned, these are made for riding and most of their leathers are very stiff and require a long break in period to reach their prime.

My personal favorites are their Enfield, Chopper and CHP models.

https://vansonleathers.com/mens-col...PQ-highway-patrol-motorcycle-jacket-CHP2.html

https://vansonleathers.com/mens-col...t-CHP2.html?search_query=california&results=1

https://vansonleathers.com/mens-col...-jacket-B.html?search_query=enfield&results=4

If you count the Bootlegger as a style piece based on an MC jacket, then I'm open to it. But I'm not interested in something purely style based, like you'd find in a high-end fashion store.

But can go the other way as well.

 

[TheMarriedHermit]

Okay, so I'll add some further specificity to the question.

On the one side, there is something like an Aero Bootlegger, which is a cross-zip but minimal in terms of the other accouterments (belts, buttons, etc.). I've got a jacket like that (Hooch Hauler, a bit more busy in the back than the Bootlegger) in Russett.
View attachment 138745

On the other side, there is the full-on riding jacket with armor, pads, and all sorts of dramatic bells and whistles. (See below) View attachment 138744

My feeling is that the sweet spot with a black biker jacket for a non-rider like me falls somewhere in between these two. Which is to say it's not totally clean (a la Bootlegger) but that it's also not completely jazzed out (a la the Langlitz above).

So that gives a range of options.

I do very much like the Schott Perfecto. So maybe the thing to do is start with a vintage one and see what I like and don't like.

But then I see something like Diamond Dave's J-24 and I think that it might hit the business point even better.
View attachment 138746
Then I've been reading some of the effusions about Langlitz and the comfort and mobility of their jackets, and so perhaps just eventually doing a custom one with them might be the way to go.

Then I see the Lost World Speed Demon and think that might be the sweet spot.

View attachment 138747

And then I just end up thinking, how the hell is one supposed to reach any firm conclusions about all these beautiful creations?

I vote for the Speed Demon.

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[TheMarriedHermit]

And then I look back over those pictures and think, maybe it's the Lost Worlds...but then I've read posts saying LW is too heavy for a casual wearer...and so the cycle continues.

You're on the right track; keep going. It might feel like going in circles, but eventually you'll hit a straightaway, and then the choice will be clear. As the man said: when you're ready, the right jacket will find you.

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[Mich486]

If you want a specific model check out the Freewheelers La Brea (@Carlos840 has one and his pictures speak a thousand words). That is really difficult to beat. What’s your budget though? That rules out a few options.


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[Bigbenbs]

Like I said, I'm not buying right now per se. Just trying to form a kind of Platonic ideal. But if I were buying, which I imagine I will eventually be, I think my upper limit would be around $1,500, but would prefer to spend a bit less if the enjoyment is the same.

If you want a specific model check out the Freewheelers La Brea (@Carlos840 has one and his pictures speak a thousand words). That is really difficult to beat. What’s your budget though? That rules out a few options.


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[AbbaDatDeHat]

Sheez....easy answer...imho
Vintage Cal Leathers cross zip!!
Why??
Slip one of those on and you’ll be wanting a bike.
With a big motor!
Be well. Bowen
And welcome to the lounge.

 

[Jejupe]

And then I look back over those pictures and think, maybe it's the Lost Worlds...but then I've read posts saying LW is too heavy for a casual wearer...and so the cycle continues.

Its false to say that LW is too heavy, as if there was only one kind of LWs available. LW has different horsehide weights and even different hides than +4oz hh that's their speciality. Have Stu make you a Speed Demon out of 3 oz hh, 3,5 oz goat or even black deerskin and you'll be pleased, I'm sure. My recently arrived LW Suburban is made of Navy hh, which I believe is 3oz. It's not overly heavy, but still quite substantial and.. and... certainly no buttersoft good damn metrosexual crossdresser fashion piece!

 

[ton312]

certainly no buttersoft good damn metrosexual crossdresser fashion piece!

Amen! No ******** man bun wearing he/she in boat shoes with tapered leg jeans parading a triple chai latte in one hand and a copy of Brave New World in the other. For that isn't bravery at all, (do you think the men who stormed Normandy had time for yoga and sweatpants)?! Understand, these jackets are meant for men, not boys still suckling from a motherless societies ample teet, waiting for the approval of the instagramed masses.

PS- I like the speed demon too.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

^^^^^friggin hilarious Ton!!

 

[Bigbenbs]

Amen! No ******** man bun wearing he/she in boat shoes with tapered leg jeans parading a triple chai latte in one hand and a copy of Brave New World in the other. For that isn't bravery at all, (do you think the men who stormed Normandy had time for yoga and sweatpants)?! Understand, these jackets are meant for men, not boys still suckling from a motherless societies ample teet, waiting for the approval of the instagramed masses.

PS- I like the speed demon too.

Well that escalated quickly.

 

[ton312]

Well that escalated quickly.

Sorry I'm taking out my frustrations with the US postal service (and secretly auditioning, hoping Stu reads here and will hire me on for some freelance work). Will work for Ryder!

 

[Bigbenbs]

Very helpful. It wasn't clear from their website that there is such flexibility.

Also, I appreciate how the word "style piece" can create certain anxieties, particularly for those who spend large quantities of their time and money obsessing over the minutae of leather jacket fashioning but still very much identify with manly man culture. So if you can think of a less existentially traumatizing phrase, I would be more than happy to use it

Its false to say that LW is too heavy, as if there was only one kind of LWs available. LW has different horsehide weights and even different hides than +4oz hh that's their speciality. Have Stu make you a Speed Demon out of 3 oz hh, 3,5 oz goat or even black deerskin and you'll be pleased, I'm sure. My recently arrived LW Suburban is made of Navy hh, which I believe is 3oz. It's not overly heavy, but still quite substantial and.. and... certainly no buttersoft good damn metrosexual crossdresser fashion piece!

 

[TheMarriedHermit]

Amen! No ******** man bun wearing he/she in boat shoes with tapered leg jeans parading a triple chai latte in one hand and a copy of Brave New World in the other. For that isn't bravery at all, (do you think the men who stormed Normandy had time for yoga and sweatpants)?! Understand, these jackets are meant for men, not boys still suckling from a motherless societies ample teet, waiting for the approval of the instagramed masses.

PS- I like the speed demon too.

"Understand, these jackets are meant for men" who can afford them, and who buy them for various reasons that may or may not include fashion. New York City, mid-1980s: the bomber jackets were a brand new trend, and the streets were full of upper class aviators strutting in goatskins plastered with squadron patches. I was driving in midtown one evening when I saw one of those Wall Street flying aces trying to raise his tipped-over Electra Glide off the curb. He may have had the manly self-fantasy of being a Hell's Angel in the air or on the road, but that was not enough to lift a Hog. I pulled over and gave him a hand, and then the dumb ba***rd tried to pay me. No moral, just this: it takes all kinds. Who wears what, and why, ain't nothing to me.




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[TheMarriedHermit]

Very helpful. It wasn't clear from their website that there is such flexibility.

Also, I appreciate how the word "style piece" can create certain anxieties, particularly for those who spend large quantities of their time and money obsessing over the minutae of leather jacket fashioning but still very much identify with manly man culture. So if you can think of a less existentially traumatizing phrase, I would be more than happy to use it

How about "a hunk of hide"?

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[JMax]

You didn't specify if you want a real MC jacket to wear as a style piece, or a style piece based on MC jacket style.

However, you could take a look at Vanson's offerings. They have it all, cafe racers, cross zips and you name it. Just be warned, these are made for riding and most of their leathers are very stiff and require a long break in period to reach their prime.

My personal favorites are their Enfield, Chopper and CHP models.

https://vansonleathers.com/mens-col...PQ-highway-patrol-motorcycle-jacket-CHP2.html

https://vansonleathers.com/mens-col...t-CHP2.html?search_query=california&results=1

https://vansonleathers.com/mens-col...-jacket-B.html?search_query=enfield&results=4

I would add the Commando to Vanson’s offerings. Toned down D-pocket, like the Ridley I guess. Another great option.

 

[Bigbenbs]

I would add the Commando to Vanson’s offerings. Toned down D-pocket, like the Ridley I guess. Another great option.

Is that sold by Vanson or a partner?

 

[JMax]

Is that sold by Vanson or a partner?

You can call Vanson and ask if you need an in-between size or want some changes. Left Field NYC sells them. The jacket is a collaboration between Vanson and Left Field.

 

[ton312]

The Gambler from Vanson/ Thurston bros is a nice cross zip as well. The z-150 is stiff as concrete initially but breaks relatively quickly and takes a really nice shape when it does.

 

[Peacoat]

When you say a "classic motorcycle jacket," I take that to mean a cross zip jacket. Vanson makes a cross zip in completion weight steer. While it is a thick and stiff leather initially, it breaks in very nicely and becomes soft and pliable with wear. It also develops good graining with wear.

https://vansonleathers.com/mens-col...-Dominator-2-leather-motorcycle-jacket-C.html

Fox Creek is a quality manufacturer in Massachusetts. They have a cross zip that is a soft and supple leather that is broken in out of the box. I have one and have been impressed with it. Probably the most comfortable jacket on the market. I think this would be a good bet for street wear. While it is a thick leather, it is easy to wear off the motorcycle as well.

https://www.foxcreekleather.com/mens-classic-motorcycle-jacket-i/

These are two options that don't carry the expense of the custom jackets.

Good luck in your hunt.

 

[TREEMAN]

Schott should have what your looking for..........I'ed steer clear of Fox Creek.............