What leather jacket?

[billybob]

yep, they are my only riding pants at the moment, I plan to pick up a pair of resurgance jeans in the future however

[billybob]

The jacket just came!!!!
took 6 days to get here from sydney.
First impressions are good, the leather is nice and thick, although its really stiff but I expect it will break in after a few rides.
Overall: great value leather jacket!!

[billybob]

Just put a bit of conditioner on the jacket as it looked a bit dry- its looking and feeling much better as well. My only gripe is that the armour is kinda pathetic. definitely gonna change out for better armour

[rastuscat]

Just put a bit of conditioner on the jacket as it looked a bit dry- its looking and feeling much better as well. My only gripe is that the armour is kinda pathetic. definitely gonna change out for better armour

Look for CE rated armour.

Or a Leopard tank. Or USS Iowa. Hard to beat that for armour.

[Ginge09]

I went shopping today and tried on the Rhino jackets. They are nicely built for the money.

I wear an XL but have long arms. The body of the jacket was snug and the arms were a little short but close enough. I’ll go a size up.

The zips are YKK as advertised but come in two sizes. The Brando Classic has the big chunky zips you can work with gloves on. The more tailored cafe jackets have skinny zips with fussy little tabs. No good with gloves.

The Brando I tried on didn’t zip and dome up right to the neck. It looked like it should but the domes and studs weren’t in the right place and the chest/ neck area was wrinkled and pulled out of shape. Okay jacket if you live somewhere warm and ride without neck protection. Looked good.

The jackets have removable quilted liners but they are only vest liners. No liner in the sleeve. Wouldn’t cut it in the cooler parts of NZ or in winter. With a T shirt on you can feel the plastic armour against your elbows so the armour pockets aren’t lined either ( or the armour was put in wrong)

Good looking leather jacket for the price. Summer only.

[billybob]

I agree with you on the zips being a bit small, i have the Torque jacket and have to zip it up w/o gloves. Did you get one of their jackets/planning to get one?
Also a place I would reccomend checking out is http://www.leatherimage.co.nz/ . I quite like their http://www.leatherimage.co.nz/produc...e-jacket-lmm1/ or this http://www.leatherimage.co.nz/produc...-jacket-gx-34/.

[FJRider]

I agree with you on the zips being a bit small, i have the Torque jacket and have to zip it up w/o gloves.

Find a metal key-ring loop and attach it to the zip ... easier then wit gloves on ..

[Ginge09]

The leather image jackets attract. Basic but no extraneous flappy bits or buckles.

Is the liner full sleeve or just a vest?

Yeah Bob, key ring on the zip tab. Simple, cheap and effective.

[FJRider]

Yeah Bob, key ring on the zip tab. Simple, cheap and effective.

Two is better ... as long as the one closest to the zip is a small one. The big one then sits flush/flat with/on the jacket.

[FJRider]

Look for CE rated armour.

Or a Leopard tank. Or USS Iowa. Hard to beat that for armour.

People have still died inside tanks when they crash. AND ... big ships.

Sometimes ... no amount of Armour will save you ... and it wont (always) make you bullet proof (but that's the way you bet).


At best ... you can only hope it may reduce some of the damage done.

[billybob]

Ginge- not sure if its a full liner or just a vest liner, however I did message them on facebook to ask them another question regarding sizing (as i am a smaller build so usually need XS) and they replied within a few minutes so it might be worth flicking them a message on FB

FJ I honestly did not think about the key ring for the zipper, gonna do that now

I think the Rhino leather jacket I got was a good buy. They have a few reports of people saying that they saved their skin in crashes so you cant really go wrong with their jackets unless they don't fit etc...

[Ginge09]

As above I liked the Rhino jacket too.

Gets a bit cooler down my way though.

You Auks can probably do without the sleeve liner. The winds blow a bit cooler in Central Orago. You can smell the penguin shit sometimes.

Good tip on the double rings FJ. Cheers

[billybob]

The seams of the rhino jacket started falling apart so i sent it back to them and they gave me a full refund no questions asked so i guess thats good.
Now im back to square one. No leather jacket.
However i do have some more money and am willing to spend between $400-600.
So. In your opinion what is the better jacket.
The Scorpion Phoenix- $429
The Alpinestars Oscar monty- $599
Merlin Hixon- $599
DriRider Phoenix/GT- $549 (assuming they have XS)

[billybob]

I also just saw this.
https://www.urbanrider.co.uk/goldtop...ket-brown.html
Its from a proper Motorcycle store and seems like a proper established brand.

[Ginge09]

So the Rhino fell apart between 2 October and 29 October?

That’s a bit average Billybob. Glad I backed out.

Don’t like the Dririder Phoenix. Looks good but reckon it would disappoint. Fiddly zips again. Also I’m not a fan of the vertical zip in the front unless I know there’s a decent flap in behind it to stop water, wind etc flowing in. A reason i lean towards the Brando style with the full flap crossover.

Alpinestar gear is normally ok. The Monty has the same fiddly zips but. No fastening down at the bottom where the front zip starts. I’d want a dome or something to take the stress off the base of the zip when you’re on the bike moving around. Looks pretty. Flannel cotton liner sounds good. Like riding in your ‘jamas.

I like the look of the Merlin Hixon. Same issues as above though.
Those little reflective flashes might save your life one day but don’t look out of place.

Scorpion Phoenix is a similar style but shiny. In a sex shop sort of way. I guess it will weather with use. Might a marketing thing. The wet look.

I like the urban rider job. Full front wind flap and already has the toggles on the zips for use with gloves. Less of a fashion accessory, more of a bike jacket built by bike people.

Mate, just jump on your bike and ride the city for a day trying shit on. Drink coffee, ride and shop. Meet people. I think you’re looking online for a real world solution. You need to see the thing in the flesh before pulling the trigger on something.

Buy something you’d be happy to slide down the road in.