Jackets that have it all

Howdy,

I'm a new rider and I'd like to get a jacket that is:
- leather
- has armor on the back
- a zip out lining
- some reflection without being too loud

It seems tough to find jackets that have it all.

Suggestions?

Thanks  

if you are set on leather you'll have very few choices. but if you want a great riding jacket check ut the tourmaster line.  
if the house is a rocking don't bother knocking, just come on in...SRV

Go to Leather up.com You won't believe the prices and variety.  

After looking some, it seems that the Tourmaster Magnaum Air Leather Jacket seems to fit the bill.  

I've been told that leather is still the best material.

Statistically, you want the armor on the back.  Those that do have armor often cover shoulders and elbows, but not the back.  Often too back armor isn't CE for some reason.

The reflective piping seems like a must if you want to ride at night at all.

The zip out lining extends the riding season where I live.

Have I missed anything?

Thanks  

Does it have CE armor (EU grading of the protection offered by the armor.
I've had a Cortech (tourmaster textile) for 7 years, and I still feel safe in it (little shabby from 7 years of dirt that won't wash out). Not CE certified, and and the pads are a little thin, but, it's still a whole lot better than a simple leather jacket.

Leather is better if you want to dump and ride, textiles are more of the disposable. On the flip side, leather needs special cleaning, lanolin conditioner, etc. But, only leather looks like leather.  

To add to what's been posted, I'd suggest planning on at least two jackets for year round riding. Leather jackets are nice until it gets hot outside. Get a good mesh jacket for hot weather riding, like a Tour Master, Joe Rocket or Olympia (their latest Airglide 2 jacket is very nice). I have a Joe Rocket Meteor mesh jacket that I love, but the new 2008 version leaves something to be desired.  

According to the Tour Master home page, the Magnum Air does have CE armor.

It's supposed to have 6 vents on the front (including using the front pockets) and 2 on the back.  I imagine that is as cool as a leather jacket can get.

I wish that they had a Canadian distributor.  

I just bought a TourMaster Coaster II Leather Jacket off of E-bay. This jacket was rated the best(4.3) in the last issue of Motorcycle Cruiser magazine. It has a
large and thick pad on the back of the jacket that almost completely covers your lower back. The rest of the armor is CE approved. The jacket is really heavy weight and should last many years...  

I finally decided to pull the pin and get the TourMaster Magnum Air.  With all of the vents, it's supposed to be okay for summer too.  Darned if all three of the online vendors I tried were sold out and told that it had been discontinued!  I'm surprised that a jacket with all of those features isn't selling well enough to keep making them.  Surprised too that the competition lacks one or more features.  I guess I'll wait a bit to see if it becomes available again.  If not, it'll probably take two jackets to do the same job.  It looks like I'd have to look at a mesh jacket for hot days.  

Sometimes it's sales, sometimes it's litigation, sometimes it's a new model comming, and somtimes it's just stupid.

I wanted to try out a Tourmaster Flex. It hit barrier 2. Now it's in barrier 3. There's a Flex 2 jacket that's supposed to be out there.

I really want to see and feel one. I did a tour 2 years ago, and I packed a mesh jacket, and a full textile with liner. That meant I packed 2 full sets of body armor, already set in the jackets. AND, they weren't interchangeable. The flex MAY offer a little better.

That would be the other area jacket manufacturers could improve things. Interchangeable armor  

Look at the Cortech GX Air 2. It has CE approved armor, reinforced leather padded shoulders, elbows, forearms, and back. The shoulder and back armor are removable. The outer shell is mesh which rides quite comfortably in the summer (I'm in Alabama). It features two removable liners: A waterproof rain/wind liner and an insulated liner for cold weather. The look of the jacket is very subdued compared to other's (Joe Rocket etc...). Lots of reflective piping also.  

Based on their sponsorship of the "Ride" TV show here on cable, I was very interested in Vanson Leathers of Fall River, MA

I went thru their web site, and went to the showroom.
As I wanted to be sure of the fit.

Disapointed doesn't cover it.  Abused might.

Let's just say that they do not keep all sizes all models in stock.  Plus, the staff realizes that.

There were a total of 3 jackets that came close to fitting me.  Only one that did fit.  Which was a "second", like one of the others.

While I didn't go thru other sizes to deeply, it appeared when I was looking for my size that they were not even close to covering even 50% of the possible sizes in every model.

It would be my suggestion that if you want one of their jackets, have them build it for you.  They certainly had some nice ones.  I may still have them build a jacket for me in the future.  

But, driving there to try, and buy, in a chancy thing.  Not what I would expect from a high priced manufacturer.  

Reviving this thread, you posted just before are leather jacket buyer's guide came out.  Fortunately for you, it's now available here on the website:

http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/accessoriesandgear/0806_crup_leather_motorcycle_jacket_buyers_guide/index.html  

I'm rather surprised to see Thinsulate liners in some of those jackets. My experience with gloves has always been that the Thinsulate starts breaking down after 5 or 6 years and is pretty much completely worthless by 10 years. I don't think I've ever had a pair of Thinsulate insulated winter gauntlets last more than 10 years.

regards,
Joe  

question for you all.  Do vents help that much if you ride behind a windshield?