I bit the bullet, and spent the bucks!

[LaGrasta]

https://goldtop.co.uk/collections/jackets/products/the-bobber-jacket?variant=40068147970219

I've been wanting an asymmetrical zippered coat for awhile as I'm tired of cold air funneling in through the normal style zipper on cold days, but not ala Marlin Brando style. After much research, I went for the Goldtop Bobber, and to my surprise, in Oxblood. I cannot wait to get it! It has 1.4 thick leather, cool history, and very good reviews, even priced much better than similar styles. I was hoping for a Black Friday deal, but instead of a discount, they included two gifts, wool gater and a leather keychain.

 

[docc]

That is, indeed, a handsome jacket!

And this certainly looks like a place a proper motorcycle jacket could be had . . .

[audiomick]

Nice.

 

I like the asymmetrical zip too. I have one from Mars Leathers in Melbourne. They've changed the design a little, but it is more or less this model:

 

https://marsleathers.com.au/collections/mens-jackets-leather/products/mars-brando

 

however, I had it "custom fitted" and cancelled the epaulettes and the collar. Mine has a chinese collar with a press-stud flap to close it, and what they used to offer under the name "action back". That means there is a sort of pleat on both sides at the back to ease movement.

The jacket weighs a ton; full-thickness cowhide, but I love it.

 

And it is really cool.

 

PS: black of course, but leather in that red is good.

[guzzler]

Ha ha

Mate I'm on my second Mars LeMans jacket....

I still have my first but when I got back into bikes 13-14 years ago it didn't fit...

Funny how you gain a bit of girth over the years eh!

They are very well made and robust and reckon it'll see me out!

Cheers

[cowtownchemist]

I also have an asymmetrical zip jacket! 

I chose this one: https://www.fc-moto.de/epages/fcm.sf/en_US/?ObjectPath=/Shops/10207048/Products/Merlin-Chester-D3O-Cafe-Moto-Lth-Jacket/SubProducts/Merlin-Chester-D3O-Cafe-Moto-Lth-Jacket-0001

This is my second Merlin Jacket.  I also have a textile one which breathes for summer riding.  Couldn't be happier with them.

[audiomick]

26 minutes ago, guzzler said:

Mate I'm on my second Mars LeMans jacket....

Yeah, this one is the second for me too. The first one got pinched here

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tote_Hotel

during the time I worked there in the late '80s.

I actually saw it again a couple of months later here

https://www.facebook.com/p/Tankerville-Arms-Hotel-100063457777673/

just over a kilometre up the street, but wasn't able to reclaim it.

It took me close to 20 years to get the second and current one. I'm quite sure it will see me out. It has survived an accident with bravour, and just keeps on going on.

[LaGrasta]

1 hour ago, cowtownchemist said:

I also have an asymmetrical zip jacket! 

I chose this one: https://www.fc-moto.de/epages/fcm.sf/en_US/?ObjectPath=/Shops/10207048/Products/Merlin-Chester-D3O-Cafe-Moto-Lth-Jacket/SubProducts/Merlin-Chester-D3O-Cafe-Moto-Lth-Jacket-0001

This is my second Merlin Jacket.  I also have a textile one which breathes for summer riding.  Couldn't be happier with them.

I nearly bought the Merlin, very nice. Maybe I will after I outgrow this one in a few years. 

[guzzler]

1 hour ago, audiomick said:

Yeah, this one is the second for me too. The first one got pinched here

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tote_Hotel

during the time I worked there in the late '80s.

I actually saw it again a couple of months later here

https://www.facebook.com/p/Tankerville-Arms-Hotel-100063457777673/

just over a kilometre up the street, but wasn't able to reclaim it.

It took me close to 20 years to get the second and current one. I'm quite sure it will see me out. It has survived an accident with bravour, and just keeps on going on.

Ha ha 

I worked in Abbotsford in the mid to late 80's, so know this area!

Didn't frequent either pub but did drop into one on Hoddle street on a Friday after work for a Pot of Carlton draught.

Cheers 

Ps more I think about it the more I reckon I have been in the Tankerville Arms...

What a bloody small world eh

[audiomick]

1 hour ago, guzzler said:

What a bloody small world eh

Isn't it?

In those days, the Tankerville was a Jazz locale. I was in there for a Vince Jones show. A fellow student at the uni. used to play guitar for him.

[guzzler]

Unreal....

Back when I first got to Melbourne,someone in the group of family and friends knew someone who was in the Musicians Club in Windsor.

So I tagged along a few times and it became a bit of a local.Then someone decided to start a Darts team!

We played in a league that covered pubs in the area and I remember playing in the Tankerville Arms a few times on a Thursday night,It was strictly a social/fun thing nothing serious but had a good time was had all the same!

What a laugh...

[guzzler]

Ha ha 

meant to say but had a good time all the same!

Back to work now....

[Scud]

Good riding gear is worth the spend. I "splurged" on a Vanson jacket and pants a few years ago, and do not regret it a bit. But I got a perforated jacket for warmer days. Long ago I had an asymmetrical jacket with a huge inner flap. That was a favorite, and I thought it a great design.  

[Lucky Phil]

I moved away from leather jackets a long time ago. To hot for summer and too heavy (as in weight) for the colder months and various other issues like a lack of storage pockets of any practicality. Modern materials have made the classic leather jacket a bit outmoded in every respect but style. On top of that they shrink every year and no longer fit in a few short years 

[guzzler]

Ha ha 

If it wasn't for the custom fit on # 2 I think I may have had to look at # 3 by now....

Cheers 

 

[audiomick]

8 hours ago, Lucky Phil said:

... they shrink every year and no longer fit in a few short years 

I must have got a good one.

You got me thinking, and I went looking and found the receipt.

 

Looks like the jacket is just short of 18 years old. I did the sums: AUD 570.- purchase plus around AUD 130.- for the repairs after the accident means I'm coming in at just under $40.- a year for the jacket, and getting cheaper every year.

 

In an attempt to get back to the original post: @LaGrasta, I hope you are able to enjoy your new jacket for at least as long as I have mine.