Placement of sleeve zips on Schott 626VN

[Jackety]

Hi people,

I’ve been hunting for the “perfect” biker jacket for the last year or so.

I had a non famous brand one when I was 18/19 which I managed to lose/get stolen one night way back in 1991. I loved it so much especially the feeling of zipping it up and walking around like I was invincible!

I’ve had lots of other (non biker) leather jackets since but there’s something about a biker jacket that calls to me now as a 54 year old bloke….

Of the current Schott range, several don’t interest me because of the footballs. I don’t ride so any function they may have is lost on me.

They just seem odd to me. I bought a 118 a couple of weeks ago which I’ve since returned (sadly - the leather was so nice!) as I found the bulkiness around the top of the arms too annoying.


I’ve currently got a 626VN to try which just arrived today and I’m trying to deal with the ludicrous (to me) placement of the cuff zips.

They’re practically on the top of the sleeve!

Everything else about the jacket is great for my tastes. No bi-swing back or footballs, just a classic looking biker jacket.

But these zips are doing my head in!

My other option is to buy a regular 626 from America (I’m a British guy but I live in France) and they don’t sell that model here.

It does have a bi-swing back but no footballs at least and seemingly, a more regular place for the cuff zips.

Do any of you have a 626 to confirm if they’re more at the side of the wrist?

I don’t think the sleeves on the 626VN can be altered to move the zips to where I’d want them as there’d be a big chunk of leather missing!

Any thoughts would be really welcome.

 

[AerGuitar]

Hi, the top sleeve zips are my personal favorite location as they tend to have less interference/snags with paint jobs, furniture, and other parts of the jacket itself. On the top, they are right there front and center, so I can definitely see why some folks may not prefer the look. For me, when I had a 626VN, it was the lack of a gusset under the zippers that drove me nuts and ended up leading to the sale of the jacket. If it’s not the aesthetic alone bothering you, maybe having someone sew in some gussets would make a difference for you?

 

[Jackety]

Hi, the top sleeve zips are my personal favorite location as they tend to have less interference/snags with paint jobs, furniture, and other parts of the jacket itself. On the top, they are right there front and center, so I can definitely see why some folks may not prefer the look. For me, when I had a 626VN, it was the lack of a gusset under the zippers that drove me nuts and ended up leading to the sale of the jacket. If it’s not the aesthetic alone bothering you, maybe having someone sew in some gussets would make a difference for you?

That’s definitely an option I’m thinking of. It’s going to scratch up any watch I’m wearing pretty fast if I’m just wearing a t-shirt!

Is it an older style to put the zip there? It just seems like a strange choice when other jackets tend to have the zip at the side.

I contacted Schott and they said the non VN 626 has the gussets but I’m still not sure where the zip placement is….

 

[01flhr]

My thoughts on it, with the zips on top you can reach them easily with your hands on the bars. Not that you cant reach them when theyre on the sides, its just not as easy.

 

[Jackety]

 

[Jackety]

All in all I’m super happy with this jacket. It fits me really well and looks great (to me anyway!)

 

[MotoMetalPunkNY]

Hi people,

I’ve been hunting for the “perfect” biker jacket for the last year or so.

I had a non famous brand one when I was 18/19 which I managed to lose/get stolen one night way back in 1991. I loved it so much especially the feeling of zipping it up and walking around like I was invincible!

I’ve had lots of other (non biker) leather jackets since but there’s something about a biker jacket that calls to me now as a 54 year old bloke….

Of the current Schott range, several don’t interest me because of the footballs. I don’t ride so any function they may have is lost on me.

They just seem odd to me. I bought a 118 a couple of weeks ago which I’ve since returned (sadly - the leather was so nice!) as I found the bulkiness around the top of the arms too annoying.


I’ve currently got a 626VN to try which just arrived today and I’m trying to deal with the ludicrous (to me) placement of the cuff zips.

They’re practically on the top of the sleeve!

Everything else about the jacket is great for my tastes. No bi-swing back or footballs, just a classic looking biker jacket.

But these zips are doing my head in!

My other option is to buy a regular 626 from America (I’m a British guy but I live in France) and they don’t sell that model here.

It does have a bi-swing back but no footballs at least and seemingly, a more regular place for the cuff zips.

Do any of you have a 626 to confirm if they’re more at the side of the wrist?

I don’t think the sleeves on the 626VN can be altered to move the zips to where I’d want them as there’d be a big chunk of leather missing!

Any thoughts would be really welcome.

I have the same jacket and I never noticed that as a problem. I would say you're probably out of luck , as far as moving them goes. You don't like the location of them because of the way it looks? I think the 626 has a shorter back length compared to the 626vn, so you might want to keep that in mind

The only issue I have with the 626vn is the sizing. I'm normally a large and I purchased an XL off of ebay and it's still too small. I love the easiness and/or flexibility of the jacket and would love to trade mine for a 2xl...or dare I say "sell it", without getting kicked off of here as a new guy.

 

[omega1848]

Wow, is there such a sizing differences? Interesting, I downloaded/ requested the 626 measurements once from Schott, back in the bast they listed the 626 and 626VN with the same measures, but at the same time wrote on their webpage, that the 626VN runs smaller due to the leather process...mhmmm