Lewis Leathers Lightning 391 early 80’s -2xl ( I think)

[MotoMetalPunkNY]

I picked this up off of a resale site and it came in the mail today. I’m pretty happy with it…spent about an hour cleaning, conditioning, snipping any loose threads, and removed a pin from the lapel. Now that I physically have the jacket, I do think I’m going to leave the worn Lewis Leathers logo alone ( contrary to what I said in another thread). The jacket does have a nice patina as is. It’s cool finally having ( what I’d consider) a pretty legit vintage jacket that I can actually wear a hoodie underneath.

 

[Edward]

Not entirely sure it's a Lewis, unless they deviate somewhat from the classic formula at that point. A black lining is not without the bounds of what was available in that period, but I've never seen one with that style of multi-piece back. It's also missing a second stud on the left lapel. Do the studs look like they were originally black, or has an owners repainted them? That would be unusual. Pretty sure it should have had the forearm zip on the left arm too - and the sleeve zips should be on the top of the sleeve, not the back. Not sure if they ever had that stud at the bottom-middle of the front, but somebody in these parts might well do?

The 1956 Bronx was Lewis' first attempt at a British answer to the American 'Perfecto' style, but it was really the Lightning (from 1958) that surpassed it as the flagship UK lancer-front design of the period, to which other aspired. There were a lot of companies did their own version of these right into the eighties, when the British motorcycle leather industry began to waiver and die out, running just about a decade behind the British motorcycle industry itself in that regard. I have a suspicion what you've got here is another company's version that has retrospectively been badged up as a Lewis. Happy to bed corrected by anyone who knows better, though.

In any case, it's a nice example ofc that general style of jacket, and as long as you didn't pay big money that Lewises can command for it, it'll serve you well.

The real innovation of the Lightning style in 1958 was to dispense with the front half-belt (the Bronx had one like the American jackets, but had a buckle that was leather-covered and had no pin in an attempt to prevent it scratching the tank, as the target market British riders tended often to prefer a more crouched riding style than American riders of the era) in favour of the side-buckles, something which became a real signifier of British jackets (particularly on the American market) in later years.

 

[MotoMetalPunkNY]

Not entirely sure it's a Lewis, unless they deviate somewhat from the classic formula at that point. A black lining is not without the bounds of what was available in that period, but I've never seen one with that style of multi-piece back. It's also missing a second stud on the left lapel. Do the studs look like they were originally black, or has an owners repainted them? That would be unusual. Pretty sure it should have had the forearm zip on the left arm too - and the sleeve zips should be on the top of the sleeve, not the back. Not sure if they ever had that stud at the bottom-middle of the front, but somebody in these parts might well do?

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The 1956 Bronx was Lewis' first attempt at a British answer to the American 'Perfecto' style, but it was really the Lightning (from 1958) that surpassed it as the flagship UK lancer-front design of the period, to which other aspired. There were a lot of companies did their own version of these right into the eighties, when the British motorcycle leather industry began to waiver and die out, running just about a decade behind the British motorcycle industry itself in that regard. I have a suspicion what you've got here is another company's version that has retrospectively been badged up as a Lewis. Happy to bed corrected by anyone who knows better, though.

In any case, it's a nice example ofc that general style of jacket, and as long as you didn't pay big money that Lewises can command for it, it'll serve you well.

The real innovation of the Lightning style in 1958 was to dispense with the front half-belt (the Bronx had one like the American jackets, but had a buckle that was leather-covered and had no pin in an attempt to prevent it scratching the tank, as the target market British riders tended often to prefer a more crouched riding style than American riders of the era) in favour of the side-buckles, something which became a real signifier of British jackets (particularly on the American market) in later years.

I appreciate the feedback.

Not entirely sure it's a Lewis, unless they deviate somewhat from the classic formula at that point. A black lining is not without the bounds of what was available in that period, but I've never seen one with that style of multi-piece back. It's also missing a second stud on the left lapel. Do the studs look like they were originally black, or has an owners repainted them? That would be unusual. Pretty sure it should have had the forearm zip on the left arm too - and the sleeve zips should be on the top of the sleeve, not the back. Not sure if they ever had that stud at the bottom-middle of the front, but somebody in these parts might well do?

The 1956 Bronx was Lewis' first attempt at a British answer to the American 'Perfecto' style, but it was really the Lightning (from 1958) that surpassed it as the flagship UK lancer-front design of the period, to which other aspired. There were a lot of companies did their own version of these right into the eighties, when the British motorcycle leather industry began to waiver and die out, running just about a decade behind the British motorcycle industry itself in that regard. I have a suspicion what you've got here is another company's version that has retrospectively been badged up as a Lewis. Happy to bed corrected by anyone who knows better, though.

In any case, it's a nice example ofc that general style of jacket, and as long as you didn't pay big money that Lewises can command for it, it'll serve you well.

The real innovation of the Lightning style in 1958 was to dispense with the front half-belt (the Bronx had one like the American jackets, but had a buckle that was leather-covered and had no pin in an attempt to prevent it scratching the tank, as the target market British riders tended often to prefer a more crouched riding style than American riders of the era) in favour of the side-buckles, something which became a real signifier of British jackets (particularly on the American market) in later years.

I appreciate the feedback. I plugged some of the indicators of it not being Lewis Leathers into AI to see what it would say. I realize AI is not always accurate ( even in this example , it thinks the liner is red) but I think it gives enough info to keep me confident that it’s authentic Lewis Leathers. Regarding the missing lapel stud, there is a hole there, that the pin I removed was covered. The pin left 2 holes and there is a 3rd one which the pin was covering. Also when I put the jacket on , the sleeve zippers are on top.

I know you are just saying what you notice and I appreciate that. Here is what AI said about the jacket:

Bartender Edit: Please note that The Fedora Lounge does not accept content from Generative AI; where this is posted and identified or reported, it will be deleted. See further: https://www.thefedoralounge.com/thr...-ai-plagiarism-free-zone.121987/#post-3241113

 

[Edward]

I appreciate the feedback.

I appreciate the feedback. I plugged some of the indicators of it not being Lewis Leathers into AI to see what it would say. I realize AI is not always accurate ( even in this example , it thinks the liner is red) but I think it gives enough info to keep me confident that it’s authentic Lewis Leathers. Regarding the missing lapel stud, there is a hole there, that the pin I removed was covered. The pin left 2 holes and there is a 3rd one which the pin was covering. Also when I put the jacket on , the sleeve zippers are on top.

I know you are just saying what you notice and I appreciate that. Here is what AI said about the jacket:

Bartender Edit: Please note that The Fedora Lounge does not accept content from Generative AI; where this is posted and identified or reported, it will be deleted. See further: https://www.thefedoralounge.com/thr...-ai-plagiarism-free-zone.121987/#post-3241113

Lewis in the 80s did vary somewhat from the norm. The red liner thing was never a standard the way it is now until the company was rebirthed. Other variations did happen to some degree in the 1980s as the original company ground down, so it is possible a few variants slipped out. If you really want a definitive answer though, I'd email Lewis directly rather than waste time with a plagiarism engine tbh.

 

[l0fielectronic]

I don't know Lewis Leathers at all but I had a look and there are a couple on eBay for sale with similar backs to this.

 

[Edward]

I don't know Lewis Leathers at all but I had a look and there are a couple on eBay for sale with similar backs to this.

It's not one I've ever seen - but of course there's the possibility of early eighties variations on the pattern, as that was a period when Lewis began to deviate from some of the classic models. (When Derek bought the business over in the 90s, they had lost a lot of the rarer original patterns, which had to be recreated from buying examples and reverse-engineering them.)

It's tricky to tell from only photos on auction, as unfortunately there are a lot of fakes out there (often passed on unknowingly) where back in the day people did sometimes "upgrade" the labelling on similar looking jackets. The really bizarre one, though, is the 80s era line of jacket labelled "Lewis" in an eighties (and I think just into the 90s) style block script, which were very much (then) modern motorcycle wear and didn't look at all like any classic Aviakit design. Those are typically sold as being Aviakit Lewis jackets, but it was a completely separate affair. No idea how they got away with it (unless they didn't and Aviakit's lawyers got to them!).

 

[Tom71]

At first glance, nothing speaks for the jacket being an LL. The back design and the coin pocket on sleeve with the sleeve zippers on top of the sleeves have been key visual elements ts for the 391 lightning to my mind.

That said, a lot of brands have had their ‚wilderness years‘ when corners have been cut to meet the flavour of the day or safe money by reducing standards. Schott and even Aero in the pre Calder days would be examples.

You can still wear the jacket for what it is, but if you were interested, I am sure, LL has some sort of archive for what has been done in the past. It is still somewhat on the borders of my belief that people make the effort to do fakes of jackets that are only attractive to a niche market in the first place, so maybe this is an LL after all.

 

[Grandville]

Wonderful patina on that one, agree with your decision to only give it a mild overworking, looks great as is!!