Hammer Down
One of the Regulars
- Messages
- 189
- Location
- Chicago
Anyone out there have a PLU-3? Pretty cool leather. Anyone have it in medium weight instead of heavy? I am still thinking about getting a medium weight one with quilted double leather on the shoulders and elbows and smooth double leather on the kidney back area. Medium weight overall should keep the jacket lighter and more comfortable when off the bike. Combining quilted leather and a cafe style is one of the things that makes real vintage jackets so cool. Not sure why everyone but Lewis forgets that fact, and Lewis' quilting is not exactly great, but rather looks more like giant patches of quilted leater, rather than the cool flush look of a Vanson Chopper jacket. Hey, Vanson, quilting is cool on more than just Chopper jackets, yo!
PLU-3
Model B
PLU-3 again
To me, the PLU-3 back looks a little goofy, kind of like a wetsuit. I think it would look better
with a longer bi-swing back. The short little bi-swing around the arms is not a distinctive style choice. But it may well be more practical in the event of a crash.
This Aero back, for instance, is much more attractive to my eye, although this one is exaggerated and would look better with flush sides where the kidney pad meets the main back panel, with the main panel meeting the side seams a little higher up on the jacket. Also, the hard lines of the rectangular kidney pad seem to remind one that the jacket is really just sewn-together chunks of leather. This design is probably not as functional in a wreck as a PLU-3, however, if you find yourself skidding like an upside down crab across asphault. Then again, maybe the extra seams would provide more protection if they held. It's hard to say.
Insurrection's "house" version of the cafe racer. It takes the visual design weaknesses of the PLU-3 and perhaps even magnifies them at bit. Baggy leather in the small of the back and goofy looking tight bi-level arm holes that look better to me longer, and in a "V" shape on each side. In any case, the extra length certainly does provide better protection in the event of a crash, especially if a zipper were installed to attach to leather pants.
Lewis quilting back in the 60's: stronger, flush, and cool.
Lewis quilting today: Sewn on patches for posers? Maybe. What happened? Well, probably new management and more robust accountants trimming the bottom line. Who knows? In an accident, I would rather be wearing a Vanson. The old 60's and 70's Lewis jackets certainly looked cool. And they also seem better made. One thing is certain: those 1960's Lewises were made to last and today, vintage lewis leather costs more (proportionately) than it did back when it was new. That's saying something, to be sure.
At the end of this thread, you will find a link to Thom Yorke of Radiohead wearing a vintage cafe racer jacket with quilting. Yes, the jacket is a little on the thin side by today's standards. I actually like the way there are no front pockets at all. With the business of the quilting, that lack of pockets is refreshing to the eye and creates a lean mean design. This jacket is probably a Lewis knock-off. I don't care. It looks cool as all hell to me. In a slightly thicker leather, this design would kick azz in today's markeplace.
By the way, on another subject, vintage horsehide jackets were much thinner than we see them today at Aero. When you crash, there's no such thing as too much leather, granted, but back in the 70's and earlier people just did not worry so much about that. Those were easier times in so many ways. I was just a little kid in the 70's, but I still remember the way life was more kick back and less stressed.
Here's Thom Yorke's vintage cafe racer jacket with quilting on the shoulders. I like how the quilting is on the side of the deltoid, rather than wrapping all the way around:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioyqmeVszis&feature=related
PLU-3
Model B
PLU-3 again
To me, the PLU-3 back looks a little goofy, kind of like a wetsuit. I think it would look better
with a longer bi-swing back. The short little bi-swing around the arms is not a distinctive style choice. But it may well be more practical in the event of a crash.
This Aero back, for instance, is much more attractive to my eye, although this one is exaggerated and would look better with flush sides where the kidney pad meets the main back panel, with the main panel meeting the side seams a little higher up on the jacket. Also, the hard lines of the rectangular kidney pad seem to remind one that the jacket is really just sewn-together chunks of leather. This design is probably not as functional in a wreck as a PLU-3, however, if you find yourself skidding like an upside down crab across asphault. Then again, maybe the extra seams would provide more protection if they held. It's hard to say.
Insurrection's "house" version of the cafe racer. It takes the visual design weaknesses of the PLU-3 and perhaps even magnifies them at bit. Baggy leather in the small of the back and goofy looking tight bi-level arm holes that look better to me longer, and in a "V" shape on each side. In any case, the extra length certainly does provide better protection in the event of a crash, especially if a zipper were installed to attach to leather pants.
Lewis quilting back in the 60's: stronger, flush, and cool.
Lewis quilting today: Sewn on patches for posers? Maybe. What happened? Well, probably new management and more robust accountants trimming the bottom line. Who knows? In an accident, I would rather be wearing a Vanson. The old 60's and 70's Lewis jackets certainly looked cool. And they also seem better made. One thing is certain: those 1960's Lewises were made to last and today, vintage lewis leather costs more (proportionately) than it did back when it was new. That's saying something, to be sure.
At the end of this thread, you will find a link to Thom Yorke of Radiohead wearing a vintage cafe racer jacket with quilting. Yes, the jacket is a little on the thin side by today's standards. I actually like the way there are no front pockets at all. With the business of the quilting, that lack of pockets is refreshing to the eye and creates a lean mean design. This jacket is probably a Lewis knock-off. I don't care. It looks cool as all hell to me. In a slightly thicker leather, this design would kick azz in today's markeplace.
By the way, on another subject, vintage horsehide jackets were much thinner than we see them today at Aero. When you crash, there's no such thing as too much leather, granted, but back in the 70's and earlier people just did not worry so much about that. Those were easier times in so many ways. I was just a little kid in the 70's, but I still remember the way life was more kick back and less stressed.
Here's Thom Yorke's vintage cafe racer jacket with quilting on the shoulders. I like how the quilting is on the side of the deltoid, rather than wrapping all the way around:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioyqmeVszis&feature=related
Last edited:
