Adding armor to a leather jacket??

[Timmy Tucker]

Think I'm gonna ask Santa for one of these for Christmas:




The style is exactly what I'm looking for, but as far as I can tell, it doesn't have armor or even pockets to accommodate it. Was considering ordering a size larger and having pockets sewn in for elbow and shoulder armor. Have any of you done this before? Is it a ridiculous idea?

[stopintime]

I agree, it looks great

If it's a casual sports jacket it won't be very comfortable on a bike with arms forward.

Are you sure the stitches are going to hold up in a crash.....

This jacket in one or two sizes up, to make room for elbow and shoulder protectors, is it going to look as cool?

My advice is to look for a similar moto specific jacket 


Have you seen the Dainese Retro, three color choices
http://www.dainese.com/eu_en/motorbike/g-retro-pelle.html?gender=2&destinazione_uso=44&cat=12&subcat=13

[Timmy Tucker]

My advice is to look for a similar moto specific jacket  

It is a moto jacket from Revzilla. It just doesn't have pads/armor. And, I'm gonna bump it up a size anyway to accommodate windproof/winter underlayers.  And I can't afford Dainese Gear right now.


http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/river-road-roadster-leather-jacket

[thought]

i'd think about going up two sizes...  there dont seem to be any gussets in the back to allow for a stretch to the bars.  so say you're adding at least one inch at the shoulders for the armor, the extra step up will prob take care of the layers and give you a bit more room to stretch forward.

[DRKWNG]

http://www.tourmaster.com/xcart/catalog/Coaster-II-Leather-Jacket-p-62_5.html ?

[Raux]

Look at leatherup.com
jafrum.com
jackets 4 bikes

all are on amazon

[Howie]

Something like this might work for you:
http://www.bohnarmor.com/catalog/proddetail.php?prod=BGCRM 

Other manufacturers make them too.  Here's a bunch:
http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle-protective-gear

Yep, leave extra room.

[Slide Panda]

Drop a line on Revzilla - they are quick to respond to customer inquires. Ask about how many sizes you might add if you were intending to wear it over armour

As howie notes, the idea of a set of armor like that Bohn, Forcefield(t-pro), Dianese etc etc is probably the easiest way to go. With a set up like that you don't need to change anything about the jacket - you'd just need to size up to accomodate the extra bulk.

[bikepilot]

^  wear a pressure suit under the jacket, simplest thing.  I'd be skeptical as to whether a jacket with no armor would likely have the proper leather thickness and stitching to hold up in a slide, but these are things you can verify before you buy.

[ab]

On my dianese leguna secs jacket, i bought  forcefield t-pro insert.  For my 2-piece spidi suit, I bought the forcefield back armor since the jacket has no insert.

[DucHead]

I have that River road jacket.

Its OK.

The cut is more of a cruiser cut.  The back isn't longer, and the sleeves are a bit baggy which makes it tough for gauntlet-style gloves.

On me it runs large, so the pocket I had sewn in for my back protector made the fit a bit better.

I also have the first edition Tour Master Coaster jacket.  The only thing I don't like is the lapels, which they did away with in the Coaster II shown above.  As it happens, I ordered the Coaster II in black/white a few days ago.

[Timmy Tucker]

Thanks for all the replies. Ended up getting a completely different style jacket altogether. Decided that I wanted some legit winter gear cause I'm sick of riding in a shitty mesh jacket all year. Nabbed a Rev'it Dragon on sale at Revzilla.

[DucHead]

Nice choice!

I was checking out Rev'it gear at the local BMW dealer, and it looks and feels like top notch gear!