BKS Leather Jacket Update August 2010
August 14th, 2010
So here I am, sunning it up approximately 1200 miles away from home. I hear you say. Ridden somewhere have we? Alas not. Its my annual sun, sea and sand holiday with the family. This is the perfect time to write an update on how my riding has been with the BKS leather jacket that I had made for me back in February 2008.
Let’s go back to the beginning. I went down to one of the London bike shows to get myself measured up for the jacket back in Feb 08. Keith, the owner of BKS was the chap I met up with. He went through the various options with me during the measurement process. I eventually settled on deer cow leather because it felt a bit softer to the touch and I liked the peterna (if that’s what its called) of this particular leather cut. I also went for one of the excellent back boards and the fleece liner for the cooler UK days.
It was a long wait but the jacket eventually arrived in mid June. Initially as predicted the jacket was a bit stiff and didn’t feel perfect when wearing it on the bike. It needed to be worn in so that the creases would fold accordingly around my special shape that is a fatbiker. After a month or so of use it eventually started to feel like it was mine. Due to the physical weight of the jacket its probably not the best jacket for wearing on a commute that involves walking or public transport like mine does. This means that the jacket is reserved for weekend or longer rideouts only. This is fine with me though because I wear a waterproof jacket when riding to work because I need to arrive dry and don’t want to be carrying a heavy leather when on the train.
Back to the jacket. I also chose optional pure white stitching. This contrasts nicely with the black leather and really makes the jacket look the part. On the arms I have a BKS reflective logo, for a bit of safety and because I’m a bit of a label tart. You would too if you had splashed out over £1k on a bespoke jacket.
A few months back I was in my local triumph dealership having a look see at the bikes when one of the staff came up to me and asked to touch my jacket. It turned out that they sold the mass produced BKS stuff that whilst good does not compare to the cut and quality of my jacket. This chap stood there groping me in public. I felt a right plonker being mauled and other people were looking at me and this chap getting off next to me. This sounds weird but he was actually that excited about touching a real one!
Moving on. As with any leather, this jacket is hot when stuck in a jam on a warm day. Not a problem though coz the zip can be operated with a gloved hand and the flap can be fastened back to allow a bit if air in.
So is this jacket worth the price tag? If you can, go for it. This jacket will last a bikers life time and some. If you are unfortunate enough to have a spill BKS will repair it for you using the exact leather cut that they used to create it. Obviously this costs but atleast you can continue to use the jacket and rely on its CE approval afterwards.
I should mention the CE approval shouldn’t I. BKS are one of the few manufacturers that can advertise the actual jacket as being CE approved besides the armour. Most jackets only sport CE approved armour. It makes you wonder how the a normal jacket would hold out in a fast slide. The seems could burst and you could still end up with a bad dose of road rash.
Checkout the BKS website for more info. They are expensive but your skin is priceless…
