Leather is an investment that’s with you a life time. I get not wanting to spend $500+ on a jacket.. I also get being willing to spend $500+ on a jacket.

I have lots of leather jackets. I still have my first two from when I was in my late teens. Both fit still but are a touch tight lol. I’m still an XL Tall.

My advice is to not worry about where it’s made… worry more about it’s individual quality and craftsmanship. The “real” Harley jackets not just the ones with fake or even licensed tags are not the same as the ones actually sold in the dealerships. It doesn’t matter if it’s foreign… it really doesn’t good leather and good craftsmanship can come from many cultures and geographic origins. Crap can also come from anywhere… That cow or goat had zero political inspirations and never fought in a war against your grandfather… he just ate grass, enjoyed the sunshine until the day he sacrificed himself to make your jacket and feed somebody… don’t hate the cow.

I buy used real Harley jackets. You can tell when you see them. The rare cool formally high end dealer coats run about $100 to $400 used. If you’re an odd size like I am ebay is your best source of finding your size. Be patient haggle…

Harley is a great option because they are true to size (the dealer sold ones), always “good” quality and usually really made for a rider. We’ll thought out with vents that work, zippers that hold up reasonably well.. the name brand gives you some protection that it will meet at least some basic quality standard. Are there better made jackets? Yes, of course. But often they are NOT true to size, very expensive… and no offense often very basic cosmetically. But still a good choice.

Be careful, though there are a lot of knock off Harley coats, there are a lot of licensed knock off coats.

On ebay search Competition III, Switchback / alternator, Excam Warrior, Evolution, magnum, wick twister just to name a few. There are also distressed vs non distressed in many of these jacket series. Some even more rare ones too.

I have a dealer sold high quality Switchback or Alternator that has grey and silver lettering and no orange. So there are some rare ones out there. All of them have pockets for armor.

I would avoid the jackets like the Half mile or Passing Link because Harley officially licensed these outside of the dealer network and there are so many that are just poorly made and fit wonky… they did make good ones for dealers but they were rare and the chances of finding a real one is tough… and there are so many crap ones.

I have yet to show up at a bike rally or event and see anyone wear the same jacket as I’m wearing.. the rare high end ones are just that… rare.

 

I was thinking about this last evening. It might be worth a try. Cheaply tanned leather like someone said here is more akin to cardboard than animal skin. If I couldn’t get leather oils deep into the leather to lubricate the grain, I think the dryer might be a reasonable option that I would try.

I'd place my oiled jacket inside a heavy laundry bag, add about 3-5 old tennis ***** and set the dryer on max time on tumble only.

I’d probably zip the zipper up and all the pockets and vents. If I had to fold it, I’d stop and open the bag and change the jackets orientation every 1/2 hour.

I don’t know if it would work, but it will do something. If you try this, let us know if it did anything. I’d also only do it to a cheap knockoff, Pakistani or other poorly tanned leather jacket. I might also wonder, what animal did the leather come from as some animals skin is inherently poor for jacket use, it is just cheap and readily available in third world markets.

I do have a water buffalo jacket that while buttery soft and wears like iron, needs a lovingly good cleaning to remove a waxy buildup each spring because of third world tanning. It is one I purchased from an online vendor after my divorce when price mattered and I still use it occasionally. It was and is a good bargain at that time. I hope you can make your bargain deal as practical as mine turned out.

 

Ive done the dryer trick with my vanson and langlitz, not exactly cheap pakistani jackets by a long shot. A stiff jacket is not a sign of being poorly tanned at all, it just means theyll break in more. I also own a fox creek vest thats buttery soft and very pliable but its a corrected grain with a pebble finish thats going to look how it does for a long time.

 

I agree that there are many variables. The issue with making a post, especially a modest one without actually seeing, feeling and smelling the jacket in question, is that our words and ideas are read, interpreted as fixed, black or white. All the while, we operate in the grey, moving easily from one side to the other. I also have a heavy, well made leather jacket. You might even say stiff. That is because of the thickness and while it feels stiff because of this, it is flexible when on.

It is tough to appease all the readers, to consolidate all our unique experiences, and to compare your leather jacket to mine or the OPs. Guess that is why we have forums instead of asking our riding buddies. More experience, more options, some even hands on.

I by no means want to pick on third world leather. They vary, have their place, and are all part of the fabric of riding.

 

theres actually some great stuff coming out of asia currently. Theyre using good hides from actual big name tanneries and can be ordered made to measure. If something is coming from a 3rd world country and is junk its because thats how they choose to make it.

 

I use Pecard Leather Dressing on my leather jacket (35+ years old) and my H-D soft leather tool bag, also 35+ years old. Goes on a bit greasy, but hang your jacket and let it soak into the leather for a while.

https://www.pecard.com/collections?a...UaAuV1EALw_wcB

John

 

I've used heat and pure virgin olive oil to loosen up dried out leather.

 

Soak it in the blood of your enemies!

 

The german "ERDAL Froschfett" was and still is the classical product for leather care.

Even soldiers in both World Wars, and the motorcyclists of the post-war years nicknamed "leather butts," used this leather grease. Excellent product, highly recommended!

Mike (By the way, a little tradition never hurts!)

 

Look through all the tags on the jacket most of them have code in them for dates. I use the Harley leather dressing, used to get a small sample with the jackets when new. Most real HD jackets are not stiff.
FYI, next week is the HD leather sale at the Museum during the mama tried show, all leather is usually 100 bucks