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British Cycle Leathers ... the long, red, Cafe Racer

deeb7

Gone, but not forgotten.
So I found this locally a week ago, and it seems to be all original ... never raced, or rallied. Still with the correct, tan coloured, breathable nylon lining, and the Lightning main zipper with dual sliders. The pocket zippers are YKK, but they match the Lightning.

The hide is not heavy, I would guess at about 1.1 mm, and I assumed it was some sort of bovine leather. However the earlier examples, and this one pre-dates the BRIMACO label, were horsehide.

The length was a surprise, 27" at the back on a size 40 ... apparently they're all like this. Otherwise it's slim fitting, with a good sleeve length.

First off was a trip to Eunice the seamstress, for a little replacement stitching on a sleeve zip. Then a sponge bath, inside, and out, with a face cloth, and Pears soap. Finally a dab of RM Williams conditioner ....

Brimaco_1.jpg


Brimaco_2.jpg


Brimaco_3.jpg


Brimaco_4.jpg
 

pipvh

New Member
I had one of these (blue) for sale a while ago - went onto the 'bay and sold for peanuts, which was a shame (for me ;) ) as it was a nice jacket. Really nice hide, and the length was 30" for a size 44. All these Canadian jackets (Bristol, Brimaco etc) seem to have the same cut.

Pip
 

fishmeok

Well-Known Member
David- can you post a close-up of the sleeve zips? I like the way they made that feature. Also like the bi-swing back. Awesome cafe racer- do you have anything to ride while you wear it?
Cheers
Mark
 

deeb7

Gone, but not forgotten.
pipvh said:
All these Canadian jackets (Bristol, Brimaco etc) seem to have the same cut.

Yes, the same pattern, the Bristol factory was ex Brimaco ... the owners were brothers. I was watching the eBay auction, I paid about the same.
 

deeb7

Gone, but not forgotten.
fishmeok said:
Awesome cafe racer- do you have anything to ride while you wear it?

No, I don't, and nothing to fly either ... now I'm in big trouble. :oops:

Yes, the sleeve zip is simple, set in between the seams, and finishes an inch from the end. Here's a picture along side my Aero moto jacket ...

Brimaco_5.jpg
 

asiamiles

Well-Known Member
I found a fantastic example of a blue British Cycle Leathers (at least I think it was BCL; definitely Canadian with a lightning zip) jackets a couple of weeks ago at Explosion From Outer Space in Shimokitazawa. Waist length with 2 pleated 37J1-style pockets, the middle pleat being white. Knit waist, collar and cuffs were like those on a stadium jacket...blue and white striped. And there were white stripes down the arms. If had been in prime condition I'd have bought it (it was priced around $330 but I could have gotten it a bit cheaper) but the knits were a bit old and there was stain of some kind on the front. Would love a new one, but don't think any of the repro makers do such jackets, do they?
 

fishmeok

Well-Known Member
That's a nice,trim look- I like it better than the traditional way where the zip seam is part of the sleeve seam. Are the edges of the shell by the zip folded over or left raw?
Cheers
M.3ark

deeb7 said:
fishmeok said:
Awesome cafe racer- do you have anything to ride while you wear it?

No, I don't, and nothing to fly either ... now I'm in big trouble. :oops:

Yes, the sleeve zip is simple, set in between the seams, and finishes an inch from the end. Here's a picture along side my Aero moto jacket ...

Brimaco_5.jpg
 

deeb7

Gone, but not forgotten.
fishmeok said:
That's a nice,trim look- I like it better than the traditional way where the zip seam is part of the sleeve seam. Are the edges of the shell by the zip folded over or left raw?

Yes, it's a cut edge ... it looks like they make two parallel cuts in the sleeve about 1/4" apart, trim, and fold in the strip at the top, then stitch in the zipper, and triangular gusset piece.
 

himelator

New Member
I just finished my brimaco pattern for that jacket (I wanted to honour the owner and I thought making a copy of his most famous jacket is the best way)

I was going to say Gerry used to run professional bike races and put up prize money in montreal to test his jackets. I am trying to track down pics of this annual event. Brimaco put up the prize money in order to attract riders. They would give out jackets and see how they performed in crashes to test for improvements. The owner told me whenever someone would wreck a jacket they would throw it on his front lawn in the middle of the night as a tradition.

He also used to put them on mannequins and drag them behind his car. I guess protection is relative. I am not an expert on safety but several studies I read suggest that leathers fundamental job is to allow for slide and burn. To protect skin loss....nothing protects from impact. Mostly you dont want to tumble and break bones.
 

himelator

New Member
He used to get his liners weaved custom for breath ability...and he developed special techniques for attaching the sleeves with heavy duty thread...lastly he actually used to pick up all his raw hides himself from the abattoirs to save money ;O) Dominion Tanners was his main tannery (almost everybodies because they were the biggest) If you measure motojackets they are all 1.2 mm typically if you get calipers...not just brimaco.. hide strength varies greatly ...but mostly on the way the leather is tanned...and the strength is designed mostly for burn through (the rate the leather wears as it hits the road) and the finishes were mostly for slide

www.himelbros.com
 
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