pashnit
Donating Member
The Story of The Jacket.
In 1998, I began dating my future wife. Our courtship consisted of taking her to one motorcycle event, then another. She didn't seem to mind. We did Sonoma Raceway, Laguna Superbike races, the Sacramento Mile and various motorcycle shows including the International Motorcycle Show. (I asked her to marry me at that one.) During a show for custom cruisers at one of the vendor booths, I found a Teknic armored jacket for $99. The proprietor advised me with a wink I should buy it as none of the attendees at this Harley event would fit the slim sizing of this jacket. That jacket and I would spend the next 250,000 miles together. Pouring rain, snowing or 110-degree temps, I wore that jacket so much, the leather faded in the sun developing a dull patina. To which I dutifully polished, buffed and shined it with my Marine Corps issue boot brush after every ride and it shined right back up as if new. The armor has protected me from everything I've ever thrown at my thick leather jacket. From a bad crash a decade ago in Death Valley that I walked away from with nary a scratch to getting hit head on by a truck. We've traveled numerous states together, seen mountains and oceans, ridden 1000-mile days together, and led nearly 200 professional tours aboard many different bikes. After a quarter-million-miles, the stitching started to disintegrate and I sent my jacket out to get some leather love from the professionals who dutifully restitched all the right places, replaced all the zippers and put her structurally integrity back in place. Now after 22 years, it's time to take care of that patina again, looking for a leather restoration specialist that can make her look new again. Got any recommendations for a leather restorer that specializes in jackets?
In 1998, I began dating my future wife. Our courtship consisted of taking her to one motorcycle event, then another. She didn't seem to mind. We did Sonoma Raceway, Laguna Superbike races, the Sacramento Mile and various motorcycle shows including the International Motorcycle Show. (I asked her to marry me at that one.) During a show for custom cruisers at one of the vendor booths, I found a Teknic armored jacket for $99. The proprietor advised me with a wink I should buy it as none of the attendees at this Harley event would fit the slim sizing of this jacket. That jacket and I would spend the next 250,000 miles together. Pouring rain, snowing or 110-degree temps, I wore that jacket so much, the leather faded in the sun developing a dull patina. To which I dutifully polished, buffed and shined it with my Marine Corps issue boot brush after every ride and it shined right back up as if new. The armor has protected me from everything I've ever thrown at my thick leather jacket. From a bad crash a decade ago in Death Valley that I walked away from with nary a scratch to getting hit head on by a truck. We've traveled numerous states together, seen mountains and oceans, ridden 1000-mile days together, and led nearly 200 professional tours aboard many different bikes. After a quarter-million-miles, the stitching started to disintegrate and I sent my jacket out to get some leather love from the professionals who dutifully restitched all the right places, replaced all the zippers and put her structurally integrity back in place. Now after 22 years, it's time to take care of that patina again, looking for a leather restoration specialist that can make her look new again. Got any recommendations for a leather restorer that specializes in jackets?
