Viking Cycle Angel Fire Motorcycle Jacket Review

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MotorcycleHouse was cool enough to send me a Leather Jacket and asked me to review it.    I told them that if I could give my honest opinion of it I would, otherwise I’d send it back to them.   They said fire away…..   So here I go.
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I’ve had my leather Jacket for about 5 years.  I bought it in a leather shop from a guy who knew what he was doing.    I gotta say,  I really don’t like Harley Leather…. Its from China, and for the most part you can get a better Jacket from almost anywhere else.

After a bike, the the first thing you need is a Jacket.   A jacket is totally utilitarian;  It’s a pillow if you’re on a road trip, warmth when you’re cold, saves you from heat exhaustion and exposure to the elements,  and almost no matter how hot it is when you head out, you gotta make make room in a saddle bag for the thing.   If you go down, its going to save you from that one-grit sandpaper called the road before it grinds down to you.     Next to your bike, your jacket is maybe your most important purchase.

I’ve been wearing this thing for a week now.   It’s an $89.00 jacket.    I think I paid $200 for the one I’ve been wearing.    I’ve really tried to hate it, but I can’t.   Its a pretty good jacket.    It’s got decent leather, the zipper is solid and it seems like, for the price this is a great purchase.

The Good:

  • The lining.   I’ve hated my liner on my old jacket.    It falls out, comes half  unzipped, and I really like how this one is sewed into the jacket.   To be honest, I think I’ve lost the damn thing on mine, and I never took it off on purpose.    I like how this one is sewn in.   A huge plus.
  • This thing has a whole lot of pockets.    On a long trip, you need a few, methinks.    Pockets for a road snack, Pockets for your music, Cell phone, your piece, and whatever else.   This jacket isn’t short on pockets.   I really like that.    A huge plus.  They’re deep and reinforced.
  • The price.    This jacket is very comparable to the one 1 paid 200 bucks for.
  • The Zipper.    You gotta figure its the thing you’re going to use the most often.   Having a shitty zipper sucks.   This thing holds up and I gotta think will stand the test of time.
  • The fit is good.  I have short arms, and for me the arms were a little long which makes it nice when you’re reaching for handlebars.    On a bike, for me, it fits perfect.
  • The company.   They ride.   I like that about them.   They’re very responsive and trying to make their name in the industry, so they try harder.   I absolutely respect that.
  • The leather is OK.  Its thick enough for protection, but not so think you can’t move your arms around.
  • Its comfortable, but even moreso in a riding position on the bike.     That says a thing.

The Bad:

  • The belt.   I love the fact that it has a belt, but the leather could be a little stiffer was my thought.    You’re not going to have that thing flopping and scratch your bike in the wind, so you’re going to use it every time you put it on and take it off.   It wasn’t terrible, but if I could ask one improvement, it would be for maybe a different grade of leather on the belt so it would hold up over the years.    I could be wrong.    The grommets were solid.   I’m almost inventing things to bitch about here.
  • The arm zippers.   It could have used it a little tighter at the wrists.   I have big arms, and I don’t need to unzip the zippers to put it on.     They could have been a bit more tapered, in my opinion.

Summary:

For the price, I don’t think you can beat it.    I’ve found myself wearing it over my old faithful, 200 dollar old jacket.     The best part is all the pockets in the right places.    I think this thing will stand up to time and use.   Ask me in a few years, but from what I can tell, its pretty well made.   They’ve done some really good things to give it an old school look, with some modern features.    Did I mention I love all the pockets?

I think this is the house brand, and they did a good job.   You’re paying under 100 bucks to get this thing delivered to your house.     I give it 7 out of 10.   I’ll break this thing in and see how much I like her in 5 years.    I gotta think I won’t be disappointed.

I asked a lot of questions to these guys, and they were responsive and courteous.     I’d like to try out some of their other stuff as well.     They seem on the ball.   A good company.

Motorcycle House:   Way nice job.   Here’s the link if you want to try one yourself.

Thanks for the chance to review your Jacket, MotorcycleHouse.    Much appreciated.

 

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Focus

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A quail, outside the window at work today.

a quail

A brief moment, but I’m grateful that I don’t have some thing hanging over my head like that, flopping all down in your line of sight when you’re trying to get something done. Its thoughts like these, that maybe that I got nothing done at work today.

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Memorial

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I’ve been searching all day to sum up how I feel about memorial Day.    I went into work for a few hours, and figured I’d go down and see my fathers Grave.    It was important to him that he not be forgotten.   I passed a cemetery and saw the traffic jams, and blew it off for later.

It was easy to go get steaks to grill on our day off.     It was easy to pass up the things that make you remember about this day, like passing through saving private Ryan on cable.

If I wasn’t careful, Memorial day almost just turn into a barbecue, and a 3 day weekend.

This sums up, almost exactly how I feel about memorial day.     The stories of men who went into the military because of maybe a small sense of duty, or pressure, or maybe just the chance of cheaper college.   That changed.   These guys went into battle, fought alongside others, who ended up taking the long view.

they took that home.  Learned to discard the ugly, and take the good to build a country.    A family.   A good place in the world.   They Built businesses and families.    Struggled with what they’d learned and saw.    Powered it out and pressed on, mostly alone.   Gave back.     We’re still swinging from the nuts of the men who did that.   The deserters didn’t learn a thing.    The fighters did.    Those are the guys I salute.

Memorial day should almost be every Day.     Dad, I’ll go decorate your grave tomorrow, and take the kids.   You hated traffic too.  I know you didn’t need to be remembered on just one day, but every day.    I can tell you we do.

My hats are off to the men and women who made the sacrifice I never made.    Happy Memorial Day.

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The Beat Goes On…

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Not to get all gushy and shit, but this picture Just makes me happy.

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That’s my Daughter’s Engagement picture.

I don’t think a man has very many missions in life.    One is to provide, protect, and take care of his family.    It’s a bit deeper than whats going on in your career, your bike or who the fuck your football team drafted.   When you have daughters, its a bit more complicated than that, because lets face it:   Men don’t really understand women.   I sure don’t.

I remember early on, that the only thing I wanted for my girls were to be independent.   If I had a conscious thought as a parent, it was fairly singular:   I want my daughters to be strong.     To be able to pull themselves out of a bad situation if they needed to, or to find out what they want and to move towards a goal.      Have that inner moxy that tells them they are good enough to do it.    I don’t know if its genes,  Parenting or just blind luck, but my daughter has it.      She’s strong.

She met a guy with some moxy, who will provide, protect and take care of my daughter.     I don’t know if that’s chance or not, but I’m glad it happened.   I’ve never seen her happier.

And, I’m happier than hell for them.    They’ll be married in a few weeks.    Pretty cool for missus Zip and Me.

Also, I am pissed about the Steelers draft, and my bike has a semi flat tire.

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Tis the Season

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Its nice as hell outside.  Riding season is here, and  I have a lot to catch up on.     I love riding and writing, but I tend to favor the former and procrastinate the latter.

I Met Jim Leonard a couple of weeks ago.   There’s a few guys who have claimed to own the original Captain America Bike, and Jim is one of them.   He’s a helluva good dude, and a bigger Easy Rider fan than I am.  I know the route, and Jim knows the movie, better than anyone.    Quality guy.   I’m a pretty good judge of character, and I count the guy as a friend.    Looked through thousands of pictures I’ve never seen, and saw his Bikes.   Very cool.

MotorcycleHouse.com hit me up and asked me to review one of their jackets.    I fought them a bit, saying I’m not that kind of blog.    I don’t blog to make money, I blog to document my my favorite religious experience, which is riding.   After telling them I wasn’t going to gush over a $90 retail jacket, they assured me I can be honest with my review, so I will.     I’ll ride in it for a week and see what they say.     They may end up sending out a hit for me, I don’t know.

I’ll get caught up, I swear.

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