Vintage Speedwear Wax Cotton Motorcycle Jacket Review

[jay-ninja]

I have a bit of a penchant for wax cotton jackets. I recently bought a jacket from Chequered Flag, a small UK company that sell a range of wax cotton jackets under the brand name of Vintage Speedwear.

They are currently selling a black Trialmaster style jacket on ebay at a very reasonable £89. Here's my quick review;

I wasn't sure what to expect for only £89 - But actually this jacket is really impressive. It's a heavyweight 12 Oz wax cotton with a check lining that's exactly the same pattern as my Barbour International. The fit is good - not tailored but equally not too baggy. It has all the features you'd expect from a Belstaff Trialmaster, four main pockets, a zipped inside pocket, adjustable cuffs and buckle and strap at the neck plus shoulder and elbow patches. As for it's ability to keep the rain out, well I wore it on the bike through a 40 minute rain shower and it kept me dry !

What don't I like about it, not much really. The press studs are shiny brass yet the buckles are antique, so it's a shame they didn't use antique all round. Also the press studs don't feel quite as good quality as my Barbour Intl, they spin around on the fabric rather than being stamped firmly on - that said they don't feel at all like they are likely to fall off. A nice detail is it also has two mesh vent studs under each arm.

Another 'interesting' feature are the interchangeable flags on the left breast pocket - again a nod to Belstaff. Basically you get a selection of flags; Union jack, Stars & Stripes, Welsh, Scottish and Irish which use velcro to attach them to the tag under the pocket.

Shoulder and elbow patches. Well being picky it would have been nice if these were double stitched around the edges like a Belstaff rather than just single.

I've worn the jacket solidly over the past month and I have to say I'm loving it - It just feels solid. This jacket is the cheapest in the Speedwear range but I have say it certainly doesn't feel budget. They also sell a de-luxe in Black or Brown and that has a zip-out liner and pockets for armour - So that might be of interest to retro bikers.

Here's the ebay link if anyones interested;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Classic-W..._Men_s_Coats_Jackets&var=&hash=item8bbcaebe7d

 

[kenno]

I was very interested in purchasing the top of the range "continental" version of this jacket (£179) and emailed Speedwear no less than 6 times, directly and through their ebay site, with 3 or 4 questions about the product. They ignored me, possibly because they assumed their answers may not have been what I wanted to hear...

I posted a question/comment on their Facebook page, and again did not receive any response. Finally I again posted on their Facebook page and asked if any page visitors knew if Speedwear was still in business as someone had suggested that perhaps they had gone into liquidation, and there had been no activity on their FB page for over 3 months.

Finally, and I assume ONLY in response to my "public" enquiry/comment on their FB page, they emailed me and said they were still in business, then promptly removed my post from their FB page.

I am surprised by their poor ability to communicate - in this current economic climate can they afford to lose business? The company has a good potential to be successful in what is a competitive niche, have clearly invested in developing/re-branding themselves and yet they ignore potential customers.

For any "decision makers" from Speedwear reading this review, I strongly urge you to reassess the role of Joe Kirkham and any one else in the "front line" of your organization if you desire long term growth and success.

Consider this review a "wake-up call".

Dr Winton G. Wightman
Marketing and Communications