Potentially Inflammatory: Why vests?

[Allen42]

First: Please stick to the topic. Please keep it civil. TIA!

This stems from a discussion started on FacelessBook, but I wanted to have a discussion that is more moderated and civil over here.

First, to give some context: I am newbie rider, having bought my first anything with less than four wheels in January. (But I have almost 3k miles on it since then!) Also, I am a bit of an OCD analyst type of person, so am always looking at the "why" and the "best" and trying to learn root reasons and tend to question the status quo.

So having said that... this discussion is not to troll, nor to start an impassioned flame war, but to learn.

Every biker shop I go into, I see a lot of vests (usually leather), and paraphernalia for vests. And of course, all the movies, tv shows, etc. the biker outfit includes a vest. (Except racing or offroading.)

I also know that most biker clubs, this seems to be the standard "uniform" with patches awarded, insignias on the back, and so on, but I just don't know why or how this came about. Even if I consider that motorcycle safety is relatively "new" in the grand scheme of things (like car seatbelts), I see that the "old timers" would usually wear at least leather gloves and often some sort of helmet, so safety and comfort were a consideration.

But how did the leather vest become so normalized? And why are they still so common and seemingly still preferred? It seems they would only protect the core in a tumble or slide, and that's not what we usually slide on. Before windshields and fairings were common, perhaps it kept the bug splatter stings on your chest tolerable? Or protected your shirt from same?

I'm curious what you know and what you think.

Again: Please stick to the topic. Please keep it civil. TIA!

[Snoking1127]

Buy it once and it will last decades. First one guy had one, then two, then three on and on. It became the de facto standard going way back.

[ARtraveler]

Most Spyder owners are not the biker gang types. I have several vests. I have a couple that I consider "show" vests. I have not worn them in several years. I have them packed away in a cedar chest now. You will see one of them on the Avatar. I like leather vests. I have a couple basic black, a beautiful brown one, and a couple cowboy type vests. I usually wear them to church or to a special occasion when I don't feel the need for a suit jacket.

Wear em if you like em is my suggestion. The vest will not make you more or less of a biker. It's a piece of clothing.

[Dasmoetorhead]

There used for a lot of reasons. They do provide a bit more protection from rocks, debris, wind etc. Over just wearing a t-shirt while riding. Some folks wear them to put all of their motorcycle patches, Military, Patriots guard riders, etc. They make a convenient place to carry your pistol concealed.

[EdMat]

Because leather has abrasion resistance and it was plentiful before a synthetic material came along that could compete with it.

[Navydad]

Why vests? How long is a rope? Guys in the west wear Stetsons, motorcyclist wear vests. I've never been a vest person even when belonging to different motorcycle organizations.

[Cobwebs]

It's so they have enough left over for chaps....................thought everyone knew that.

[Bfromla]

Just guessing: some military familiarity experience, couple extra ez access pockets(while riding), patches & pins came later as clubs developed (also similar familiarity) leather yes adds protection, but mainly ease of availability, at the time also leather craft skills were more prevalent. Vest more universal fit & breath more compared to sleeves. Alternatively; Had a spill in jacket, tore an jacket elbow?**lil diy & boom =VEST

[ARtraveler]

It's so they have enough left over for chaps....................thought everyone knew that.

I used to be a leather merchant. I worked with it for 29 years.

For real: A hide of chap leather, (one half of a whole cowhide, called a side, usually about 24 sq. ft.) will make one pair of full size chaps. Not enough left over to make a vest. A vest requires about 10-15 sq. ft. of leather (about a half hide of the chap leather).

Ask me how I know. I have made several chaps and vests for myself and others.

A bit off topic. I apologize. Back to the program.

[racoon]

I used to have a collection of vests, because I preferred 3 piece suits for my business attire.


Now that I'm retired I don't have any vests or suits.

[Peter Aawen]

I reckon that 'vests' for motorcyclists didn't really start to become 'a thing' until after WWII... And once the war was over, there were lots of fairly cheap ex-military & civilian motorcycles around, which many (ex-servicemen especially) could afford; but unless you'd managed to keep your flying gear when you were de-mobbed, the 'professionally made' leather jackets & trousers etc were pretty much only affordable then by the well-heeled &/or those to which appearance was more important than pretty much everything else.

But Vests, which were relatively cheap & easy to make, could add a fair degree of warmth & comfort to any jacket; they often had extra pockets for all the stuff you wanted to carry (concealed or otherwise); they protected the clothing you wore them over from bugs & mud splatter; they weren't as bulky as a fleece lined jacket, so they could more easily be carried &/or be stashed in a bag or pannier when you weren't riding; and they were (still are, to a certain extent! ) a whole lot cheaper than a proper 'good' motorcycle jacket was to buy back then...

So back in the day, vests were a way of rapidly converting or upgrading your every-day clothes into riding clothes, and lots of people did just that!! From there, the well-heeled moved on to their 'full-leather' suits &/or colour-coded riding gear that matched the colours/design of their 'expensive European bikes'; while the 'less well-heeled' or those who simply didn't give a rat's about how they LOOKED while riding just used whatever worked, and Vests just worked!!

They worked so well, they caught on; became a widely recognised symbol of the freedom many found in riding; and it all snowballed from there...

Simples, really!

[Gwolf]

Most vests have several pockets, with zippers so you don't lose stuff. It is more comfortable to ride 500 miles with a wallet in a vest pocket, that sitting on the wallet in a pants pocket for 500 miles. More security and less chance of losing your items in a zip up vest pocket. Most of the vests I have used had map pockets, secure cell phone pockets and several other secure pockets on the inside of the vest, as well as the standard outside pockets.

[Dasmoetorhead]

Well......
Did you get the answer you wanted yet?

[troop]

I bought a leather motorcycle vest back in 2002, when I took my first motorcycle trip to Sturgis. For a few years, I purchased destination patches to add to the vest, which I never had sewn on. I still have that vest, as it sits dust covered hanging in my bedroom closet.

[pegasus1300]

I like to wear vests because the T-shirts that I get at rallies and other motorcycle events don't have pockets and vests do. I buy leather because I like leather. As a side benefit, they provide a place for pins, patches, and a little bit of wind protection when riding.

[2dogs]

Why do people that don't own horses or cows, wear cowboy boots? And then, some wouldn't be caught dead wearing a vest or cowboy boots.

[racoon]

I have a pair of cowboy boots, and while I haven't worn them in awhile, when you go to a bar to listen to Country music, and maybe spend some time line dancing, you really should be wearing cowboy boots.

JM2C

[Gwolf]

I must have missed the articles about a dress code for certain activities.

[ARtraveler]

Off topic: But...

Cowboy boots are another article of clothing. I always wore engineer or wellingtons when aboard any motorcycle or Spyder. They offer some protection but are not foolproof. I survived 59 years without getting injured or being involved in a motorcycle accident with injuries.

I own at least 7 pairs of "nice" cowboy boots. I even have some with nice colors on them. I usually wear them to church and coordinate with my suit color of the day. They don't make me a cowboy, but they look nice at certain times. My original purchase is now 30 years old and they still look like new.

[ARtraveler]

I must have missed the articles about a dress code for certain activities.

You did not miss them. There were none. The only time I ever followed a dress code was at the annual business meeting for a company I used to work for. It was "business meeting, business attire." And yes, they made one who thought he would be a smarty by wearing one of those "tuxedo" t-shirts, go back to his room and dress properly.

I think we are at the "wear em if you like em" part in this thread. If you don't, then don't wear em.

the old addage just came to mind: Clothes don't make the man.

[BigPoppa]

Since I commute on my Spyder and often spend a portion of my commute in stop and go traffic, I wear a vest once temps get 80F and above. It's a trade-off between comfort and protection in my case. In cooler weather I have a couple of different jackets depending on how cold it is. I also have an Aerostitch R3 I bought when I was still on 2 wheels but I don't wear very often on my Spyder.

[Two2Three]

I always had a vest when I was still riding two wheelers, Like someone else said, I got it at my first rally, but I did slowly add lots of destination patches to it, plus a US map where I could ink in each state that I managed to put wheels into. When I changed to the spyder, I started over with a new vest, thinking it would be my "spyder adventures" scrapbook this go around. But then I sort of missed all the stuff I had on the other one, because sometimes it's useful for people to know you've been doing this for twenty years and not 2.

So I ended up begging my wife to help me move and sew all the old stuff into the new vest to combine it all as just my "riding" story.

But beyond just enjoying it as "the story of my riding life" I do like the extra layer it adds in cold weather or cool mornings. I will admit that I'm in the minority now in the spyder world. Mostly only older goobers like me that tend to have a vest on.

It's also kinda fun when people at a convenience store intentionally tell me to go in front of them because they wanna "look at the patches."

[shakin_jake]

I always had a vest when I was still riding two wheelers, Like someone else said, I got it at my first rally, but I did slowly add lots of destination patches to it, plus a US map where I could ink in each state that I managed to put wheels into. When I changed to the spyder, I started over with a new vest, thinking it would be my "spyder adventures" scrapbook this go around. But then I sort of missed all the stuff I had on the other one, because sometimes it's useful for people to know you've been doing this for twenty years and not 2.

~~~20 years?, you’re just a pup, i bought my 1st motorcycle in 1974, been riding year in/out ever since. That said, there’s many old timers here that have me beat by a country mile, & then some


~~~obligatory reply to the OP, only vest I own/wear now (sold all my business suits (some w/vests) when I retired from that life) is one made by 511, it’s a concealment vest


Now where were we…oh yes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9M5NnONGb4&t=928s





Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.
It’s never too late to have a happy childhood

[Allen42]

Well......
Did you get the answer you wanted yet?

I've got a lot of good guesses, yes. Thanks!

[Raven]

Why punch holes in a good leather jacket for pins and patches when you can put them on a vest ?