07 January 2000

Motorcycle pants

I'm selling two pairs of black leather Vanson motorcycle pants that no longer fit me. I had a 30" waist when I first got them and they served me until I was about a 32" waist. (I have a 30" inseam, though that doesn't matter for the Sport Riders so much) But I'm now ... more than that. My weight gain will be someone's motorcycle gear gain. I was conscientious about conditioning the leather, so they're in great shape, though they show a few little scuffs, especially at the right knee.

$250 for either, or $400 for the whole kit, and there are a few little extras I'm throwing in, as described below. Photos at the bottom of the post.

I live in Berkeley but work in downtown SF, so if you're in SF and want a look, I can meet you if need be.

HIGHWAY 101 “JEANS”

These are leather pants designed to be worn over your regular pants, so the waist is a bit more than 30". They have zips all the way up the sides of the legs to make them easy to put on and take off. They are styled like jeans. If you're the kind of person who would wear leather pants for stuff other than riding, you can get away with wearing these on casual occasions.

The description on the Vanson website has closures for the back pockets, an adjustable waistband, and suspender buttons on these, but my model predates all that. The back pockets are open patch pockets, just like on denim jeans.

SPORT RIDER PANTS

These are similar to proper racing pants. They don't have the thing for the knee puck, but they do have closed-cell foam at the knees and hips, pegged cuffs to fit inside your boots, that accordion stuff above the knees, and the cut that's unflattering when you're off the bike but comfortable when you're on it. There's a way to zip them together with a Vanson jacket, if you have one. They match the description of the current version on the Vanson website.

EXTRAS

Holster:

The Sport Rider has these zippered hip pockets that aren't terribly useful, so I used to keep a holster thing strapped to them. It has a bunch of little pockets and was useful for me. Yours if you want it.

Belts:

I found it easiest to just dedicate a belt to each pair of pants. So they're yours if you want them.

Fabric motorcycle pants:

I also have two pairs of fabric pants that frankly, aren't terribly cool, but served me well more often than I expected. So I'll throw one in with each pair of leather pants. There's a pair of denim jeans with kevlar reinforcing panels in the knees and seat, made by Two Bros Racing (check out the crazy demo video) and a pair of canvas pants with knee armor I got from Aerostitch.

PHOTOS

Highway 101 “jeans”

The real thing isn't as shiny as these photos suggest.

Sport Riders

Again, not as shiny as the photos might make you think.

Holster

To go with the Sport Riders.

Denim + Kevlar Jeans

The weird extra seams are for the Kevlar panels. Between the fading of time and the original dye, they are unfashionably pale for contemporary tastes, but I assure you that they are not quite so cheesily ’80s acid wash looking as the photos suggest.