Harley Davidson white label

[cgreen]

Hi All,

Gorgeous weather here in Toronto, hope you're being treated to the same.

In a previous conversation a forum member informed me that in the 1950s Harley Davidson produced their jackets in the U.S. and that that the quality was quite good. Apparently when they shifted to the AMF label the quality began to decline, and then at some point some of the production moved overseas.

I know the brand but I'm not familiar with the quality of the vintage leathers, can anyone here elaborate? I've found a white label HD jacket that looks really interesting but I don't know where it was produced and what the difference in labels means to the quality of the pieces.

Looking for your thoughts, thank you. Enjoy the day.

CG

 

[Pa12]

Don’t know about the jackets but the bikes suffered under AMF.

 

[cgreen]

Thank you - what does the acronym AMF stand for?

 

[Pa12]

I can’t remember but they used to make basketballs and shit. The bikes were still good but there was a lot of quality control issues. All Harley’s leak but these were rediculous. The evo engine (designed by Japanese engineers) saved the company.

 

[Pa12]

American machine and foundry

 

[cgreen]

Thank you for that. So like many other retail brands, HD, contracted with a garment manufacturer to create the jackets. So that still leaves me wondering if the manufacturer involved with the white label produced better quality pieces than subsequent manufacturers and labels.

 

[Pa12]

Hard to say but like so many other things, you’re probably paying a premium for a name. Have you ever bought clothes at marks? Used to be all made in Canada so no one minded the premium prices. Now it’s all made in China, India etc. same as Wally world but twice the price.

 

[cgreen]

I'm familiar with Marks for sure, and it's too bad about the overseas production and higher prices.

If we go by the premise that we'll likely never know what manufacturer produced this white label piece, is there a way then to gauge the quality of the leather? Are there specific tells? Are there details that would indicate high quality versus low? The jacket is from the 1960s and shows some wear but from the photos I've seen the shoulder seams appear tight and the zips all work. How can I determine the jacket quality without knowing at least the quality of the manufacturer?

 

[Pa12]

That, I don’t know. But I think in general, things from that era we’re probably better made and likely made in the west when we built all our own stuff

 

[cgreen]

That's probably the case, yes. Will have to research white label HD to see what I can find. Will report back, enjoy the day, and if you're in Canada the long weekend.

CG

 

[cgreen]

This just in...I didn't know this but apparently Schott had a contract to manufacture HD jackets in the 1950s. This is the response on Schott's website in response to a customer query.

"Harley Davidson does not have a clothing manufacturing company, their clothing and jackets are contracted to manufacturers. Unfortunately we no longer have records to confirm if we manufactured a private label for Harley Davidson in 1953. We have made jackets for Harley Davidison with their label, but I cannot confirm your jacket was made by us. Since we were a leading manufacturer of motorcycle jackets in the 1950's it is very possible."

 

[Pa12]

There ya go.

 

[JonnyCrow]

Hard to say but like so many other things, you’re probably paying a premium for a name. Have you ever bought clothes at marks? Used to be all made in Canada so no one minded the premium prices. Now it’s all made in China, India etc. same as Wally world but twice the price.

ie Dr Martens England boots

 

[CombatWombat]

I used to have a HD/Schott jacket....... wasn't worth shit compared to other lower priced brands I've had over the years.
I've prefered "British Cycle Wear" which was made in Canada of all places and had a better less blocky fit with better designed pockets (fits my phone and wallet quite well for something designed in the 50's)

 

[Pa12]

I used to have a HD/Schott jacket....... wasn't worth shit compared to other lower priced brands I've had over the years.
I've prefered "British Cycle Wear" which was made in Canada of all places and had a better less blocky fit with better designed pockets (fits my phone and wallet quite well for something designed in the 50's)

Interesting. I didn’t know we made anything here any more. Aside from maple syrup and stupid politicians