Truth be told, two motorcycle jackets are all I need: One for hot summer days and one for the rest of the year. We get the chance to try out new gear pretty regularly around here, but when it comes right down to it, I’ve got two jackets I like. For 11 years, my summer jacket has been a Joe Rocket Sonic 2.0 ventilated leather jacket. The rest of the year I wear a Tour Master Transition I’ve also had for 11 years, and I never really wanted to replace it, until a new Aerostich Cousin Jeremy jacket showed up at our door.
I’ve had the chance to try out a couple of Aerostich Darien jackets, but the tough Cordura they’re built from never made me want to invest the wear-time it takes to break one in. The Jeremy is different: It felt broken-in from the first day on the bike. The outer layer is made of 10-ounce waxed cotton, which is doubled up at the elbows and shoulders for protection, along with T3 armor inside. It is lined with a comfy supernyl lining. The waxed cotton has softened with 12 months and a few thousand miles of use, and it’s even more comfortable than it was the day it arrived. This is an Aerostich that doesn’t feel like an Aerostich, and I mean that as a compliment. It’s ready for your next road trip right out of the box, without the worry that you’ll wish you’d worn your broken-in old favorite instead.
The collar is lined with a soft ultrasuede material, and it’s a dual height collar, which can be unsnapped and flipped up when it’s cold outside. The Velcro adjusters at the cuffs offer a precise fit, and the zippers allow you to leave the cuffs set where you want them, using the zippers to open the cuffs when you take the jacket on and off. Each of two large front bottom pockets are big enough for a big socket wrench, a spark plug socket and some spare spark plugs, perfect, I discovered, for doing plug chops on my new (and lean-running) Norton. There’s a pass-through on the left chest for stuffing your gloves in when you’re gassing up, and another large pocket on the right of the chest is big enough for a spare pair of gloves or a ball cap. If you don’t need a map, this jacket has enough pockets to almost eliminate the need for a tank bag.
Ordered to fit correctly, it’s just big enough for layering underneath (base layer, sweater and a fleece underneath for temps below 40 F). When the temps are warmer, that little bit of room allows some airflow through the zippered underarm vents and the two-way zippered back vent, if you choose to open them. There are Velcro adjustments at the waist that you can tighten to keep the wind from making the jacket billow at the sides. It’s available as shown (brown with black shoulders), and is also available in all brown, all black, or black with brown shoulders. The black and brown color I chose hides oil stains well (see mention of Norton, above).
Suprisingly to me, the guy who’s too lazy to break in new gear, I haven’t worn my favorite Tour Master Transition in the year since I got the Jeremy. Though the Tour Master still fits and wears nicely, the Velcro at the cuffs has finally worn out. Maybe it’s time to get some new Velcro put on that jacket and pass it along to another rider, because I don’t think I’ll be needing it now that I have a new three-season coat. Price: starting at $667.
