Vintage Board Track (Harley/Indian) Clothing?

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SeattleRider

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Sep 23, 2009
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Seattle
Ok, I apologize up front if I'm in the wrong area but I'm wondering if anyone out there has found a place that sells reproduction/vintage clothing that early MB riders/racers would have worn. I was watching an old video today of Board Track racing from the 1920's (or there abouts) and all the riders had really cool sweater/shirts for whatever bike they were riding...I saw Harley and Indian mostly. Anyway the style on the shirts were really cool and I'm sure could be remade by the right artist. I could also see this being a huge hit among bicycle, bike, MB and others enthusiasts. I tried looking for these items today on ebay and search engines to no luck. Anyway who here wouldn't want a cool sweater/shirt/jacket like that for when your riding your vintage MB?

Any leads would be great...please share!

That great video of vintage board track racing I was talking about can be seen here (i'm sure most of you have seen this video before as it's one of the only ones around). At the end of the video when they show the winners you can see the clothes i'm talking about.

Also here area a few photos I found....
 

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SeattleRider

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Sep 23, 2009
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Seattle
That was the very first place I went and I couldn't find any old "vintage" or "replica" clothing from way back...maybe i'm blind though, ill look some more.
 
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SeattleRider

New Member
Sep 23, 2009
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Seattle
good find...not to bad at all! Thanks! Now if somebody only made those really cool looking Indian shirts/sweaters/jacket. They had the word "Indian" scribed across the shirt in that old font that looks really great. I did see some new Indian MB shirts but nothing really old looking.
 
Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse

Dealer
Feb 20, 2009
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marineabilly said:
I know this is an old post, but newbie here... :)

Although I'm new to the world of MBs (don't own one yet), I am very much into 1920's - 1950's motorcycle vintage clothing (as well other styles like workwear, denim, etc) - I have a blog that covers this.

Riders wore "racing sweaters" or "jerseys" with the bike logo sewn/embroidered on both front and back (usually). The originals, whenever they can be found on "Flea Bay," can be sell for over $1,500 depending on condition. They were made with wool or thick rayon weave material. Moth-munched wool Harley racing sweaters (before the bad economy) could sell for close to a grand. One can, however, have their own racing sweater for a fraction of the price with their own logo or Harley, Indian, etc.

I have a some links I can post, but not sure if it's acceptable on this site (I'm new and would hate to get kicked off) If it's okay, I'll post it. If not, I can send links.

Here I am in a custom Harley 1940's style racing sweater.





Click to expand...
Hey Crazy Horse shouting out to yah, and a big welcome to the forum!

You came to the right place as far as sharing the information about vintage style clothing, there's an old saying goes like this, "Quality Never Goes Out Of Style", and that is what this style of clothing screams out loud.

Vintage style motorcycle clothing not only looks super cool, but was actually the best they had back in the early days for protection.

As far as posting links I think it's ok, but for anything for sale it should be posted in the swap n shop thread forum.

Peace Crazy Horse..shft.

P.S. Marineabilly, please post us some Links, so we can see what you've found that is Vintage Style Motor Clothing!!
 
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darkhawk22

darkhawk22

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Aug 17, 2010
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Acworth, GA
I purchased the following from eBay:

Aviator hat leather about $30-35 bucks
Aviator goggles - $10 with shipping from China
and a G-1 style bomber jacket - $30 including shipping for a size 34 (pricing varies widely on these), A-2 and B-3 bomber jackets would also be good
Also I have a pair of boots from Bass that I wear they kinda look like WWII boots

I get a lot of strange looks as I ride the bike around the neighborhood in full attire but the Kids love it.
 
M

marineabilly

New Member
Nov 30, 2010
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SoCal
Thanks for the warm welcome, Crazy Horse!!

Here are some sources for some faithful reproduction vintage motorcycle wear:

Rising Sun Jeans sells a Racing Tee
Vintage Engineer Boots: RISING SUN JEANS RACER TEE

North Los Angeles Motorcycle Club (NLAMC) offers quite a few custom-made sweaters. My Harley Sweater is from NLAMC. You can have ANY name embroidered on front and back for a relatively reasonable price. My Harley sweater was under $300? (It’s been so long that I don’t remember the exact price), but VERY reasonable compared to the real deal.
North Los Angeles Motorcycle Club

Here's a faithful reproduction NLAMC sweater:


My Baby Jo (just the sweater; up to the purchaser to embroider)
http://www.mybabyjo.com/mensshirts/motorcyclesweaterblkcrm.htm


Liberty Motor Wear (I think they offer embroidery)
SWEATERS



Don’t forget about your Buco or Beck horsehide leather breaches and riding boots. Engineer/Motorcycle Boots came out as early as the early 1930’s (I haven’t found any photographic proof them being available in the 1920’s). Chippewa and Wesco were the main boots brands back then.

I've collected vintage Engineer Boots now for just about twenty years and this is personally the earliest proof of their existence from 1934:


Here's a Hap Jones photo from 1938 showing Engineer Boots:


Vintage Engineer Boots: Vintage Indian Racing Sweater Horror Story

Vintage Engineer Boots: Vintage Indian Racer
 
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Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse

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Feb 20, 2009
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Marineabilly, I forgot to mention that you have to post at least 3-times in the forum before you can, 1. Post pictures & 2. Post links, I believe this is why you were having a tough time sharing the Vintage Style Motorcycling Clothing.

Welcome again to one of the best motor-assisted bicycling sites in the world!

Peace Crazy Horse..shft.
 
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hoodoo

Member
Dec 26, 2009
120
23
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Buda, Texas
I had my long sleeved dark blue T Shirt (lets face it here in the South, sweaters are redundant) with INDIAN Motorcycle. You can see it on my Kingsbury Special youtube video...really adds to the fun. Got it from CAFE PRESS and made it custom on the net. I gave mine to a guy that got our Indian running at Kingsbury...it cost 35 bucks. Got to order a new one, maybe with CHOCTAW MOTORCYCLE in White to go with my newly made red Choctaw. Used the OCTIN COLLEGE font. Cafe Press only has white, black, and dark blue shirts so I will look around some more.


I am not trying to recreate history just build up some appreciation for it so I am not thread counting or trying to do anything exact.
 
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hoodoo

Member
Dec 26, 2009
120
23
18
Buda, Texas
Just ordered a red sleeved white shirt with CHOCTAW MOTORCYCLE in red on the shirt from customink . The shirt is baseball style with the short "long" sleeves but in my climate I was rolling the shirt up on the long sleeve anyways. Will see how it works. With a paperboy hat and canvas colored military riding pants and leather gaiters should look OK. Not that my bikes are boardtrackers as they are built to cruiser motorcycle style.
 
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marineabilly

New Member
Nov 30, 2010
11
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SoCal
I just happened accross this reproduction 1920's/1930's Harley-style sweater made in Japan (released this month). The Japanese are huge fans of early 20th century Americana and they study everything on a piece of clothing from the stich count to collar mesurments.

Here's the original 1930's Harley Sweater (which would sell for at least 2K)


Here's the reproduction - more of a tribute than a replica to the above sweater, but really nice nonetheless


Here's the same company with a more true replica sweater of the above original ($300)


Early 20th Century Harley Board Track riders

 
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