Ruroc is the most influential motorcycle equipment firm you’ve probably never heard of; now they’re expanding from outrageously-styled helmets into stylish protective clothing too.
If you spot a particularly ostentatious crash helmet in town - think Halloween, serpents, fangs, teeth and devils - it’s almost certainly one of the firm’s Atlas models, re-launched in London’s East End earlier this year, as reported in the Standard.
The clothing range is far less outrageous but still determinedly distinct from rivals’ offerings, with numerous neat design tricks, styling cues and rider comforts that dovetail with Ruroc’s aim of ‘packing a punch’.
Under the ‘Enginehawk’ banner, one of the expanding firm’s most popular offerings is its premium-feeling Ironhead jacket, a tour de force in leather, resembling not so much a classic biker jacket as a closed-fitting denim or trucker-style shirt.
It has an unusually tapered, slimline fit and a slightly elongated back to ensure it doesn’t ride up when wearers are astride their bike and grasping the handlebars. It boasts a pleasingly discreet gel-injected, embossed logo on the rear, tough-looking branded buttons and a two-way zip at the front for better venting and comfort while riding, as well as access to the inner jacket.
There are two inside pockets securely fastened with Velcro and, in keeping with the denim-shirt style, two jaunty asymmetrical top pockets fastened by chunky poppers and two lower, zippered side pockets. Cleverly, the lower pockets are mesh-lined, doubling up as vents.
Venting
The Ironhead clearly seems to have been designed by riders who know that little things - like two different popper positions on the cuffs, additional poppers on the collar to prevent it flying up when riding at speed, and of course venting - matter. No one likes ‘riding’ gear devised by designers who don’t know one end of a bike from the other.
Other nice touches on this quietly eye-catching but assertive jacket are the sheer tangible quality of the supple, luxurious-feeling cowhide leather while the liner is 56 per cent polyester plus 44 per cent cotton, giving a pleasing feel combined with resilience.
As demanded by riders, the Ironhead has CE approved AA* abrasion resistance rating and comes with neat-fitting 9mm ‘SAS-TEC Triple Flex Level 1’ armour in the elbows and shoulders, while the back armour, that fits cosily into an internal, pre-tailored, top-mounted ‘slot’ over the spine looks reassuringly protective, in line with the safety ethos of parent company Ruroc. Not bad for a jacket built to resemble a shirt.
One of the quirkiest touches is the miniature motorcycle ‘drive chain’ sewn into the neck, for hanging the garment up after a hard ride, or maybe dangling your jacket over a finger as you saunter into a truck stop...
Tough-guy
It’s not hard to unearth the design ethos of the £379 jacket itself; its name comes from the legendary, tough-guy Harley-Davidson engine from the 1950s to the 1980s. This fits in well with the jacket’s matte-polish finish and black poppers; well it couldn’t look too dainty could it?
The designers also claim to have ‘engineered’ the shoulders so that they don’t ‘cinch’ up - as some bike jackets do - when you’re holding the handlebars. In practice this works well; it’s another nice touch. There’s also a short zipper on each sleeve cuff - backed by air-flow mesh material - for added ventilation on warm days.
Zipper quality appears to have been considered too with two, chunky, decently-sized YKK toggles that can be gripped while wearing motorcycle gloves, and pleasingly finished in matt black.
Any gripes? It’s well designed but the poppers - especially when new, especially if wearing bike gloves - require determined effort to snap closed. Hopefully they will loosen with time and use. And while that front zip looks great, air does get past the leather over-flap so it’s not a jacket for colder days, although it is compatible with the zip-in Thermo bomber & Thermo vest, to build up layers.
Sensibly, Enginehawk have created a jacket that - appealing to younger riders, in line with their helmets - wearers will fall in love with not just because of its function but also its style, ensuring that they’ll almost certainly wear it on - and off - the bike.
More information here.
