Men's Cafe Racer Leather Jackets

A cafe racer leather jacket is the stripped back one. Straight zip up the centre, a short band collar with a snap tab at the throat, and nothing else. No lapels, no belt, no buckles. It came out of the London motorbike scene in the 1960s, where riders wanted something that would not flap about at speed.

Cafe racer or biker jacket?

The difference is the front. A biker jacket has an asymmetric zip and wide lapels that fold back over the chest. A cafe racer jacket runs the zip straight up the middle and finishes with a small standing collar. The biker is the loud one. The cafe racer does the same job quietly, which is why it works with a shirt underneath and a biker really does not.

The collar is the whole detail

That short band collar is what people are actually buying. It sits up at the neck instead of folding away, so the jacket has a clean line from shoulder to throat. Some fasten with a snap tab, some with a small buckle, some just butt together. If you like that neckline, our high collar jackets take the same idea further up the neck.

Black, brown and burgundy

Black is the classic and the one most men start with. Brown suits the vintage feel of the shape better than black does, particularly in a distressed finish. Burgundy is the third option and reads as deliberate rather than loud.

Distressed or clean

A distressed cafe racer arrives looking like it has been ridden in, with the seams and elbows rubbed back. A clean one starts even and earns its marks over the first couple of years. The shape suits distressing better than most, because the whole point of it is that it was working kit.

How a cafe racer should fit

Closer than a bomber and about the same as a biker. It should sit on the shoulder properly, close at the waist without pulling, and finish at your belt rather than below it. Because there is no belt at the hem, a cafe racer that is too big has nothing to hold it in and looks shapeless.

Measure round the fullest part of your chest over a shirt and use the table on the product page rather than your usual size. Between two sizes with a jumper to fit under it, go up.

Made to order, and how long it takes

Mens cafe racer leather jacket, and what else it is called

A mens cafe racer leather jacket is the most common way people search for this. A mens leather racer jacket, a cafe motorcycle jacket and a leather cafe racer motorcycle jacket all describe the same cut. The racer part comes from the bikes, not from racing stripes.

Distressed versions arrive looking ridden in. A mens leather jacket cafe racer style in a clean finish starts even and earns its marks over the first year.

Cut and stitched in your size after you order, which is why it takes longer than ready made stock. The delivery date on the product page is the real one and UK delivery is free. The women’s cafe racer jackets are cut separately, and the rest of the range is on the men’s leather jackets page.