This is the Motone Revolver, it’s a fully-armored leather jacket made from naturally drum-dyed full-grain cowhide which is hand-finished with wax for protection – this wax also ensures that each jacket develops its own unique patina over time.
The Revolver comes in both Black and Tobacco colorways. The jacket has pre-curved sleeves and gusseted action-back shoulders, side waist zips for adjustments, and a subtle drop in the tail – all features designed to make the jacket ideal for motorcycle use.
This is the Motone Revolver, it’s a fully-armored leather jacket made from naturally drum-dyed full-grain cowhide which is hand-finished with wax for protection – this wax also ensures that each jacket develops its own unique patina over time.
History Speedrun: Motone Customs
Motone Customs is a Welsh motorcycle apparel and parts brand headquartered near Newport, in South Wales. The company designs and manufactures parts primarily for the modern Hinckley-era Triumph Bonneville range, with additional catalogs covering Harley-Davidson, BMW, Yamaha, Royal Enfield, and Honda – alongside a best-selling line of jackets, gloves, leather goods, and other riding gear.
Motone was founded by Dale Crawford and Sam Wheeler, Dale is a Californian with decades of overseas business experience, who had been around motorcycles since borrowing his older brother’s Honda 50 as a teenager and riding it up the Pacific Coast Highway into the canyons above Malibu.
Sam, originally from the UK, had moved to Vietnam, where small-displacement motorcycles still completely dominate daily transport for millions. Surrounded by aftermarket parts manufacturers serving the local market, Wheeler began looking into who was making what, and soon developed an idea – to design original parts in the West, have them built by capable local manufacturers, and sell them into Western markets.
Crawford’s son Max was brewing craft beer in Vietnam at the time and had become close friends with Wheeler. Max introduced the two, and Motone Customs was the result – the partnership formed in 2009.
It took roughly two years of design, tooling, and inventory-building before Motone opened for business. The company grew quickly, and they soon branched out into motorcycle apparel and gear.
The Motone Revolver fit is regular with a slight drop in the tail, paired with pre-curved sleeves, gusseted action-back shoulders, and side waist zips for adjustment. Diamond-quilted panels sit across the shoulders and lower back, perforated leather runs under the upper arms, and the interior is lined with diamond-quilted poly.
The Motone Revolver Jacket
The Motone Revolver is a leather motorcycle jacket built around a full-grain cowhide shell, 1.0-1.1mm thick, drum-dyed with natural dyes and hand-waxed for a subtle sheen. It comes in Black or Tobacco, and the natural-dye and waxed finish means each jacket will develop its own patina with wear.
The fit is regular with a slight drop in the tail, paired with pre-curved sleeves, gusseted action-back shoulders, and side waist zips for adjustment. Diamond-quilted panels sit across the shoulders and lower back, perforated leather runs under the upper arms, and the interior is lined with diamond-quilted poly.
Branding is kept decidedly low-key, with a debossed Motone logo on the sleeve and Motone-branded hardware finished in either antique brass or black nickel depending on the colorway.
Closures include heavy-duty YKK zippers at the front and cuffs, plus a press-stud neck closure with a fold-back option for a more relaxed fit. Storage includes a zippered chest pocket, a zippered forearm stash pocket sized for keys, a wallet, or a gate remote, zippered hand-warmer pockets, an interior Napoleon pocket, and interior mesh cargo pouches.
Ventilation comes thanks to YKK-zipped inner arm intakes that open up in the riding position and dual vertical exhaust vents at the back.
The Revolver comes in both Black and Tobacco colorways. The jacket has pre-curved sleeves and gusseted action-back shoulders, side waist zips for adjustments, and a subtle drop in the tail – all features designed to make the jacket ideal for motorcycle use.
The Revolver ships with a full set of RE ZRO® armor including EN 1621-1 Level 2 protectors at the elbows and shoulders and an EN 1621-2 Level 2 back protector – the jacket is CE and UKCA AA-rated to EN 17092-3.
It’s now available to buy direct from Motone here and they offer worldwide shipping.
Images courtesy of Motone
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
