The River Road Hoodlum Vintage jacket is designed for a rider who demands leather, style, and four-season comfort at a moderate price—$338. Those are lofty goals, even without modern safety certifications on the list. Yet this jacket, part of the return of the River Road brand under the Turn 14 Distribution umbrella, accomplishes the feat.
The ability to fine-tune the jacket for the temperature is an impressive feature of the River Road Hoodlum Vintage jacket. This is not a heavy jacket—the distressed leather is supple and medium-weight, though River Road does not specify a thickness.
In its standard form, the River Road Hoodlum Vintage jacket is ready for use in both fall and spring. It offers just enough warmth, cutting the wind of the cooler shoulder seasons. Just throw it on and go riding. The action back merging of the sleeves and body of the jacket makes the Hoodlum instantly comfortable, along with the pliability of the leather. Articulated sleeves make the jacket more functional.
When the summer hits, the Hoodlum has a trick up its sleeves, and a couple of other places—eight zippered vents. To get air in, there are five-inch vents under the bicep of each sleeve, six-inch vents at each wrist, along with a pair of five-inch chest vents between the racing stripes. To keep the air flowing through the jacket, two vertical seven-inch vents are on the back.
The venting system is highly effective, keeping me comfortable in a cotton t-shirt in the 90s with high humidity. Put on a mesh workout shirt, and you can live with the Hoodlum when temperatures poke into triple digits. If you open the bicep and chest vents, be sure to also open the exhaust vents, unless you like the balloon look as the air accumulates inside the jacket.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, there’s a long-sleeve, light-duty liner. With the vents closed, that keeps you warm on cooler nights. When matched with a thermal shirt, you can continue to ride comfortably as the mercury drops. It’s easy to remove and install the liner; there’s one long zipper around the interior, and each cuff has two buttoned loops to match loops on the interior cuff of the Hoodlum jacket.
The fit of the River Road Hoodlum Vintage jacket is as expected. I’m a large, and it’s a tidy fit with the liner in and a bit relaxed with the liner on a hanger. There are two-position buttoned straps on each side of the waist; I was happy with the straps in the standard, uncinched position.
Storage is limited, though there is a special feature. Outside, there are two handwarmer pockets with six-inch zippered closings. Like all the zippers on the jacket, they’re from YKK and have short leather pulls attached—stylish and functional. Inside, there’s a Napoleon pocket with a six-inch zippered closure, which is where I carry my iPhone 12 Mini. There’s also what River Road calls a concealed carry pocket on the lower left side. It’s open at the top with two compartments—one is 4-by-3 inches and the other 4.5-by-4 inches. It’s your call on whether that meets your self-defense needs or not.
When it comes to safety, you’re on your own with the River Road Hoodlum Vintage jacket. As a jacket destined for the American market, it lacks any sort of CE certification for abrasion resistance. It’s leather, so a certain level is built in, though we can’t say how much. Armor is neither included nor offered by River Road.
If you want impact protection on the Hoodlum jacket, you have two choices. You can go with an airbag from Alpinestars—we recommend the new Tech-Air 5 Plasma or smaller Tech-Air 3 v2 vest. Alternately, there are pockets for back, elbow, and shoulder armor. We filled them with a complete set of Rheon Armour Nucleus Level 2 protection, which is flexible and unobtrusive. Roadskin will sell you the five pieces for $151.
The River Road Hoodlum Vintage jacket looks great, fits nicely, is impressively adaptable to a broad range of temperatures, and allows for the addition of the armor we consider essential to motorcycle riding. Right now, it’s our go-to cruiser jacket, and with the armor installed, it also works on casual sport rides on retro-style sport bikes.
Action photography by Kelly Callan and CJ Foeckler
River Road Hoodlum Vintage Jacket Fast Facts
- Sizes: Small – 3XL
- Material: Leather
- Liner: Full length
- Certifications: None
- Color: BlackÂ
River Road Hoodlum Vintage Jacket Price: $338 MSRP ($489, as tested with Rheon Level 2 armor)
River Road Hoodlum Vintage Jacket Review Photo Gallery
