Who Makes the Best Fitting Motorcycle Apparel?
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(Here’s the Answer No One Else Will Give You)
Did you ever notice Ralph Lauren sleeves run a little long? Or that Armani jackets tend to be boxy?
Look at the body types behind those brands. The “fit” was often approved because it looked good on the founder — not because it worked for the rest of us.
That’s the dirty little secret of menswear.
I’ve worked in fit rooms since the early ’90s. I’ve seen how those decisions get made. Sometimes it’s based on a real demographic. Most times, it’s just one guy at the top saying, “Yeah, that looks good on me.”
Fashion has always been personal — but the problem is, that personal vision often isn’t yours.
So… Who Decides How a Brand Should Fit?
Let’s not kid ourselves. The menswear industry today is largely shaped by three groups:
- Women
- Gay men
- A small handful of straight guys like me, who stuck around long enough to matter
That’s not a dig. That’s just the math.
When I was in school, it was about 75% women, 20% gay men, and 5% straight men in the fashion departments. That balance hasn’t changed much. So if you’ve ever wondered why men’s jeans started looking like women’s, or why everything suddenly got tighter, shinier, or more embellished — now you know.
Silhouette is power. And right now, most men have no idea who's shaping theirs.
Why Motorcycle Apparel Fits Like a Garbage Bag
Most motorcycle apparel wasn’t designed by real pattern makers.
It was designed by people copying what they thought a biker should wear — usually a stiff, oversized novelty piece. Something that looked “tough” on a rack but fit like a tarp on a real body.
Then came the factories. Overseas patternmakers started cranking out global sizes without any real understanding of who the end customer was. They were making jackets for markets in Pakistan, Germany, Brazil, and the U.S. all off the same specs.
No brand fit. No regional fit. No thought about posture, riding position, or shoulder width.
Just boxy, mass-produced junk.
What Makes Crank & Stroker Fit Different
At Crank & Stroker, the fit didn’t come from ego — it came from 20+ years of riding, studying bikers, and understanding the actual human form of our customer.
We looked at:
- Average height and weight of U.S. Harley riders
- Shoulder width and back shape
- Riding posture vs. standing posture
- How sleeves ride up when your arms are forward
- How jackets collapse at the neck when they’re too wide
It’s not about how the piece fits me.
Truth is, I’m on the short side. Skinny. Small-framed. Most of our production doesn’t even fit me right — and that’s the point.
It’s not supposed to.
If you see me in photos, you’ll notice the sleeves are too long, the body a bit oversized. That’s because we didn’t build this for me. We built it for you — for the guys who ride Big Twins, who live in the saddle, and who need leather that looks clean and fits like it was made with some damn respect.
When a brand fits right, you feel it before you even look in the mirror.
It’s not tight. It’s not sloppy. It’s just... right.
That’s what we build.
Final Word
So, who makes the best fitting motorcycle apparel?
Not the brand that shouts the loudest.
Not the one paying influencers.
And definitely not the one trying to be fashion-forward for the sake of trend.
Crank & Stroker makes it for the men in the middle — not the ones trying to look cool, but the ones who actually are.
We don’t follow fit trends.
We study people.
And we build what works.
FAQ: Motorcycle Apparel Fit
Who makes the best fitting motorcycle apparel?
Crank & Stroker designs leather motorcycle vests and riding shirts based on the real body types of American riders. The fit is developed from 20+ years of experience, not trend-driven fashion templates.
Why doesn’t motorcycle gear fit most men?
Most motorcycle clothing is made overseas with generic patterns, designed to be oversized so it “fits” more people. It’s not based on real posture, riding stance, or American sizing.
What makes Crank & Stroker’s fit different?
We analyzed rider posture, shoulder width, sleeve pitch, and body proportions based on Harley riders in the U.S. The result is leather that fits right out of the box — no tailoring needed.
Ready to See the Difference?
Shop Our Leather Motorcycle Vests →
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