Apparel companies come and go, and we have missed River Road since it disappeared from the world of motorcycling in 2017. The company was founded in 1998 and had a good run of making cruiser-oriented leather riding gear that included jackets, vests, chaps, and gloves that were comfortable, good-looking, and popularly priced. Editor Don Williams still has a decade-old racing-stripe adorned River Road Roadster Vintage jacket in his expansive closet that he refuses to part with.
Turn 14 Distribution planned to bring back Rider Road last fall. However, the return of River Road gear to motorcycle dealerships was delayed until now, and it comes in the wake of the appointment of Bob Schuetz as President of Turn 14 Distribution’s Powersports Owned Brands. In addition to River Road, Turn 14 Distribution owns an impressive list of powersports brands, including Answer, Biker’s Choice, BikeMaster, DragonFire Racing, FirstGear, Kuryakyn, ProTaper, QuadBoss, Speed and Strength, and TwinPower.
“We couldn’t be happier to have the new River Road line available in dealerships,” River Road Brand Manager Brent Ashford tells us. “This product line is truly striking, with designs that are eye-catching and features that meet our customer’s increasingly high demands. It’s exciting to finally get these products to riders and see them on the road.”
Stylish opportunities for women include the Arabian Spice jacket, which is made of red-dyed, textured cowhide. It has buttons, zippers, and pockets galore.
The new River Road Hoodlum leather jacket definitely caught our Editor’s eye. It has the racing stripes that he loves, plus medium-weight leather, a full mesh liner, plenty of pockets (including a CC pocket), a two-way main zipper, and SoCal-friendly zippered chest vents. Even though Don’s a Large, he’s happy to see it comes in sizes from XS to 5XL, so pretty much everyone is covered. There’s nothing about the impact protection in the description, however, or price. Watch for a full review of this jacket soon, as River Road returns to the motorcycle gear market.
