THE CYCLE CHAMP: THE SIGNATURE HARLEY-DAVIDSON JACKET

The design for the jacket that would eventually be called The Cycle Champ appeared first in either 1946 or 1947.

Prior to this, in the 1920s and early 1930s, the Company had sold waist-length leather jackets in the “varsity” style—loose fitting, with elasticized cuffs, waistbands and collars designed for a close fit.

Following this, the Harley-Davidson leather jacket of the 1930s and 1940s became more fitted and was designed to fall below the hips with a loose waist and cuffs (although both had straps and rings so they could be adjusted for a snug fit).

The Cycle Champ and Queen took aspects of both these styles and combined them into a completely new design. This new jacket was first and foremost designed with the needs of motorcycle riders in mind.

It was designed to be form fitting, making it the most aerodynamic jacket the Company had produced at that time. It was tapered to the waist with a wide belt, and to the wrists with zippered lower arms to ensure that the jacket fit as snuggly as possible in the main areas of air entry.

It was also designed with an “action back,” allowing freedom of movement while preventing riding up or binding.

Style, however, was also an important factor in the jacket’s design. Studded shoulder epaulets were added to create a more broad-shouldered look, and zippers and snaps were displayed prominently.

The waist belt was also decorated with studs and embossed with the winged Bar & Shield logo. This jacket’s overall design was used for both the women’s and men’s jacket, which ended up being virtually identical.

In the 1947 Accessories catalog, this jacket was called, simply enough, the “Leather Jacket” and “Ladies Leather Jacket,” with the waist belt sold separately as the “Jacket Belt.”

The basic design would undergo subtle design changes over the next few years, including changes in the placement of pockets, the number and type of decorative studs and the addition of a snap-in faux-fur collar sold as an accessory.

In 1954, these jackets were given the names of “Cycle Champ” and “Cycle Queen” for the first time. The only major change from previous designs was that the waist belt was now attached to the jacket (although this was changed back in later years).

The 1954 Accessories catalog proclaimed of the jacket “’Man Oh Man What Beauties’ you’ll say when you see the ‘Cycle Champ’ jackets.” The names “Cycle Champ” and “Cycle Queen” eventually became the terms by which this style of jacket came to be known.

And, although Harley-Davidson has created many more jackets over the last five decades, “Cycle Champ” and “Cycle Queen” have endured and were marketed by the Company into the 1990s. More importantly, the design has endured and served as the prototype for a host of Harley-Davidson leather jackets since.

The endurance of this design says a lot about the choices Harley-Davidson riders make in their clothing and their motorcycles— they stick with the best.