Heads-up all you New England-area vintage and custom riders. Vanson, the maker of high-quality motorcycle leathers and textile riding gear is celebrating their 50th Anniversary the weekend of June first and second. In the motorcycle protective gear game, quite a few firms have come and gone in those five decades while countless market forces and revolutions in riding gear have come and gone during those five decades, but Vanson just keeps on cranking out their trademark hard-wearing, extremely durable riding togs. A old riding buddy of mine, Dave Doremus, moved to Boston near Vanson’s HQ back in teh 1980s and said owning one of their fitted, thick cowhide jackets was the mark of a motorcyclist who was serious about safety and conscious of what constituted quality gear. None of that has changed as many of the CRM crew have raced in and ridden the streets in Vanson for the past 16 years.
Fr the anniversary celebration, the Fall River, MA. headquarters and showroom will be jumpin’ both days with live music from Boston-area rockabilly band The Vegas Lords and Calamity Brain, while attendees can help themselves to a free BBQ cook-out. There will be free tours of the Vanson Leathers factory, custom fitting assistance for folks with leathers both used and new, while Sunday sees a Vintage Wheels bike show take place. The assembled machines will be judged by Vanson founding partner James Goodson in the following categories: Best British, Best Japanese, German, Italian, American and People’s Choice. Hours run 10 am until 6 on Saturday and 10 until 4 on Sunday. Stop by and dig on some solid tunes and ger yourself one of the best-made motorcycle garments around. More details are at www.vansonleathers.com
