By Lydia Sviatoslavsky — Before the black leather jacket was reduced to another innocuous darling of the fashion world, it was an honored utility—a form of arthropod armor worn by the less-than-gentle men who roamed the fraying fringes of a disquieted society. The original BLJ silhouette, in fact, was donned by German fighter pilots in both World War I and World War II. Throughout the 1930s and ’40s, the U.S. military followed suit, as leather jackets became standard uniforms for both American troops and police...

American Picker Dream, Part II: Mike Wolfe On Enduros and Land Rockets

By Ben Marks — I was 13 when I saw my first motorcycle. I was walking down the sidewalk when this guy who was like the high school champion stud—he was the team quarterback, got all the chicks, everything—did this incredible burnout on his Honda 900. I can remember the day so clearly, how warm it was, and him looking at me as I walked by. I thought, “Oh, man. That is the coolest thing in the world.” That's what started me on my journey of wanting a motorcycle. That year I got my first bike. It was a...

Harley-Davidson, Before and After the Knucklehead

By Jessica Lewis — I’ve been a lifelong motorcyclist. I started riding a motorcycle when I was 11, and I started writing for magazine after I got out of school in the early ’90s. While I was working for them, I wrote a book called , which is sort of a motorcycle life manual. I’ve written a bunch of other books since then on cars and motorcycles. Obviously, if you’re interested in the motorcycle industry and the motorcycle culture of America, Harley-Davidson plays a pretty prominent role, but I’m interested...