Description
BUCO J-24
In 1933, Joseph Buegeleisen
recognised the need of motorcyclists for a variety of products that
could be sold directly to motorbike dealers. He opened his business
at 316E Jefferson Street in Detroit and called it BUCO (BU from
Buegeleisen and CO from Company). He produced various products for
Harley Davidson and Indian riders such as windshields, saddlebags and
gloves. In the mid 40's he started producing high quality leather
motorbike jackets. After World War II, he led the market with the
J-21 and J-22 models. Due to their design, material and workmanship,
BUCO jackets are still among the "Best of the Best" leather
motorbike jackets in history.
From the early 1950s, BUCO was one
of the largest motorbike accessory manufacturers in the USA, based in
Detroit's old industrial area at 21220W Eight Miles Road.
In 1953,
the J-24 was introduced. The 50s were a glorious time for BUCO and
they cooperated with companies like Reed and BROOKS and produced
highly profitable leather clothing and other accessories like helmets
and windshields in their factory. They also produced leather
motorbike jackets for companies such as Sears, Roebuck&Co from
the late 1950s.
In 1966 Joseph Buegeleisen suffered a
heart attack and decided to sell the company to Ford's safety belt
company American Safety Cooperation. The company built a new factory
in Fresno to meet the growing demand for motorbike equipment in
California and became famous for their helmets. The company did not
pay much attention to the production of leather products and started
to import leather jackets from England, Spain and Japan which were
not of good quality. At the beginning of the 1970s, the oil crisis
hit many companies in the automotive industry hard and BUCO
disappeared during this time.
All our jackets are hand
sewn, aniline dyed and vegetable tanned.
Sizes: S - 4XL (
other sizes on request / see also "custom made" )