Jacket review: Richa Daytona 2 tried and tested

The Richa Daytona 2 is a cool, retro-style leather jacket that’s ideal for cruising to the pub on a summer’s evening or getting your classic bike out from the back of the garage.

Belgium-based Richa have been producing protective motorcycle kit since 1952, so they know a thing or two about stitching pieces of leather together. Their Daytona 2 jacket oozes retro-cool, yet is bang up to date with D3O armour, a dedicated mobile phone pocket and a detachable thermal liner. MCN’s Senior Production Editor Simon Brown has been putting one to the test.

That said, a jacket can look as smart as you like but it’s no good if it doesn’t work well on the bike, so I am pleased to report a few complaints with the Daytona. I mostly wear it on my retro Ducati Scrambler FT (and also on the Café Racer version I had on test a few years back) and the jacket proves comfortable for long hours in the saddle.

There are no fancy zip-open vents but there is a thermal lining you can add or remove to suit conditions. The main zip and pocket zips are chunky YKK items and there is also the facility to attach the jacket onto jeans using a short connecting zip. The collar fastens securely with a popper while there is a zip and popper adjustment at the cuffs. With the jacket being part of my fair-weather kit, I usually combine it with shortie gloves which tuck under the cuff with no problem. Getting longer gloves over the cuff is a minor faff and spoils the optics somewhat (although this is a minor niggle).

In terms of protection, the Daytona benefits from D30 armour at the elbows and shoulder and there is a D30 back protector too. It’s reassuring to know that it is there and doesn’t detract from the comfort in any way – D30 armour is softer and more flexible than most but does the job when required and has the CE certification to prove it. While on the subject, the Daytona is CE Approved to the basic A rating which is fine for the price although it would be nice to see it meet one of the higher safety standards.

Construction and quality are good. It’s not a jacket I wear every day but I have been using it for several years now and nothing has frayed or broken, while the leather still feels supple and looks great. Squished insects can be a pain to clean off the fairly natural finish on the leather, so my advice is to wipe them off before they have a chance to really bake in.

Richa describes the colour as brown, but I would say tan is a closer description. It might not suit all tastes but it also comes in black. There is a very wide range of sizing available, but it is worth noting that the two largest sizes are slightly more expensive at £329.99 as opposed to £299.99 for the smaller/regular choices.

More retro-styled leather jackets

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