Thanks to a super-supple, oiled leather that requires little to no break-in time, the Ronin is ready to wear from the minute you try it on. Its styling won’t hold you back, either—it’s a winning combination of a classic café take, with a welcome splash of modern integrated Sas-Tec armor, passive ventilation panels, and ample pockets.

While other RSD designs have come and gone, this now-classic Ronin silhouette has remained largely the same.

This latest version gets the blessing of a CE AA certification. We suspect the perforated under-arms might make it flunk the AAA test, but if feels to us like a solid, sturdy leather jacket.

And unlike some dedicated armored leather moto jackets, this one works fairly easily off the bike as well.

Those perforated leather panels under the arms help circulate air, and the Ronin has well articulated arms so that the jacket is comfortable when stretched out over the handlebars.

This Ronin fits true to size and thanks to a zippered expansion gusset at the hips, and the tendency of the leather to conform to its owner over time, we find it offers a forgiving fit.

The Ronin comes with Sas-Tec super-thin CE-1 elbow and shoulder armor included, and the back pad would normally set you back another $39.95, but we include it free with any full-price RSD jacket. *Just drop both a jacket and the back protector (which is a proprietary RSD shape) in the shopping cart to see the back armor is on us at checkout.

RSD jackets always have plenty of functional pockets, and the Ronin, like its close cousin, the RSD asym Clash CE Jacket, has twin interior elastic-hem stuff pockets to easily hold onto a pair of gloves or a couple 12-oz cans apiece (for reference). It also has a right-hand zippered forearm pocket for toll money/registration/cards, and an interior zippered pocket for a wallet.

Last of course the two exterior zippered hand-warmer pockets that, like our own V7 jacket, and not enough others, zip DOWN to close. Making it easy to get up and go.

Style, protection, pockets—check, check, check.  

The real secret sauce here is the grade of cowhide used to make the Ronin. RSD calls it Airborne leather, and its combination of stiffness and flexibility makes it hard not to like. While it’s note pre-distressed, per se, it is otherwise as supple and pliable a leather spec as you’ll find in brand new a motorcycle jacket. The jacket is comfortable to start off with, and with normal wear the jacket will only quickly break in further and get even softer.

Features:

• Detailed café style, with shorty snap collar and front zip pockets 
• RSD “Airborne” hand finished, washed and oiled/waxed top grain cowhide (.9m-1.1mm thickness)
• Aggressive riding fit, with rotated, pre-curved sleeves, dropped back length and relaxed collar opening
• Perforated leather interior trims
• Perforated sleeve venting
• Sleeve zip pocket, side zipper waist adjust
• Zip close cuffs
• Satin poly lining
• The Ronin has an aggressive sport style fit but wears true to size
• Equipped with SAS-TEC flex elbow & shoulder armor / CE EN 1621:2021-1 certified
• Jacket is CE EN 17092:2020 – AA certified
• Sas-Tec Level 1 Proprietary RSD back protector sold separately.

*For those keeping track at home, this is the 3rd version of the Ronin, which originally came without armor, ready for a Knox upgrade. Then for a spell there was the Ronin Signature, which got a new leather treatment, and incorporated zippered dual intake and exhaust vents—which we quite liked, but when RSD took the design through CE testing they brought it back to basics with this third sequel in a line of great jackets.