Where Legends Are Born
The Story
A 600-square-foot garage. 87 years. Every legend who ever wore the leather.
Robert Owens Bates started Bates Motor Scooter Service in March 1939 in a 600-square-foot garage in Los Angeles. He was a warranty repair man for Powell Motor Scooter distributors, handling every job himself. When a customer praised a windshield he had built by hand, the distributor ordered six more. That was the moment Bates became a manufacturer.
When World War II cut off materials, most small shops closed for good. Bates moved operations to his home garage and worked nights at Lockheed Aircraft. Instead of surrendering to shortages, he pioneered plastic extrusion manufacturing, earning U.S. Patent #2564800. The war didn't stop Bates. It made him an inventor.
“A pioneer in the aftermarket industry that helped foster the motorcycling community's affinity for customization.”AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame
By 1948, the first complete catalog showed 14 pages of windshields, seats, bumpers, and accessories. In 1952, Bates began attending motorcycle races with a converted ambulance, providing first aid while studying what riders actually needed. That frontline presence became the foundation of everything that followed: racing leathers designed by someone who had seen what happened when leather failed.
Bates Manufacturing, Inc. was officially incorporated on July 1, 1958. Robert Bates Jr. joined as vice president, bringing the next generation of craft to a company already known for obsessive quality.
The Lineage
The Champions Who Wore Bates
In the 1960s, Bates did something no one else had done: turned all-black racing leather into color. Suddenly the champions weren't anonymous behind their helmets. They were wearing their identity. And they all wanted Bates.
Kenny Roberts, the first American to win a World Grand Prix Championship, wore Bates. Gene Romero and Mert Lawwill, AMA Grand National Champions, wore Bates. Lawwill wore it in “On Any Sunday,” the most important motorcycle documentary ever made, alongside Steve McQueen.
In 1971, Dick Mann won his second Grand National Championship wearing Bates aboard a BSA, leading the factory team at the Houston Astrodome alongside David Aldana, Jim Rice, and Don Emde. That same year, Aldana would commission the single most iconic piece of motorcycle racing apparel ever created: a complete human skeleton sewn onto black Bates leather. The AMA tried to ban it. They couldn't find a rule against it.
Russ Collins wore Bates when he became the first motorcycle drag racer to break the 200 MPH barrier. T.C. Christenson wore Bates aboard the legendary Hogslayer Norton, winning four consecutive world titles and beating the dominant Harleys with a twin-engine Norton from a small shop in Wisconsin. Dave Schultz wore Bates to six NHRA Pro Stock Championships. Terry Vance, co-founder of Vance & Hines, wore Bates to 14 national titles.
Giacomo Agostini, the winningest Grand Prix racer in history with 15 world championships, wore Bates. Barry Sheene, the charismatic British world champion, wore Bates. From flat track to road racing to drag strip to the silver screen, every discipline, every era, one name on the leather.
Kenny Roberts
3x World GP Champion
AMA Hall of Fame
Dick Mann
2x Grand National Champion
AMA Hall of Fame
David Aldana
The Skeleton Suit
AMA Hall of Fame
Giacomo Agostini
15x World Champion
AMA Hall of Fame
Russ Collins
First to 200 MPH
AMA Hall of Fame
T.C. Christenson
The Hogslayer
AMA Hall of Fame
Gene Romero
Grand National Champion
AMA Hall of Fame
Mert Lawwill
Grand National Champion, On Any Sunday
AMA Hall of Fame
Barry Sheene
2x World Champion
Dave Schultz
6x NHRA Pro Stock Champion
AMA Hall of Fame
Terry Vance
14x National Champion, Vance & Hines
AMA Hall of Fame
Matt Hines
3x NHRA Pro Stock Champion
Arnold Schwarzenegger
The Terminator
Don Emde
1972 Daytona 200 Winner
AMA Hall of Fame
Mickey Fay
Team Honda Flat Track
John Gennai
Ascot Park Record Holder
From the Drag Strip to the Silver Screen
In 1984, the same workshop that built championship racing suits crafted the leather jacket for Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator. Bates went on to outfit the franchise through T2: Judgment Day (50+ custom sets, each individually tailored to Arnold's specifications at over $2,800 per jacket) and T3: Rise of the Machines, plus X-Men 2.
“I know what Arnold likes. Being one of his biggest fans makes it easier for me to design his products. He picks the toughest looking jacket.”Dana Grindle
Arnold sent Bates a letter: “I'll be back and thank you for my great stuff.” He still wears Bates outside of film work. The D-Pocket jacket from the Terminator films is still in the Bates catalog. You can order one today, built to your measurements, from the same workshop.
“Back in those times there wasn't a lot of people like us around. Now there's nobody like us around.”Dana Grindle
Timeline
Founded in Los Angeles
Robert Owens Bates opens Bates Motor Scooter Service in a 600-square-foot garage. One man, one vision, one windshield at a time.
Wartime Innovation
Material shortages force creativity. Bates pioneers plastic extrusion manufacturing from his home garage while working nights at Lockheed Aircraft. U.S. Patent #2564800.
First Full Catalog
14 pages of seats, windshields, bumpers, and accessories. The aftermarket motorcycle industry begins to take shape.
Bates Manufacturing, Inc.
The operation incorporates. Robert Bates Jr. joins as vice president, bringing the next generation of saddlemaking expertise.
Racing Leather Goes Color
Bates turns all-black racing gear into custom color. Champions line up: Kenny Roberts, Gene Romero, Mert Lawwill, Giacomo Agostini. The era of the legends begins.
Dick Mann Wins on BSA in Bates
Mann wins the AMA Grand National Championship wearing Bates. The BSA factory team, all in Bates leathers, dominates at the Houston Astrodome.
The Skeleton Suit
David Aldana commissions Bates to sew a complete human skeleton onto his black leathers. The AMA tries to ban it. They cannot find a rule against it. The most iconic suit in racing history is born.
200 MPH Barrier Broken
Russ Collins breaks the 200 MPH barrier in motorcycle drag racing wearing Bates. T.C. Christenson holds four consecutive world titles in Bates aboard the Hogslayer Norton.
The Terminator
Bates crafts the leather jacket for Arnold Schwarzenegger. 50+ custom sets for T2 follow. Arnold still wears Bates. The most iconic movie jacket in cinema, handmade in the same workshop.
AMA Hall of Fame
Robert Bates is inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame as an industry innovator. Fewer than 350 inductees in all of motorcycling history.
New Chapter in Alabama
Bates relocates to Alabama, closer to the East Coast racing corridor. Same hands. Same craft. Same legacy. New workshop. Your name is next on the wall.
Inducted 2009
AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame
Robert Bates was inducted as an Industry Innovator, joining fewer than 350 people in all of motorcycling history. Many of those 350 wore his leather to get there.
Where Legends Are Born
Your name belongs on this wall.
Every legend in this story started the same way: they picked up the phone, told Dana what they needed, and let Bates build it. Your turn.
Where Legends Are Born
Your legend starts here.
Every piece of Bates leather is a piece of history. Not mass produced. Not off a shelf. Hand tailored by an industry legend, for you. Tell us what you ride, how you race, and what you need.
Call us. It is the best way to get the Bates service you have come to expect.
(562) 426-8668info@batesleathers.com · Available 3pm to 7pm daily