#Spidi

I feel like an impostor in this jacket, really. I only rode in it in the rain once, and only for about a half hour. I stayed warm and dry, but the temperature was only in the low 50s F. Plus, I was behind a nice big fairing. I really can’t speak to how it would work for you Duluthians and people who ride 80 miles to work all winter in freezing sleet on an ‘86 XR600; I can’t even relate. When I moved to SoCal, I laid down one of those Scarlett O’Hara dictums: I swear, as God is my witness, I’ll never be cold again!

What I was looking for was a lighter-weight perforated leather jacket for use during the hotter parts of the year, when MO is most active, to share duties with my beautiful but aging Dainese Street Rider. When the Spidi box arrived, the light weight was there but not the perforations. Turns out there isn’t a perfed version, but maybe that’s only a personal problem for me, since my old unperforated  Vanson AR-3 has been my go-to black leather jacket for most of a decade now.

Motorcycling airbags systems have now been in development for upward of 30 years. Companies like Alpinestars and Dainese have brought products to market, revised them, updated them, and developed new airbag systems to cover a broad range of motorcycling such as track riding, commuting, and off-road riding. We’ve seen these systems go from being integrated into specific garments, to standalone units that can be worn universally (with proper fitment). Now, we even have subscription-based systems that offer a lower barrier to entry price-wise than initially available. 

Here at MO, we’ve done our best to cover the cutting edge of this technology as new products and airbags emerge. Heck, our own Troy Siahaan has proven himself time and time again to be a most excellent crash test dummy and because of this, he won’t be caught on two wheels without an airbag between him and impending doom. Do yourself a favor and read through Troy’s copious crash tested articles for first hand experience of airbag deployments. Due to his experience, I couldn’t think of a better person to lend a few keystrokes to this article.

Before we get into the five airbag systems we were able to test, we want to address the lack of a major player in the biz. We contacted Helite, which initially showed interest in being involved, but was then later unresponsive. Helite makes a range of airbag products from vests and jackets, to airbag backpacks, and now, airbag riding pants. All of the company’s current product line relies on mechanical tethers to the motorcycle which, when pulled, opens a CO2 cartridge which then deploys the airbag. There are other interesting features to Helite products and we are disappointed to have not been able to include them in this buyer’s guide. 

While we know there are other companies out there, these were the latest products we were able to have on hand to review.

With all that said, let’s take a look at how airbags from the other major players stack up.

For generations, the image of bikers in black leather jackets and blue jeans has been a (somewhat accurate) stereotype of motorcycle fashion. Riders and non-riders alike donned this gear to portray this lone individualist image. In fact, the riding gear I wore during my first, formative motorcycle trip as a newly-minted rider was a black leather jacket and blue jeans. And for a long time, this plus boots, gloves, and a helmet were state-of-the-art for rider protection. However, technology has transformed motorcycling in more ways than just adding computers to bikes. Over the past five years or so, we’ve seen an entirely new market of riding apparel move from obscure to relatively commonplace. Riding jeans have moved from merely being denim jeans with a layer of abrasive-resistant material as an under layer to fully technical motorcycle gear with certified armor and a variety of styles and materials.

Naturally, we, here at Motorcycle.com, thought that it would be interesting to take a deeper look at what this popular class of riding apparel has to offer. In the end, we ended up testing 34 pairs of riding jeans. We spent months gathering them and coming up with a uniform way to look at them and convey their qualities, both good and not-so-good, to our faithful readers. You can go ahead and protest our failure to include your favorite model, but we know we didn’t get them all. It would have been impossible. Really, just getting 34 took a lot of effort.

If the Google machine dropped you directly on this page without seeing the introduction to MO’s Massive Riding Jeans Buyer’s Guide, and you are confused as to what’s going on, you should click here to read the introduction and the full listing of jeans. If you’re the adventurous type who just wants to jump to our individual reviews of 34 pairs of jeans, the Table of Contents below will only give you a direct link to jeans on this page. So, we still recommend that you go to the introduction. There’s a lot of good info to cover.

MO Tested: Massive Riding Jeans Buyer’s Guide – Introduction

If the Google machine dropped you directly on this page without seeing the introduction to MO’s Massive Riding Jeans Buyer’s Guide, and you are confused as to what’s going on, you should click here to read the introduction and the full listing of jeans. If you’re the adventurous type who just wants to jump to our individual reviews of 34 pairs of jeans, the Table of Contents below will only give you a direct link to jeans on this page. So, we still recommend that you go to the introduction. There’s a lot of good info to cover.

MO Tested: Massive Riding Jeans Buyer’s Guide – Introduction

If the Google machine dropped you directly on this page without seeing the introduction to MO’s Massive Riding Jeans Buyer’s Guide, and you are confused as to what’s going on, you should click here to read the introduction and the full listing of jeans. If you’re the adventurous type who just wants to jump to our individual reviews of 34 pairs of jeans, the Table of Contents below will only give you a direct link to jeans on this page. So, we still recommend that you go to the introduction. There’s a lot of good info to cover.

MO Tested: Massive Riding Jeans Buyer’s Guide – Introduction

If the Google machine dropped you directly on this page without seeing the introduction to MO’s Massive Riding Jeans Buyer’s Guide, and you are confused as to what’s going on, you should click here to read the introduction and the full listing of jeans. If you’re the adventurous type who just wants to jump to our individual reviews of 34 pairs of jeans, the Table of Contents below will only give you a direct link to jeans on this page. So, we still recommend that you go to the introduction. There’s a lot of good info to cover.

MO Tested: Massive Riding Jeans Buyer’s Guide – Introduction

If there’s a piece of apparel most associated with motorcycling, it’s undoubtedly the leather motorcycle jacket. The leather jacket is part of our uniform, but even non-riders search the bins for cowhide when it’s time to dress up for Halloween, or down for any occasion that calls for cool. No matter what you ride, the best leather motorcycle jackets are versatile enough to look at home nearly anywhere, and on nearly anything. A premium leather jacket will never go out of style, and the more you wear a quality one, the more comfortable it will feel – there’s just something about leather that other materials can’t match. Bountiful and ubiquitous, with seemingly endless options to choose from, it would be impossible for us to feature every single jacket out there. So here we’ve gathered a small sampling of the best leather motorcycle jackets the market has to offer, listed in alphabetical order.

Updated April, 2021

Wearing a one-piece leather suit can be such a commitment; they’re a chore to put on, you’re stuck in a racer-like position even when you don’t want to be, and what do you do when nature calls? That last reason must be why apparel manufacturers decided to make two-piece leathers. That, or lots of people just want to wear the jacket most of the time, saving the pants for sporty rides and track days. Two-piece suits offer nearly the same amount of protection as their one-piece counterparts, but they’re way more convenient for those who only see the track once or twice a year. Or never. As you can probably guess, two-piece suits consist of a jacket and pants that zip together in the middle via a circumference zip. Some jacket/pant combos out there connect via a zip connection that’s only six inches or so in length, in the back. We don’t trust them as much as a zipper that goes all the way around, and most sanctioning bodies won’t allow them on the race track. What we have below is a collection of dedicated two-piece offerings from a few of our favorite, trusted manufacturers.

Updated March 2021

Non-riders will never understand that riding in the rain can be quite fun, provided you have a properly maintained bike and motorcycle rain gear. However, what constitutes proper rain gear covers many more items than just a slicker over your regular riding gear. You need to prevent more than just your body from getting wet. You’ve got both your feet and hands to consider if all-day, wet-weather riding is part of your plan. Finally, your ability to see in the rain needs to be considered. 

Cover all of these areas, and you’ve got a prescription for a fun day – or days – riding in the rain, and you can smile inside your helmet as car occupants look on with pity as you cruise down the highway.

Motorcycle rain gear fits into a two different categories. First, there are items that augment your existing gear by simply providing them with a waterproof covering. The others have the waterproofing baked in for maximum versatility, making them ideal for long-distance tourers or riders who live in wet climates.

Finally, these items represent a sampling of what is available out there for wet weather riding. They provide guidelines as to what to look for in quality rainy day riding gear. So, if you don’t find what you want here, take heart; find gear with similar features, and you’ll be set.

Best Motorcycle Rain Suits

Best Waterproof Motorcycle Gloves

Best Motorcycle Touring Boots

Updated March 2021:

If you’re heading into the horizon in search of adventure, you need to be well-equipped. Your gear needs to be as versatile and ready as you are when the pavement ends and the terrain begins to change. Of course, adventure is in the eye of the beholder. Some may prefer more dirt mixed into their cup while others may be perfectly content staying the paved course. The key for choosing the best adventure motorcycle gloves is understanding what kind of adventure you plan to have and choosing the best option (or two) for your needs.

We’ve put together a list of adventure motorcycle gloves that runs the gamut from off-road-focused to waterproof, leather and everything in between.

Updated March 2021

If you’re heading to the track, then gear is obviously very important. Sure you get the best leathers and helmet that you can, but it’s easy to overlook quality gloves as an essential piece of your track riding kit. Instinctually, we humans tend to put our hands out when we fall. Now imagine falling off a motorcycle at high speed on a track. You’re going to want some protection. The challenge for motorcycle racing gloves is to provide ultimate protection while also being comfortable, lightweight, and able to provide optimum feel of the controls. The gloves below all achieve those goals. Read on to discover more about them. And before you ask – yes, there are several gloves not listed here that are track-worthy, many by the same companies noted below. Featuring them all goes beyond the scope of this list.

Updated March, 2021

There are two kinds of gloves in this world: those with gauntlets and those without. For the most protection from an unscheduled dismount, and from the weather, the gauntleted glove is the way to go, since its gauntlet is the part that extends up to protect your wrist and seal around the outside of your sleeve – in addition to  a wrist closure. Chances of it coming off your hand in a crash are greatly reduced (which is why you’ll never see anybody on a roadrace bike in anything but gauntleted gloves), and the chance of a polar vortex blowing up your sleeve are also negated.

When it comes to outright protection in glove form, racing gloves are the way to go. But if you don’t really need 150-mph crash protection, there are plenty of other gauntlet gloves you can choose from that are much more affordable than their full-race cousins and more suitable for everyday use. There are dozens upon dozens of gauntlet gloves to choose from that can handle everything from sport riding to touring and everything in between, including the occasional track day. Here are just a select few, presented in alphabetical order.

Updated November 2020

If you’ve been paying attention at all, you know that the number of women involved in our favorite two-wheeled sport is growing rapidly. Back in 2018, the MIC (Motorcycle Industry Council) released statistics noting that female ridership was up to 19%. And the curve hasn’t changed since then. Naturally, being fans of protective gear, we wanted to sure that women are aware of all the high-quality motorcycle gear available for their gender. So, for your perusal, we offer a list of Best Women’s Motorcycle Jackets – just in time for the holidays.