Besides a helmet, a motorcycle jacket is perhaps the most reached-for piece of gear that riders put on when getting ready to hit the road. A good motorcycle jacket can help save your skin in a crash. It can also offer excellent weather protection, and simply a place to stash your phone and wallet. Today’s jackets are protective, comfortable and versatile.
There are general purpose motorcycle jackets, and those designed with special purposes in mind. Likewise, there are jackets designed for maximum winter warmth, and those that deliver cooling air flow in summer. Let’s take a look at the basics and help you choose the jacket that’s right for you.
TYPES OF MOTORCYCLE JACKETS
The cut and shape of a motorcycle jacket are what will help it fit not just your body but your ride. The type you choose can have a significant impact on your comfort and safety.
Short Jackets
A short motorcycle jacket is a design with a torso length cut to end at, rather than over, the belt line of the rider’s pants. The short torso cut of these jackets allows excellent freedom of movement. Short jackets tend to be form-fitting in their design. Their short length and close fit mean that short jackets are less likely to flap and flutter about in the wind at speed. Short jackets don’t ‘bunch up’ around the waist like longer jackets can. Some riders also see short jackets as safer. With less fabric at the waist, a short jacket is often considered less likely to catch on the tarmac and ride up and over the torso in a slide.
Short jackets are often chosen by sports riders who are looking for comfort, agility on the bike, and a style that works equally well in a sporty crouch as it does sitting upright. This style of jacket is available in a variety of materials, most often leather or textile.
The short cut of these designs aids agility for ease of rider movement. However it’s worth noting that if the jacket is not attached to the pants, rider movement can open up a gap between jacket and pants that means less than ideal weather protection. This exposed area is also a safety concern, although again it can be remedied by attaching the jacket to the pants. With less weather protection, often less pockets and fewer nods to practicality, short jackets tend not to be the favoured style for tourers, commuters and adventure riders.
Best suited for:
- Riders who wish to avoid wind ruffle and flapping of the jacket at speed
- Those who dislike bunching of the jacket at the waist
- Sports riding, track agility and freedom of movement
Our top Short Jacket picks:
Three Quarter Length Jackets
Three quarter length motorcycle jackets are those with an extended torso section that is cut lower than the waist or belt line. They are designed to cover any gap that might otherwise appear between the jacket and pants when a rider moves around on the bike. These jackets are versatile. Some riders use them all year round, simply wearing extra layers beneath the jacket in winter, and perhaps just a t-shirt underneath in summer.
Three quarter length jackets can be designed just a few centimetres longer than waist length, or with quite generous extra length. Many riders find that even in warm weather, they prefer their waists to have more protection from the weather than a short jacket can offer. This benefit is part of what makes three quarter length jackets such a popular style.
Three quarter length jackets are often designed with a good number of exterior and interior pockets. This is a practical touch that makes the design popular with commuters, tourers and casual riders. With plenty of pockets, there’s no need for a backpack to carry a collection of daily items that might include a wallet or purse, phone and keys. For those riders who wish to own just one jacket, the three quarter length style can be a good choice.
Best suited for:
- Commuting, touring and adventure riding
- Riders who want maximum versatility from a jacket
- Individuals who prioritise practicality over a form-fitting, sporty cut
Women’s Jackets
Women’s jackets acknowledge the fact that achieving correct fit for a woman calls for more than simply downsizing a men’s design. Correct sizing is essential for safety. Women’s jackets are therefore shaped specifically for the female form. The world’s top manufacturers offer an excellent choice of motorcycle jackets in sizes and cuts created especially for women. There’s no compromise on protection - women’s jackets today feature exactly the same materials and armour as men’s styles.
Women’s motorcycle jackets tend to be more fitted at the waist than some men’s styles. The other obvious difference can be the colourways used in these designs. Many manufacturers include highlights and panels in contrasting colours popular with female riders.
Women’s motorcycle jackets are available in sporty, short cuts as well as three quarter length designs. This choice, combined with a wide variety of protective materials in use, mean that there is a women’s style for every type of riding. Commuting, touring, adventure riding or even racing, women today can always choose the style and protection that works best for them.
Best suited for:
- Women who understand that correct fit is the safest fit
- Female riders who understand the advantages of dedicated motorcycle clothing
- Women who want to incorporate feminine style into their riding outfit
Our top Women’s Motorcycle Jacket picks:
KEY FEATURES OF MOTORCYCLE JACKETS
Protection and comfort come together in the design of a quality motorcycle jacket. Riders who are serious about safety recognise the advantages that a jacket designed specifically for riding brings. Let’s look at some of the features you should be looking for when selecting a jacket for your ride.
Pockets for Back Armour
Back armour can be constructed from hard or soft foam, composites and other materials. To function properly, it must be secured in the correct position in the motorcycle jacket.
While some jackets have a back protector already installed, most jackets feature a pocket inside the lining that will accept an optional or aftermarket back protector. This pocket is usually under the lining at the back of the jacket. Often, it is constructed of mesh in order to remain light and breathable. The pocket can be secured with hook and loop fastening, or with a zipper. When purchasing a jacket, it is important to ascertain that the jacket you are considering has a back protector pocket, and that the pocket is a suitable size for the back protector you intend to use.
Ventilation
There are many types of ventilation available in today’s motorcycle jacket designs. Some summer jackets are designed in open mesh fabrics with unrestricted airflow. These are a great choice for summer, but with no way to stop the airflow, less than ideal when the weather cools down. The most versatile jackets are those with adjustable ventilation. This often comes in the form of frontal vents that open and close with zips, buttons or hook and loop fastening. These are often matched to ‘exhaust’ outlets on the back of the jacket. When opened, these encourage air at speed to flow into the jacket, around the rider’s torso and out the vents at the back. How much airflow is available depends on how many vents the rider chooses to open, and how far to open them.
Ventilation is not restricted to torso and back inlets and outlets. Some jackets also feature ventilation via the full length frontal zip, and also inlets positioned on the arms. A motorcycle jacket with a well-designed ventilation system can be a garment for comfortable use throughout every season’s riding.
Attachments for Pants
There are very good reasons to attach a motorcycle jacket to motorcycle pants. Unless these are properly secured, a slide down the road can quickly expose bare skin to tarmac. Jackets have the potential to ride up. Pants can be pulled down. The result can be serious injury. Happily, this can be prevented.
Many motorcycle jackets come complete with a method for securely attaching them to motorcycle pants. This can sometimes be achieved with buttons, but is most often done with heavy duty zippers. These are located at the hem of the jacket and the waist of the pants. Today, the size and the fit of the zippers is almost universal across brands, with two main types available.
The ‘eight inch’ zip is a partial zip located on the hem at the rear of the jacket. Logically, this can be secured to a matching zip fitted to many motorcycle pants. By contrast, some jackets are fitted with zippers that encircle the entire hem, and can be secured to a matching zipper on pants. Of the two methods, this represents the most secure.
If attaching your jacket to pants is important to you, take a good look at any design you are considering. Be sure to locate the zipper, understand its use and be certain that it will fit the pants you own or plan to purchase.
Adjustable Waist
Unless the cut of a motorcycle jacket is very form-fitting, an adjustable waist is very important. An adjustable waist is vital for correct fit and helps stop loose folds of material flapping about at speed.
Many motorcycle jackets feature both adjustable waist and hem. An adjustable waist ensures a snug fit, and the adjustable hem can help prevent airflow from getting up underneath the jacket and causing ‘ballooning’. If you have ever seen a motorcyclist on the road wearing a jacket that looked as though it had been inflated, this is ballooning. It is uncomfortable and inconvenient at best, and can even be dangerous. A ballooning jacket has the potential to impede control of the bike and even obscure vision.
Waist adjustment on motorcycle jackets can be achieved by cords or straps. These can be secured using toggles, buckles or hook and loop fastening. When selecting a jacket, look for an adjustment system that you can use easily even while wearing gloves.
MATERIALS USED IN MOTORCYCLE JACKETS
Offering comfort, durability and protection, leather continues to be a popular choice of material for motorcycle jackets. However, there are plenty of other options today with advantages of their own. And of course there are jackets available that have been created using a combination of various materials. Let’s take a look at some of the popular materials choices for jackets.
Leather
Even for world championship racers, leather continues to be the prime choice. This is because leather offers excellent abrasion resistance with a good degree of suppleness for comfort. Properly cared for, leather also offers a degree of water resistance, and ages beautifully. On looks alone, some riders simply won’t be seen in anything else.
Leather does call for special care if it is to remain supple. While specially treated leather can shrug off a light rain shower, there are far better choices today if what you need is something truly waterproof. Likewise, even a perforated leather jacket is not an ideal choice in the heat of summer.
Cordura
Cordura is a range of synthetic fibre fabrics well established in motorcycle gear. It can be created in various ‘deniers’ or fibre thicknesses. As a rule, the higher the denier, the tougher and more abrasion resistant the fabric. Various thicknesses of Cordura can be combined in a jacket design so that it is flexible and comfortable, yet very tough in impact areas. Cordura has the advantage of comparatively light weight for the level of protection it offers. Cordura is breathable, but can be treated to offer water resistance, or lined with waterproof membranes.
Cordura’s versatility makes it an ideal material with which to ‘build’ a motorcycle jacket. Its various types and deniers can easily incorporate zippers and other fasteners, along with pockets, ventilation features and armour. You’ll find Cordura commonly used in jackets styled for commuting, touring and adventure. Cordura can be created in an almost limitless range of colours.
Cordura is durable, but does not age or patina like leather can. Some riders still lean towards leather because they feel Cordura jackets tend to place practicality ahead of character.
Mesh
The mesh fabrics used in motorcycle jackets can be any one of a variety of tough, open weave synthetics. In Australia, hot summers can push the limits of even the best ventilated ‘all season’ jackets. This is why many riders choose a mesh jacket for the warmest months.
Motorcycle jackets with a mesh outer shell offer the best possible air flow for warm weather comfort. The mesh weave is open enough to allow unrestricted flow of air around the body. Most mesh jackets also incorporate the elbow and shoulder armour that is common today in many jacket designs. Some will also include back and chest armour. Mesh jackets by some manufacturers also have a removable lining that offers a basic level of warmth on cooler rides. This can be a handy feature in between seasons, but because the outer mesh layer encourages airflow, at best it extends the use of the jacket only into mild weather, rather than cold rides.
