A Complete Guide To Beginner Motorcycle Gear And Equipment

How is this versatility achieved? It is simple yet difficult. After all, a good motorcycle jacket is a modern engineering marvel – a kind of multilayer cake. The top layer protects you from wind and possible accidental damage. To do this, it is made of dense synthetic fabric such as Corduroy or Oxford. By and large, both are very dense nylon, additionally quilted on the most vulnerable places and reinforced with protective inserts made of genuine leather, artificial suede, rubber, plastic or carbon fiber. The most expensive models may even have aluminum or titanium linings. But these are not beginner jackets. So just make sure that the shoulders and elbows of your jacket are reinforced with something. This is the minimum required.

The second layer in the jacket is a windproof and waterproof insert. Best of all, it is made of a membrane fabric that allows air and moisture to go out, but not in. These inserts are often removable and if necessary, can be worn separately. And the third layer, also removable, is a warm lining. Most commonly, a thin quilted synthetic winterized lining responsible to keep you comfortable in cold weather. All these layers can be removed, put on or combined in such a way that you feel comfortable in any weather.

A characteristic feature of a good motorcycle jacket, especially textile jacket, is extra reinforcement on important areas such as the spine, elbows, shoulders and chest. They increase impact resistance and protect joints. Protective guards are made of foam, hard plastic or Kevlar. However, they should not be confused with the “armor” used when riding off-road.

Due to the fact that motorcycle jackets must provide at least basic protection from wind and rain, the breathability of the material itself is restricted. Thus, to avoid sweating, choose a motorcycle jacket with a closable ventilation system. It is generally located on the chest, sleeves and back. Thanks to it, the air will dry the body and the inner layers of clothing. Jackets with removable linings are a good option for touring during spring and fall.

Advice: It is important to note that the motorcycle jacket must be properly snugged to the body. In order to adapt to different body types, they usually come equipped with pullers. Only these types of jackets guarantee that the protective guards will not move relative to the body during an accident.

Do you need extra protection in a jacket?

It is true that even a deep-sea diving suit will not save you from a frontal impact against a Ford Pickup, but in less serious accidents you can be protected by special impact-absorbing inserts. In a good jacket there are five of them: on the shoulders, on the elbows and on the back. The first four are usually included. Make sure they are there, then after putting on your jacket, check that they are in place. The most common problem is with the elbows. The inserts in the sleeve should be strictly opposite the joint, and not dangle somewhere in the middle of the forearm. Protective inserts are often height-adjustable, but within a fairly narrow range. Therefore, if the sleeves are initially too big for you, then the adjustment may not be enough. This means that you will have to look for another variant of the jacket.

Usually inserts are made of a relatively soft material, somewhat reminiscent of elastic plastic or rubber. Such protection is inexpensive, but capable of effectively absorbing the energy of an impact in a collision. A more expensive option is inserts made of D3O material. When compressed, bent or stretched, it remains soft, and with sharp impacts it instantly hardens over its entire surface, redistributing and thus absorbing energy. And even if the tag of the jacket does not say that it is equipped with D3O inserts (which, of course, is unlikely), they are easy to recognize by their characteristic orange color. The basic guard is most often black or gray!