leather | Motorcycle Accessories and Apparel

Motorcycling and leather are forever linked. The relationship goes back to the origins of the sport. I guess that's why I like leather jackets with a classic look and feel. The REV'IT! CR Leather Jacket fits this bill. I can't help but think the "CR" stands ...

When the discussion of ultra-premium racing gear comes up in sport-bike circles, Dainese will certainly be mentioned early and often. The Dainese Racing Leather Jacket is a new offering by the legendary Italian company. It will cost you, but if you want to ride in a jacket ...

The Icon TiMax 2 textile jacket is a rider favorite for good reason. Interestingly, the titanium is not just a sales ploy (although it is certainly that, too). There is actually exterior titanium armor plating and titanium reinforced textile panels in critical areas.

The TiMax 2 comes ...

Back to basics. That's how I would describe the Gaerne Balance Oiled Boots. Adventurer tourers and dual-sport riders are decidedly less prone to buy the multi-hued and trendy gear that is so popular with the motocross crowd. These Gaerne boots have a traditional leather look and feel ...

We review lots of protective gear here at Spot Motorcycles: textile jackets and pants, leather jackets and pants, and every combination of the two. However, there is a simple fact: for the ultimate protection, a full suit is still the king. Also known as racing leathers, ...

Joe Rocket Speedmaster gloves have been around for quite a while. I see a lot to like about the latest incarnation, the Speedmaster 8.0. I guess 8.0 means that this is the 8th version -- I'm quick that way.

Anyway, here's what the glove has to offer. It has the standard drum-dyed ...

More and more apparel companies are offering riding shoes that have motorcycle specific features, but no real armor. I am not naive. I know that we don't all wear protective apparel every time we ride, but in terms of protection, more is better.

The Alpinestars Mille Shoes are motorcycle ...

The company name tries a little too hard to inspire excitement, but REV'IT! is producing some good gear. The REV'IT! Airvolution Glove is a good product that doesn't quite live up to the name.

When you think about it, it is easy to be well-protected and comfortable in cool weather. ...

I have always found that Alpinestars boots fit my foot well. Because of this, I find myself feeling comfortable ordering the Italian company's boots online with little trepidation. The Alpinestars Web Gore-Tex Boots are a bit of a different fit, however.

The boots are what I look for ...

Held is somewhat of a legendary company in terms of rider apparel. In the 1940s, German glove-maker Edgar Held started the line of high quality motorcycle gloves. How appropriate the company's name is to the English-speaking consumer base is purely coincidence.

The Held Steve 2 is ...

The Dainese Santa Monica Perforated Leather Jacket carries a name that conjures the beauty of the West Coast. This varied terrain ranges from cool coastal temperatures to the toasty desert inland. This jacket should perform well in this spectrum of temperatures.

First off, this jacket is perforated for ...

I recently watched a TV documentary on the workings of the Alpinestars factory in Italy. I was more than impressed with the attention to detail of everyone featured, from the engineers to the testers and fabricators. They all seemed passionate about producing a quality product. There is ...

I have spent quite a bit of time reviewing helmets for adventure-touring. However, the second most difficult body part for the adventure-tourer to outfit is the foot. These riders (of which I am one) ride through water, mud, and dust, and still must have a boot that will ...

I have not worn leather pants since I was the keyboardist for REO Speedwagon back in the late '70s. OK, that's a lie -- not the leather pants part, the REO part. I do wear armored pants in both the cordura and denim styles, however. Despite ...

The Icon Men's Accelerant leather jacket is simply a quality piece of riding apparel. Icon has a reputation for being a company that appeals to the young and trendy segment of the riding community. Some of their gear is, in my opinion, a little "over the top" ...

Leather is protective, heavy, and expensive. Cordura textile is versatile, waterproof, and relatively affordable. An increasing number of quality motorcycle jackets are mating these two materials with very positive results. By placing leather in the impact-prone zones of the jacket, like the forearms and shoulders, the ...

Big names in scooter boot manufacturing come largely from Italy, these days. Gaerne's made a good name for themselves in the mid-price range. I first heard of these back in the '90s from a friend who has enough money to buy whatever he likes, but chose a pair ...

Personally, I'm not into the whole "fear and intimidation" aspect in a lot of today's motorcycling gear. I have never donned flames, bones, or skulls. However, I am a realist, and I know this is a marketable aspect of our sport.

Icon's Men's Skull Leather Motorcycle Jacket plays ...

Four years ago, I would not risk buying inexpensive bags. Why take a chance at dissatisfaction when you can just drop another $50 and buy some confidence? Well, like I said, that was four years ago, and this old economy ain't what she used to be. Now, I look for every bargain, and I ...

Alpinestars' C-1 Windstopper gloves caught my eye for the very reason they shouldn't have. They are surprisingly humble, coming from their otherwise ostentatious Alpinestars roots. There's nothing showy or striking about the C-1. I dare say they look generic, but Alpinestars has not overlooked their function.

Constructed of thick Windstopper nylon for insulation, ...

Because I ride, I get a lot of questions about biker culture. It's as if people think there's some kind of handbook that comes with the bike about being a big bad biker babe. One of these questions was about vests and why they're so popular in the riding ...

As it is the most obvious drawback, I'm going to address the ugly first. Icon's Hooligan 2 gloves are not pretty. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but nothing coming through my retinas is being translated as stylish. I think it's the big, 1990s-style cartoon lettering on the knuckles ...

Oh wee little Icon riding gloves, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

Don't worry, I'm not about to whip out the ol' poetry on you, but I do have a soft spot for these gloves. They are much like my old, beaten-down riding standby pair. Leather on ...

I ride in a full face helmet, a leather jacket replete with armor, leather gloves, leather boots, and jeans. I keep saying that I'll buy chaps later, but I wouldn't ride until I got my coat. I obviously rank my legs lower than my arms in more than just the spacial ...

When a manufacturer says their leather is "distressed," they mean that it looks like you've put the miles on it when you haven't. To get that look on some modern leather, after it's been softened and treated, you have to buy it. The way old leather used to scuff was because ...

Ah, simplicity. So much in the riding world is about flash and flair, but I've always preferred that my apparel be straightforward, and there is nothing more straightforward than a pair of short black gloves.

Alpinestars SMX-2 gloves offer function over frills. More akin to a chopped-down pair of motocross gloves, these are ...

The streetbike community is overrun, drowning in a deluge of textile jackets. Don't get me wrong; there are companies, like Icon, that make some great leathers for the street rider. There is, however, a particular style to this kind of jacket, and manufacturers will charge you an arm and a leg ...

Sometimes you look at a product and you don't have to give two thoughts about its purpose. River Road's Basic leather motorcycle jacket is just that: a basic motorcycle jacket. You look at it and you know that it's cut and designed for riding because it looks like the jackets ...

Like any sport, motocross riders develop their gear preferences over the lifetime of their career. Some decide they want more impact protection, some less. Some find stiffer retention systems to their liking, others prefer increased flexibility. It's a matter of riding style and comfort. Alpinestars refers to their Tech 3 as a boot ...

Finding a decent pair of gloves can be hard for me. I have small hands. Adult small gloves often have fingers that are still too long, and kids glove's fingers are too short. Caught between these worlds, I've found that the very thing more riders don't like about Alpinestars' SP-X gloves is my ...

Racing suits are cool. They remind me of superhero suits. You just need a cape. But aside of the cool factor and the fact that you look like a space man ripping down the highway, racing suits offer a level of safety and comfort that is hard to ...

Alpinestars has a much greater reputation in motocross and sport riding than they do in the cruiser world. I am not suggesting in any way that their quality is not recognized, but long haul riders tend to be a suspicious and diverse lot. Having a look at the Ridge boots, I ...

Alpinestars SP-1 gloves, if and when you own them, will never be your only pair of gloves. These are not made for a light ride down to your friend's barbeque. For that, you will have to look elsewhere. But these gloves are designed specifically to protect your hands in hazardous conditions.

Tightly-sewn leather ...

Racing boots have an entirely different set of hazards than motocross or street boots. There is, of course, an obvious necessity for all of them to resist abrasion, impact, and heat, but applying the right tool for the right job can give you an advantage on the track. Alpinestars Supertech R sport ...

Motocross riders who have been around the track know exactly what these are: these are Alpinestars' Tech 8 boots. Well known and well worn, many riders stick with these when it comes time to get a new pair of boots. There are numerous reasons why these have developed such a loyal following in ...

Leave your favorite jeans and your chaps laying around together too long with some Barry White playing, and you just might end up with something akin to River Road's 5-pocket pants. These combine the best features of chaps with the convenience and styling of jeans.

Designed for women riders, these pants ...

At Xelement they make a variety of leather apparel items as well as saddlebags. New for their lineup is the Cruiser Premium Vented jacket. It's called a vented jacket because the two upper zippers are actually vents, and there's a matching pair of zippered vents on the lower ...

I don't care what your opinion is about personal protection gear for the daily ride, but riding motocross is different. You're going to lose some skin when you're not wearing the right apparel. Never going down means you're not trying hard enough. It's an expected (and nearly required) hazard of the sport.

Some ...

We all love women riders, so it's nice to see Icon offering a pair of boots uniquely styled for the aggressive femininity of women of the road. Most of my riding boots have a distinctly masculine look because I buy them for comfort and safety. Icon's Bombshell boot embraces the ...

Most things are designed to last these days, and what doesn't last is so fragile that it wears out before it wears in. You hardly ever see a nicely worn leather jacket anymore. My riding partner has had his jacket for seven years and it still looks new. Yes, I ...

We've all heard the advice: "Keep it simple, stupid." The myriad features sewn into every piece of equipment are fun, but do you really need all that? Probably not. Dainese proves that all the flash and flare doesn't replace a well-made leather glove.

The Black Jack gloves are goatskin with reinforced ...

Tired of every ditz asking for a ride on your bike? Worse: Do you have a friend who actually wants you to drop them off places on your bike? You can dissuade passengers or make their ride extraordinarily uncomfortable, if not impossible, by ditching that pillion.

The molded base of the Harley-Davidson rear ...

Years ago, I was shopping for gloves and I found that women's gloves were often made dainty with the idea that women riders wanted to express their femininity. Unfortunately, that also meant the gloves were less protective. One good scrape and the fine leather was gone. It looks like manufacturers ...

I'm a wuss. Once the snow starts to fly I'm off the road, and my machine goes into a 3 to 4 month hibernation. Last winter I sat in my car in awe of the sight before me. An early '70s Honda was parked in a structure downtown in ...

A good pair of boots ought to last you a few seasons. If they're not made for riding, the heat and abuse will wear them out before the end of a single season, and you can bet that they won't keep your feet on your ankles in an accident. Fortunately, in ...

What's a riding boot that isn't a riding boot? The Icon Super Duty 3. The Super Duty 3 is a re-imagining of previous Icon boots, and they've made it their lightest high-performance street riding boot with a standard boot style.

The Super Duty has everything a street riding boot ought to ...

Plans that include you can be made without consulting you, so when you get a call from a friend who says the crew is heading out next week to ride the Great Lakes Loop, you have to drop everything. To say "no" would mean missing one of the most beautiful rides ...

Even with all the advances in textile riding gear, even if they were just as abrasion resistant, I believe there would still be riders who wear leather. The only event that could stop them would be the extinction of the cow. This is why companies like Scorpion Sports are still ...

I'm a record keeper. I like to keep a close eye on how my bike is performing from ride to ride. My usual procedure when I stop for gas is to open up my fork bag and dig through all the things I keep in there until I find my pen ...

Despite the vast selection we have for riding jackets, I always come back to the basics: simple, black leather. The leather jacket has been around since the dawn of motorcycles, and it will persist despite advancements in textiles. No one ever buries their face in their new textile jacket to breath ...