Apart from potential accidents, motorcycle jackets add to the glamour it adds to the riders. Today, various types of motorcycle jackets are available in the market, and these consist of simple cotton motorcycle jackets, leather motorcycle jackets, and riders jackets made of various protective materials depending upon the specific requirements. A great deal of efforts are nowadays put into design of motorcycle jackets and riders jackets so that they can serve for a two-way purpose, first to offer protection, and second to give a stylish look to the rider.
When buying a leather motorcycle jacket, try to find out whether it is made from cowhide or sheepskin. Cowhide jackets are thicker, offer better protection, and are durable. Sheepskin jackets, on the other hand, are more fashionable as color can be easily and effectively imparted. You can get fashionable sheepskin jackets in a variety of zippered, patch worked and other fashionable designs.
Whatever jacket you choose, any good motorcycle leather jacket should not be stiff, should have a usable pocket space, and should offer weather protection, adjustability, and usability. The thickness of the leather determines the kind of protection and hence checks it out, depending on your requirement. You may also choose between short skin tight rider jackets which facilitate greater speeding, more comfortable jackets for city cruising, and leather jackets for racers. Whatever jacket you choose, your jacket should always serve the purpose for which you are buying it.
I can still remember the day I went and picked up my very first bike. I didn't have a motorcycle jacket period so I used an old leather jacket that I had hanging in the closet. Little did I know that motorcycle jackets aren't just made to look cool but that they have many life saving protective features built in to them. That is to say at least the ones that are made for sport bikes. Most of your traditional leather jackets like Fonzie used to wear don't offer much real protection in the way of impact, however they do protect your skin from road rash if you actually buy a quality leather jacket that is made from thick leather.
Since that first day I have bought several motorcycle jackets. I bought my very first one made by Fieldsheer from an online site that sold used riding apparel. It cost me about $250. That seems like a lot but I have had that jacket for 8 years now and its still in great shape, besides that it offers re enforced panels and body armor in all the contact areas making it much safer for me if I do go down. For a quality motorcycle jacket that is made from a high grade leather and is properly stitched and re enforced $250 to $350 is a very reasonable price. You can find cheap generic no name jackets for much less, however the quality of those is really bad. I will tell you a story about buying one of those generic made in Pakistan type riding jackets in a sec. Anyhow I would go with a Quality name brand when it comes to motorcycle apparel. Icon motorcycle jackets and gear are probably the most popular these days and Icon doe make quality stuff that is always stylish to boot. The nice thing about Icon is that you will likely be able to find boots and gloves as well as a pair of riding pants to go with the jacket. Icon also makes some really nice jackets made from a Kevlar mesh that offer about the same protection as their leather counterparts but are great for riding in warm weather. If you live in a place like Houston like I do you know that most of the year its super hot so having a mesh jacket is a big plus. I have one of each myself. Ok back to the cheap jacket part. A few years back I bought a classic motorcycle jacket for one of my girlfriends. We were riding on my chopper a lot so it made sense to go that route. I went to a local place and found a jacket for about $100 and bought it. I thought I got a good deal. Well no I got a really cheap motorcycle jacket. The leather ended up tearing on the jacket within a month around the zippers. Then the zipper went south. That is the last time I bought a generic jacket.
When you start looking for a motorcycle jacket at a cheap price start looking on the web. You are much more likely to run in to a good deal then at your local dealer unless you have a friend at the dealership you are going to pay full nut there plus tax. Most online motorcycle shops will carry quality apparel by companies like, Joe Rocket, Alpinestars, Icon, AgvSport and Arlen Ness to name some of the more popular ones. Most online shops will offer the same jackets at a discount off somewhere around 10 to 15 percent off and unless they are in your state their is no tax to be paid. I know some people are still leery of buying stuff online, however rest assured that most online merchants are quite reputable. If you have any doubts some of the things to look for is that they give you a phone number to call, their is a contact us section that lets you email them, when you go thru the checkout process make sure the little lock appears at the top or at the bottom of your browser showing that the checkout section is encrypted. If you do run in to a place that is way cheaper then anyone else always ask yourself why. Most of the dealers online buy their products from the same source so if one guy is super cheap that may be an indication of something shady going on. Also on a side note if you don't mind buying used stuff cheap you can try ebay. I have bought some really good stuff from there for next to nothing.
Both Anirban Bhattacharya & Dominik Hussl are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.