Motorcycle gear is a must-have for any rider, and there are plenty of types of motorcycle gear.
While plenty of motorcyclists choose to ride without the right motorcycle gear, I highly recommend that you gear up every time you toss a leg over a motorcycle. It’s the best way to protect yourself from the unexpected.
You can have the best riding skills in the world, but there are things out of your control and your riding gear will provide protection.
The proper riding gear can also help keep you comfortable while riding. You want to get the right type of gear as well as find a style that suits your riding style and get gear from a reputable brand.
With all this in mind, let’s discuss the different types of motorcycle gear out there.
Motorcycle Helmets
Motorcycle helmets are simple in concept. It’s a barrier between your head and the outside world, whether that be the rain, wind, or harder things like pavement. Bottom line, helmets provide protection for your head. And when it comes to types of motorcycle gear, they’re the most important.
While opinions on what makes the best helmet vary, there’s clear evidence that helmets are a very good thing. They save lives and provide added comfort to the motorcycle rider.
There are various types of motorcycle helmets. At a high-level you can divide them into three categories:
There are additional styles of helmets—including half helmets, dual-sport or adventure helmets, and off-road helmets—but generally they fall into one of these categories.
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Motorcycle Jackets
Motorcycle jackets are another of what I’d call essential gear. They provide you with excellent upper body protection, and even a cheap motorcycle jacket is going to give you better protection from the elements and a potential side than a casual jacket will.
Motorcycle jackets come with material that’s designed to block wind and protect you from the asphalt if you go down, they’re also commonly built with armor on the elbows and shoulders (sometimes more locations), and they have specially designed vents to bring airflow to your body on warmer days.
There are plenty of types of motorcycle jackets, but typically they fall into two categories:
- Leather jackets
- Textile jackets
There are plenty of styles and sub-categories within these two main categories—including heated, mesh, riding shirts, summer jackets, winter jackets, and more—but all of those sub-categories will fall into one of these two main buckets.
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Motorcycle Pants
Motorcycle pants are something that’s often overlooked when it comes to types of motorcycle gear. Too many riders set off with nothing better than some Levis protecting their behind and legs. That’s a mistake. If you go down while riding, you’re going to slide on your knees or backside, and the right pair of motorcycle pants will provide more protection.
Also, motorcycle pants (of all types) generally are actually very comfortable on the bike bike and provide good protection from the elements. There’s a lot to love from a good pair of motorcycle pants. Like with jackets, you can typically divide these into two major categories:
- Leather pants
- Textile pants
Again, there are various sub-categories different styles of motorcycle pants fall into, from summer or winter riding pants, to chaps, cargo, adventure, or riding jeans. All of them will protect better than you casual pair of jeans, so I say read up on them and then get yourself at least one pair.
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Motorcycle Boots
Generally, when it comes to types of motorcycle gear, I lump all motorcyclist footwear into one big category of motorcycle boots. And for obvious reason. Anything that is designed to be worn on your feet while riding a motorcycle is going to be more robust than a simple pair of casual shoes or boots.
That said, there are certainly categories within motorcycle boots that are worth calling out. They include the following:
- Tall boots
- Short boots
- Motorcycle Shoes
As you can imagine, all of them feature reinforcements that casual footwear doesn’t have. For example, they’ll likely have reinforcements in the toe box and heel as well as some kind of built-in ankle support. It’s these attributes that set them apart from any old pair of boots.
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Motorcycle Gloves
As with shoes, motorcycle gloves are reinforced and upgrades versions of what you might expect. Gloves are pretty simple, they provide protection to your hands from the elements and—should it be needed—the pavement.
The devil is in the details. A simple pair of leather gloves might be okay for some styles of riding, but manufacturers have gotten pretty impressive with reinforcement, armor, unique materials, and fit, to make pairs of gloves that will surprise you with how well they an protect your hands.
Typically, there are two types of gloves:
- Short cuff gloves
- Long cuff gloves
We could spend hours going over all the various types of motorcycle gloves, but I truly feel those two sub-categories will suffice for organizing the different types of gloves out there.
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Motorcycle Goggles
When it comes to eyewear, I’d considered discussing both goggles and glasses, but I’ll be honest, I think goggles are the smartes choice. Glasses are good in certain applications, but for an article about types of motorcycle gear, I’m going to lean on goggles. They provide the best protection, and I find them to be the most comfortable choice as well.
If you’re interested in motorcycle glasses, there are plenty out there, but for eye protection, I’m going to focus primarily on goggles.
What you’ll find is that there are a wide variety of them all with unique features and price points. I’ve noticed that the higher priced goggles, while good, typically aren’t all that better than the medium-priced options. But I will say cheap goggles are typically that, cheap.
So, don’t skimp when it comes to goggles, you wouldn’t be able to ride without your eyes, so don’t neglect them.
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Motorcycle Luggage
The world of motorcycle luggage is full of variety. I’d considered excluding it from this list of types of motorcycle gear, but I do think it belongs. That’s a good thing, but it also makes choosing the right motorcycle luggage tough. Because everyone has different needs and differ bikes, what makes the best motorcycle bag for your bike will vary.
The perfect piece of motorcycle luggage for you might not be the right one for me and my needs. There are all sorts of different types of motorcycle bags and luggage out there.
Rather than try to discuss all of the sub-categories here, I think it’s best to address each bag on a case-by-case basis and really be clear about what each offering is good for.
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Motorcycle Tools
I love tools. I love getting new ones, using old ones, and fixing something with them. While an article on types of motorcycle gear, might not feel like the right place for a listing on tools, I think it still fits. The right tools can make all of the difference when it comes to motorcycles.
Each motorcycle will have a different need when it comes to tools, and I’ll touch on a high level what every motorcyclist should have in their garage or tool kit for the road.
If you’re just getting started, here are a few articles to help you find the best tools out there:
Obviously, this is in no way a comprehensive list of the tools you’ll need for your motorcycle, but it’s a good start. From there, you can continue building and come up with the perfect total set of tools for your motorcycle.
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Motorcycle Apparel and Casual Clothing
Less important than all of the others, but worth mentioning when discussing types of motorcycle gear is casual motorcycle clothing. This means t-shirts, long-sleeve shirts, lightweight jackets, hats, and more.
If you’re going to live the lifestyle of a motorcyclist, then you’ll need at least a couple of articles of clothing that rep what you’re all about. Whether that be cafe racers, cruisers, classic Japanese motorcycles, or a specific brand.
Don’t be scared to identify with your moto tribe. And if you don’t have one, that’s cool too. We’re all motorcyclists, and you can just be proud of that.
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