5 Essential Motorcycle Apparel Items for Beginners

There’s nothing quite like the anticipation of the inaugural ride on your first motorcycle. However, there are essential pieces of apparel you should get before you hit the road.

Here are the 5 essential riding apparel items you need to get to start out with when you get your first motorcycle. 

Riding Helmet

A helmet is the most important thing you need to have when you ride a motorcycle. Some states don’t have helmet laws, some do, but it doesn’t matter. It's the most essential piece of riding safety gear, period. 

And setting aside the obvious safety reasons for having one, there are other benefits to wearing a motorcycle helmet. For starters, a full-face helmet protects your face and eyes from bugs. Many modern helmets are also built with Bluetooth technology to make it easier to control music and other electronic devices while you ride. The evolution of the motorcycle helmet also means there are countless cool designs and accessories available to customize your look and experience while you ride.

Riding Gloves

In a motorcycle accident, your natural reflex is to extend your hands to protect yourself. That’s just one reason why riding gloves are so important. Gloves also protect your hands in the wind. You’d be surprised at how numb your hands can feel on a cool riding day. Whether they’re standard, heated or cold weather gloves, your fingers and knuckles are better protected from the wind with a solid pair.

Riding Jacket

A jacket is another essential piece of riding gear that protects you from injury in a crash, and from the cold when you’re out on the road. And of course jackets are a great addition to your biker style.

There are many different materials to choose from, including ballistic nylon, perforated leather, and 100% leather designs. In a crash, a good motorcycle riding jacket can protect your skin from getting ground down by pavement, exposing tissue underneath. 

Riding Boots

Motorcycle boots are another essential piece of riding apparel that have evolved in both look and functionality to provide better riding safety. 

Over-the-ankle boots can protect your feet in a crash, and keep them warm on a chilly day. If you’re on a tight budget and commute to work often, a good pair of over-the-ankle boots can do a great job of protecting you on your daily rides.

Riding Pants

Shorts on a motorcycle are always a bad idea, and regular old pants aren’t much better. No matter how strong the quality of the denim, your standard pair of jeans will shred fast as they slide across the pavement. 

For a long time, motorcycle riders had limited options on riding pants that really only fit the look of a stereotypical biker. They might have been leather or ballistic nylon pants, but they just weren’t very practical after getting off the bike. However, motorcycle apparel manufacturers now make riding jeans fitted with Kevlar panels, or with weaved-in Kevlar in the cotton denim. If you’re a beginner motorcycle rider and aren’t quite ready to don leather pants, you now have options on the casual denim front.