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These Great Motorcycle Jackets Are All Made for Summer Riding

You don’t have to sacrifice safety to stay cool when riding on hot summer days.

collage of three motorcycle jacketsCycle Gear, Belstaff

By Tyler Duffy

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Anyone who rides knows how it goes: once warm weather hits, the temptation to go riding in jeans and a T-shirt is sure to rise along with the temperature. But doing so risks serious injury; as the old adage goes, “Dress for the fall, not for the ride.”

Yet while it’s in your best interest to keep your skin off the pavement, dressing for the elements is essential too; if temps are high and humidity is reaching Turkish bath levels, keeping layers to a minimum without sacrificing safety (or style) is key. In that case, you need to consider summer motorcycle jackets.

Products in the Guide

What to Look for in a Summer Motorcycle Jacket

Armor

The point of wearing a motorcycle jacket in the summer is to provide protection. Make sure the padding in the jacket is CE-certified at the shoulders and elbows. Ideally, there would be a pocket to add a back protector if there isn’t one included.

Fit

A motorcycle jacket should fit tightly, but not too tightly. You want it tight enough to keep the armor in the proper place and to keep from flapping in the wind. But you still want it loose enough to be able to move and provide some airflow. Many jackets will offer stretch panels and be adjustable. Adjustable closures can also help eliminate discomfort.

Materials

Leather jackets, regardless of the number of vents and the amount of perforation, will always be a slightly heavier option, but they tend to have the most style. Synthetic textile jackets tend to be the exact opposite, running much lighter but sporting a technical look to leather’s timeless one.

Ventilation

Airflow is a critical factor in keeping you cool. Motorcycle jackets fit for summer duty will typically offer a lot of mesh paneling on the jacket to maximize that airflow.

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Klim Marrakesh Jacket

  • Material: Synthetic
  • Included Armor: D30 CE Level 1 (shoulders, elbow, back)
  • Ventilation: Porous material, wrist zip vents

The Klim Marrakesh jacket offers unbeatable value with its excellent temperature management and water repellency, features you’ll need whether you’re heading out on an epic cross-country journey or a daily commute.

The jacket uses tough, tightly woven 1000D Cordura impact zones at the shoulder and elbow and D30 CE level 1 armor at the elbows, shoulders and spine with a four-way stretch core and shoulder blade portion. Klim added micromesh so the chest breaths well, but the material also gets a DWR water-resisting treatment to prevent most weather from soaking you.

Klim added Scotchlite’s C790 carbon black for visibility, which looks stealthy until headlights illuminate it. Klim included softer stretch fabric at the neck and the wrists. The Marrakesh also gets zip-shut cuffs to prevent wind turbulence at your arms.

Alpinestars T-GP Plus R v3 Air Jacket

  • Material: Synthetic
  • Included Armor: CE Level 1 (elbow and shoulder)
  • Ventilation: Mesh lining, mesh panels

The Alpinestars T-GP Plus R v3 Air is a summer sport riding jacket (along with being a mouthful to say). It’s a textile jacket that goes heavy on the mesh for ventilation with a full mesh lining and extended mesh panels at the torso and arms.

The jacket features Nucleon Flex Plus CE Level 1 armor at the shoulders and elbows. And the jacket includes pockets for chest and back protectors, which are sold separately. Velcro fasteners at the wrist cuffs and in pockets provide extra secure closures. Alpinestars added large-opening front hand pockets and a waterproof internal pocket.

Belstaff Temple Jacket

  • Material: Synthetic
  • Included Armor: CE Level 1 (elbows and shoulders)
  • Ventilation: Mesh inserts

Belstaff is known for its leather and waxed canvas jackets, but you’ll be sweating gallons if you try to stick out the summer in your Tourist Trophy. For the warmer months, Belstaff has the Temple Jacket, a lightweight nylon shell with a mesh section along the arms for airflow.

Although it’s made from nylon, Belstaff still managed to translate its classic two-pocket, vintage moto jacket style to the technical construction — an achievement in its own right.

Aether Draft Mesh Jacket

  • Material: Synthetic
  • Included Armor: CE Level 1 (elbows and shoulders)
  • Ventilation: Mesh fabric construction

Aether held off on creating a mesh motorcycle jacket for a long time — mainly because the material naturally lends itself to more tactical looks, which isn’t the brand’s M.O at all. As the company’s first mesh jacket, the Draft keeps with the minimalist, understated style Aether is known for, while still providing the full airflow benefits of the porous material.

The Draft also comes with a water and wind-resistant outer shell that stores in a zippered pouch in the back — the better to deal with the porous downsides of mesh jackets in inclement weather. The Draft isn’t canvas or leather as we’ve come to expect from them, but it’s undeniably Aether.

Dainese Fighter Perforated Leather Jacket

  • Material: Leather
  • Included Armor: Composite shoulders and elbows
  • Ventilation: Perforated leather, back air vents

As a relatively heavy leather jacket, the Fighter should, in theory, have the toughest job of all the picks on this list keeping a rider cool. But Dainese used perforations throughout nearly the entire front and back of the jacket to maximize airflow; there are even extra perforated panels on the underside of the arms for increased circulation. Plus, when the weather gets chilly, you can pop the removable thermal liner back in for added warmth.

If you’re looking for sleek style but don’t want to sweat to death before you reach your destination, the Dainese Fighter Perforated Jacket is the way to go this summer.

REV’IT Eclipse 2 Jacket

  • Material: Synthetic
  • Armor: CE Level 1 (shoulders and elbows)
  • Ventilation: Mesh panels (chest, inner arms, back)

REV’IT’s Eclipse 2 jacket is a more affordable — but still stylish — mesh and polyester option. The jacket is made from durable 600D polyester. It comes with Knox CE Level 1 armor at the shoulders and elbows and comes equipped to hold a CE Level 2 SeeSoft back protector (sold separately).

If being lightweight and looking great weren’t enough, the REV’IT Eclipse is also a very affordable option — yes, such a thing still exists — at less than $200.

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