- Kiwi riders don’t need to sacrifice safety to stay cool — modern mesh jackets, reinforced shirts and ventilated gloves provide airflow and proper protection.
- Budget-friendly options from Oxford, Ixon, Dririder, Rjays and Bull-It make it easy to gear up for summer without breaking the bank.
- Riding in normal denim, t-shirts or (God forbid) jandals is a fast way to ruin your summer — proper hot-weather gear is cooler, safer and far more comfortable.
It’s bloody hot at the moment, and riding a motorcycle can quickly turn miserable if you’ve got enough sense not to go the t-shirt-and-jandals route. BRM was in Auckland this week and spotted countless riders tearing through the streets and motorways with the sort of bravado you’d expect from riders wrapped head-to-toe in the latest airbag tech. In reality, many were only wearing a helmet.
Yes, it’s tempting to leave the gear at home. But I’m pretty confident most of these riders have never had a serious slide, because if they had, there’s no way they’d be slicing through traffic in shorts and a singlet. Imagine the mess if things went wrong… it doesn’t bear thinking about.
The good news? Riding in hot weather doesn’t mean compromising on safety. Here’s a look at some of our favourite summer-friendly gear — kit that keeps you cool while still offering decent protection should your summer ride suddenly go sideways.
Jackets
Not all jackets are created equal. Leather doesn’t offer much ventilation, and your winter jacket — even with the liner removed — is unlikely to keep you cool once the mercury climbs. Here are a few of our favourites for proper summer riding.
OXFORD ARIZONA AIR 1.0 MEN’S JACKET
Price: $249
The Arizona 1.0 air mesh jacket does away with every piece of material that could block airflow from reaching the areas of your body that suffer most in hot weather, enabling you to capitalise on the slightest movement of air to help cool your core.
CE A-approved, this fully ventilated, highly breathable, textile jacket features a High-Density Polyester outer shell and belt attachment loops for warm weather riding.
IXON DEMONIAK JACKET
Price: $389
The Demoniak not only looks cool — it keeps you cool, thanks to a full 3-in-1 lining system. Both the thermal vest and waterproof liner are removable, leaving nothing but mesh between you and the breeze. CE-certified with IX-PROSOFT armour, it’s a serious upgrade from a singlet.
RJAYS REGIMENT 2 REINFORCED SHIRT
Price: $229
If you really can’t handle a jacket then a reinforced shirt is possibly going to be the best combo of ventilation and some protection that you can get. We wouldn’t recommend taking in a lap of the island in one, but for cruising around town and looking cool, then they are certainly a useful piece of kit.
The Rjays Regiment 2 reinforced moto shirt features a cotton-poly blend frame with a snap down collar and hidden YKK main zipper opening. The shoulders and elbows are reinforced with Dupont™ Kevlar fiber thread with expansion gussets in the shoulders allowing for minimal movement restriction, and there’s removable KEEPTECH CE Level 2 shoulder and elbow protectors. You can even stick a back protector in the pocket provided for extra security. A belt loop should stop it lifting up and the snap down collar will stop it flapping in the wind.
DRIRIDER BREEZE TOURING JACKET
Price: $239
The Breeze uses large mesh panels to keep air moving while still offering CE armour and a foam back protector. We’re not convinced the black colour is the coolest choice, but once you’re moving the ventilation works well.
OXFORD KICKBACK 3.0 SHIRT
Price: $259.90
This riding shirt achieves a CE AA rating — impressive for something that could pass as casual wear. It includes CE Level 2 armour, a zip connector for jeans, a ventilated back panel and upgraded protective materials.
OXFORD SUPER HOODIE 2.0 JACKET
Price: $299
A soft casual hoodie on the outside but a technical garment underneath, the Super Hoodie is CE A certified and uses aramid reinforcements plus CE Level 2 armour. Cool, casual and ideal when you don’t want a bulky jacket for a short commute.
Gloves
How people ride without gloves is beyond us. Even a stone flicked up from the bike ahead can ruin your day, let alone a proper crash. Here are a few breathable options for summer.
IXON HURRICANE 2 GLOVE
Price: $79.95
Extremely ventilated with a spandex/synthetic upper. While not designed for high-speed crashes, the suede palm, knuckle protector and finger sliders offer useful impact and abrasion protection.
IXON THUNDER AIR GLOVE
Price: $199
Looking for leather-level protection without cooking your hands? The Thunder Air uses extensive punch-venting across the leather to create one of the most breathable sport gloves available.
OXFORD BRISBANE AIR GLOVE
Price: $79.90
A BRM favourite for years. These gloves combine a leather palm, Amara overlays, a ventilated back and floating knuckle construction for excellent summer comfort without sacrificing protection.
Jeans
Think your normal denim jeans will survive a slide? They won’t. Standard denim tears almost instantly on tarmac. Here are two proper riding options that stay cool while offering AA-rated protection.
OXFORD ORIGINAL CE AA ARMOURLITE STRAIGHT JEANS
Price: $259.90
Using Armourlite — a durable denim blended with polyamide fibres originally designed for parachute cords — these jeans offer AA-rated protection with two-way stretch and a classic look.
BULL-IT SPITFIRE MOTORCYCLE JEAN
Price: $249
Another AA-rated option, the Spitfire jeans include Level 1 hip and knee armour, improved rear coverage when riding, and Covec material for superior abrasion resistance.
In you’re still hot when riding, then you can always try a cooling vest, which you fill with cold water and wear under your jacket. They work well for a bit to keep your core cool and will certainly make a day out in the sun a little more bearable. Check a couple out HERE
Riding in summer doesn’t have to be uncomfortable if you’ve got the right kit. And a slide doesn’t need to end with life-changing injuries if you wear proper riding gear instead of heading out in shorts and a t-shirt and hoping for the best. You might think it looks cool, but no-one is cool when they’re picking gravel out of open wounds…
