trousers

Hello everyone! This is going to be my third and final blog entry on sizing advice for the time being so I’m going to use it to cover Jackets, Trousers and Gloves all in one go. So I’ll start with a general rule or two for finding a Jacket and trousers.

First rule, at least for jackets, is to shop as though you would for a normal coat. I’ve not personally come across many jackets where I’ve had to size up from the usual just because I’m shopping for bike gear. I wear a Large coat size normally so the Large motorcycle jackets suit me just fine more often than not. But it also depends on what you intend to wear underneath the jacket too. For example, the jacket I currently own is a Large and fits me just fine while wearing a t-shirt and hoodie underneath but it a sort of middle ground jacket between being designed for summer and waterproof. If I wanted specifically a Summer jacket for keeping cool then a large would still suit me just fine. But if I wanted a winter or cold weather jacket, I might consider getting an Extra Large jacket because I’ll intend to wear it with a long sleeve shirt and a thicker fleece or hoodie underneath to keep warm. So if you know you won’t be all layered up underneath- your usual size for a coat should do just fine. If you know you’re going to wrap up a little more underneath, try a size up.

The same rule more or less applies to trousers too but it’s a good idea to size up. Normally I’d be wearing a Large size for pants but because I usually wear jeans underneath I go for the XL. You may be able to get away with getting your usual pants size though. It depends on what you’ll be wearing underneath and whether you remove the thermal lining from the motorcycle pants if they have one. But in almost all of the cases I have seen people have decided to go a size up.

But I think it’s important to say, no matter what size you are in motorcycle clothing- don’t think of it as a reflection of your actual size or weight and don’t feel self conscious. It’s the nature of motorcycle gear to be tight on and I’ve had a few customers before who have been devastated to move up one, two, even three sizes to get a good fit, thinking it meant they were a larger person than they thought. The size inside the Jacket or inside the Pants isn’t the size of you- it is literally the size of the jacket or the pants based on how the manufacturer’s have measured it.  And they change from brand to brand, from design to design as we all do from person to person.

So don’t feel bad about bumping up a couple of numbers- if it’s a good fit and it works, that’s all that matters. In the end a good fit is important. It means all the protective measures in the garments are positioned in the right place to keep you as safe as they can and they’re going to be as comfy as they can be for you while you’re riding so they don’t cause a distraction. This is especially important for you tour bikers out there who can go on rides for really long times. So a good fit can contribute to comfort, concentration, your control over the bike, your safety in an accident and even how waterproof your gear is if your gear is advertised as such. For example, if you get a waterproof jacket that’s too small, you may get wet under the belt, down the pants and on the arms. A wet trip you could’ve been spared from if you’d decided to not be so self conscious and go the size up, providing the extra inch or so needed to cover those areas.

Now on to gloves. Shopping for a pair of motorcycle gloves can be quite tricky. It depends a lot on the style of glove and what it is made of. It can also depend on the brand and model of the glove as some of them can be known to have a slightly longer finger than normal or broader palm with a shorter finger. The get a good baseline of what size glove you are, if you don’t already know it, you can measure across your palm and compare the measurement with the chart above. It might be spot on or it might be a little bit off but either way it’s a good starting point. When buying textile gloves you may find that the chart is more or less correct but when buying leather you may find you want to go a size up. As someone who’s glove size changes from large to medium depending on the glove, thanks to my lanky yet thin fingers, believe me I know it’s frustrating.

If you try on a pair of gloves and find the fit is only just a little bit tight, maybe stick with it for a little bit. Keep wearing them for five or ten minutes, give them time to form to the shape of your hands and you’ll find the material gives a little bit more room. Your glove size can also go up depending on the purpose of the glove. For example- Motocross Gloves tend to be more or less correct when following the chart as the fabric stretches for a close fit. But if you’re shopping for a thick pair of warm winter gloves with all the waterproof trimmings, or you want the option of wearing another pair of thin gloves underneath- you’re probably going to want to move up a size.

And that’s all, folks. That’s all of the sizing advice I can give you. A general rule to follow in these cases is -if in doubt; size up, unless it’s a helmet- it’s always better to have a little too much than too much little.

Thanks for reading everybody!

Until next time
-MattW at Ghostbikes.com