THE HARDEST MOTORCYCLE GIFT TO BUY?

What’s worse than buying someone gift pants? Buying them MOTORCYCLE PANTS as a gift!

Pants are hard enough to buy as a gift. Of course you need the right sizes for the waist and inseam, but you still need to have a sense of what style is appropriate for the recipient. And to keep things interesting, the exact sizes designated are not identical from manufacturer to manufacturer. And then there’s the shrink factor after any cotton apparel goes through its first wash and dry….

The good news for anyone buying motorcycle pants as a gift is that you don’t need to worry about shrinking, since, for the most part, motorcycle pants are not made of cotton. (There are exceptions: jeans with protective reinforcements).

MOTORCYCLE PANTS come in different sizes, and different styles and a variety of different materials: Leather and textile comprise the majority of selections.

MAIN FUNCTION OF MOTORCYCLE PANTS

And as different as the majority of motorcycle pants may be from each other, they serve one primary mission: protecting a rider’s legs.

So, in addition to the basics of selection, such as size and style, the most important aspect of motorcycle pants is their protective features. Good leather and very durable textiles protect the rider from abrasion (such as sliding along pavement or the ground), but armor (protective padding) is what mitigates unfriendly impacts.

A few simple points of comparison for better rider protection:

• More armor means better impact protection
• Better leather means better abrasion protection
• Better textile means better abrasion protection

Check out these definitions of motorcycle apparel terms for additional insights.

STYLES OF MOTORCYCLE PANTS

Motocross pants are often bright with vibrant designs. Cruiser pants (or chaps) are typically black leather. Sport-bike protective pants can be black “or” colorful, as well they can be leather or textile. Toss in the aforementioned specialty protective jeans (which offer the least safety rider benefit) and mix that up with the fact that there are certain designs and colors targeted specifically to women, and you are confronting a daunting selection of motorcycle gift pants that may over-stress any gift-giver aiming to please a loved one. (Which means you should go for a ride).

Makes you wonder if the rider would be better off riding without pants….

Rather than entertain that direction, just make sure there is a good return policy for any motorcycle pants you buy and you’ll be all set!

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ELECTRICALLY HEATED APPAREL AIN’T FOR ALL MOTORCYCLE RIDERS

There are a lot of advantages to HEATED MOTORCYCLE APPAREL. But they ain’t for everyone.

Sure, they are the easiest way to extend your riding in cold weather.

Yeah, they can make riding long distances in marginal weather considerably more enjoyable.

And, if you have ever tried any kind of electric vests, liners, gloves, chaps, etc., for motorcycle riders, then you probably swear by them, too.

For whatever reason, I was very slow to adopt the concept, even though they’ve been around for decades.

I didn’t even figure I would get much use out of an electric vest, which I chose because of its compact traveling size when not being worn.

However, after several years of liberal use, I have grown to like the darn thing so much, that I have included it in my gear for summer tours, as well. There are cool nights at high altitudes, or other occasions when the weather is just plain bad, that I’ve been happy to pull out my electric-heated gear and pleasantly make my way forward, when in earlier times I would have needed to shorten my riding pleasure.

THE MAKING OF AN ELECTRIC WIMP

Be forewarned, heated apparel can be like a drug. Once you cross that line and get plugged in, you won’t go back. You’ll become addicted and no amount of rehab will save you.

And if you are the kind of rider that parks your bike when the mercury drops below 70 degrees, you’ll KNOW you are a complete wimp when you could just as well put on some heated garb.

But the worse part is this: If you are a grizzled rider who is the last to put your bike away for the winter, and the first to get it out in the spring; and if you find a certain amount of personal satisfaction in tolerating temperatures that scatter many riders into their cages for protection, then you, too, are at risk!

At first you’ll be happy that you can ride in colder weather quite comfortably. But later on, you’ll find that you plug yourself in at higher and higher temps.

And when you find yourself looking around to make sure you are not being watched because you are putting on heated gear at temperatures you used to consider easily tolerable … well, you’ve turned into an ELECTRIC WIMP …. (But I won’t tell on you).

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LEATHER BIKER CHAPS FOR MEN AND WOMEN

I’m confident old Billy Shakespeare was not thinking of motorcycle chaps when he wrote his famous quip “to be or not to be.”   However, as various customs and fashion statements have defined certain segments of society in general, biker chaps are one of those telling elements that represent who or what you are “being,” or more specifically, what group you are associated with, in relation to the various sub-segments of the motorcycle world.

But OK, let’s establish the obvious first, for anyone wondering what “chaps” are, and who/what are they for?  Biker chaps are leg protection worn over pants. They are like the chaps worn by cowboys in Western movies (and still worn by horse-riding enthusiasts of the “Western” persuasion, but not the “English” sort of horse rider – anyway, that’s way off topic).  Motorcycle chaps are usually made of leather and are fastened around the waist, with an open back. They snap at the ankles and zip down the legs.  Hence, in the event that the wearer takes a spill, he/she has much more abrasion protection than a rider without chaps.

Well, if you’re saying, “Hey, that extra leather protecting my legs sure sounds good to me, I’m gonna get me some!”

Alas, before pulling out your wallet, do a check on the kind of motorcycle you will be riding while wearing them.  Sound absurd?  Well, you would be right.  However, in our modern, politically correct (or fashionably correct) world, there are certain types of motorcycle protection that go with certain types of motorcycles.

If you have a cruiser motorcycle, you are welcome to get yourself some chaps.  If you don’t ride a cruiser, the fashion police will be after your hide.

In spite of the fact that many motorcycle riders tend to be quite “independent” in their thinking, and may in fact maintain a perspective considered out of synch with a societal status quo, there would exist some riders who would not consider your safety-fashion-consciousness to be fitting.  Even if you quote Mr. Shakespeare’s famous line and stress that you have chosen to “be” a non-cruiser rider who also wears chaps, you will not likely find a great deal of agreement.

Of course, if you are a cruiser-riding biker, then you should arm yourself with some additional leg protection in the way of chaps.  (Just be wary of buying certain kinds of non-chap leg protection that looks too sporty….)

But you know what? If you are truly an independent minded motorcyclist, then go ahead and get yourself some chaps – even if you are not riding a cruiser.  Who knows, you may start a new motorcycle fashion trend….

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