Top-5 Holiday Gift Ideas For Motorcycle Riders

We’re slam in the middle of the holiday season, and if you haven’t grabbed the perfect gift for your secret Santa yet, you’re cutting it close. Let us help narrow down the best gear available this holiday season for the motorcycle junkie in your life.

With the cold coming on, new gear starting to break cover and 2020 gear going on sale, now is a rad time to fix your loved ones up with a new jacket, pair of gloves or boots for what will be a great 2021 riding season. Here are some of our top picks.

Airbag technology is quickly making the move from a racers-only wonder tech to a common piece of street gear, and we couldn’t be happier about it. The good folks over at Klim debuted the Ai-1 earlier this year, and it’s a fantastic option if you don’t want to rely on a physical tether to trigger the inflation system. The Ai-1 is powered by Klim’s proprietary In&Box module, which is powered by a subscription app. The benefit is that Klim can continuously update the tech, keeping the Ai-1 on the bleeding edge. It also means the thing won’t fire off at the coffee shop because you forgot to unhook the tether. The system isn’t cheap, at $400 for the vest and $120/year for the app subscription, but if it saves you one ER trip, it has paid for itself.

Racer’s Mickey short-cuff gloves are well-built, a joy to wear and packed with safety features that could give you an edge if you end up on your butt. They feature a leather-and-mesh construction with hard knuckle protectors and a generous, hard palm slider. They’re built like tanks, but they’re definitely a three-season solution. Still, if your favorite sportbike rider is rocking a decrepit pair of leather gloves short on armor, the Mickeys are an awesome solution.

Alpinestars is pretty close to the top of the heap in every category of motorcycle boots, but their SMX6 V2s are something extra special. They’ll easily do sport riding duty or track day assignments, and they’re priced to not scare off someone who wants to dabble in track work. Added to that, there are Drystar, vented, non-vented and ladies’ versions of the SMX6 V2, so you should be able to find a pair for any sportbike rider on your list.

The nice thing about the Gerbing Gyde is that it doesn’t look like motorcycle gear. You could easily unplug this bad boy and rock it as a regular jacket and nobody would be the wiser. Then throw a decent shell jacket on over it and be toasty on those brisk fall and winter rides. It’s only a 7V system, but fleece has its own insulation properties, and its wind and water resistant, to boot. All that thrown together means it would need to be pretty close to freezing to outdo this piece.

Having a warm torso is all well and good, but it’s cold extremities that will really make or break your ride. Ride a motorcycle for 10 minutes and you understand that numb hands won’t cut it. The Volt Resistance MOTO gloves are great insurance against a scary moment brought on by cold. They use 12V power to warm up heating elements on both sides of the hand. Made of cowhide, so these gloves are tough enough to keep you protected in the event of a small accident. They’re also decently priced and come with a dial to let you set your warmth level.