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We all know that motorcycle gear has to fit right to do its job and that for every 10 pairs of “men’s” riding jackets there may be two or three “women’s” riding jackets to choose from. But what about motorcycle gear for our non-binary, gender non-conforming, or transgender customers? Where do you look? Does it matter if you’re shopping in the men’s department or women’s department? Where’s the unisex department? Send help!
I’m Amber (they/she) and I’ve been working at RevZilla as a Customer Support Associate for 10 months. If you’ve called or e-mailed for assistance with your order, we may have chatted!
We receive calls all day every day from riders with questions about gear fitment. We ride motorcycles to feel free and confident and the clothes we put on our bodies also reinforce our confidence. Motorcycle gear has come a long way and has become something that can both protect us and stylishly represent who we are. But as our showroom gear guru Joanne Donn reminds us, riding gear is safety equipment. In order to work properly, it must stay in place on your body.
The problem is that sometimes our body types and shapes limit the gear that’s available for us. If you fall in love with a pair of riding jeans but try on six different sizes and that knee armor is still just floating around on your shin, those aren’t the pants for you. I’m sorry! I know, it can be heartbreaking.
While you can make minor adjustments to armor placement (Pick up a roll of industrial-strength Velcro and secure those suckers in the correct place! You’re welcome!), you don’t want to modify motorcycle gear to the point of possibly diminishing its integrity. If you need to stitch through the abrasion-resistant fabric, don’t. Pick up a different set of gear that fits you better!
When you’re sitting on your bike in your riding position and your armor isn’t snugly protecting the areas on your beautiful body that it’s designed to protect, if you go down, that misplaced armor isn’t going to magically snap into place and protect you. It simply will not do the job it’s intended to do.
If your gear is too tight, it’s going to be distracting and uncomfortable. You’re going to look amazing for that Instagram photo, but how are you going to feel two hours into a ride with that too-tight waist digging into you?
Motorcycle gear is not cheap. It’s an investment we make to protect the most valuable, priceless thing we have, ourselves. That may mean we have to say goodbye to that suave, killer Italian sport leather we fell in love with that cuts off the circulation in our arms and look for a suave, killer American-cut jacket that offers a bit more space, instead.
What do “men’s” and “women’s” labels really tell us?
When trying to determine proper fitting gear, many riders will find themselves asking, “Does binary-gendered motorcycle gear matter?” Well… yes and no. What’s important to look at is why the manufacturer is labeling the gear as “men’s” or “women’s.”
That “women’s” helmet? Highly likely that they splashed some pink decor on the outside or swapped out the black liner for a purple liner. Because it’s very important for folks to feel feminine by knowing their sweat is being sucked into a purple helmet liner, of course.
With other gear, however, the differences between “men’s” and “women’s” gear is not just cosmetic. “Men’s” jackets and pants will have boxier, straight cuts while “women’s” gear generally has tapered waists, narrower shoulders and more room in the hips.
Bodies are bodies and they come in all different shapes, heights, weights and colors. I can’t tell you how often I hear “I’m not built like a Barbie doll. These women’s cuts just don’t work for me!” or “I’m embarrassed, but my fingers are a little too short for men’s gloves. I usually fit better into women’s gloves!”
We are not living in The Sisterhood of the Traveling MotoGP Track Suit, y’all. There is no “one size fits all” and, quite frankly, there is no “one cut fits one gender.”
Beyond all that, different brands fit differently, too. For example, a Klim jacket like the Badlands Pro or Artemis will have a boxier cut while some Euro brands, like Dainese's Merlin Wesley jacket or Merlin Chase jacket provide a more tapered fit. REV'IT has some "men's" and "women's" versions that are nearly identical except for adjustability and torso and sleeve measurements. Bull-It leggings are a good unisex pants option because they stretch and can fit various body types.
So how do you choose gear that fits?
When I’m helping a customer choose motorcycle gear, I start by narrowing down the riding style. Are you looking for slick, vintage-styled cafe racer gear or are you planning to explore the desert with some ready-for-anything adventure gear? OK, great. We have that down.
Next, do you prefer to express yourself with more traditionally masculine cuts or tapered, form-fitting attire? Somewhere in between? Alright, let’s start shopping. We can use these stereotypical gender associations to our advantage here and filter by "men's" or "women's" gear to find a silhouette that works and have an idea of what the cut is going to look like.
Here comes the hard part: You need to be realistic with yourself about the shape of your body and your measurements. My friends… if you have slim, narrow shoulders and a short torso, that “men’s” Joe Rocket jacket may have your shoulder armor floating at your ears! If the width of your waist is about equal to the width of your chest and hips (versus a more “hourglass” shape), that tapered, “women’s cut” jacket may have you doing more puking on the side of the road than riding (if you’re anything like me).
If you wear a chest binder, are you only fitting your gear to your body with the binder on, or are you accommodating for needing to be able to listen to your body while you’re on the road, which may mean removing that binder and therefore needing a little bit of extra space?
Riding gear is, first and foremost, protective equipment — it’s not just your “OOTD” (outfit of the day). Many gender-neutral clothing items have baggier, less fitted cuts. I love them for my daily wardrobe, but they’re not going to work for motorcycle gear since it’s so, so important to have the built-in armor seated in its proper position against your body.
Gear experts at RevZilla can help
Give us a call or write us an e-mail and we can help. Send us photos, measurements, and links to the gear, cuts or articles of clothing you’re into. Focus less on the gender title of the clothing and more on the shape of the silhouette and the size chart measurements. We can consider different cuts and sizing to your heart’s content and we often find that a different size, brand or cut of gear will work.
Oh, and one more request: Please, I beg of you, start this process a little bit earlier than three days before your big cross-country moto trip!
Shopping for clothes and gear can be incredibly dysphoric. In my dream world, gender-neutral motorcycle gear would be plentiful and look sharp as heck. We’d have neutral colors, neon colors and everything in between. We’d have adjustable fitment so the customer can tailor the fit to their body. Until we get to my dream world, we’re working on compiling our favorite gender-neutral and unisex gear, and you can help by leaving product reviews with photos (if you’re comfortable doing so). We want to see gear on all shapes, sizes, and genders.
My fellow Customer Support Associates and I at RevZilla don’t control how motorcycle gear is made, marketed or labeled, but we can provide judgment-free help in getting you into gear that keeps you safe and comfortable and makes you feel good. And that only enhances the feelings of freedom and empowerment we get from riding our motorcycles.
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