Harley Davidson Jacket Guide

Let's face it - the leather motorcycle jacket is just about the coolest motorcycle accessory around. Sure, we may be legally obligated to wear a helmet as protection, but who wears one when they're not riding? It's all about the jacket baby! Sure, a motorcycle jacket can be a bit of a drag in the dead of summer but you need to have it just in case you have a wipe out of some kind.

Leather is great because it breaks the wind, keeps the moisture off your back and offers protection from nasty road-rash should the unfortunate happen. But there are plenty of other options available out there for those who go beyond fair-weather traveling. If you ride as late in the season as possible, you're going to need added protection from heat, rain and from cold.

No matter what type of rider you are, from fair-weather to who-cares-lets-ride, there's a Harley Davidson jacket with the style, materials and specialty options that you're looking for. Whether you're looking for one jacket to that can take just about anything that's thrown at it, or a different jacket for each type of weather - Harley Davidson has what you need.

There's nothing like the look and yes, even the smell of fresh black leather. The black leather jacket is a classic that will never go out of style. You can wear it on the bike or off and it just screams "cool" and "tough". But leather can also feel heavy and hot when you're riding in the middle of the summer heat. Luckily, Harley Davidson has you covered with numerous different options to make the venerable leather jacket go even farther than ever before.

Harley Davidson has done a good job of providing a leather jacket that solves the riders problem of balancing comfort and protection. Many of their leather jackets have removable sleeves or feature zip-down perforated panels on the chest, arms and sides that allow air to pass through and cool you down as you ride.

The Men's Keystone Leather Jacket ($475- $515) MSRP) is a great example of a coat that offers protection while allowing you to cool down at the same time. It has zip-down panels that are easy to tuck away to reveal the mesh lining underneath that gives the air access to your body. The coat also offers plenty of protection with body armor strategically placed at the elbows and shoulders while also offering inside pockets that can accomodate your cell phone, MP3 player and eyewear.

The Men's Badlander Convertible Leather Jacket ($495-$555 MSRP) is the perfect coat for the person that's looking for a single leather jacket that can face all kinds of weather. It comes with removable sleeves and a removable hoodie. It's made from midweight leather that helps to deflect the rays of the sun and extra long front and back vertical vents. You can adapt this coat to suit warm and cold weather alike which makes it a smart buy for the rider that doesn't quit when the weather gets less nice.

If you're just looking for your basic leather jacket, you might want to check out the Harley Davidson Men's Traditional Leather Biker Jacket ($425-$465 MSRP). While this jacket doesn't have most of the cool-down features of the other two jackets mentioned above, it still has a removable liner and is made from mid-weight genuine leather and looks great!

For the ultimate "cool" leather jacket, look no further than the Men's Perforated Leather Jacket; it has probably the most cooling options of just about any leather jacket out there. Some of these features include:

• Leather that deflects up to 80% of the suns heat
• Removable wind-proof lining made with Gore-Tex
• Removable kidney belt
• Removable lightweight body armor at elbows, shoulders, and back
• Reflective material piping
• 5 year warranty

This coat is made for the rider that is serious about staying cool, otherwise the $625-$645 MSRP may scare you off. A recent review by motorcyclecruiser.com gave the jacket points for it's ability to cool down (only noticeable if you're driving at least 35mph) but they weren't overly thrilled with its looks. Check it out and decide for yourself.

For those riders that aren't willing to pull over and look for cover when the rain starts there's also a Harley Davidson motorcycle jacket for you. With one of these babies you'll appreciate being dry while still making progress instead of waiting it out for the storm to pass on the side of the road. When the travel time is important, you need to keep going through inclement weather.

Harley Davidson offers several different styles of rain gear that should appeal to just about any rider. If the orange Men's High-Vis Rain Suit ($150-$160 MSRP) pictured above isn't quite your thing you can also check out the all-black Rain Jacket with Gore-Tex Paclite Material ($215-$225 MSRP) that at first glance looks like a regular motorcycle jacket.

HD goes beyond the jackets though and also offers rain pants  ($60-$80 MSRP) and rain gaiters ($45 MSRP) to keep the water out while you ride.

This Hubpage is a work in progress. I'll be updating it soon with more info on Harley Davidson jackets. I'll also be including more information on Harley Davidson leather jackets for women. Thanks for viewing my hub and be sure to leave me a comment to let me know what you think! in the meantime if you want to check out more Harley stuff you can also visit my Harley Davidson Accessories hub as well.