A feminine fit: Best women's motorcycle jackets

Choosing a women’s motorcycle jacket can be an extremely subjective thing. What one rider may deem appropriate, another rider may grimace at. It all depends on the purpose – let’s face it, an adventure bike rider isn’t going to be looking for the same motorcycle jacket that a sportsbike rider lusts for.

While motorcycle clothing options for men are enormous and have been for years, that’s not necessarily the case for women, even with jackets. Up until fairly recently, women had little choice but to wear the appropriate size of men’s clothing but this is far from the ideal solution. As it does for men, clothing for female riders needs to be designed and built for female riders, to provide the right fit – and hence, comfort and protection – at all times.

A decade ago, small men’s clothing, possibly with some pink trim added, was the only real women’s motorcycle jacket option but in those past few years, manufacturers have responded to growing numbers of female riders so that now, most offer versions of their popular clothing in particular which has been designed specifically for women.

Typically, women’s motorcycle jacket are more tailored to ensure a good fit with no excess material to flap around in the wind while riding or mass-produced sections to feel constrictive. Material technology is the same as with men’s clothing, so CE ratings, for example, should be comparable, as should the specification of armour and protection.

Below, we’ll take you through our pick of motorcycle jackets, tailored for women, which range from sporty riding, to touring, into winter and summer riding.

For the sporty rider

Features

Summer riding in mind

Touring/adventure

Casual/fair-weather rider

For those weekend jaunts and when you simply won’t ride in the rain, here are two of our casual favourites to browse…

Additional considerations for women’s motorcycle jackets

No doubt you’ll have already taken into consideration many factors before even researching for your next motorcycle jacket. If you haven’t and you’d like some inspiration, here are some thought-provoking questions to ask yourself:

• Where do you live? Are you a city rider or a motorway mile-muncher?

• Do you want your jacket purely for off-road adventures?

• Are you looking for a more affordable motorbike jacket (or something really head-turning) because you only ride on weekends?

• Are you a fair-weather rider so durability and wear and tear are further down your list of priorities?

• Do you stick to A or B roads during some of your routes? If so, perhaps wind-buffeting is an issue and will influence your purchase…

• What type of protection are you looking for?

How MCN tests products

At MCN, our team of expert journalists have decades of experience gained over hundreds of thousands of miles. We don’t test our kit to destruction; we use it exactly how you do, in the real world and in all conditions. That means we can deliver impartial buying advice you can rely on.
Each of our writers has an in-depth understanding of the needs of today’s biker… because they are one. If you can’t see a review against an item on this page, it’s because we haven’t tested it yet. These items will only be included if we think they’re important and relevant in the market, and rest assured, we will be working on bringing you a review as soon as we’ve done the miles.
To find out more, head to our dedicated page explaining how we test motorcycle products

- Just so you know, whilst we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this page, we never allow this to influence product selections - read why you should trust us.