Best Summer Motorcycle Gear: A Rider's Roundup

The best summer motorcycle gear moves air without giving up the material between you and the road: perforated deerskin gloves for the highway, fingerless gloves for around town, and a denim or lightweight vest doing the work of a jacket without the heat. This roundup collects the Legendary USA summer lineup and matches each piece to the riding it serves best — because the right answer in August depends on where and how you ride.

What Summer Gear Has to Do

Hot-weather gear has one job with two halves: keep you covered, and keep you from cooking inside that coverage. Airflow is the mechanism — moving air carries off sweat and heat, which keeps your grip dry and your attention on the road instead of your discomfort. Every piece below solves the same problem a different way, and the honest tradeoff is always the same: more airflow means less material somewhere.

Summer Gloves, Three Ways

ILL Dozer Perforated Deerskin Gloves

The ILL Dozer perforated outseam deerskin gloves are the workhorse pick for full-finger summer riding. Perforation across the glove moves air at speed, outseam construction keeps stitching off your sweaty palm, and the deerskin breaks in to your hand within a few weeks. This is the glove for commuters and highway riders who want their fingers covered in July.

Ventilated Touchscreen Deerskin Gloves

The Ventilated Touchscreen Deerskin Gloves take the same hot-weather logic and add touchscreen-capable fingertips, so a route check at a gas stop does not mean pulling a glove off. Short-wrist cut, vented deerskin, made for the rider whose phone is their navigation.

Fingerless Deerskin Gloves

The Fingerless Deerskin Gloves are maximum airflow and bar feel: leather on the palm where grip and abrasion coverage matter most, nothing over the fingers. That is a real tradeoff — exposed fingers are exposed — but for slow cruising and short summer hops, the fingerless glove has been a fixture of American riding for generations. Know what it gives up and it serves you well.

Vests: The Summer Rider's Layer

Ole Blue Revolution Denim Vest

The Ole Blue Revolution blue denim vest covers the torso against wind chill and morning cool without trapping heat like a jacket, leaves your arms free, and carries patches the way only denim does. When afternoon heat arrives, it rolls into a saddlebag. A black version, the Revolution, runs the same build for riders who want the darker fade.

Black Jack Lightweight Cordura Vest

The Black Jack lightweight Cordura vest is the technical alternative: lighter than denim, quick to shed, and built from tough Cordura fabric for riders who want a minimal summer layer that still reads as riding gear. It is the pick for hot climates where even denim feels like too much by noon.

Putting the Kit Together

A working summer kit for most riders: perforated deerskin gloves for any ride that touches the highway, fingerless gloves in the saddlebag for slow days, and a denim vest over a breathable base layer. Layering is its own discipline in the heat — the full method is in the summer motorcycle riding layering guide — but the short version is to dress for the coolest hour of your ride and shed from there.

If gloves are the piece you are still deciding on, the deeper comparison of vented, perforated, and solid designs in the best summer motorcycle gloves guide is worth the read before you order. Everything above, plus the rest of the summer lineup, is in the full Legendary USA motorcycle gear collection.

Frequently Asked Questions

What motorcycle gear should I wear in hot weather?

Hot-weather riding gear should move air while keeping material between you and the road: perforated or ventilated leather gloves, a denim or lightweight vest over a breathable base layer, and gear you can adjust as the day heats up. The mistake to avoid is riding bare — skipping gloves and layers entirely trades a few degrees of comfort for zero coverage. Summer-specific gear exists so you do not have to make that trade.

Are fingerless gloves or perforated gloves better for summer?

Perforated full-finger gloves are the better all-around summer choice because they cool the hand while still covering the fingers, which fingerless gloves leave exposed. Fingerless gloves win on pure airflow and bar feel, and they remain a fixture of American riding for around-town use. A practical split: perforated deerskin for the highway and commuting, fingerless for slow cruising and short hops. Many riders carry both through the summer.

Is a denim vest good for summer motorcycle riding?

Yes. A denim vest is one of the most practical summer garments a rider owns. It blocks wind chill at speed and morning cool without trapping heat the way a jacket does, it leaves the arms free, and it carries patches. Over a t-shirt it adds a working layer of fabric across the torso. When the day heats up, it rolls into a saddlebag. That flexibility is why the denim vest never left American riding.

What is the best leather for summer motorcycle gloves?

Deerskin is the standout summer glove leather. It stays soft through constant sweat-and-dry cycles where other leathers stiffen, it breathes better than most hides, and it breaks in to a molded fit within a few weeks of riding. Perforating deerskin adds direct airflow on top of those qualities. Goatskin is a tougher, slightly stiffer alternative that also handles heat well. Heavy cowhide runs hot and suits cooler seasons better.

Do I really need gloves for summer riding?

Yes. Hands go out first in almost any fall, in July as much as January, and sweaty bare palms also slip on grips and fatigue faster from vibration. Summer gloves exist precisely so heat is not a reason to ride bare-handed: perforated deerskin, ventilated designs, and fingerless gloves all keep leather on the palm while shedding heat. Pick the coverage level you can live with, but keep leather between your palms and the road.

Summer riding rewards the rider who geared up for it instead of stripping down for it. Perforated deerskin on your hands, denim or Cordura on your back, and a plan for the hottest hour of the day — that kit will carry you through August, rally season included, without asking you to choose between cool and covered.