When the heat sets in, the gear that carried you through spring needs a rethink. Summer riding rewards leather that breathes, gloves that stay cool, and a setup you can layer up or strip down as the temperature swings. This roundup pulls together the pieces we recommend most for hot-weather miles, organized by where they sit in your kit.
The cool-running gloves
Gloves come first because they sit in the wind all day. For most summer riders, the deerskin short wrist touchscreen glove is the do-everything choice: the short cuff vents heat, the deerskin stays soft as your hands warm, and the touchscreen tips keep you connected without removing a glove at every stop. Riders who run hot or want maximum airflow should look at the deerskin fingerless glove, which opens the fingers entirely while protecting the palm and back of the hand. Either way, you can compare cuts across the full American-made glove collection.
The summer vest
A leather vest is the heart of the hot-weather wardrobe. It covers the core with abrasion-resistant leather and leaves the arms open for airflow, giving you coverage and storage without the heat of a full jacket. The vest collection spans a range of cuts and hides; for a heritage-grade, hard-wearing option, the BECK 566 horsehide vest is built from dense genuine horsehide that ages beautifully with miles.
The layering pieces
Summer temperatures swing more than people expect, from cool dawns to baking afternoons to chilly mountain passes. A light moisture-wicking base layer under a vest keeps the sun off your arms and pulls sweat away from your skin, which keeps you more comfortable than bare skin in real heat. Build the rest from the broader motorcycle gear selection as your needs and routes demand.
Matching the kit to the day
The best summer setup is not one fixed outfit but a small toolkit you assemble each morning. A scorching all-day highway run calls for fingerless gloves and a vented vest; a cool morning loop might start with the short-wrist deerskin and a base layer you shed by noon. Keep two glove options in the garage and a vest that fits, and you can dress correctly for almost any summer day.
The short list
If you want the simplest version of this roundup: one pair of short-wrist deerskin touchscreen gloves, one pair of fingerless deerskin gloves for the hottest days, one well-fitted leather vest, and a base layer. That four-piece core, drawn from gear made to be ridden hard, covers the vast majority of summer riding and leaves room to add as you go.