The best budget motorbike kit | Is expensive always better?

There’s an old saying that states; ‘You get what you pay for’. And, to an extent, this is true of motorcycling kit. You can pay upwards of £1,000 for a jacket or a helmet and they will excel when it comes to performance and comfort, for example.

However, you can also buy jackets or helmets for a fraction of that price and it will be plenty good enough for the average rider. So the question is how do you know a ‘goodun’ from a ‘wrongun’?

Related:

• The best budget motorcycle helmets
• Bargain hunter

We’ve tested some of the cheaper items on offer to see what’s worth the savings and whats just cheap and poor quality, to save you wasting your money.

Helmets

A helmet is the only piece of gear that is required by law in the UK, so you will need to invest in one. This does not mean though that you have to spend a fortune to get a good quality safe helmet.

Jackets

Your choice of jacket is likely going to be affected by the type of motorcycle that you ride, for example if you ride a sportsbike, you may go for a leather racing style jacket, however if you ride a cruiser you may prefer an armoured flannel shirt.

Jeans and trousers

When it comes to trousers, you have a few options; leather, textile or jeans. Jeans will offer a more casual lightweight option, leather tends to offer the highest level of protection but is generally cold in winter and hot in summer and textile will offer more versatility, often with waterproof membranes and larger pockets.

Boots

Boots are going to be designed around the type of riding that you do, from casual urban style boots to adventure boots to race boots. Ideally they want to be comfortable and offer protection to your ankles and shins.

Gloves

There aren’t too many variations in the various types of motorcycle gloves. The main choices are gauntlet or short cuff and summer or winter, beyond that it generally comes down to style preference and level of protection against the elements.

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What to look for when buying less expensive gear

When it comes to buying inexpensive riding gear, a good place to start is with brands that are well known. Most of these brands will have a full range of gear from lower level through to the top notch race replica type stuff. The lower end of the range should be plenty good enough for the average road rider.

The price difference over the more expensive items will be the details, things like weight, breathability, comfort perhaps. So, you might be looking at a helmet that may be a bit heavier than one costing far more or it may not as quiet but the difference in price might be worth it.

Safety Ratings

It’s generally considered a good idea to buy the safest gear that you can reasonably afford to, but it isn’t always that clear what is safe and what isn’t.

Motorcycle gear in the UK should be certified to a safety standard, for jackets trousers, gloves and boots, this is the CE rating. There are two types of ratings, one is for the abrasion resistance of the garment, rated from B to AAA and the other is for the armour. This will be rated at either level 1 or level 2, depending on the impact protection it provides.

The latest helmet safety standard is ECE 22.06, which has replaced the previous standard (ECE 22.05). The ECE rating is a minimum safety standard that all helmets should meet, however this standard does not give any indication of relative performance. It is worth checking the safety of a helmet on the SHARP website. SHARP is a scale rating of safety, displayed in a star system from one to five and will give you a better idea how how the helmet would perform in the event of an incident.

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How we test kit

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.

All of the kit in this page have been tested in the real world by a member of the team and scored at least four stars overall.

Motorcycle gear is tested against comfort, practicality, looks, quality, protection and value before being awarded an overall score out of five.

To find out more, head to our dedicated page explaining how we test motorcycle products. 

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