Motorcycle armour buying guide | The best ways to protect yourself on a motorcycle explained

Riding a motorcycle gives a feeling of liberation unlike any other, but the more we do it, the higher the chances we’ll find ourselves in a difficult situation. That’s where good motorcycle armour comes in.

Best motorcycle armour at a glance:

• Commuting – Helite e-Turtle 2 Electronic Airbag Vest
• Touring – Alpinestars Nucleon KR-2 Back Protector
• Off-road – Alpinestars Bionic Tech V3 Armoured Vest
• Track-day – Knox Track Vest MK3
• Adventure – Klim Ai-1 Rally Aribag Vest

Whichever way you look at it, motorcycling is dangerous, and motorcycle armour is often our first line of defence against injury. Decent armour will offer a layer of impact resistance to spread the forces of an impact across a wider area, reducing both the chance and severity of a potential injury.

Jump to:

• Types of motorcycle armour explained
• What to consider before buying
• The best motorcycle armour for all riding styles
• How MCN tests motorcycle armour

Types of motorcycle armour explained

Integrated armour

Chances are this is what comes to mind when you hear about motorcycle armour – the kind that comes included in almost every motorcycle jacket or pair of riding jeans. The big benefit to integrated armour is its ubiquity – it’s been around for decades, and now it can be put into garments relatively cheaply.

It’s by far the most convenient way to wear your armour too; just put your jacket on, and go for a ride safe in the knowledge your armour is right where it’s supposed to be. Integrated armour can also be added and/or upgraded easily after purchase, and that usually works out the cheapest way to add extra protection to your garment.

They don’t offer as much safety as dedicated protectors though, and are usually a brand specific fit. Integrated armour can also move out of place in a crash, shifting away from the point it’s meant to protect, if the fit of the garment isn’t quite right.

Back & Chest protectors

Back and chest armour are often considered optional extras, but the protection they offer shouldn’t be underestimated. Hard impacts to the chest can be fatal, and that’s the area most likely to take the hit when someone pulls out in front of you – the most common kind of motorcycle crash.

Your back is also a particularly vulnerable part of your body while riding. a study from the Journal of Trauma has shown that if you do injure your back in a motorcycle crash, it’ll probably have life-changing consequences. Because of this safety risk, back protectors are now a requirement for most track days in the UK.

Most dedicated protectors combine back and chest protection into one, often exceed the CE test’s standards for safety, and cover more area on your back and chest than integrated options. They’ve come a long way since the early days of strapping a lobster shell to your back, adding a lot more safety to the jacket you already own.

Find out more about back protectors in our dedicated guide to motorcycle back protectors.

Armoured under-layers

Armoured shirts and trousers embrace the layering philosophy; the armoured shirt/trousers are the bottom layer for impact protection, while you can wear any jacket and trousers for abrasion resistance if you need it. This means the armour is as close to your body as possible, so it can’t move out of place, and you can wear any motorcycle jacket or trousers you like on top. They also tend to be light-weight and breathable, but they are specialised garments, and can be quite expensive at the high-end.

Airbags

Motorcycle airbags have blown up in recent years (forgive the pun), as they offer significantly more impact protection than standard motorcycle armour will ever be able to. Just like in a car, they rapidly expand in the event of a crash, and reduce impact energy with cushioned air instead of hard plastics.

They are currently the most expensive option, but if you can’t put a price on safety, they’re the safest we have right now.

Find out more about motorcycle airbags in our dedicated guide to motorcycle airbags.

What to consider before buying

Material and construction

Motorcycle armour is typically made of hard plastics, but other materials are often used as well. Higher grade armour might be made of different rubbers, memory foam, silicone, or a viscoelastic material that’s flexible to wear, but stiffens up on impact.

Certification and CE standards

Any CE rated motorcycle garment made for use on the roads is classed as PPE, and must be sold with CE certified armour to stay on the right side of the law in the UK. At minimum, you should find shoulder, elbow, and/or knee armour in any motorcycle garment you’re looking at buying.

It’s not illegal to ride your bike without armour if you choose, but it is illegal for manufacturers to sell you a garment designed for motorcycling on the road that doesn’t feature any CE rated armour.

The current CE standard for motorcycle armour is EN1621, which covers armour for the shoulders, elbows, back, chest, hips, and knees. They each come rated to level 1 or level 2, which denote how protective they are. Level 1 armour is designed to offer reasonable protection against the majority of city speed crashes, while level 2 is designed to offer reasonable protection against common impacts at average single-carriageway speeds.

Find our full guide to motorcycle CE ratings explained.

Fit and comfort

Armour doesn’t protect well if it doesn’t fit well, so getting a good fit is important to consider; look for armour that’s designed to contour the rider. Bare in mind that CE level 1 armour can be made incredibly thin and flexible, and the extra comfort might be worth the concession to safety for you.

Ventilation

Many armour designs feature ventilation, which stops you getting sweaty spots where the armour sits. The ventilation holes offer some weight savings too, and armour that has them is usually more flexible and comfortable as a result.

The best motorcycle armour for all riding styles

Any kind of motorcycle armour will protect you, but certain armour is better suited to different kinds of riding. Here, we’re going to break it down by the most common use-cases, and share our favourite options for each style of riding.

Jump to:

• Commuting
• Touring
• Off-road
• Track-day
• Adventure

Commuting

Riding through rush-hour puts you at higher risk of injury, especially when filtering between lanes to beat the traffic, so here’s the best armour we recommend for daily commutes:

Touring

Some of the best roads can only be found in far away places, but riding on unfamiliar roads puts you at higher risk of crashing – especially if you’re riding abroad. This combined with the higher road speeds means you should be well protected for touring, so here’s our top picks:

Off-road

Off-road riders don’t focus on abrasion resistance, and tend to go for lightweight and breathable armour underneath a motocross jersey. Riding off-road is a serious workout, and you’ll often have a lot of slow speed tumbles, so here’s our picks of the best off-road armour that will help keep you at peak performance:

Track-day

Now that most track days in the UK require you to wear a back protector, you’ll need to grab one before your race if you haven’t already, so here’s our favourite options – tested on-track by us:

Adventure

Adventure riders demand many qualities found in both touring and off-road armour, and it can be tricky to get the best for both. If you’re riding from tarmac to turf on the regular, here’s the best armour for you to consider:

How MCN tests motorcycle armour

Here at MCN, we make it our mission to help you find the right kit for you, at the right price for your budget. We don’t crash test (on purpose), nor lab test; there’s no substitute for just putting in the miles with them. We test our armour the same way you’ll use yours, by riding. And, we make sure to put at least 1000 miles with them before sharing our findings. Our word is backed by hundreds of thousands of miles in the saddle collectively, but our recommendations come from each tester individually.

While testing, we predominantly focus on comfort, practicality, looks, build quality, protection (of course), and value. When we write up our full reviews, we’ll give each piece of armour a rating out of five stars in each of these categories, and offer a final verdict too. This page is only for the best motorcycle armour, so every piece you’ll see has been awarded at least four stars overall – that’s the passing grade – but here’s what each score really means:

1 star – Poor performance in this category or overall. A piece of armour with a single star rating has fallen below the expected standard and should be avoided.
2 stars – Basic performance in this area or overall. A piece of armour with a two-star rating has managed to perform to a barely acceptable level, and there is much room for improvement.
3 stars – An average performance in this area or overall. A piece of armour with a three-star rating has achieved a basic level of performance and is deemed adequate.
4 stars – A piece of armour has performed over and above the accepted averaged in this category or overall. Armour with a four-star rating has surpassed expectation and delivered in a particularly impressive way.
5 stars – A piece of armour has performed at the highest possible level in a particular category or overall. Armour with a five-star rating has delivered to the highest possible level, impressing the tester with its performance. We would happily spend our own money on it.

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

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