The Complete Handbook of Motorcycle Gloves

Chapter 1: Understanding Motorcycle Gloves

A motorcycle glove is not an accessory. It is a piece of safety equipment worn on the most vulnerable and most essential part of the body for controlling a motorcycle. When a rider goes down, the natural reaction is to put the hands out to break the fall, and at 60 km/h, that decision transmits enormous force through the palm, wrist, and fingers directly into the ground. The glove is the only barrier between the rider's skin and the pavement, and it has to do a job that a standard winter or work glove is completely incapable of performing. Understanding that job, and the engineering that goes into doing it, is the entire purpose of this handbook.

The first thing to unlearn is the idea that a glove is simply a protective layer, like a thick skin. A proper motorcycle glove is a system of materials, each placed in a specific location to manage a specific type of force or risk. The back of the hand, for instance, needs to absorb impact energy. The palm slides along asphalt and needs high abrasion resistance. The knuckles need to bend freely but also be protected from direct hits. The fingers need to maintain tactile feedback for the brake lever and the throttle. No single material can do all of these things equally well, so the design of a glove is a series of compromises and specialized additions. Good gloves are the result of having made those compromises