I commute to work as much as possible on my motorcycle. This fall, the zipper on my 25 year old leather motorcycle jacket finally broke. The local leather repair shop wanted $45 to replace the metal zipper. I passed on that since the jacket didn’t fit me that well anyway (that’s why the zipper broke). Now, my problem was that I needed a motorcycle jacket right away, but I didn’t have the coin for a new one. Couldn’t ride with it, couldn’t ride without it.
Decent motorcycle jackets are well over a hundred dollars. For commuting, I want a good 3-season jacket. It would last me for years, but that’s going to have to wait. My back-up plan was to try to find a fairly durable, low-cost, motorcycle rain jacket that I could wear over layers use until I save up enough for the 3-season jacket.
As a commuter, my main needs in a motorcycle jacket are: (1) to block the cold wind, (2) to keep me dry, and (3) to have some reflective stripes since I commute mostly in the dark, at least during the fall and winter months. My fear was some ridiculous looking plastic bag sort of jacket that would just become torn and flap in the wind. I had to stick to my low budget.
Finally, I actually found what I hoped for. I bought it at Cycle Gear and it’s the Motoboss “Storm Guard” motorcycle rain jacket. It comes in yellow with black, or all black. I got the all black one. Both have a reasonable amount of reflective material too. The quality of this rain jacket has really surprised me, especially because it was only $30.
Obviously, riding gear is usually expensive. I admit that I tend to figure low priced gear must be crap. This rain jacket actually proved me wrong. I have now worn it for more than 3 months of riding at least 3 times a week in temperatures ranging from a high of 75F down to a low of 30F, but mostly in the high 30s to low 40s. I just wear a few layers underneath it, plus my fleece neck-warmer that is priceless (actually was only $8 on etsy).
I usually wear this motorcycle rain jacket over a lightly insulated casual jacket. The Motoboss “Stormguard” jacket is 3/4 length, so a short jacket under it stays out of view. When it’s warmer outside, I just wear a sweatshirt or long sleeve shirt under it and have been completely comfortable.
The jacket actually has some decent features, and is designed well for riding, considering it was just $30. The mesh lining really makes it comfortable and wearable. It doesn’t stick to you at all and it feels like a regular comfortable jacket. Also, it has a soft lining on the cuffs and collar. The velcro straps are pretty strong and easy to adjust to block wind and rain. The waist is adjustable too on both sides. Never has it ballooned up on me, even on the highway.
There two pockets and the entire main zipper have velcro covers and a flap of material under them that folds over to keep water out. The zipper is a 2-way type so you can loosen the bottom part as needed. There is also an adjustable tie at the bottom, but I don’t use that. I keep my wallet in one and my cell phone in the other because they are secure and completely protected from rain because of the way the pockets are designed.
I forget sometimes that this is really a rain jacket because it is comfortable to wear, except maybe on a really hot day. My next purchase will be the matching overpants. Actually, I wish I bought them together with the jacket because I would have saved $10 buying them as a pair. For my needs, the Motoboss rain jacket works perfectly.
The Cycle Gear store where I bought this motorcycle rain jacket at is located in Mathews, NC on highway 74. Cycle Gear has stores in several states, and they also have an online store too.
By the way, the reason Motorcycle Information became affiliated with Cycle Gear (as seen in the sidebar ad) is because of how much I liked this jacket since I bought it. Many web sites do paid reviews or get products as gifts for writing a review. This site does not. If something I bought for my motorcycle turned out to be junk, I’ll certainly tell you about that too!
