Most riders find out their gloves are the wrong pair about forty minutes into a ride. That's when the palm starts bunching under the throttle, a seam starts digging into your index finger every time you cover the brake, and by the first gas stop your hands feel like they've been running an impact wrench. Most of that comes down to a handful of details, like the palm, the fit, and the cuff, and they're easy to get right once you know what to look for. Here's how to pick moto gloves that suit the way you actually ride.
How Do You Choose Moto Gloves?
Choose moto gloves by how you ride first: leather for durability and a broken-in fit, mesh or perforated panels for heat, and a palm thin enough to feel the controls. Check fit with your hand wrapped around a grip, make sure the cuff works with your jacket sleeve, and treat touchscreen tips as a bonus.
Which Motorcycle Riding Gloves Fit the Way You Ride?
A commuter baking at a red light in July cares about airflow and not much else. A bobber rider on a Sunday backroad loop wants leather that feels good on the bars and looks right next to a chopped fender. And if you're riding to a car show and walking the lot all afternoon, you want gloves that come off fast and fit easily in a back pocket.
In our lineup, the Roper Leather Moto Gloves cover the first row, printed pairs like the Corpo Moto Gloves handle the second, and the BRAAP stretch mesh street riding gloves take the third.
Should You Choose Leather or Mesh Moto Gloves?
Check the weather before you look at anything else. Leather is the old standby for good reason: cowhide handles abrasion well, blocks the wind on a cool morning, and shapes itself to your hand the more you ride, until the fit feels like it was traced around your fingers.
When it's hot enough that the tar snakes go soft, mesh is where you want to be. A stretch mesh back flexes with your knuckles and lets air through the whole top of your hand, which keeps your hands a lot happier when the temperature climbs. Plenty of riders keep one of each hanging in the garage, leather for most of the year and mesh for the stretch of summer when just the thought of anything heavier makes your palms sweat.
What Construction Details Make a Glove Hold Up?
How long a glove stays comfortable on the bars comes down to how it's cut and sewn, and the best place to start looking is between the fingers. The thin strips sewn there are called fourchettes. When they stretch (the Roper has elastane sewn into its perforated fourchettes), your fingers can wrap around the grip without the glove pulling back. Pre-curved fingers work the same way, so an hour into a ride your hands aren't fighting the glove just to hold on.
Then check the palm's outer edge and heel, where motorcycle hand protection matters most because they usually meet the pavement first in a slide, and the inside seams at the fingertips, where a bulky seam gets in the way fast when you're fishing for the turn-signal switch at 45 mph.
Single-Layer or Padded Palm: What's the Difference on the Bars?
A single-layer palm gives you feel, and padding gives you cushion. With less between your hand and the grip, you can feel where the throttle's at and find the friction zone without guessing. Padding pays off on a V-twin that shakes at idle like it's trying to knock your fillings loose. The Roper pairs a single-layer cowhide palm with padded reinforcement, and the BRAAP uses a ®Clarino palm, a synthetic with a suede-like feel and good grip on the bars, plus a padded thumb.
How Tight Should Motorcycle Gloves Fit?
Snug everywhere, tight nowhere. Since you're ordering online, start by measuring your hand as shown in our size guide and matching it to the chart. The Roper fits true to size, so your number is a solid starting point.
When the box shows up, run these checks indoors with the tags still on:
- Hand closed, not flat: Grab a broom handle and twist it like a throttle. A glove that feels great flat can still bunch in the palm or pull across the knuckles once you're holding a grip.
- Fingertips: Your fingers should reach close to the ends without pressing into them.
- Thumb: Stretch it out like you're reaching for the horn button. The webbing shouldn't pull.
- Wrist: It should close comfortably, and the glove should stay put when you tug on the fingertips.
Leather that feels snug out of the box will settle in over the first few rides. Stretch mesh and synthetics keep the fit they start with, so go with the size that feels right from day one. If the size is off, our return and exchange policy lets you return or exchange gloves within 60 days of purchase. Just make sure they're new, unworn, unwashed, and still tagged.
Short Cuff or Gauntlet, Pull-On or Hook-and-Loop?
A short cuff works best with your jacket sleeve pulled over it. That inch of bare wrist between sleeve and glove doesn't look like much in the driveway, but on a cold morning at highway speed it's all you'll be thinking about. Gauntlet cuffs extend over the sleeve instead, which is why they're common for high-speed touring and track riding.
Closures come down to preference. The Roper pulls on and has a low-profile wrist, which makes it quick to slip off at the pump. If you like to dial in the fit, the Corpo and the BRAAP both use a hook-and-loop (Velcro) strap that lets you cinch the wrist right where you want it. On the BRAAP, that strap is built into an Airprene cuff for added comfort and protection.
Track days and long, high-speed stretches are their own kind of riding, and they usually call for gloves made specifically for them, with gauntlet cuffs and hard knuckle armor. Our gloves are built for the street and cruiser riding most of us do every week, from the commute to work to the long way home after bike night.
What Makes Good Summer Motorcycle Gloves?
Air, and lots of it. Perforated leather moves the most air once you're rolling, while mesh keeps things breathing in traffic. Get a pair with both, and you're covered from the open road to the stoplights. The Corpo pairs perforated genuine leather with Lycra eye mesh, so air moves across your whole hand. As for looks, the designs run from minimal colorways to prints you'll spot across the parking lot.
Do Touchscreen Motorcycle Gloves Actually Work?
For the quick stuff, yes. The Roper has a cell-touch index finger and thumb, the BRAAP has touch-capable fingertips, and the Corpo uses leather touch fingertips, which is plenty for finding the next gas station or skipping a song at the pump. For anything longer, like a real text message, a bare finger is still the better tool.
Pick the Pair You'll Reach for Every Ride
The best moto gloves are the ones you grab on your way to the bike without a second thought. When you're deciding, think about your last ten rides (not the cross-country trip you keep talking about). If most were short runs through town in the heat, go with perforated leather and mesh or stretch mesh. If they were backroad loops and cool mornings, full leather is probably your glove.
Whatever you land on, gloves are the piece of your motorcycle gear you touch every single ride, and like anything with our name on it, Dixxon moto gloves fit right and work as hard as you do. Once your hands are covered, the rest of our leather goods and riding gear is built for the same kind of riding. Work hard, stay humble, and take the long way home.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between moto gloves and regular gloves?
Moto gloves are built for holding handlebars, with pre-curved fingers, reinforced palms, riding-specific closures, and abrasion-resistant materials. Everyday gloves aren't shaped for a riding grip, so they tend to bunch or shift on the bike.
Should motorcycle gloves be tight or loose?
Snug. A loose glove bunches at the throttle, while a tight one cuts off circulation on longer rides. Check the fit with your hand closed around a grip.
Are leather motorcycle gloves good in summer?
Yes, especially when the leather is perforated, and the fourchettes are vented. Add mesh panels, and they keep air flowing at lower speeds too.
How do you break in leather moto gloves?
Ride in them. A few rides, plus flexing your hands around the grip, let the leather shape itself to you. Skip soaking or heat; Dixxon gloves are spot-clean only.