How to Wash Motorcycle Gear

Textile jackets: once or twice a season, and sooner if the outer face has stopped beading water or the liner smells. Over-washing a membrane garment does more harm than leaving it a month, because every wash takes something off the water-repellent finish. Base layers and the helmet's comfort liner are the opposite — those are next-to-skin items and should be washed as often as your gym kit.

Textile jackets, textile pants, base layers and most helmet liners: yes, with the armor out, zips closed, a cool gentle cycle and no fabric softener. Leather: no — leather is cleaned and conditioned by hand, never machine-washed. Armor itself: no — wipe the inserts with a damp cloth and mild soap and let them air dry. Airbag vests and anything with electronics: follow the maker's instructions only, and never submerge the unit.

Softener works by coating fibres with a lubricating film. On a technical garment that film does three unhelpful things: it kills the DWR finish so water soaks in instead of beading, it clogs the pores of a breathable membrane so sweat cannot get out, and it reduces the fabric's grip on hook-and-loop fasteners. The result is a jacket that is wetter inside and out than it was before you washed it.

Take the comfort liner and cheek pads out if they are removable and wash them by hand in mild soap or on a cool gentle cycle, then air dry away from heat. Wipe the EPS and shell with a damp cloth only — no solvents, no petrol-based cleaners, nothing abrasive, because solvents can degrade both the shell and the EPS. The visor gets water, mild soap and a soft cloth, never a paper towel. Our dedicated helmet-cleaning guide goes through it step by step.

Leather gloves: wash by hand in cool water with a little mild soap, press the water out without wringing, shape them and let them air dry slowly away from any heat source, then treat with a leather conditioner. Heat is what ruins gloves — a radiator or a dryer makes leather shrink and go hard. Textile and mesh gloves tolerate a gentle hand wash the same way. Heated gloves and anything with wiring get a damp cloth and nothing more.

It is almost always the liner rather than the shell. Wash the removable liner and any base layer on their own, and if the shell itself needs it, a cool wash with a technical detergent plus a second rinse handles most of it. For a shell you cannot wash often, an enzyme-based sports detergent used sparingly is more effective than a hotter wash — and hanging the jacket somewhere with moving air after every wet ride prevents most of the problem.

Only when water stops beading on the outer face. A durable water repellent (DWR) is a surface treatment and it wears off with use and washing; the membrane underneath keeps working, but a wetted-out outer feels cold and heavy and stops breathing properly. Reproof with a wash-in or spray product matched to the fabric and follow its heat-activation step, which is usually a low tumble or a warm iron through a cloth — check the garment's own label first.

No. New technical gear arrives with its DWR intact and nothing on it that needs removing, so a first wash only costs you finish. The exception is second-hand gear, which should be cleaned before it goes anywhere near your skin — and inspected at the same time, because a wash is a good opportunity to check seams, zips and whether the armor is actually certified.