Tall motorcycle trousers are less a separate category than a question of length: on a long leg, a standard pair often lifts off the boot the moment the knees bend. This guide explains why, how to read the height column in a size table, which NORDRYK trousers give a long leg the most to work with and how to test a pair before you ride.
Tall Motorcycle Trousers: What Goes Wrong on the Bike
Trousers are sized standing up, but you ride sitting down. With your knees bent and your feet on the pegs, the fabric behind the knee takes up length and the hem climbs the shin. On an average leg it still reaches the boot. On a long leg it often stops short, leaving a gap between hem and boot, a cold draught at the ankle and a cuff that flaps in the wind.
Tall riders feel it first, because a longer shin and thigh use up more fabric at every knee bend. The usual advice, buy your normal size, can fail: the size that fits your waist is often cut for a shorter rider, and a pair that looks right in the mirror can still come up short at the first traffic lights.
Read the Height Column Before the Waist
Every NORDRYK product page has a size table that lists a height range beside the waist range for each size. Look at height first, then check the waist. At the tall end the ranges run like this:
- Redback jeans: 3XL covers 192–200 cm, 4XL 194–204 cm and 5XL 196–206 cm.
- RoadVault cargo trousers: 2XL covers 186–194 cm, 3XL 190–198 cm and 4XL 194–204 cm.
- Sentinel trousers: XXL covers 186–194 cm and 3XL 190–200 cm.
Waist and height do not always agree. A rider who is 188 cm tall with an 85 cm waist falls in the Redback's M for waist (81–87 cm) but in XL or XXL for height. The Redback motorcycle jeans solve this because leg length is a separate choice from size: keep the M and choose the 34 (86 cm). The RoadVault and Sentinel have no length option, so go up one size at most for the extra length; beyond that the waist stops fitting and the Redback is the better route.
Test the Length Before You Ride
Do the test in the boots you ride in, because boot height changes where a hem should land.
- Sit with your knees bent as if your feet were on the pegs. The hem should still cover the top of the boot.
- Raise a knee towards where the tank would be. The leg should follow without pulling the waistband down.
- Stand up again. A hem that now pools over the boot is too long; one that sat clear of the boot while you were seated is too short.
Stretch fabric gives a little extra room at the knee but cannot add length. Our guide to wearing trousers over boots or tucked in shows how a hem should sit once the length is right.
What to Do If a Pair Still Runs Short
If the hem lifts during the test, work through these in order:
- Go up a length. On the Redback, move from 32 to 34 (86 cm) and keep the same size.
- Go up one size on trousers sold by size only. The RoadVault cargo trousers have adjustable ankle cuffs and the Sentinel an adjustable hem of 32–46 cm, so the longer leg can still sit over the boot.
- Close the cuff around the boot instead of leaving it loose, so the hem has something to hold on to.
- Wear a taller boot. A higher shaft overlaps more of the hem.
If you are tall and broad as well, our plus size motorcycle trousers guide covers waist and thigh. At the other end of the scale, see short leg motorcycle trousers.
Common Questions
What size motorcycle trousers does a 190 cm rider need?
Start with the height column. At 190 cm you fall inside two rows of the Redback table and three on the RoadVault and Sentinel tables. Pick the row that also suits your waist, take the larger if you are between two, and then run the seated test above.
Does NORDRYK make extra long motorcycle trousers?
There is no separate extra long cut. The Redback comes in three leg lengths, the longest being 34 (86 cm), and the RoadVault and Sentinel are sold by size, with their largest sizes listed for riders up to 204 cm and 200 cm. Compare your own inseam with those lengths and test the fit seated.
How do I stop motorcycle trousers riding up?
Fix the length first, because a hem that clears the boot while you are seated has little room left to climb. Then close the adjustable cuff or hem around the boot, wear boots tall enough to overlap it and avoid a size so snug that the thigh drags the leg upward.
NEXT STEP
Two more cuts to check against your height
RoadVault Cargo Trousers
Adjustable ankle cuffs that sit over the boot, in men's and women's fits from XXS to 4XL.
See the RoadVault →
Sentinel Trousers
An adjustable hem that fits over any boot, in sizes S to 3XL and four colours.
See the Sentinel →