What do you wear when riding in warm weather?

I just got my bike in October, so I haven't ridden during the summer yet.  I have a leather jacket (non motorcycle specific) that works well for 40-50°F weather, but I think it will be too hot once the temperatures are in the 60-70°F range.  I would like to keep something between me and the road besides a thin layer of cotton, but I don't want to spend $200 on a hi-tech jacket, and I don't want to be uncomfortable.

How un-comfortable will you be with road rash on your body? Good riding gear is an investment in your safety, not just wasted money. I have never paid more than $200 for a current year Kevlar/cordura jacket with armour in the elbows/forearms, shoulders and back. Once I found year old styles/colors they have been the $129-130 area.  My ventilated mesh Joe Rocket style is very comfortable clear up to 10 deg F + when moving, anything will be warm stoped in traffic.  Max

You can get leather jackets with zip out-liners and vents.

leathers year round here in miss. the bugs here thrive on steriods got hit saturday on the shoulder leather helps    ride wise

I guess a lot depends on your own heat tolerance, and your humidity. Riding in 70 degrees is not really warm by my standards and personal tolerance. And if you consider the wind speed (think wind chill effect) wearing leathers can be OK at those temps, just take out the liner if you can. Also, I like my textile (JoeRocket Ballistic 3.0) without the liner.

Even in 80+ degrees, I've worn my leather (First Gear), but as the humidity and temps go up, its harder to do.

I do have a mesh jacket (First Racing), but I use it for 80+ weather in slow, stop-n-go commuting to work in NYC traffic when I don't have advantage of the wind to cool me. I don't like it for highway speeds because I get too chilly, even at 90 degrees believe it or not.

And like gitarzan and lancer say, look for vents in leathers and textiles, vents that zip open/closed, they are terrific. I also have worn my denim jacket for warm weather riding, but not so much.

Generally I always wear my chaps in warm weather, and only in unbearably hot would they come off and just wear jeans.

I do find that the nylon lining in the JoeRocket or my leather first gear is not very cool. Can't do anything about that, and so I find long sleeves T shirts are always more comfortable with those, even in warmer weather. Helps keep me cooler.

Gerry

And it doesn't take a deadly spill to remove a decent quantity of skin from your body either.  I use the Power Cool cordura jacket from Brosh.  It has Kevlar and internal slots for additional CE armor in the elbows/forearms, shoulders and back, which I added.  It also has front and back zippered vents and comes with a zip in/out quilted liner.  I've used it in 28 F weather with the liner and in 103 F weather without the liner and with the vents open.  I also like the number of pockets it has.  I would also recommend a microfiber t-shirt for hot weather.  They do a great job of wicking away sweat and cooling you in the process.  I usually wear Leather Legs half-chaps (gaiters) instead of full chaps.  Draggin jeans are a good complement to them.  The cooling vest I use is the Men's Classic Cooling Vest available from Silver Eagle Outfitters.  It looks like they've improved upon it and now offer a New Generation version while putting the original on sale.

Oh, and carry a Camelbak or something similar.  A plain old canteen works if you don't mind stopping to drink but hydration packs allow you to use a tube to drink while still riding.

OUCH!!!
Now that is a useful tip........thanks.