All Weather Sport Touring Gear Question

I wonder if Evel Knievel didn't have something going with that cape. Batman too. I'm thinking that some dudes here have more costumes than some of the harleydoods.

 

I do have a cheap rain suit and it works pretty well. The problem is I am too much of an optimist ("Oh. . .it will stop in a minute!") and a complete dumb ass for not stopping and put the thing on. It doesn't matter how much gear you have or how good it is if you have left it at home.

 

I tried the Joe Rocket Atomic line, jacket with zip out liner and pants. They zipper together in the back. Says its waterproof.

Bought boots from Academy that said right on them, waterproof. Jacket has vents for when its hot, but its not perforated.

Well, got caught in a thunderstorm twice in Birmingham going to/from the sports car races.

They both lied, big time. I was so wet I sloshed when I walked into Wendys to get warm after being in stop and go traffic leaving the race in the storm. But I did dry out riding in Texas 100 heat after the storm fairly quickly.

My contribution to human knowledge.

Larry

 

That's what I thought would happen on Sunday but it never stopped raining and the sun never came out to heat things up. There is nothing that feels so good as a rain shower in plus 100 degree temps and nothing that feels worse than sitting for hours, in dark rain, with a squishy crotch full of water.

 

My Alpenstars winter boots amd Alpenstars winter gloves do keep those parts dry and warm. Many don't like the bulkiness of the gloves. I don 't think I would want to wear the gloves on the hotter climates but I have worn the boots. Feet were definately warm but manageable.

A swishy crotch area is most unwanted even when there is no rain.

 

I just picked up a Klim Overland Jacket. Thin Gortex shell with D30 Impact protection. It was available in Black or Grey so I picked the Gray to hopefully cut down on the heat. It is about half the weight of my Tourmaster jacket. So far I have taken one trip and riden in up to 80 degrees F. All is good. I think it will be a little warm at higher temps but we'll see. I haven't been in any rain yet but it is "Guaranteed to keep you dry". We'll see!

 

You sound like me. My method is to wait until I'm actually wet, then pull over and put my rain gear on. Invariably, 2 minutes after doing this the rain will stop.

 

Frog Toggs pack down to almost nothing and they breathe well enough to use as wind-blockers. So from outside in it would be: Frogg Tog, mesh jacket, fleece sweater, lightweight polypro, synthetic tshirt. Made the run from Albuquerque to Vegas several times using that system, one time going from snow on the ground in Grants, and winding up with 110 temps in Searchlight. I was a layering fool, in fact stopped off in Flagstaff and bought a newspaper to stuff in there. Which, don't knock it. It works. That'll save you some luggage space, eh?

To be clear, I don't know that I would have described myself as "comfortable" anywhere along the way. Flying would have been quite comfortable I'm sure.

If you need serious warmth and want to save serious space, consider a heated vest. So for upper body, from outside in, it was: mesh jacket, North Face windblocker jacket, heated vest, lightweight polypro long-sleeve, lycra tshirt in the bag. Good from 50 to 90+, rain or shine. I don't know that the vest packs down a whole lot better than my fleece sweater, but it's toasty warm and it is some approximation of "comfy."

Speaking of beeswax, I actually did wax up a pair of carhartts which I use for skiing and at times for motorcycling. So there.

 

I believe in layers too along with my Gerbings jacket liner for the best in cold weather riding. I am with everyone else when it comes to riding on beautiful sunny days but good all weather gear make the riding season last all year, here in Texas. I have some thermal long underwear I wear under my Olympia suit. I then use the water proof liner, the over pants and like you, top it off with Frogg Toggs rain gear to block the wind. The Gerbings just makes things toasty. Frogg Togg rain suits are great. They are cheap, fold down into nothing and if they get damaged they can be replaced at Wal-Mart 24/7.

I think all of us, that came of age before the advent of modern riding gear, stuffed newspaper in our jackets.

 

Lots of difference in which newspaper is used. For the preverts in SoCal the LA Free Press worked out well. For the dudes in ND and points North, the Sunday edition of the NY Times would be the paper of choice in January.