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How do you stay dry?


rlambke19

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15 hours ago, duhg said:

For long-duration rain Frogg Toggs and Aerostich Triple Digit overgloves are my preference.

This is my solution for hot weather.  The Frogg Toggs pack small, are waterproof and breath well.  Several years ago I did a loop around Lake Superior.  Rain every day.  The Frogg Toggs with my mesh gear underneath kept me comfortable and dry.  They look kind of goofy, but work well.  Cheap too!

For cooler weather, my Aerostitch Darien gear is called into service.

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While riding locally in South Florida (wear it rains almost everyday at some point and it's way to hot to use waterproof gear all the time) I wear a mesh jacket from Cycle Gear and Duluth  "Fire Hose" flex jeans. I will throw a "Frog Toggs" jacket over my mesh jacket and let the rest of me get wet. It's normally so warm that you dry off in short order.

When on longer (3 days - 2 weeks) rides I used a First Gear "Rush" jacket all the time and Klim rain pants and hiking gaiters when it rained.

The only thing I've changed lately in that I upgraded to a First Gear Kilimanjaro jacket for touring. 

 

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"It doesn't matter who walks in, you know the joke is still the same"  Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. USA

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First of all I love the Fort Nine Guy. Funny yet...funny.  Secondly I live in Oregon. Yes the great Northwet!  Yes I spelled "NORTHWET"  I also lived in the Seattle area (even wetter). All toll I've been the the Northwest.... for over 36 years, of which almost all of them have been riding a motorcycle, almost everyday. Commuting in the Seattle area and now in Oregon. So yes I ride in the rain, a lot. That being said, the question asked is "How to stay dry". In short, you don't, entirely that is. Face, hands, wet. Feet, sometimes wet, but good boots make all the difference. Body, yes you can stay mostly dry, but at a cost. Cheap crap is, well, cheap. Years ago I had an older saged experienced hard core rider tell me, (I've been riding for 43 years), I assume he's no longer with us because he was old when I started riding. Anyway his saying was "It's easier to stay warm and dry, than to get warm and dry". OMG the truth soaks through and drips off this if you have crap to wear.  All this being said. I wear a Roadcrafter Aerostich one piece suit almost all the time. I have an old pair of SIDI wellington style boots that are extrememly dry, but most of the time I wear my favorite work boots (Whites) which happen to not be waterproof in any way, shape or form. But I know this and accept it as I usually am commuting, so I know I'll be home in a half hour so it doesn't matter so much. But if I am taking a long trip I bring the SIDI's The Stich does pool water in the seat when it the rains for three, four hours hard and steady. Yes the vaulted Areostich Roadcrafter will leak through and of course in the crotch, but nobody notices as it is a onesy. This being said. I'm not about to replace it. I just try not to ride in four hours of steady hard rain. Now when it comes to the hands. If anyone says there are waterproof motorcycle glove, they are lying to you. Sure you can wear the over gloves that aerostich sells and they will keep you dry, but they aren't the easiest things to use. Or you can wear rubber surgical gloves underneath your spongelike gloves. But in anything other that a very light mist there are no waterproof gloves. They are like Honest Lawyers and Artesian wells. You know they exist, but no one has ever seen one.  Some bikes are better than others in the rain. Full fairings work well. the Goldwing the larger Beemers and the Kawasaki Concours all have great rain protection, but not entirely. The FJ-09 with a larger windshield is ok, not great, but that's my current choice of machine and my take on staying dry.

Edited by 2linby
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Everything is simple, Nothing is easy

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Actually, my Gerbing heated gloves keep my fingers dry.  The exposure time though is limited to about an hour at a time.  My riding during the winter months is primarily commuting, not pleasure.

I have some Tourmaster Epic boots that keep my feet dry.  I ended up buying two pairs...the normal Epic boot for colder months and the "Air" version for the summer.

I've read some comments about water going down the neck.  When you're buying a jacket, look at the collar.  For instance the Tourmaster Transition jackets are very similar to the Olympia jackets...but the collar isn't as high.  I've never had water go down my neck with my Olympia AST2 or Ranger jackets.

Chris 

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On 3/9/2019 at 11:58 PM, motopumps said:

Same here.  Klim Goretex gear and Alpinstar or Gaerne Goretex boots.  The only issue I have is gloves.  Still have not found any decent gloves. 

Suggestions for good gloves that actually stay dry?


Rob

The Rukka Virium gloves I have is completely waterproof and comfortable.

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I don’t go looking for rain, but I won’t let it keep me from riding. I’ve tried a whole lotta methods, gear, etc, and my preference is the full barrier method.  I have dedicated raingear, with full coverage. Two piece Olympia rain suit, Aerostich triple digit glove cover, Aerostich boot rain cover, silk balaklava with enough fabric to tuck into my jacket to prevent rain coming in under my helmet.  Also, I wear a smartwool layer on my skin, just in case I do have some water seep in it’ll still keep me warm. 

 

I ride mostly in California, so hot weather rain is a rarity. The couple of times it’s happened I just kept riding, got wet, and dried off. I have no idea what it’d be like to ride in Florida, or any of the hot muggy rainy states.

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’70 Yamaha 125 Enduro; ’75 Honda CB360T; ’81 Yamaha XS650SH; ’82 Honda GL650 Silver Wing Interstate; ’82 Suzuki GS650L; ’87 Yamaha Virago 535; ’87 Yamaha FJ1200; ’96 Honda ST1100; ’99 Yamaha V-Star Classic; ’00 Suzuki SV650; ’07 BMW K1200GT; ’12 Suzuki DR200; ’15 Yamaha FJ-09.  Bold = current

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I don't recommend any gear with an inner waterproof layer.  They're fine for a 30 minute commute, but not much longer. The outer layer holds water and eventually it finds a way to soak through. 

I have an old Teknic jacket I really like. The inner layer is a mesh jacket. A waterproof layer zips to the outside (and an insulated layer to the inside but it's REALLY bulky that way). It also has a rubber zipper guard inside. Water still gets in through the collar.

Even my 1 piece Aerostich still eventually gets water up the sleeves. 

Now for boots A* boots with Gore tex are great. Drystar works, too, but it's much less breathable. So long as I have waterproof pants over the tops of the boots, water never gets in.

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Modern tires are fabulous in the rain. Love a good rain ride. 

Have always used Sidi or TCX goretex boots year round. Gloves, have kept dry hands using: plain old gloves plus triple digit rain covers, Held goretex gloves, and a couple of the double gauntlet gloves such as the Scorpion Tempest.

Suit: Used to do the over suit. Eventually went Motoport two piece mesh kevlar with zip in liners. Toured the factory and had mine custom made. Since most of my riding is in good weather I live with the inconvenience of having to make the decision to put the rain liners in before I ride or stop and remove to insert liners. But, when they're in they keep me dry. The collar on the motoport was crap so used a wicking neck covering.  

Also have a Teknic Goretex jacket that motorcyclegear.com sold on closeout for $65. It's a big heavy 3/4 jacket with an additional insulation liner. Terrible venting but great at keeping warm and dry. Just can't stand to use it if there's a chance temps will rise. 

Last year knew my big summer trip would have a ton of rain but not super cold. And the Motoport is getting pretty old. Decided to try a FirstGear Kilimanjaro 37.5. This is one of the  outer-shell-only-provide-your-own-layering style. Laminate waterproof breathable shell. Good venting and adjustability of armor placement is really nice and imo necessary for an off the shelf product. Tons of features. Did the job, kept me dry. It has an included under helmet hood but didn't need to use it. 

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I tried many different pieces of so called waterproof gear until I heard of Klim. Now, I own about $2500 in Klim gear, some of it is 4 years old and it is still waterproof.  I run the Klim Apex more than any other jacket. I have ridden around in 7 hours of downpour in the PNW and stayed completely dry.   Olympia got me wet, Frog Toggs rip and tear too easily and get me wet. Klim keeps you dry, and is among the most protective gear that money can buy. 

They are also well known and bought by the snowmobile segment.  Warmth, dryness and long lasting protection is not cheap. 

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And just to make sure everyone knows the trick to putting on rain pants during a ride…  if you go on a ride carrying your waterproof gear in your saddlebags instead of wearing it, and you need to put it on because it starts to rain, carry a couple of plastic grocery bags and rubber bands (this isn’t critical, but helpful). Slide the plastic bag over your boots, secure w/rubber band, then put on your rain pants.  The plastic cover will help your boots glide through the pants without getting stuck. This is especially useful if you’re doing a roadside suit up as it starts to rain.

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’70 Yamaha 125 Enduro; ’75 Honda CB360T; ’81 Yamaha XS650SH; ’82 Honda GL650 Silver Wing Interstate; ’82 Suzuki GS650L; ’87 Yamaha Virago 535; ’87 Yamaha FJ1200; ’96 Honda ST1100; ’99 Yamaha V-Star Classic; ’00 Suzuki SV650; ’07 BMW K1200GT; ’12 Suzuki DR200; ’15 Yamaha FJ-09.  Bold = current

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4 hours ago, maximo said:

And just to make sure everyone knows the trick to putting on rain pants during a ride…  if you go on a ride carrying your waterproof gear in your saddlebags instead of wearing it, and you need to put it on because it starts to rain, carry a couple of plastic grocery bags and rubber bands (this isn’t critical, but helpful). Slide the plastic bag over your boots, secure w/rubber band, then put on your rain pants.  The plastic cover will help your boots glide through the pants without getting stuck. This is especially useful if you’re doing a roadside suit up as it starts to rain.

This is excellent advice!   My way of keeping rain from trickling down my neck is to carry a narrow length of cotton towelling with the wet-weather gear.   I wrap this round my neck tightly and zip-up the jacket collar tightly - the towel forms a kind-of gasket, and even if it become soaked seems to be an efficient barrier. 

As for gloves, very many moons ago in a wetter clime I bought some heavier-duty gloves with a small zipped pocket on the back - when opened this revealed a thin nylon over-glove, which also worked well.   

For feet, I figure it doesn't matter too much if boots get wet, while wanting to keep feet dry, so I pull on a plastic bag over each socked foot, then add boots over the bags.   Not especially elegant, but it works!

Edited by wordsmith
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Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia.   

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53 minutes ago, BBB said:

Thank you for your consideration, 3B, and your interest in my style (such as it is).   These sox seem to be a good idea, but alas I could not possibly wear them as their blue colour would clash violently with my red bike.   Otherwise, would seem worthwhile...

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Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia.   

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