I have a BMW jacket (might be a Rallye) with all the armor. Despite the many vents, I am getting hot and sweaty even in mildly warm spring weather. I want to be protected but I am dying out there! Any suggestions on what to get for summer riding?
I have a BMW jacket (might be a Rallye) with all the armor. Despite the many vents, I am getting hot and sweaty even in mildly warm spring weather. I want to be protected but I am dying out there! Any suggestions on what to get for summer riding?
otherwise
If I had a clue from your profile what part of the country you live in, and what kind of wind protection is on your bike, and what you consider mildly warm spring weather, I could provide a better answer.
First off - I wear an Aerostich Roadcrafter jacket most of the time, year around. It vents a bit, but less than some and more than some. It does pass some air through the fabric, which is highly criticized in some circles for cold weather. I like it.
In hot weather I primarily ride an R1150R with a medium sized plexi shield. I get wind on my shoulders, arms, legs, and parts of my torso. I also ride an F650 which is about the same wind-wise. When I ride my K75RTP the circumstances are different because of the full fairing, large windshield, and lack of air flow on the body.
But generally, mesh jackets are good for short trips in warm to hot weather. In truly hot weather, say 95 degrees or hotter they just let hot air blow on you. And they allow the air flow to cause rapid dehydration. So I wear my mesh jacket on warm but not hot days, or for short trips only. I don't even take it along when traveling around the country for the summer on my R1150R.
More solid fabric jackets with decent venting are best in hot weather because you can use the vents to control air flow and avoid dehydration when doing day-long riding. My somewhat breezy Aerostich is good at that. My First Gear blocks air flow better in cool/cold weather but is hotter in the summer.
The key is to get some evaporative cooling. A long sleeve cotton shirt with the sleeves wet works wonders if your bike is one where your wrists are out in the wind so air can blow up the sleeves. An evaporative vest that you wet down and put on under your jacket is truly a lifesaver in very hot weather. There are several brands available. My first one took a long time - like 20 minutes - to soak up water and then it evaporated in about 15 minutes. Barely useful. The OSI one I have now gets fully wet in a minute or two and provides cooling for at least an hour under my Aerostich. Some folks get by with a wet bandanna, or an Evapodana which is made out of the same type of absorbent as a decent cool vest.
If you happen to ride a fully faired touring bike with a large windshield and fairing you will get little airflow on your body and evaporative cooling doesn't work very well unless you can get some air flow up your sleeves. In this case however, the blast furnace effect through mesh gear and the risk of dehydration is much less so mesh gear works pretty well in very hot weather even, as long as you are attentive to drinking plenty of fluids. My mesh jacket has a wind block liner, but it takes real self discipline to add the liner when it is so hot the wind is causing dehydration but that is what you need to do.
As a point of reference I live 53 miles south of Alpine, Texas, in the Chihuahuan Desert. It was in the mid 90s yesterday at the house and over 100 in the Rio Grande valley 30 miles to the south. I went riding down south and wore my mesh jacket because it was only a 50 mile ride. Any further and I would have had on my Aerostich and evaporative vest.
Paul Glaves - "Big Bend", Texas U.S.A
"The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution." - Bertrand Russell
http://www.bigbend.net/users/glaves
Good advice.
The danger of dehydration on longer rides is not trivial- it eventually degrades all reactions and warps judgement if you let it get started. At the track, we are constantly on our students to drink enough to "piss clear" all day to avoid what will otherwise be a rash of afternoon episodes. I find that I can consume as much as 6 qts of water on very hot days and I only weight 180 lbs! A human body CANNOT absorb water fast enough to recover from dehydration quickly- it takes quite a few hours if you let it happen in the first place. Also, ice cold liquids are not absorbed as well as warmer liquids. Re sports drinks- all of the Gatorades and similar have too much sugar and other uneeded stuff and should be cut at least 1-1 with water. Don't drink only sports drinks!
For specifics on good mesh for short rides and around town at lower speeds- I'd suggest the Rev it Air as allowing a lot of ventilation. It does not have a liner but you may already have one from another jacket.
When in travel mode on hot days I try to drink at least one quart an hour. I take no special steps to keep the water cool. I just drink, refill, drink, refill, with occasional stops to get rid of some of all that water I drink.Originally Posted by racer7
Paul Glaves - "Big Bend", Texas U.S.A
"The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution." - Bertrand Russell
http://www.bigbend.net/users/glaves
If you really get hot in spite of all the afore mentioned suggestions (all really good) stop at a gas station whith a water hose (free hopefully) make sure if the hose has been sitting in the sun to let the watre run until cold. Soak a bandana tie it around you neck, soak your head. This will cool you down fast. If really really hot rest in some shade because you really could die out there (Texas summer riding experience) if you can't cool down.
I wear an Olympia Airglide 2 jacket. It has armor and a windproof/water resistant liner for when it is chilly. I needed something with more air flow on my RT in the Colorado summer.
I got the pants as well so when it is warm I'm pretty comfortable.
+1 And if you have been riding a while and realized that you haven't had to make a pit stop, it's time to drink more.
+1
That may be the time to drink Pedialite and really rehydrate. The worst stuff for drinking are soda's and caffeine holding products, if those are the only drinks you're drinking. Even Gatorade has it's drawback's with all that sugar in it...
On another note here, all that mesh gear may not be as good as most people think, as it allows water/moisture to evaporate out of your body faster than you can drink back in, specially in low humidity conditions. It is tempting to ride around in that stuff, but a cooling vest underneath is the best option to reduce your waterloss. With reason, the Bedouins in the Sahara don't run around half dressed either....YMMV
I live in calif. sooooo
wet sweat shirt under your vented riding jacket...+1
In your tank bag keep a camelback blatter in a insulated bag. run the tube outside of the bag. ice your water, and drink often...did i say drink often? if you get thirsty...you have waited too long for a drink.
not much works in the southeast in summer time except a nice rainstorm
I wear Aerostich Darian pants and jacket year-round regardless of weather. Regarding drinking fluids, I alternate water and "low cal" drink like G2 with every other stop. I am thinking of getting a Camelback, but I enjoy stopping to visit with folks while drinking and taking a leak.
'09 BMW 1200 GSA, 2000 Goldwing SE, '09' V Star 950, '09 Honda Rebel (wife is learning),
'77 Honda 750A. Holding at five til I get new garage built - need more room for more bikes!
Same here, high 90's and 100+ are the summer norm, so it's a mesh/vented riding jacket & pants. Longer distance, then I'll add a cooling vest and a camelback bladder in my tankbag. Drink, purge, repeat.
Last edited by GDWallace; 05-24-2010 at 07:19 AM.
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