I wouldn’t say it’s pleasant riding in the rain, but it’s a lot, lot better than when I started riding many years ago.
Tyres are infinitely better in the wet, most bikes have anti-lock brakes and some have traction control. Lights are also far better. All these factors result in a much safer ride. Furthermore, riding kit is much better and will keep one dry for hours, even in the worst downpour.
All in all, there’s hardly ever a situation where I think to myself I’d rather be in my car. I draw the line at snow and ice though.
This is the biggest difference for me. I do not ride a bike with ABS, TC or other "aids" but did a 4 hr "there and back" a couple of weeks back on A and B roads with a new (to me) Triumph jacket on. It hosed down the whole way, and I got 2 "rinsers" from HGVs going through dips. It didn't leak one drop through, I was dry as a bone. That ride did point out that I need some better boots, my feet were sopping. Gloves too, my hands were a mahogany brown from the dye leaching out of my gloves.....
Even with oversuits, this never used to be the case, there was always some seam or zip that let it through after 30 mins or so.
D
Just about to buy some new riding gear to replace my 10 year old Hein Gericke suit and it got me thinking...
For the last several years I've ridden in fabrics rather than leathers, and I've always bought them such that they will fit over my clothes - i.e. I'll have my jeans on and in winter a fleece on top, both under the fabrics.
The plus points being that it means that when I get to where I'm going, I take off the outer layer and am ready for whatever, rather than having to find somewhere to change my trousers etc., and should an accident occur, I've an extra layer of material between me and the road.
The downside is that the whole thing can get a bit baggy, the armour is rarely held well in place and has an overall look which is akin to a black Michelin man.
It doesn't help that, for a well built (round) chap, one's waist dimension increases significantly when you are bent forward towards the bars so for a suit to be the right size when riding, it's the size of a circus tent and baggy when stood or walking about.
What do the rest of the fabric wearers do? Over the clothes or instead of?
Last edited by Gyp; 26th February 2020 at 22:01.
Instead of.
Get some nicely fitted good quality textiles.
Fit is really important if you want to keep armour in place during an off.
Good gear will have removable liners, and be well ventilated, so super comfy in all weathers (almost) too.
Bought my Dainese GoreTex suit about 10 years ago.
Still going strong, and it looks pretty good imho.
For me - instead of. I usually wear thermals and fleece/heated jacket underneath.
I personally prefer leather jeans and textile jacket unless going to be very wet or cold as seems more areodynamic vs full textiles.
I mix and match , cold weather and wet. Klim Goretex jkt and BMW cordura pants. Spring but still cold Klim jkt and Kevlar jeans ( 2 layer so toasty warm) . Summer Davida leather jkt , kevlar jeans or leather pants.
Steve
I wear a Rukka two piece. Usually just a t-shirt or t-shirt and jumper under the jacket, but nearly always jeans under my bike trousers. Shoes in the top box.
In the summer just boxer shorts under the trousers or gym shorts/t-shirt. Clothes in the top box.
Wouldn't go leather. Very 90's.
Out on the blood bike this morning, sleet and 2 or 3 degrees on the M6. Merino baselayer top and bottom (mountain warehouse), a long sleeved t shirt and my Rukka Nivala textile suit. Toasty and comfortable.
I wear over. If I’m commuting over work clothes, if I’m out for a blast I wear running trousers and a T-shirt to keep the armour in place. Still got full leathers but I rarely wear them, too hot and uncomfortable and I’m not racing on the road!
Always wore leathers up until recently. Decided to have a change after selling the Harley and now have a Helite mesh airbag jacket and Kevlar jeans with armour. Don’t do wet weather riding so waterproof performance wasn’t an issue!
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
Reading through the replies to my question has been good at reminding me that we're all individuals!
You don’t see many but I did see a sneaky speed camera,the roads can rattle you teeth.
I’ve been taking it pretty easy my tyres are nearly worn out after 3,500 miles of rough tarmac and gravel,bits are shaking loose.
The locals are friendly and the bikers even more so,in the small towns they don’t lock doors or windows.
bikers leave jackets and helmets on the bike and keys in the ignition,it’s another world.
I organised a bike meet and have loads of invites to stay.
tomorrow my airbandb host is riding with me to a army museum showing me the scenic route,that’s not hard.
Okay, serious answer. If it's very cold AND wet, I wear Revit fabric jacket and trousers. If it's cold enough I'll layer up underneath with thermals, etc but I can't say that I'd ever even think of wearing jeans under my trousers.
If it's either not wet or not so cold I'll wear either that jacket or a Revit leather, this time with armoured jeans. Possibly with thermals underneath, possibly not depending on the temperature). If I'm going for a local bimble I may wear ordinary jeans instead of the bike type.
When it's warm I have a mesh jacket (again, Revit) and I also might go with a Knox armoured shirt with a regular jacket. I'm more likely to wear regular jeans, although on a long/faster ride it'll be the armoured stuff again.
For commuting I have one of these to carry work clothes, although I've not had an opportunity to use/need it yet.
Almost regardless of the weather I wear a base layer top and bottom - in summer it's a mesh variety (not string vest ) while in cooler times it's a merino mix.
I generally also wear only a t-shirt over the base layer. I have worn shorts under textile trousers so I can strip off when reaching the destination.
I find the base layers help keep me comfortable whether I'm wearing bike jeans with armour or full Gore-Tex textile gear. I don't generally wear leathers although if/when I would almost certainly still wear a base layer.
If I'm wearing a mesh jacket I might take a EDZ innershell windproof jacket to put on under the jacket in case the temperature drops or for when a summer ride drifts into the evening.
edit - short answer, textiles instead not on top of.
Last edited by Stanford; 27th February 2020 at 13:59.
How did you get on track in textiles? AFAIK it's leathers only, certainly that's the case for track days?
As to your question. I'm mainly a fair weather rider these days, but I've still got my excellent Hein Gericke suit from my commuting days which is too snug to allow a full set of clothes to be worn underneath.
Andy
Wanted - Damasko DC57
After trying in vain to find the right helmet/goggles combo for a while now I've just bought the Jeantet Aviator Goggles, which are absolutely spot on! I got the T2 model which is designed for glasses-wearers; the T1 is the standard goggle and the T3 is for those with particularly diminutive features. Highly recommended, anyway.
I'm seriously thinking that I may bring an open face helmet up to Matlock for our weekend bimble although the journey there and back will definitely be full face.
Quite apart from all the cosy sounding combinations mentioned here, I've always found that the most important and simplest route to keeping warm on a bike is to wear a neck warmer.
A neck tube/buff, bottom opening tucked into whatever you wear under your jacket, top opening pulled up just over the chin, then strap connected over that to keep it in place, works extremely well, and good ones are surprisingly windproof. They're easy to carry on you, or kept on the bike.
Recommend Decathlon cycling neck tubes for quality at not a lot of money.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Well, having spent ages trying on lots and lots of gear, I ended up spending far less than I'd expected to, and bought some Oxford Montreal 3.0
https://www.oxfordproducts.com/news/...st-budget-buy/
The choice in the end came down to a simple question of whether it fitted or not. It's not particularly stylish (especially on me) but it's far better than my slowly disintegrating 10 year old HG suit.
Having got to the stage of looking at suits upwards of £1500, it was surprising that the one that actually fitted was £228. At that price I don't have to worry that it might only last a couple of seasons.
Love my Tiger 800 but find it is missing something - character I guess?! So chopping it in for a new T120 black which should be with me in a week or so..
Hate the standard pea shooter exhausts however, regardless of the heritage. They have to go so will be installing a set of Remus pipes before collection. Much prefer the look and they sound ace with the baffle removed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkvJEhYxFfI&t=27s
You are correct. It is the feeling you get that really matters if it is not a tool for commuting etc. Technically the Tiger outscores the T120 by a fair margin if you ran purely off the numbers. It is by any measure an awesome machine.
But, and it's a big but (for me anyway) that it doesn't score a 5 on how it makes me feel. And life is too short for that on a bike I have solely for fun. Loved my Street Twin but it fell a little short when 2 up. The T120 feels like a bigger, more powerful version that imo looks, feels and (will) sound awesome.
I guess we are lucky to have the choices available to us.
Nice touch, the welcoming note. Enjoy it mate!
(You might want to return it, brand new and you already have an engine and oil warnings)
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Sounds like the Speedmaster info is more use than that for the Street Scrambler.
I had a tank sticker that had a picture of an analogue tacho with lines on it, which would have been a lot more useful if the bike had an analogue tacho...
And the manual says not to use more than 70% of maximum speed for the first 500 miles, though it doesn't say whether that's 70% of max engine speed or 70% of max bike speed. But then as it says neither what max engine speed or max bike speed are it probably doesn't matter.
It's nearly spring, when a young man's thoughts turn to getting out a bit...
Last edited by Gyp; 1st March 2020 at 20:38.
Nice blast out this morning. Cold and the roads were still damp in places, but the sun was shining and it was just nice to be out. Roads in a shocking state of repair though in many places. I was certainly taking it easy round poorly sighted bends in case of pot holes.
Andy
Wanted - Damasko DC57
Took the Africa Twin out for a blast today. Only the third or fourth time I’ve been out on it and still getting used to the height, weight and DCT. I must say my Bonneville T120 is a much easier bike to ride although probably not as comfy on long journeys (planning on a road trip in the spring).
Bagger is seriously cool. Saw one parked today just off Oxford Street. Didn't seem the right place for it, filtering or riding in town would be a headache. Out in the country I think it would be very good. Saw a K1600 for sale on autotrader three years ago when I was first buying a GS - the damn thing was 2 years old and £8.5k. Wonder if the depreciation is that bad now.
It's not the tall-ness that's the problem, it's the relatively short leg length that's a problem :-(
BMW used to have a seat height configurator tool on their site that wouldn't accept my body dimensions
I suspect a Rocket 3 GT would make more sense (not a phrase I expect to hear very often)
Cheers Stuart...
I’m not touching it until it’s had it’s first service...Then it’ll be a free for all😈
Haha, I bet your itching to put 'your stamp' on it mate, must be frustrating as hell to have to wait. Wouldn't be surprised if you just have a scoot to Larndarn and back to get the miles up so you can get to work on it. Me, I just want this horrid weather to shift so I can get out on mine, not had a proper ride since September now, I'm losing the will to live with the cold and rain.
Stuart