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| Motorcycle Message Board - Motorcycle USA > MotorcycleUSA.com! > Motorcycle Safety > Hot weather jackets? | Forum Quick Jump
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Qwixt
Registered Member
      
Date Joined Jul 2004
Total Posts : 612
| Posted 7/20/2004 7:19 AM (GMT -8) |   | | Does anyone know a good protective jacket/shirt for warm weather riding (90F+)? I wore my leather jacket jacket on Sunday's ride, and it got fairly warm. It wasn't as bad as being in sauna, but unless I can find something cooler, I probably will not wear again on such hot days. | | Back to Top | | |
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LisaZ
Titainium Ass, Super biker Chick
Date Joined Mar 2003
Total Posts : 1382
| Posted 7/20/2004 7:26 AM (GMT -8) | | | | |
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Qwixt
Registered Member
Date Joined Jul 2004
Total Posts : 612
| Posted 7/20/2004 8:56 AM (GMT -8) | | Thanks a bunch!
I think I am going to go with Firstgear meshtex 2  | | Back to Top | | |
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bluepoof
2005 Kawasaki Z750S
 
Date Joined Mar 2003
Total Posts : 994
| Posted 7/20/2004 11:47 AM (GMT -8) | | [pet peeve soapbox]
Don't forget that once the temperature gets above your body temperature (~99F), you don't want to be wearing a mesh jacket. You want to zip up all of your vents and keep as much of your skin covered as possible.
Hot air hitting your skin at a temperature higher than your body temperature will heat up your skin and dehydrate you faster than you'll know it's happening.
Cover your neck with a soaking wet bandana, wet down your T-shirt, and stop often to re-soak both. Drink way more water than you think you'll need.
Heatstroke is a very real possibility on a motorcycle, and at high temperatures, mesh clothing will not help with this. If you do wear a mesh jacket in these temps, make sure you have a Camelbak or some sort of hydration system, and drink water constantly.
[climbing down off soapbox] | | Back to Top | | |
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bluepoof
2005 Kawasaki Z750S
Date Joined Mar 2003
Total Posts : 994
| Posted 7/20/2004 5:38 PM (GMT -8) | | Some people have PMed me regarding my advice above. Rather than type it out eighteen times, I thought I'd elaborate a bit more here, publicly. Hope that's OK with everyone.
So: there are two big things at work here. 1) Evaporation and 2) Insulation. Both deal with sweating, and let's look at each one separately.
First, a quick primer on sweat. Yum! Sweat happens when your body transfers heat from itself into the air. It's mostly water, so for the sake of argument, let's just say that sweat = water. When sweat evaporates, it cools down the surface of your skin.
OK, on to evaporation. Evaporation can only happen when there's less moisture in the air than on your skin. So: if you're in a big hot stinky swamp pit, evaporation ain't gonna do much for you. If there's no evaporation happening, your body will stop sweating. This is Very Bad, and you will soon be very unhappy as your body overheats.
"But Poof!" you're now saying (and you know who you are), "won't closing your vents ensure that your suit becomes a big hot stinky swamp pit? Aren't you ensuring that you'll raise your core temperature too much because your sweat can't evaporate?" Now, OK. If you're -- ahem -- hard-core enough to ride in ass weather like Mr Ed did there in Arkansas, when the humidity is that high, let's face it: nothing ain't gonna help you. At that point, you get yourself shade and water, and *often*. Also, assuming you're touring, try riding at night or at higher elevations. However, in most of our daily lives, this isn't going to be an issue. No one's jacket is windproof (I wish mine was, in the wintertime!), so unless your idea of gear is Saran Wrap, your skin is going to be able to breathe and your sweat is not going to stop evaporating 100%.
So, on to our second idea: insulation. Earlier, we established that sweat is the body's way of transferring heat from itself to the air. This can only happen if the air is cooler than the body. Otherwise, the skin will draw heat from the air. Why is this a problem? It's called vasodilation. The idea here is that as the body heats up, blood vessels enlarge to circulate more blood to the skin. Normally, this is good because the evaporative cooling process cools down the skin, and therefore, the blood. However, if your sweat evaporates too quickly and dries out, the skin absorbs heat from the air, which then actually heats up your blood. Mmm, nice hot blood circulating all over your body and -- especially -- up into your brain.
By zipping up your vents, you provide a layer of insulation between your skin and that hot air. By keeping your clothing wet, you augment your sweat and keep your skin (and therefore blood) cool. One thing I mentioned in particular is a bandana. I actually use a Cool Tie, which is a bandana-like tube filled with paraffin crystals that hold water much longer than cotton. In desert conditions, I soak this Cool Tie and wrap it around my neck while riding -- it keeps the blood flowing to my brain cool, and helps me keep my head on straight. It's very easy to become confused when in the early stages of heatstroke, and keeping your blood cool is one big way to combat this.
I'd like to reiterate that this is only really applicable when the ambient temperature is above your body temperature. Also, I have nothing at all against mesh jackets -- I own one myself -- and am not trying to discourage anyone from purchasing one. I'm just saying that in extreme, 99F+, conditions, you have to be prepared to go into "desert survival" mode, which, for me, includes zipping up my vents and keeping the hot air and sun off of my skin. No matter what your opinion on the vents, it should also include frequent stops, lots of water (and/or gatorade, like Mr Ed mentioned), and lots of shade. If you're not willing or able to make those sorts of preparations when riding in 99F+ weather, take the car or stay home. That isn't being a big pansy; it's being smart and safe. | | Back to Top | | |
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gcl
Vulcan 1500 Nomad FI
Date Joined Jan 2004
Total Posts : 255
| Posted 7/20/2004 10:13 PM (GMT -8) | | | I like to second the advice ... its esp good to wear a jacket in the type of heat blue is taking about ... I felt it was too hot in my leather jacket doing my first motorcyle trip from No Cal to So Cal. I took it off thinking I would be cooler .. it took me a couple days to recover .. I thought I was just tired from my first long distant motorcycle trip ... since then I did buy a camelback and I still stop and rest every 100 miles or so on distant trips during the summer travels. Its important to wear something other than a t-shirt or sweat shirt to block the sun, but also to retain mosture. At least thats my take and I feel a lot better at the end of the days journey. | | Back to Top | | |
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SilverDragon
yes, it's a dragon
Date Joined Mar 2003
Total Posts : 2571
| Posted 7/20/2004 10:18 PM (GMT -8) | | desert nomad robes and veils (rag head gear)
or Dune still-suits | | Back to Top | | |
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Qwixt
Registered Member
Date Joined Jul 2004
Total Posts : 612
| Posted 7/21/2004 7:59 AM (GMT -8) | | I looked at camelbacks in a bicycle store before. I was shocked at how much they want for a plastic bag with a tube in it.
With a Dune still-suit you wouldn't have to worry about any bathroom stops. | | Back to Top | | |
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bluepoof
2005 Kawasaki Z750S
Date Joined Mar 2003
Total Posts : 994
| Posted 7/21/2004 9:53 AM (GMT -8) | | yeah, no kidding, about the Camelbaks.  Highway robbery. Luckily, they're often on sale, and some companies are coming out with similar products. I've heard the Platypus is also good, but I've never tried one. | | Back to Top | | |
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SilverDragon
yes, it's a dragon
Date Joined Mar 2003
Total Posts : 2571
| Posted 7/21/2004 10:46 AM (GMT -8) | | | i picked up 3 of the old originals for 10$ each at an after christmas sale a couple years back ... the newer fat mouth type has replaced the originals | | Back to Top | | |
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ECeptor
Registered Member
Date Joined Mar 2003
Total Posts : 3233
| Posted 7/21/2004 1:45 PM (GMT -8) | | | | |
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RedDog
Retired SportBike Bum
Date Joined Mar 2003
Total Posts : 11642
| Posted 7/22/2004 9:12 AM (GMT -8) | | There's lots of good ideas here, but did I see the Under Armour? The Qeen of exploring cold and hot riding has spoken, very well so.
In another thread this Under Armour has been suggested to use under your leathers or protective clothing. This is what the athlets are using. I now have it but has been taken away from rides due to family that came over here from the old country. Basically every year we do not ride in extreme warm weather down here. If we do, we have frequent stops. Drink a lot of water added with some Red Bull (not Red Dogs!). We ran a crash statistic and the most dangerous/vulnerable time is after a lunch meal. Bad, most of our accidents happen down here on a full tommy, getting sloppy. So, eat light. I checked out what the AMA racers are doing and being the guys that really has to perform at max in whatever weather that comes, that's like a book to me.
I have never liked mesh jackets or pants and I have never seen asphalt racers using them. I have seen several going down and if there is a slide involved, it's a good chance the pads will move and not protect your elbow and shoulders, knees, etc. I swear to leathers, leathers with ventilation and good amount of air flow. Weather of 99+ and high humidity is a sign of very frequent stops with creative actions. We have a Ride'n Swim Rally, where we ride to the next swim hole in one of these cool rivers here. If there is a typical ice box for buying ice cubes, I stick my helmet in there some minutes, it feels good.
In the old days we hosed ourself down at every stop. My record heat was through the desert in 127 degrees. My wife sat on the back with a smaller bucket and a rag and continuously kept us soaked after soaking down with the hose at every gas station. But here we have the rivers. Look for Robo Cops in the stream if you are riding around here!
A rain shower feels good in that excess heat. We don't stop to put on rain gear.
RedDog 
Travel Light & Leave Your Fears Behind You!
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Qwixt
Registered Member
Date Joined Jul 2004
Total Posts : 612
| Posted 7/22/2004 10:09 AM (GMT -8) | | | I have been thinking over my need for a hot weather jacket. I have perforated leather jacket which is perfect in the 70's, and fine in the 80's. Last night I was driving home, and got kind of cold once it dropped into the 60's around 9pm. Unless there is some kind of unseasonal heat wave here, Black Hills in SD, I will probably hold off. | | Back to Top | | |
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Garth_J
Registered Member
Date Joined Aug 2004
Total Posts : 35
| Posted 8/27/2004 4:18 PM (GMT -8) | | | Regarding what Blue was saying, I think it's not the temperature, it's the dew point. As long as the dew point is lower than your skin temperature, moving air will cool you. Once the dew point gets above your body temperature, moving air will warm you. A sane rider will find a place to "chill" out in hot weather anywy. | | Back to Top | | |
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Qwixt
Registered Member
Date Joined Jul 2004
Total Posts : 612
| Posted 8/29/2004 10:42 AM (GMT -8) | | | | |
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