Bonneville America Forums Forums Rider Safety Forums Helmets and Gear heat and humidity

OK, now to awaken the safety nannies.....again...
Mid to upper eighties and oppressively high humidity for the last 8 days and the next 2 or 3 as well. I've been riding - jeans, t-shirt, and shorty helmet, and most days it's like riding in a blast furnace. How in the world do you wear all the protective gear and a full face helmet in weather like this? Don't even talk about "vents"....
I was close to taking the helmet off a few times, but never did. Sitting at red lights was miserable.
What's the secret???

There's only one way - Go fast and Don't stop.

I've been doing the same and thinking the same. Since wearing the jacket all winter I miss not having it on, but there's no way I can wear it. After a week end of sun burn I will at a minimum wear a long sleeved shirt. My arms are cooked.

Hi Don,

I think I can speak with authority concerning heat and humidity!

My usual attire is Draggin Jeans, boots, t-shirt, & half helmet/goggles. For a jacket, I have a Joe Rocket textile which reminds me of snorkel bag material and I think is the Phoenix model. Has armor in all the right places and nice and cool everywhere else. For gloves, I have a pair that are fully armored AND perforated. Great for down here but my hands were actually cold up in GA.

This setup keeps me relatively cool even through the summer. However, no matter what I wear; if I sit in traffic, I get hot. I try to avoid downtown and its surrounding areas on the hottest days...

Here a pic of the jacket (bright red... Can you see me now?):



and a closeup (best I have) of the perforation:

I remember the lovely Pa. Summers from my two-year stint in Pottstown.

Similar to Phil, I have a fully perforated mesh jacket (Triumph Rochester), however it can still be pretty brutal down here. I always wear an open-face helmet for around town this time of year with sunglasses and perforated gloves. I'll try to keep that jacket on all Summer but no we'll have to see how it goes. A little run up to St. Augustine on A1A can be pretty hot in July!

Good luck, and ride safe!

Ryan

Man, once upon a time I rode from OKC to SA, TX in July in a short sleeve shirt. Worst burn I’ve ever had in my life. Never again.

A jacket is good anytime. Riding in 100 degree TX heat with a full helmet and jacket may not be fun in traffic, but even if you don’t want to hear it, jacket vents work. Feeling the sweat drip down your back or neck, or arms is OK, at least you know your sweating, and when you begin moving, the air moves through the jacket and hits the sweat and cools you off faster. Without a jacket, the sweat immediately evaporates and you don’t even know it. You don’t get the cooling effect, but you do get the burn. It feels like riding in the face of a huge hair dryer

There are all kinds of jackets. Textile mesh with armor can be cool (or as cool as ambient temps will allow). My jacket (textile Triumph retro paddock) serves me well from 100 plus to below freezing. If you ride mostly in warmer temps I would advise against black if you have a choice.

After riding for years in all kinds of weather with a jacket, I’m just not mentally comfortable without one. Just took a weekend trip from northern VA to Milwaukee to pick up another bike and was amazed at the number of people who ride in t-shirts, shorts, flip-flops and no helmet. Makes me nervous just to see them. What’s a guy (or a gal for that matter) thinkin who’d let their other half ride without protection?

But hey, whatever flips your switch.

BTW, Rider Wearhouse has a Hoon Cooler that you may want to look at. Great idea.

http://www.aerostich.com/product.php?productid=17471&cat=0&page=1

I hear ya grump... I just got a perforated (raptor) jacket and it's night and day to my highway jacket vents. My arms stay so much cooler! But JJ is right, our bodies are designed for under 10mph, ya know? So the sweat mechanism just won't work if it evaporates too fast. The other thing u can do is wet your shirt... that under a well vented jacket will do a lot! Or wet a hanky around your neck? I rode 200 miles yesterday in mid 80's heat so humid rain was forming right in front of me, and I was fine as long as I was moving. The second I stopped I'd sweat like a ****** in church.

Heat, humidity, wet sweaty leather...it doesn't smell any better than that!
I go fast, grin and bear it. More stops for ice tea.

Kids bought me a Draggin Shirt for x-mas. Long sleeve and all kevlar. No armor, but supposed to be road rash proof (hope I don't find out). It really breathes. I wear a Triumph Rochester jacket with armor for longer trips (I know, most accidents occur close to home). It breathes nice, but it's still hot at lights and waiting for trains. I wear (not always) Draggin cargo pants with kevlar sewn into knees and throughout the upper portion. Not too hot, but they have a weird euro-cut (too old to care). I wear a Shoei DOT approved half-shell helmet, so I'm used to bugs and stones hitting me in the exposed area (keeps you alert).

Only do the leather jacket thing in the cooler weather. Never considered chaps, as I'd be tempted to ride bare-a$$ed and buy the cowboy wool ones and wear spurs.

Grump says.....

Quote:

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What's the secret???

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The only thing I can add is it helps to have a recessive gene common to an iguana. (my nickname to my south-of-the-border co-workers). It is exactly six miles from my garage door to the front door of work, I've yet to make it home in under 40 minutes, THAT is sitting in traffic! I've been known to skip the helmet a time or two as I have spent way many more years without than with but maturity has taken hold so there is only slight lapses in common sense. I cannot however bring myself to venture out without some kind of jacket, jeans and boots. Highly reccommend the Joe Rocket tarmac jacket. All mesh, great armor and (although I haven't done it yet) the sleeves zip off making it look like a work shirt. Of course what color did I get? Duh, BLACK of course... goes with my BLACK 3/4 helmet with the iguana looking mirrored visor,hehe.
Just a sidenote.... my computer is in the attic, um attic is not air-conditioned. Sitting here typing, my little desk top therometer says 102, I'm not sweating but the computer is acting a little funny.

Grump, Gotta be honest with you here. I have taken several rides this year without mine. I just wrapped my bald head in a camoflage snot rag like the old hippies did & down the road I go. Yea, I know all of the what if.......but it sure is comfortable on a 90 degree day.

jerry

Don -
Cool vest - wet it down (soak for a while) and it retains the water via some special fabric and stuff inside. I think Joe Rocket makes one and there is several other companies out there too. Ya have to wear something over it tho so that it doesn't dry out too fast. Or a wet t-shirt under a heavy denim shirt. I haven't bought a mesh jacket yet, but plan too. Wet bandana around my neck, or they make some with the same kinda stuff as in the cool vests - retains the water longer than a plain bandana.
Always were at least a long sleeve shirt - helps the evaporative cooler effect.
I ride with a full face almost always, I just sweat, and always have a ball cap in my bag to put on when I get off the bike - to cover my helmet doo (guys don't seem to have much of that problem)
I ride in 100 degrees regularly in the summer....just stop often and drink lots of water or ice tea (unsweetened)....
No special tricks.
Becky

Becky is right. I've used a cool vest for the past two years when the weather is over 85 degrees and really enjoy it. Once you cool the body core down the rest follows. Another important thing to remember is to drink lots of water. Heat on the road will dehydrate a rider in a heartbeat.

Lots of good ideas here, some, I already knew. It just struck me as I was being char-broiled I would see other riders go by dressed up like it was 40 degrees out. Of course I also saw the no shirt, no shoes, no helmet people. When I mentioned vents, I was referring to the ones in helmets... In my opinion, (with the helmets I've owned anyway) they are useless. You would think by now that someone could design a helmet with vents that actually allowed some airflow around your head. That is the problem I have with heat and humidity - my head just melts....!

Grump
We have similar problems here in the tropics. Also we don't have the choice of going helmetless in this country.
When the heats up I use a bandanna that has some special beads in it that make it stay cool for hours, either just wet it or put it in the fridge wet for an hour or so and it'll keep your noggin' nice and cool between stops. I actually got it from an industrial safety place, they promote using them under the hard hats as thats where most heat is emitted, even worse if you got a nude nut like me.
The other thing I wear is a long sleeve t-shirt, can't handle the leathers in this weather and all I worry about is the wind burn