It is the time of year in which a lot of people are discussing how to stay cool on their motorcycle. I have to chime in about what works for me for long-distance riding. Many of you may have seen my friend Bubba1 discuss this subject in years past.
I used to wear mesh jackets or no jackets with t-shirts, and tried gimmicks such as ice-pack vests trying to stay comfortable. I tried to get more cooling air flow. Nothing worked well, and I figured that was just part of the motorcycle experience.
Staying cool for short rides was easy even in 100º F. weather. I could wear a phase-change vest under my jacket and stay reasonably comfortable for about an hour. I would then have to re-freeze the cooling packs in order to ride for another hour. I wanted some way to stay comfortable on long-distance rides.
I saw many posts by a forum member Bubba1 from Arizona who espoused a different tactic for long-distance hot weather comfort. Bubba1 wanted me to throw away my mesh gear, my cotton t-shirts, my blue jeans and tighty-whity underwear. He told me what the serious long-distance Iron Butt riders wear. These guys compete in an 11-day rally in July all over the entire United States, riding over 11,000 miles in all kinds of weather so they must know something. I decided to at least listen. Now, that’s the background for the following post.
There is a system for staying comfortable, and it all works together.
Start with a base layer of wicking underwear. Avoid cotton tighty-whities and t-shirts. The wicking underwear will also have the advantage of not feeling clammy when it gets wet in a rain. It’ll help keep you cool, but dry. I use Underarmor underwear and LD Comfort long-sleeve t-shirts when it gets hot here in Southeast Texas. There are lots of good choices as long as the drawers are seamless and don’t absorb moisture.
Wear good textile riding gear over the base layer. You want gear that will let you control the air flow.
When trying to stay cool in hot weather you DO NOT want to wear high-flow open mesh clothes that pass a lot of air through. You should be trying to protect your body from the hot air for the same reasons that firemen wear heavy protective gear. A high-flow mesh jacket on a 95º F. day will cook you like a convection oven. My present gear is MotoPort stretch Kevlar, but I don’t think the brand name is important for this purpose. My heavy First Gear Kilimanjaro jacket was a great year-round jacket too.
Your body has its’ own natural cooling system, that of perspiration, or sweat. Too much air flow will just blow the sweat away without allowing it to evaporate and cool your body. You want to allow a little air flow to come in through the sleeves and exit through the vents in the back. You’ll eventually find the right combination of sleeve opening and vent opening to make it work. I don’t worry about air flow through the pants as long as I can keep my head and my core cool.
As for keeping the head cool, wear a full-face helmet or a modular helmet with the shield down to keep the wind off your face and head. I have a bad habit of riding with my modular helmet open, but when it gets hot the face shield goes down. It really helps. I’ve also used and highly recommend a wicking helmet liner such as those by LD Comfort or Heat Out, etc.
Finally, if it is still too hot just add water. If possible soak the entire LD Comfort shirt and helmet liner, then cover up with the heavy textile gear. Allow just enough air flow to slowly evaporate the water, and you’ll stay cool for an hour or so. At least pour a little water down the sleeves so that the air coming in through the sleeves will be cooled and circulate around your core on the way out the back vents.
This method works FOR ME in both hot humid Southeast Texas and in hot and dry desert conditions. It is not as comfortable as riding in an air-conditioned car, but I still can ride my motorcycle fairly comfortably on long-distance rides in July and August.
Here is a link to the definitive document on staying cool in hot weather. This is from the IBA website, and explains the science behind why one should cover up in hot weather.
www.ironbutt.com/ibmagazine/ironbutt_1002_62-66_hot.pdf
I used to wear mesh jackets or no jackets with t-shirts, and tried gimmicks such as ice-pack vests trying to stay comfortable. I tried to get more cooling air flow. Nothing worked well, and I figured that was just part of the motorcycle experience.
Staying cool for short rides was easy even in 100º F. weather. I could wear a phase-change vest under my jacket and stay reasonably comfortable for about an hour. I would then have to re-freeze the cooling packs in order to ride for another hour. I wanted some way to stay comfortable on long-distance rides.
I saw many posts by a forum member Bubba1 from Arizona who espoused a different tactic for long-distance hot weather comfort. Bubba1 wanted me to throw away my mesh gear, my cotton t-shirts, my blue jeans and tighty-whity underwear. He told me what the serious long-distance Iron Butt riders wear. These guys compete in an 11-day rally in July all over the entire United States, riding over 11,000 miles in all kinds of weather so they must know something. I decided to at least listen. Now, that’s the background for the following post.
There is a system for staying comfortable, and it all works together.
Start with a base layer of wicking underwear. Avoid cotton tighty-whities and t-shirts. The wicking underwear will also have the advantage of not feeling clammy when it gets wet in a rain. It’ll help keep you cool, but dry. I use Underarmor underwear and LD Comfort long-sleeve t-shirts when it gets hot here in Southeast Texas. There are lots of good choices as long as the drawers are seamless and don’t absorb moisture.
Wear good textile riding gear over the base layer. You want gear that will let you control the air flow.
When trying to stay cool in hot weather you DO NOT want to wear high-flow open mesh clothes that pass a lot of air through. You should be trying to protect your body from the hot air for the same reasons that firemen wear heavy protective gear. A high-flow mesh jacket on a 95º F. day will cook you like a convection oven. My present gear is MotoPort stretch Kevlar, but I don’t think the brand name is important for this purpose. My heavy First Gear Kilimanjaro jacket was a great year-round jacket too.
Your body has its’ own natural cooling system, that of perspiration, or sweat. Too much air flow will just blow the sweat away without allowing it to evaporate and cool your body. You want to allow a little air flow to come in through the sleeves and exit through the vents in the back. You’ll eventually find the right combination of sleeve opening and vent opening to make it work. I don’t worry about air flow through the pants as long as I can keep my head and my core cool.
As for keeping the head cool, wear a full-face helmet or a modular helmet with the shield down to keep the wind off your face and head. I have a bad habit of riding with my modular helmet open, but when it gets hot the face shield goes down. It really helps. I’ve also used and highly recommend a wicking helmet liner such as those by LD Comfort or Heat Out, etc.
Finally, if it is still too hot just add water. If possible soak the entire LD Comfort shirt and helmet liner, then cover up with the heavy textile gear. Allow just enough air flow to slowly evaporate the water, and you’ll stay cool for an hour or so. At least pour a little water down the sleeves so that the air coming in through the sleeves will be cooled and circulate around your core on the way out the back vents.
This method works FOR ME in both hot humid Southeast Texas and in hot and dry desert conditions. It is not as comfortable as riding in an air-conditioned car, but I still can ride my motorcycle fairly comfortably on long-distance rides in July and August.
Here is a link to the definitive document on staying cool in hot weather. This is from the IBA website, and explains the science behind why one should cover up in hot weather.
www.ironbutt.com/ibmagazine/ironbutt_1002_62-66_hot.pdf
