Attitudes about protective gear in hot conditions.

[dduelin]

I rarely ever ride a motorcycle to work but I did ride the RT to work one day last week. I don't like riding in rush hour traffic but that day I was on schedule to 6 PM and traffic would be calming down by the time I got on the bike and headed home. Conversely if I left home at 6 AM I could ride rural roads 2.5 hours before getting to work so I took the ride.

Like much of the country it's been very hot here and that day the high was to be 97 degrees so I took a half cover to keep the bike under shade in the treeless parking lot. I locked the helmet in the top box under the Oxford cover thinking it would be relatively cool there. Wrong-o, my helmet must have been 150 degrees when I donned it after 9 hours. I have never felt a completely heat-soaked helmet on my head. My pants and jacket were ambient temp and not bad but I literally thought my brain would melt the 20 minutes of the ride home. The next day I mentioned this to a co-worker that occasionally rides his Suzuki GSX-R liter sport bike to work. He said "you wear too much gear and you should have brought your helmet inside for the day." I couldn't argue about the helmet storage but the thing about risk perception stuck with me. I didn't respond with my usual somewhat snarky reply when asked by riders and non-riders alike "isn't that get-up hot?" which is "Yes it is but I'd rather take a cool shower later rather than endure skin grafting." I didn't discuss our different views on gear to his comment and I don't post this to start a bash fest against riders than choose not to wear the gear but I did think awhile that day about how we in the riding community view risk differently. From what I know he is exclusively an urban rider but is contemplating a 700 mile round trip to visit family across the state. I go to that same area often, it's my home town, and know a lot of small roads to get there. You know the type... make a 350 mile slab ride more like 425 small road miles. I-10 goes straight there of course and that it his plan. I think I might offer to go that same weekend and offer to show him the long way.

 

[gmtech94]

Usually in really hot weather I have Olympia mesh gear and use that over shorts and a long sleeve cool wicking under armour shirt . Wet it down with water if on a long trip and wet it frequently . I know it is not maybe the absolute best gear but will accept that it will give me more protection in the event of an incident .

 

[dtcoleman]

Hey Dave.
I agree with Joe (gmtech) with the riding apparel thing. My problem is I sold my Joe Rocket mesh jacket and pants and only wear one outfit at present - my Klim Overland jacket and Torrent pants. They both have venting. Just got to keep moving on really hot days though. BTW we get hot days here in Canuck Land sometimes hotter than FLA.
I've always been an advocate for the ATGATT. I've already experienced the 'Not quite ATGATT' situation. Road rash is no fun.
If it gets too dam hot AND humid I take the car.
Dave

 

[the Ferret]

On my daily rides I wear my modular white helmet, my hi viz mesh jacket, some lightweight gloves, blue jeans, and some summer weight boots. If its hot enough I skip the gloves. I live a rural area, with very little traffic and truthfully my biggest fear is a deer jumping out in front of me.

When I travel however I trade the jeans for Tourmaster riding pants. So I at least feel protected from head to toe.

Regardless of what I am wearing I still ride defensively and never recklessly.

My younger brother will forego his jacket on local rides if it is hot enough. I’ve thought about it but haven’t
been able to bring myself to do it yet.

Its all about how much risk you are personally willing to endure.

 

[DannoXYZ]

I wear mesh 1-piece suit over my office clothes. It has vents all over and doesn't really heat me up any more than riding without. Staying constantly hydrated is key, even for my 1/2-hr commute (2.5-hr by car). In anything over 90F and I drink about 0.5-ltr light sports-drink per hour with extra electroytes.

On demanding race or trackdays, it goes to 1-ltr sports drink per hour with extra electrolytes. On this particularly warm day at Thunderhill, flies and dragonflies were falling out of sky dead!

Salt deposits from sweat!

 

[Gerhard]

I have BMW EnduroGuard jacket and it has the best venting of any jacket I have owned. Worn it while crossing the Mojave Desert at 45°C while hot it wasn’t terrible, close the vents and it is warm and water proof. I agree hydration is important.

 

[ToddC]

On my daily rides I wear my modular white helmet, my hi viz mesh jacket, some lightweight gloves, blue jeans, and some summer weight boots. If its hot enough I skip the gloves. I live a rural area, with very little traffic and truthfully my biggest fear is a deer jumping out in front of me.

When I travel however I trade the jeans for Tourmaster riding pants. So I at least feel protected from head to toe.

Regardless of what I am wearing I still ride defensively and never recklessly.

My younger brother will forego his jacket on local rides if it is hot enough. I’ve thought about it but haven’t
been able to bring myself to do it yet.

Its all about how much risk you are personally willing to endure.

I agree...
But the gloves are mandatory..... Cause the deer will take you down...and hamburger hands sucks.....
Full gear with vents open. Dress for the mess ....cause the other way sucks.
T

 

[st11ray]

Sweat wipes off much easier than road rash.

 

[Jethro]

Your hands instinctively go out to defend yourself.

 

[Mellow]

I was at cyclegear a couple weeks ago just to look around on a Saturday morning. As I was leaving, an suv pulled up next to me and a young guy gets out. I'm full gear, as always, and he asks if I've ever gone down with the gear and I said I was lucky I had not and he asked if it was hot and I said it was but better than the alternative if I did go down.

He pulled out his phone and shows me his pictures of his side. Legs, abdomen and arm were completely raw. That was just a couple weeks prior and he was limping pretty good and I'm sure just having clothes on was probably a constant pain.

I has a small 250cc sportbike and was just taking a quick 2 mile ride to a friends place and didn't even think he was going very fast. It was hot and he didn't feel like putting his jacket/pants on.. non-mc gear so it was just shorts and t-shirt, he didn't mention a helmet but this looked more like a slide issue based on the pics.

He was going to cyclegear to get some more/better gear, a tough lesson to learn but one he will never forget, I hope.

 

[Erdoc48]

I routinely wear a Bohn Armor armored shirt over my T shirt (and wear jeans, boots, gloves, etc.) and then put on the Hit Air vest. In the summer, I use a Shoei J-Cruise helmet (so a 3/4, not the best protection) but sometimes it’s just very warm where I am, and I use the Neotecs in the cooler weather. Something is better than nothing I guess. Sometimes it really is too hot to have an enjoyable ride (if I leave the house and it’s already 75 degrees out in the early AM and humid, I probably won’t ride that day). The next few days here will be 92-93 degrees out as the high, so that’s a little high for an enjoyable ride (and I don’t commute with the bikes either, just primarily day rides and go as early as possible to avoid traffic as well as avoid the high temps).

 

[drbuzzard]

I rarely ever ride a motorcycle to work but I did ride the RT to work one day last week. I don't like riding in rush hour traffic but that day I was on schedule to 6 PM and traffic would be calming down by the time I got on the bike and headed home. Conversely if I left home at 6 AM I could ride rural roads 2.5 hours before getting to work so I took the ride.

Like much of the country it's been very hot here and that day the high was to be 97 degrees so I took a half cover to keep the bike under shade in the treeless parking lot. I locked the helmet in the top box under the Oxford cover thinking it would be relatively cool there. Wrong-o, my helmet must have been 150 degrees when I donned it after 9 hours. I have never felt a completely heat-soaked helmet on my head. My pants and jacket were ambient temp and not bad but I literally thought my brain would melt the 20 minutes of the ride home. The next day I mentioned this to a co-worker that occasionally rides his Suzuki GSX-R liter sport bike to work. He said "you wear too much gear and you should have brought your helmet inside for the day." I couldn't argue about the helmet storage but the thing about risk perception stuck with me. I didn't respond with my usual somewhat snarky reply when asked by riders and non-riders alike "isn't that get-up hot?" which is "Yes it is but I'd rather take a cool shower later rather than endure skin grafting." I didn't discuss our different views on gear to his comment and I don't post this to start a bash fest against riders than choose not to wear the gear but I did think awhile that day about how we in the riding community view risk differently. From what I know he is exclusively an urban rider but is contemplating a 700 mile round trip to visit family across the state. I go to that same area often, it's my home town, and know a lot of small roads to get there. You know the type... make a 350 mile slab ride more like 425 small road miles. I-10 goes straight there of course and that it his plan. I think I might offer to go that same weekend and offer to show him the long way.

after doing the ride on a GSX-R he might quit riding or reevaluate what he's riding. my Joe Rocket ballistic jacket and First Gear mesh-tex pants and Neo-tec helmet are worn on the hottest days, what someone else wears is up to them

 

[SMSW]

I've been wearing a mesh jacket this summer (thank you @Mellow - I love this thing) in our mild summer (by anyone's standards). Before the mesh, I was sweating my arms from wrist to shoulder on every outing. I still wear my overpants, and after an hour or so, have soaked my regular pants through from about mid calf to waist. My Helite Vest is hot, but I wear it every time. I will still continue to wear ATGATT - at least until I can forecast when I'm going to fall off the bike before a ride. I've deployed my Turtle 2 twice at stopping points and that keeps reminding me I cannot forecast accidents.

PPE is a personal choice just like adding apps to your phone that snarf your personal information or choosing risky activities over say, doing crossword puzzles in your living room or playing poker w/ the guys. Everyone has their own risk tolerance - and will live (or not) with the consequences of their decisions.

Having ridden my '69 Triumph across a grass field wearing nothing but shorts and sneakers (when I was in my 20's) I understand the attraction of NGAA (no gear at all). But scrapes and bruises during my lifetime have shaped a strong avoidance of pain - and the possibility of having to use some form of mechanical assistance to get around. I hope that wearing the gear will mitigate those consequences.

 

[vinny]

I remember several years back when my wife and I were on a road trip with the Goldwing... it was hot (109 degrees), we were crossing Kansas on Hwy 56. My wife became very still and quiet, I asked her if she was okay and she said I think I have to puke. I looked at her and she was white as a ghost. I pulled off about a mile after that in Lyons KS at the Wendy's. We took off our gear and went inside to cool off. We stayed there about an hour drinking ice water and eating Frosty's under one of the air conditioning vents. AGATT is a good policy, but passing out from heat is not a good thing either. We rode the last 50 miles with t-shirts and helmets.
Folks differ, some people can tolerate heat better than others. That day was an exception... sometimes adjustment have to be made.

 

[Sadlsor]

My first crash at 17yo taught me the hard way, to wear the gear.
The road rash from my waist up (except for my helmet-covered noggin) prevented me from riding to Atlanta to see Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon tour, circa 1974.
I couldn't stand to even wear a shirt, as Mellow said.
Just as some of you loonies (hello Canadians, talkin' about some of you) have no limits to the cold you'll endure, I have yet to not ride due to heat. I just sweat like crazy, and hydrate as necessary. But a mesh jacket, gloves and helmet are the "bare" minimum for me.
There's a reason why I live in Alabama... 360 days a year of tolerable riding, and most of thise are GOOD days to be on a bike.
Snow happens rarely here.

 

[Moto-Charlie]

I am usually an AGATT rider. I have thin perforated leather gloves, mesh jacket and mesh pants. On hot days (here in NH that would be 90 - 100F) if I'm taking the wife for a local ride we'll go in jeans. On longer multi-day rides where there is a chance it will get even hotter I/we bring along Macna cooling vests to wear under our AGATT. The vest makes it tolerable for the upper body even though I'm still sweating on the lower body - it's all good.

 

[Weaselinsuit]

I have far too much real estate to get road rashed not to wear ATGATT. I sweat profusely above 10C so at the end of a ride it reminds me of my brief wrestling career and trying to make weight.

 

[motornut]

I agree with the anti-road rash crowd on this, my insurance adjuster on my accident said she was shown a tattoo that the guy got out of the freezer to show her, rolled up his arm. yuck. I carry a dish towel that I soak and wear around my neck and stuff the wet end inside my jacket. I really helps. The dish towels are longer than the wraps made for cooling which keeps them from blowing around.

 

[DannoXYZ]

Your hands instinctively go out to defend yourself.

Getting harder and harder to find gloves with adequate palm protection...

 

[Sadlsor]

Getting harder and harder to find gloves with adequate palm protection...

Dang, I hope that isn't you...