Really hot. Do you you ride?

[jjfonvillars]

living in Marseille I ride everyday for years, no matter the temp, but three years ago I'had to cross Portugal, I bought this: Gilet Macna DRY COOLING - Protection froid et pluie - Motoblouz.com

and must say it works fine, so when comes the heat about 30 ° C, I wear it under a leather jacquet "micro perfored" means that the front back and arms are perfored with 2mm holes, v https://www.fc-moto.de/epages/fcm.s...yn_6jtORnOITD95StO0H1ALCjaPyIZOxoCRlYQAvD_BwE
so I feel secure and quite fresh, I dont trust in mesh and thermoplastic, I tried an other type but it was wet and my shirt was moist, not presentable when you visit customers;

 

[jayceegee]

I'm in Tacoma - 25 miles from you - and I am riding !

 

[SergeantChuck]

We don't get the same type of heat as Arizona but it gets plenty hot in Arkansas. I commute year round so I just deal with it. The mornings are cool enough that I don't sweat on the way to work but I do get nice and sweaty on the way home. At that point, I don't care. I can change when I get to the house. Honestly, after living here almost five years, I don't really think about it anymore.

 

[kpinvt]

This summer I'm trying an Aerostich R3 Light one piece suit I ran across on Ebay last winter instead of the mesh gear I used to wear when the temps went above 80F. So far it seems to be working well and I don't have to worry about carrying rain gear. The most important thing for me is never, ever have cotton anything next to my skin in hot weather. I occasionally use LD Comfort undergarments when I know I'll be going on a long trip. I have an LD shirt, leggings, and a pair of boxers. The leggings I've worn under nylon shorts in very hot weather. Most of the time in hot weather I wear Jockey polyester boxer briefs with the handy kangaroo pouch and I wear wicking long sleeve shirts with another short sleeve wicking shirt over it to hold the water I pour down around the neck opening in my suit.

 

[ld_rider]

You sir, are no sissie.

Haha! I used to be, then I started researching how the body keeps cool


I lived for years in Arizona, Florida and now Maine, so I had to adapt to dry desert, hot and humid, and cold weather riding. Either that or park the bike six or seven months out of each year.

Once the temps get into the 90's or higher, evaporation is really the only way a motorcyclist can keep cool. Until of course we have A/C suits! Conduction, convection and radiation heat transfer will work at lower temps, but for the really hot days, you need evaporation.

Sweat is our "evaporative cooling" mechanism. Problem is that at say, 113 deg F you would need to drink about 1.1 gallons of water every 4 hours to give yourself enough liquids to maintain both hydration levels and give you enough to sweat out. That is why the wet bandana you mentioned works. It supplements your natural evaporative cooling (sweat).

Note that for sweat to work, it must evaporate, and not be blown off your body in tiny droplets at 70mph ;-)

Once ambient temps reach about 93 deg F or higher, a relatively unknown (and counter-intuitive) phenomena occurs: The ambient air begins to heat your skin, not cool it. As a result, if you are on a motorcycle wearing mesh gear, that wind blast that cools you at 87 deg F will actually make you hotter, not cooler. Think of it as the opposite of "wind chill".

That is why I ride in full gear even at highly elevated ambient temperatures. Full textile gives me the opportunity to control how fast my body evaporates either sweat or my wet LD Comfort undergarments. I can do that by adjusting the ventilation in the jacket or pants. With mesh that would be difficult to do, and the 75 mph, 103 deg F wind would be heating me faster than I can be cooled by evaporation.

To keep cool under those high temperature conditions I do the opposite of what most motorcyclists do: Put on my full textile gear and leave the mesh in the closet. I use a technical garment made by LD Comfort and keep it damp. I can then open the vents until I get downright chilled, even in relatively high humidity. I was in Galveston, TX in July looking for a giant shrimp on top of a beach bar and it was hot, hot, hot and humid, but very bearable with the damp technical gear under my Aerostitch and a couple of vents open.

EDIT: Change that last sentence to read "bearable" not "very bearable".....Oh heck, lets just say it was miserable (which is what is was) ;-)

 

[smosh]

commute in Austin every damn day. Just drink a couple pints of cold water before you hit the road and you should be good. IMO when it's hot your fitness is the biggest factor. I've noticed my buddies who are a little less in shape have a harder time keeping up on the weekend rides

 

[jimmy da vig]

I'm a geezer in my 60's and much closer to 70 at that. I have no problem riding in the 30's or 40's. That's why I own a Aerostich suit and electric vest and liner and grip heaters. But above the mid 80's I try to stay home. Out on tour you just have to deal with whatever the weather throws at you.

So, last September I'm out in Colorado in some "dry" heat. I'm riding on a tour with two buddies and we pull over to drink some water and squirt our shirts. Oh, ah, that felt good. Then my buddy Cliff realizes he just soaked his shirt and jacket with Gatoraid.

First we called him "Sticky". But after phoning home my wife reminded me he grew up in Florida so "Gator" it is, now and forever.

It's been pretty hot here in Virginia the last few weeks so I just get up around 6AM and get my riding in early.

 

[dduelin]

Haha! I used to be, then I started researching how the body keeps cool


I lived for years in Arizona, Florida and now Maine, so I had to adapt to dry desert, hot and humid, and cold weather riding. Either that or park the bike six or seven months out of each year.

Once the temps get into the 90's or higher, evaporation is really the only way a motorcyclist can keep cool. Until of course we have A/C suits! Conduction, convection and radiation heat transfer will work at lower temps, but for the really hot days, you need evaporation.

Sweat is our "evaporative cooling" mechanism. Problem is that at say, 113 deg F you would need to drink about 1.1 gallons of water every 4 hours to give yourself enough liquids to maintain both hydration levels and give you enough to sweat out. That is why the wet bandana you mentioned works. It supplements your natural evaporative cooling (sweat).

Note that for sweat to work, it must evaporate, and not be blown off your body in tiny droplets at 70mph ;-)

Once ambient temps reach about 93 deg F or higher, a relatively unknown (and counter-intuitive) phenomena occurs: The ambient air begins to heat your skin, not cool it. As a result, if you are on a motorcycle wearing mesh gear, that wind blast that cools you at 87 deg F will actually make you hotter, not cooler. Think of it as the opposite of "wind chill".

That is why I ride in full gear even at highly elevated ambient temperatures. Full textile gives me the opportunity to control how fast my body evaporates either sweat or my wet LD Comfort undergarments. I can do that by adjusting the ventilation in the jacket or pants. With mesh that would be difficult to do, and the 75 mph, 103 deg F wind would be heating me faster than I can be cooled by evaporation.

To keep cool under those high temperature conditions I do the opposite of what most motorcyclists do: Put on my full textile gear and leave the mesh in the closet. I use a technical garment made by LD Comfort and keep it damp. I can then open the vents until I get downright chilled, even in relatively high humidity. I was in Galveston, TX in July looking for a giant shrimp on top of a beach bar and it was hot, hot, hot and humid, but very bearable with the damp technical gear under my Aerostitch and a couple of vents open.

EDIT: Change that last sentence to read "bearable" not "very bearable".....Oh heck, lets just say it was miserable (which is what is was) ;-)

I agree with the tactic of mid 90s and up to cover up solid and manage ventilation across technical apparel. When I did my 50CC it was over 100F for 1700 miles. Every gas stop at approximately 3 hour intervals I bought a 8 lb bag of ice, poured off or gave away 3 or 4 lbs and stuffed the bag with the rest in my Roadcrafter, right against my chest. 5 lbs of ice lasts 3+ hours and the melt water kept my cool vest and wicking layer wet. It was almost like riding with the A/C on.

 

[GunNut37086]

Before I got back into motorcycles I spent 95% of my summer in air conditioning. I feel like I've acclimated to the heat quickly all things considered.

I still prefer the cold...you can always put on more clothes.

 

[MichaelJohn]

Like others have said, riding is not bad but stopping in full gear (even mesh) and waiting for a light is no fun. I ran some errands on the NC over the weekend when it was 100 and I noticed that the engine was throwing off some heat - normally I feel nothing. I'm glad it's not as hot as some other bikes I've ridden that feel warm all the time and absolutely cook you in hot weather.

 

[rippin209]

Like others have said, riding is not bad but stopping in full gear (even mesh) and waiting for a light is no fun. I ran some errands on the NC over the weekend when it was 100 and I noticed that the engine was throwing off some heat - normally I feel nothing. I'm glad it's not as hot as some other bikes I've ridden that feel warm all the time and absolutely cook you in hot weather.

The cooling system does work really well, going down the freeway if I keep the rpms at 4k or so the engine heart is barely noticeable when it's 100F° + outside, start pushing 4.5krpms and spiking up to 5k (passing) and yes very noticeable on your legs

 

[Antarius]

Yup. I ride at least four days a week, rain or shine, hot or cold, every week, every year.

 

[CRStep]

Haha! I used to be, then I started researching how the body keeps cool


I lived for years in Arizona, Florida and now Maine, so I had to adapt to dry desert, hot and humid, and cold weather riding. Either that or park the bike six or seven months out of each year.

Once the temps get into the 90's or higher, evaporation is really the only way a motorcyclist can keep cool. Until of course we have A/C suits! Conduction, convection and radiation heat transfer will work at lower temps, but for the really hot days, you need evaporation.

Sweat is our "evaporative cooling" mechanism. Problem is that at say, 113 deg F you would need to drink about 1.1 gallons of water every 4 hours to give yourself enough liquids to maintain both hydration levels and give you enough to sweat out. That is why the wet bandana you mentioned works. It supplements your natural evaporative cooling (sweat).

Note that for sweat to work, it must evaporate, and not be blown off your body in tiny droplets at 70mph ;-)

Once ambient temps reach about 93 deg F or higher, a relatively unknown (and counter-intuitive) phenomena occurs: The ambient air begins to heat your skin, not cool it. As a result, if you are on a motorcycle wearing mesh gear, that wind blast that cools you at 87 deg F will actually make you hotter, not cooler. Think of it as the opposite of "wind chill".

That is why I ride in full gear even at highly elevated ambient temperatures. Full textile gives me the opportunity to control how fast my body evaporates either sweat or my wet LD Comfort undergarments. I can do that by adjusting the ventilation in the jacket or pants. With mesh that would be difficult to do, and the 75 mph, 103 deg F wind would be heating me faster than I can be cooled by evaporation.

To keep cool under those high temperature conditions I do the opposite of what most motorcyclists do: Put on my full textile gear and leave the mesh in the closet. I use a technical garment made by LD Comfort and keep it damp. I can then open the vents until I get downright chilled, even in relatively high humidity. I was in Galveston, TX in July looking for a giant shrimp on top of a beach bar and it was hot, hot, hot and humid, but very bearable with the damp technical gear under my Aerostitch and a couple of vents open.

EDIT: Change that last sentence to read "bearable" not "very bearable".....Oh heck, lets just say it was miserable (which is what is was) ;-)

I've read about this in articles about riding safely in extreme heat, and I do think I've experienced it for myself. I have a mesh jacket that I never wear, mostly because I really like my Gore Tex Klim jacket so much more. While the textile jacket does get quite warm, and I wish a few more vents existed, I've tolerated mid to upper 90s heat much more effectively than I ever expected to. I should buy some of that technical underclothing and see how much better it can be in combination with the textile jacket.

 

[Techrat]

Around Chicago, we don't get many 80-90 degree days. Lately, the really hot days have been cooled off by rain. But on days it doesn't rain and I know that it's going to be really hot, I wear my mesh jacket with a wicking A-shirt or T-shirt, helmet with the visor partially open, and restrict my riding to the early morning or late evenings. Plus I stop frequently to hydrate if I plan on riding more than an hour. Safety first.

 

[Dave H. (CO)]

Yes I ride with gear. It was 100 yesterday going home.

 

[TN Thunder]

670cc, you apparently do not get much riding in over the year. When it's going to be hot hot hot, we start earlier in the morning, like just after daylight and end around 2 pm. In the South you ride anytime, almost. When riding across country I try to schedule rides in early June or in September. However, have come through St. Louis at 7pm at 107 degrees. Just drink a lot of water. A cool shower in the evenings always feels good after a hot ride. I'm 74 and usually ride from 26 degrees F. up unless ice or snow on the ground. For fog I use a long stick out front.

 

[PapaC]

For fog I use a long stick out front.

That's funny right there! Thanks for the laugh.

 

[Olythom]

"The cooling system does work really well, going down the freeway if I keep the rpms at 4k or so the engine heart is barely noticeable when it's 100F° + outside, start pushing 4.5krpms and spiking up to 5k (passing) and yes very noticeable on your legs"

+1. I have 15k miles on Skookum and never even noticed the cooling fan come on until piddling around (lots of stop-go and hills at 20 mph) in downtown Olympia yesterday in 90degree heat. I pulled over at a touristy spot to read a sign and heard the fan running.
>Thom

 

[booblinker]

I have been commuting with my bike since april 15th, work 6 days a week, I have driven my truck to work 4 times, twice because of possible snow, once because I needed to get something I couldn't fit on the NC, once because of rain and i was being a pussy that day. Temps have ranged from 35-97 degrees. Rain, and winds up to 60+ mph. Hoping my F150 and Blazer sitting doesn't cause issues when I start driving again in December.

 

[ld_rider]

I have been commuting with my bike since april 15th, work 6 days a week, I have driven my truck to work 4 times, twice because of possible snow, once because I needed to get something I couldn't fit on the NC, once because of rain and i was being a pussy that day. Temps have ranged from 35-97 degrees. Rain, and winds up to 60+ mph. Hoping my F150 and Blazer sitting doesn't cause issues when I start driving again in December.

I love this post..^^^ Sold my Tacoma in late April and rode the bike until November....No car, no truck, no <second vehicle>...Was around Thanksgiving when it finally started to snow (late for Maine). During a pretty heavy snow squall on the way home from work I stopped at the local Honda dealer. Told them if they can't sell a guy on a motorcycle a vehicle in November when it is snowing out they should close their doors.....Bought a used Honda CRV that day ;-)