Riding in hot weather

[Roypaul]

I live in Australia and in summer it is really hot and humid.
I found years ago that I ride with a black “dirt bike” protection top. It has awesome protection and is very light and air goes right thru it.
Only problem is you look like “IRON MAN”- who cares , very comfortable , airy, and very light with great protection. Costs $120.
Roy

[offcenter]

Black??
Why not white which would reflect the heat?

[Roypaul]

I’d love to have it in any other colour but all there is is black.

[kwthom]

With the temperatures here in the desert southwest for the next few days hitting records of 108°F and higher, I figured it would be a good time to respond to this topic.

A rider from a few years ago discussed 'wet bulb' temperatures a couple of times in other threads in other places. As a pilot, he'd have working knowledge of why that's useful for flying. We need the data for heat stress reasons.

The complete term is 'Wet Bulb Globe Temperature', and it's described here (from the Tulsa, OK) weather pages:

https://www.weather.gov/tsa/wbgt

If you click on the map, you can put your local lat/long in. The sliders to the right will populate with some basic data; adjust as needed (I've got NO cloud cover today, for example)

So, my wet bulb temperature will be about 87°F, when the max temperature is 107°F today. The purple chart at the bottom shows how much heat stress you'll be under while outside in those conditions.

We'll be seeing 113°F or so here in ¡Baja Arizona! The normal should only be 101°F

See also: Long Distance Riding in Hot Weather

Be careful out there!

[WingAdmin]

Anything above 90 degrees, and I'm wearing my Polar Vest Phase Change Cooling Vest. Best thing I've ever bought for hot weather riding. Makes riding in any temperature bearable.

[minimac]

I also ride with a cooling vest, when the temps get over 85*. I soak it in cold water for 5 minutes and whatever crystals are inside activate to keep me a whole lot cooler than I would have been. It lasts me all day, and is reusable.
https://www.mycoolingstore.com/hyperkew ... liant.html

[Viking]

before all these cooling vests etc were invented, we used to stop at rest stops and soak our shirts, then ride till they dried. Repeat. This of course does hinder ATGATT.

[WingAdmin]

before all these cooling vests etc were invented, we used to stop at rest stops and soak our shirts, then ride till they dried. Repeat. This of course does hinder ATGATT.

I've done that before as well. I recall riding home from Wing Ding in Fort Wayne in 2012, almost exactly eight years go today. It was the hottest weather I have ever ridden through, as you can see on the picture I took of the thermometer on my bike:

Very hot riding home

I had bottles of water in my trunk. When I got overheated (about every 20 minutes), I would pull over, drink one bottle, pour another bottle over my head and my shirt, then set off again.

[galwegan]

i live in arizona .. it seems like its always hot
i just dont wear a helmet ( no advice given, just a fact ) when its over 100 degrees
other then that ..

[DenverWinger]

I've done that before as well. I recall riding home from Wing Ding in Fort Wayne in 2012, almost exactly eight years go today. It was the hottest weather I have ever ridden through, as you can see on the picture I took of the thermometer on my bike:

Very hot riding home.JPG

I had bottles of water in my trunk. When I got overheated (about every 20 minutes), I would pull over, drink one bottle, pour another bottle over my head and my shirt, then set off again.

Deb and I were out in that very same mid Aug 2012 heat on the return trip from Michigan with the 1100 pulling us and the Camper down US-24 (parallels I-70) from Ohio to Colorado over a span of 5 days. Bike handled the heat just fine but it was Hell on the Humans going thru the "Breadbasket" states. By mid afternoons even the wet shirts weren't working anymore and we'd stop in some small town along the way and find an air conditioned tavern to hang out in for a couple hours.

[brettchallenger]

Can only dream of hot weather here. Mid-afternoon and the temp is 13c (55F). They are saying that the temps might hit the dizzying heights of 19c on Sunday.

[Viking]

Can only dream of hot weather here. Mid-afternoon and the temp is 13c (55F). They are saying that the temps might hit the dizzying heights of 19c on Sunday.

Ohhhhhh, perfect temperature for riding in my mind. My preferred temps are from about 16C to 22C. That is about 60 F to 70 F. I only get that for about two weeks in spring and two weeks in fall.

Speaking of hot in the U.S., I went to WingDing in Knoxville in 2011 and it was inordinately hot. I was stopping at about 2 PM and taking motels till it got dark and then riding at night down the Superslab. It stayed hot for the week at WingDing and then cooled down for the trip back north. It was a good time, but I lost quite a bit of weight, as I just could not get hungry. It was too friggin hot to eat, to sleep in a campground in a tent, or to do very much riding except in the mornings. I did do all the dragon roads by getting up early and finishing before noon. There is a whole lotta great riding in Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia, if you like the twisties and I do like the twisties.

[kwthom]

Can only dream of hot weather here. Mid-afternoon and the temp is 13c (55F). They are saying that the temps might hit the dizzying heights of 19c on Sunday.

I'll be happy to share some of the 43C we're having right now with ya...

[dtrider]

I also ride with a cooling vest, when the temps get over 85*. I soak it in cold water for 5 minutes and whatever crystals are inside activate to keep me a whole lot cooler than I would have been. It lasts me all day, and is reusable.
https://www.mycoolingstore.com/hyperkew ... liant.html

I ordered a HyperKewl Cooling Tank for my trip through Colorado this year:
https://www.mycoolingstore.com/hyperkew ... k-top.html
It worked great. I wore the Tank under my jacket but over a wicking T-shirt. I only needed to use it for the last hour or so of the day, but it kept working the entire time. Previous cooling vests that I've tried would typically dry out within a half hour.
/dwight

[brettchallenger]

I'll be happy to share some of the 43C we're having right now with ya...

Perhaps just a tad hot. Anything over 21c has me in a glow. I am waiting for this Covid nonsense to be over so I can head south to Spain or Portugal.

I hope you are all safe over there.

[kwthom]

The residents of the southern end of the Silver State will be suffering along with us. Welcome to our two really good weeks of summer - a tad tardy, but still here.

[brettchallenger]

Sadly, there won't be any bikinis on the local beach here tomorrow.

[WingAdmin]

The residents of the southern end of the Silver State will be suffering along with us. Welcome to our two really good weeks of summer - a tad tardy, but still here.

EcpRZqAUMAEyW2J.png

I remember living and working in Vegas through a summer like that. I shifted to living during the night, when it was only 90-95 degrees. Too hot to survive in the daytime.

[C-dub]

I took a recent ~1300 mile round trip in 95-98F sunny weather. Tail wind going and head wind coming back. Man, that was a beating on the way home. Took me an extra hour due to a couple more stops.

I wore my mesh suit the entire time coming and going. The one day at my destination riding around I just had regular pants, under armour heat gear fitted shirt, and my Patriot Guard Riders vest. I was visiting a museum that had a Tomcat I worked on back in the 80's.

Anyway, I'm still debating the merits/efficacy of a mesh suit versus one without mesh and just vents. Is too much air flow not as good? I'm covered from the sun, but I'm wondering if too much moisture is wicked away by so much air flow. I know the air flow and my Wing isn't that great, but still. As long as I'm moving it's not too bad for me yet. I had a thread last year about this and I was okay up to around 101-103 IIRC. My wife doesn't do so well up there. She's not excited about getting a proper riding suit and due to her height and shape might be a little difficult anyway. However, what do ya'll think about the mesh/no mesh ratio for pant and jacket?

[tamathumper]

Over 95-ish it's better to have no mesh, just vents, to limit dehydration, IMHO.

[kwthom]

She's not excited about getting a proper riding suit and due to her height and shape might be a little difficult anyway. However, what do ya'll think about the mesh/no mesh ratio for pant and jacket?

Over 95-ish it's better to have no mesh, just vents, to limit dehydration, IMHO.

The science behind why this works is at this link (corrected from my prior post): Long-Distance Riding in Hot Weather

[C-dub]

She's not excited about getting a proper riding suit and due to her height and shape might be a little difficult anyway. However, what do ya'll think about the mesh/no mesh ratio for pant and jacket?

Over 95-ish it's better to have no mesh, just vents, to limit dehydration, IMHO.

The science behind why this works is at this link (corrected from my prior post): Long-Distance Riding in Hot Weather

Thank you again for that information. I was going to read from your earlier post, but hadn't gotten to it yet.

FYI: Today the WBGT at my location is 88 and out in Glendale, AZ, where we might go near the end of September, is 87. However, those are today's WBGTs.

[C-dub]

Long Distance Riding in Hot Weather

This was very interesting reading! It also tells me that I'm probably not as bad off as I thought I might be and may not be able to do much better with a different style suit with less mesh. From the reading it indicates that when the temps are above 93F the idea is to slow the wind down so that the effects of too much wind are negated. It describes ways of doing that and having a fairing is one of them. Check! There is not a LOT of wind that is hitting me. I don't really know how much, but it is much less than on a bike without a fairing or a tiny one like on my Hayabusa. I also wear under armour heat gear directly under the riding jacket. According to the article that wicks the moisture away, but also holds it creating the wet bulb effect. Check!

I still need to figure out something for my legs underneath the riding pants. Currently, when riding in hot weather, I'm wearing some Duluth armachillo undies that are like the under armour stuff. However, those are, of course, underneath an actual pair of pants. I've gone lightweight with a thin pair 5.11 pants with ripstop and minimal pockets. I might look into some longer under armour or something from Duluth like the armachillo stuff to see if there is anything available. That would be interesting.

Last is my head. My helmet liner seems to hold some moisture from my sweat. I don't know if an additional liner like the under armour stuff or something described in that article would be much more help or not.

Other than all that there is only two other things I can think of to help. My jacket has space for a water bladder in the back that I have not utilized yet to keep hydrated. So far I've only kept a 20oz thermos in the kuryakyn cubby replacement and another 24oz in a rear seat cup holder. The last additional thing might be to further slow any wind down by installing a Madstad shield replacing the OEM shield for more control over air flow.

In conclusion, I'm not convinced yet that a different type of suit would increase my comfort in the temperature regulation and or hydration areas yet. I guess that's a good thing for me, but still need to convince my wife about the undergarments. She still wears cotton under her jacket.

[kwthom]

Currently, when riding in hot weather, I'm wearing some Duluth armachillo undies that are like the under armour stuff. However, those are, of course, underneath an actual pair of pants. I've gone lightweight with a thin pair 5.11 pants with ripstop and minimal pockets. I might look into some longer under armour or something from Duluth like the armachillo stuff to see if there is anything available. That would be interesting.

I'll chip in here and mention that the LDComfort gear from top to bottom works. Their shorts go to the bottom of my (thunder)thighs without issues. Below that...well, there's socks and boots.

Last is my head. My helmet liner seems to hold some moisture from my sweat. I don't know if an additional liner like the under armour stuff or something described in that article would be much more help or not.

Again, your head has to dry out at some point. Now, if you're working 'on the clock', my helmet won't come off for eight or more hours. The LDComfort helmet liner that has tails allows some of the sweat to wick away and off the garment. Then again, it's sometimes a great thing to pop the helmet off, soak the LDComfort helmet liner, then jam it back on.

Ahhhh!

[daash]

I used to live in Las Vegas, very hot in summer, 113 type of hot. I used to have a rig set up with a water bottle (actually Gator Aide - more volume) with a hose running to a pump from a car windshield washer, wired to a switch near the throttle. Then a hose running to a garden variety sprayer head. Push the button and you and passenger are soaked for evaporative cooling. 15 minutes later do it again. Run out of water refill at next fuel stop. Simple and effective, and with just a little camouflage no one ever knows how you are staying cool. That was also before my GL 1500 SE days. V-Twin