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rain recommendations?

snowface

snowface

team threw crew
Joined
Jan 23, 2007
Location
Satan Rosa
Moto(s)
a MANLY MOTO!!!
Name
sal
hola tourers.

it's been a dream of my brother's to ride to oregon and head to a football game. he went to U of O and is an avid duck fan.

the plan, if it works, is to leave on thursday and come back monday. i've only ever toured in the summer, basking in the hot/dry goodness.

i have all the gear for myself, waterproof boots, pants, jacket, and gloves. however, i just wanted to see if anyone had any other recommendations for touring in wet weather. my bags aren't waterproof, and i need a workaround for that. i usually strap a large duffel bag to my bandit and roll. i might make a run to REI tomorrow to look for a waterproof duffel. i also have a tankbag which i believe has a raincover (i should find that...)

any other tips/tricks/things to look for?

many thanks in advance. mojo to any responders to beat NoGall to the punch. :p

3415472-clg10802_windsheariiauto-openumbrella.jpg
 
Ride between the raindrops?

If your bags are the problem, stow all your gear in a waterproof liner and put that inside the non-waterproof bags. Trying to waterproof the outside of m/c bags can lead to unfortunate flapping in the wind.
 
What Chuck said.

Household plastic trashbags would do a pretty good job as well.

Rain cover that came with your tank bag... Some work, most don't. The bag eventually gets soaked from the bottom up.

Have fun. Check weather.
 
thanks guys!

i dropped by REI and finally found this:

Wxtex?

pretty cool stuff. i got a large one for my tail bag and a small one for my camelbak [i've opted out on the tankbag per NoGall's common sense above...] i'm going to enclose everything in these bags, and put them inside my packs.

i'm also going to bring trashbags in case the weather gets really rough for the outside of my tailbag.

thanks again!

3417435-me_pneumo.jpg
 
Find a good anti-fog coating or anti-fog insert at the shop and use it. It totally sucks to open you face shiled in the rain and let all the water drip in just so you can de-fog it.
 
Originally posted by snowface
...i've opted out on the tankbag...
Click to expand...

Just carry a large zip-lock plastic baggie in the tankbag. When it starts to get wet, dump every water-sensitive item into the zip-lock bag, and then deposit it into the tankbag.

I only meant to point out that the usefulness of a tankbag's raincover is questionable.
 
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Those REI bags you've looked at look good; I've saved $ in the past by getting a big, plain ol' canoeing drybag (the rolltop kind) and bungeeing it to my passenger seat. Nothing getting in those, they're designed for immersion.

Lining your saddlebags with trash compactor bags (thicker than trash bags) is also good...
As for gloves, I have a pair of bright yellow Rubbermaid diswashing gloves that I put on over my regular gloves when it's raining, then top with one of those Aerostich visor wiper thingies.
 
The Rubbermaid dishwashing gloves is a great suggestion. Totally waterproof, cheap and they pack small.

The main thing about touring in the rain is that you will experience fatigue sooner than on a dry day so plan accordingly.
 
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DogBoy said:
The main thing about touring in the rain is that you will experience fatigue sooner than on a dry day so plan accordingly.
Click to expand...

+1. Reduced visibility, constantly judging traction, generally colder and if you do get wet you get cold right away ... it all saps your mental reserves. Upside is that a warm shower in the motel feel like Nirvana.
 
you guys are rad. great tips. thank you.

i just hope i'll be able to take a few pics. watch after all this crap it's 80 and sunny the whole way. :|
 
snowface said:


i just hope i'll be able to take a few pics. watch after all this crap it's 80 and sunny the whole way. :|
Click to expand...

I think you just jinxed it... :laughing
 
All these recommendations are great. Note that if snowy conditions whirl up, you could be in for a ride from Weed north to Ashland. You might have to make decisions in Redding. Westbound over to the coast can be dicey in a true winter storm because there are places on 299 that can be snowy too.

Bring chains. :teeth
 
NoGall said:
Just carry a large zip-lock plastic baggie in the tankbag. When it starts to get wet, dump every water-sensitive item into the zip-lock bag, and then deposit it into the tankbag.
Click to expand...

+1000

Ziplock bags are a motorcyclists best friend in the rain. Small ones, big ones, small ones inside of big ones. If you're going to be spending serious time in wet weather, you can't have enough of them. :thumbup
 
:blush I have really big hands.

:twofinger

I misread, thought it was some store selling them that cheap over the summer. Reading comprehension isn't my strong suit!

slydrite said:
uhhhhhh....those may be just a wee bit big for you.... :confused
Click to expand...
 
Forget the regular trash bags. Get trash compactor bags. Way tougher. I use them for sea-kayaking
 
I don't know if you already have them but the one thing that I'd also suggest is grip warmers. They're a god send, even if just to keep your hands slightly warmer which helps with blood flow and reducing tension/fatigue. Excellent write-ups for installing them have been posted in the garage section recently too
 
My 2c about riding in the rain

For your bags, I agree it's a lot better to line the inside of your bag than try to cover it. Let the outside get wet, who cares? Trash bags work OK, that's what I use when I go backpacking, but something thicker would probably last longer. (I just take extra trashbags when I backpack.)

Remember wet = cold. I've had lots of "waterproof" gloves that are miserable in the rain because (1) your hands get wet anyway when you take the gloves off, and (2) they're too thin. I finally bought a pair of really thick rubberized winter gloves that work pretty well. The rubberized outside dries off quickly which is a huge help when the rain stops since the gloves don't stay wet, and so aren't doing the evaporative cooling thing and sucking out all your body heat. When it's really cold I wear glove liners underneath. That has served me well even when it's cold enough for the rain to become snow. (Then I got a hotel room -- don't ride in the snow.)

Another area not to overlook is your neck. My rainsuit has a high neck that goes up under the helmet and is pretty good at keeping rain out, but some wetness still gets in. If you've just got a waterproof jacket, I'd suggest finding something that covers the area between the helmet and jacket. I've tried some helmet mounted things that worked OK, but a balaclava type head cover would probably be a cheaper and more generally useful solution.

Unless it's really pouring (like El Nino rain) I usually skip the rainsuit and just use my motorcycle jacket and pants. I wear long underwear if it's not summer to keep warm. Avoid cotton.

My feet always get cold and wet when it rains too, despite waterpoof boots. Warm socks help. Spare warm socks that you can change into at meal breaks are a good idea.
 
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