Just got back from a weeklong ride from Atlanta to Key West. The ride started out with two hours in the rain, which got me soaked, and then it was nice for several days. Coming back through Miami it rained so hard I could barely see. Even with raingear on, I got absolutely soaked. Dried out that night and then yesterday rode 550 miles back to the house, 300 of that in the rain. I learned real quick that Harley raingear ain't worth s#!? and boot gaiters are essential. The raingear leaked like hell and finally split up the leg. The found the trash. Who makes good raingear?

What do y'all do to see? My glasses fogged up right away and I couldn't even use them. I planned on getting some never fog or some scuba stuff for the future. The windshield justs holds water and I have read not to use Rain-X. Any way to combat that?

Also, how fast do y'all ride in the rain? At one point in West Palm Beach, I was down to 20-25. I usually ran about 45-50 if the road wasn't holding too much water and tried to stay in the tracks of cars and trucks or tried to stay in the center of the lane if the ruts were deep. The interstate in the rain is not a fun place to be.

 

I have some of the Gortex Harley gear and it seems to do ok, been stuck in both Miami and Atlanta rain and it has held up well. But I know that some people swear by the Frogg gear. Here is there web link: http://www.froggtoggs.com/

 

I went on a much shorter weekend trip a couple weeks ago – with no rain gear – knowing that I would be heading toward rain. My first riding in the rain and I agree it’s super lame! We ran a poker run the next day in the rain and not only did it suck, but at least three people went down and one lady had to be mediflighted out.

I don’t really have storage for rain gear right now. I was just glad to get to where I was going so I could change into dry clothes. I’ll never take off knowing I am going to ride through rain again if I can help it.

 

I hate riding in the rain and try not to have to. I got soaked several times just comming home from work last year. I dont have rain gear right now but will be getting some just in case it happens. I drive around 20 to 45 depends on the road condition and how hard its raining.

 

I have textile riding gear that's all waterproof. Jacket is by Cortech and pants are by Harley, and both do the trick keeping the rain out. I also have a Scorpion EXO full-face helmet with an anti-fog shield that really does a great job. What I still need are some waterproof boots. We rode to the Dragon last year and got rained on for probably 8 hours straight on the way down. Not fun, but a lot worse if you don't have the right gear.

 

I don't really mind it, and sometimes prefer a light rain to a hot sun. I wear my snowboard pants and I have a Harley water proof light jacket. Add a water repelling bandana and it's all good in the hood.

I enjoy the elements. The only thing I don't care for is 50mph+ winds.

 

I have a set of froggtoggs and to be honest, they did not keep me dry. Water running down the back of my head ended up going behind the neck area of the jacket and well...I was soaked down to my undies from back to front. Also, water that was puddling up on the seat in my crotch area ended up finding a way inside the raingear pants. I could see using them as an undergarment in cold weather. They definitely keep the heat in.

 

I used to have dedicated rain gear, I liked the Tour Master stuff personally. Their 2 piece suits were nice. Now I use some textile stuff. I have Firstgear HT 2.0 Overpants that work great and even have a removable warmth liner for really cold days and my Tourmaster Intake jacket. The Intake jacket has a three layer system, Mesh outer jacket, rain and warmth layers. The rain liner works great. I generally don't worry about my boots but I should get some gaiters.

As for vision, I pretty much just suffer. Wearing half-helmets almost exclusively, I've never found anything that will completely prevent fogging in heavy rain. The windshield I don't worry about because I keep it below my line of sight, so I don't have to look through it. I have found that goggles tend to collect water and need occasional emptying, so I usually just use glasses (sun or clear depending) and just wipe em off occasionally. Riding in the rain takes some practice and you never really get comfortable, but it is doable.

 

I have put about 6700 miles on my Dyna in our off-season here in Oregon. It might be a little bit different than the rain you get, but ours is a pretty constant rain and it can get pretty heavy. Our roads are design to shed most of the water, though we do get the rut puddles. I have to say that it is a matter of having the right kind of gear and taking the time to get it on right.

I have the Road Warrior jacket from Harley, and i have overpants from FirstGear. The overpants are nice, they've got some removable armor and a liner. I have kept the liner in until recently and the pants do a great job of keeping the water out. I recently took the liner out and it feels wet, but in all likelyness it is just the cold. My pants are generally dry after my rides. The Road Warrior jacket is one of the cheaper jackets you can get from Harley that is water proof and has armor in it. It does a great job of keeping out the water, though I would honestly say just a moderate job of keeping out the cold. But at 36 degrees + windchill, it is a hard job.

With the overpants and the jacket, the important thing I have found is taking the time to make sure it is all fitting right. Tucking in pant legs is a good idea, and at the least make sure the overpants cover the entire length of the jeans, or the exposed part will give you the wick effect and the bottom foot of jeans will inevitably end up soaked. Tuck in any cotton into the overpants. This is what makes it difficult, because it can be hard if you want to wear a thick sweatshirt under the jacket, it should still be tucked into the overpants or you will end up with a half-soaked sweatshirt underneath a dry jacket. Hoodies are not a great idea in heavy rains, as those will get soaked as well. A well designed scarf can be a great addition, preferably wool. Something that won't wick up the water and will still keep you warm when wet.

When it comes to helmets, I'd have to recommend a full face helmet with good ventilation. In dry conditions, it just takes a little ventilation to keep the visor from fogging, but in the rain it takes a lot more. I've got a modular helmet, and the gears on the visor are larger than most full face helmets, so I have a bigger gap when I open it to the first notch. I end up opening and closing it regularly, depending on if I want if I can see clearly enough through the fog. With a full face and smaller clicks of the visor, it would be a lot easier to leave it slightly open for the ventilation needed to keep it de-fogged.

Those are my 2 cents from recent experiences.

 

+1 on the full face helmet. I used to rock a novelty helmet with glasses and a bandana for rain. The glasses would fog up and the bandana would get so soaked that I couldn't breath. I decided to (reluctently) try a full face, which made me feel like a douche at first. Then I realized that I was acting a little "too cool for school", and that worrying about what people think about my gear is one step short of swallowing the sausage!

As far as rain gear goes, I own a set of froggtoggs but prefer my military issued gortex pants and jacket.