Had to go pick up my bike from the mechanic today. Checked the weather.com radar and hourly forecast and it appeared all the showers had moved out of my area. Wore boots/jeans/leather jacket. You guessed it - rained on me the entire 45 minute ride home. Jeans, boots, socks were all soaked but Tshirt under the leather jacket was bone dry. So, my question is - chaps would have kept my lower legs nice and dry/warm but do you still get wet in the upper/inner thigh area and crotch region where the leather doesn't cover? By the way, I have a quick disconnect windshield and it was disconnected and sitting in the garage!! That probably would have helped.

So, fill me in on the ups and downs of a good pair of leather chaps. Thanks.

Oh, and if you work for the Weather Channel - you can come over and kiss my soaking wet ****!!

 

Nope, you would still be wet. Jeans wick water.

and trust me....i know a thing or 2 about riding in the rain.

 

Overpants might do better.

But won't leather soak through after awhile too?

 

Leasther chaps will protect your legs to a certain extent. In light rain, water spray, etc. Like all leather, it has to be treated properly to be water resistant. But in a heavy rain, you'll eventually get wet.

I carry a pair of rain pants to fit over the chaps.

 

Rain gear is the way to go. I have rain coats for my gloves even. When you get take it all off and everybody think you took the car.

 

My chaps have kept me pretty dry in the past, but rain suits are much better and typically cheaper.

I rain suit stays tied on my forks 99%, and pretty much ensures it doesn't rain. Since carrying it all the time my part of the country has suffered the most severe drought in history

DougJ

 

OK then - chaps good for protection and warmth (cuts wind), anything more than light rain requires rain pants/suit. Is that pretty much the consensus?

 

there is no such thing as 100% water proof leather. it will help if it's not raining too hard but if you're in a hard rain long enough you're going to get wet.

 

Living in the high desert southwest we don't get allot of rain, so I have yet to invest in a rainsuit. Did a 600 mile ride one day. Got rained and hailed on. Wore the leathers and a rain poncho over. Seemed to do the trick. After 12 hours I did start to get a little wet, and cold. The leather did more good than harm though, I'll tell you that. Chaps, for me at least, have seemed to do well both in light rain, or short heavy downpours, and they are what I carry in case of rain out here. If I were in the pacific northwest, or Florida, you know, someplace with lots of rain, I would get a rainsuit, out here, the leather I think handdles what we get well enough.

 

Pretty much, I think............. My rain gear usally keeps me warm, after I put it on over my wet jeans andtshirt

DougJ