FASTHOS is right on the money. Wife and I both ride up to Minnesota from Florida every year. We wear long sleeve white t-shirts, white helmets and long pants. Keep the fairing lowers on 'cause they are vented. It keeps the hot blast of air off your legs. We have two bottle holders, one on the handle bars and one on the rear engine guard bag full of gatorade. We both ride '09 Elelctraglide Standards. But most importantly, when we stop we go into the restroom and strip, soak our clothes in water and put 'em back on. We are bone dry in about 25 minutes, but by then with the gatorade we can last another 20 miles before we stop and do it all over again.

 

I have the Kyryakyn one...works good and you can pick it up for about $125.00 on ebay

 

We are doing a 500 miler tomorrow as a group...leaving at 7...bet you sweaty *** the cooler will be loaded....

 

I've been riding for years in the heat and it all depends on which kind of heat. Dry heat or humid... both suck but some of the basics are the same. Get yourself a good meshed jacket (and pants if you like). The jacket provides some shade so you can get a layer of sweat going and the holes let air pass over the sweat to keep you cool. I can always tell the new riders when Im out in the desert and I see these guys riding with tee shirts and bandanas. Nothing will heat you up faster than sun baked dry skin. If you really like cancer and want to be warmer put on some sunscreen.

Drink plenty of room temp or cool "water" not sports drinks or really cold drinks of any kind. It feels good going down but your body will keep the heat in order to warm up the cold drink. Get a full face helmet and keep the face shield open so it drives air into your helmet. Dump some of that water on your head and back before you head out if your in a desert area. Doesnt work as well when its humid.

Stop often and make sure you can ****. Pissing removes a lot of body heat that builds up. If you cant **** its a sure sign that something bad is about to happen. Take a rest in the shade until you can **** again and drink more water.

Dont eat a heavy meal. Apples, salad are great - eat enough to still be a bit hungry otherwise you will be barfing out that $10 cheeseburger 30 miles down the road.

Lastly, watch what other "real" heat riders do. In my experience they often wear jacket/pants vented leathers and full face helmets. I was shocked when I first went out west to see this band of grizzled riders show up at the gas station in full leathers, etc.... They ride in that heat all day long. As one guy told me "its not a fashion show - its survival". It was 115 that morning.

Jim

 

When its in the mid 80's it's not fun. Sunscreen is a must. I have shaved head and I did a memorial ride last year and my head started to blister during the ride and was running down my head. It was not fun.

 

Where do you live? I can only wish for the mid 80s here in Dallas!

 

Agree with erverthing here, but would add also a evaprotive vest. It does not work well in humid conditions. But when the air is dry along with the meshed jacket it keeps you quite cool.

 

Labor Day weekend two friends and I are planning a ride from NW Arkansas to California then up the Pacific Highway to Oregon and Washington then we'll head east through Idaho, Montana and possibly head south through Colorado back to Arkansas.

I have been looking at the hydration vests but I am not sure how it will work without a mesh jacket. I had also been looking at Mesh jaclets but I really would not feel comfortable leaving the leather jacket at home in case we hit cold weather. Last year we took a ride, at the end of September, from Arkansas to New Mex, Colarado, Southern Utah, the Mojave Desert, Grand Canyon and back. There were mornings where temps were in the 20's and 30's I cannot imagine riding in the cold with a mesh jacket. On the other hand heading East on I40 through California and Arizona temps were around 110 and this was the end of September.

I do not want to pack a mesh jacket and the leather but I won't leave on a week long trip without my leather.

Can i just throw a T-shirt over the vest or just ride with the vest open to the air?

 

I can't speak for all the areas that you are considering passing through, but I can speak to the Pacific Northwest region. And you're quite right to be concerned about cold weather. Depending on what altitude you are riding at, and of course our weather patterns, it can be extremely cool in the early mornings, then get up into triple digits late in the afternoon, then after 9 or 10 at night it will cool off again.

But there are a couple things you can do. First, most mesh jackets have a removable liner that zips in and out. On good ones that liner will stop most of the air flow, and the jacket will be considerably warmer. Second, most guys around here wear a leather vest OVER their jackets (mesh or not), because early morning rides are often pretty chilly. As it warms up, late in the morning lots of guys will remove the jacket and just go with the vest for local riding. For touring you can also lose the vest and jacket liner and just stick with the mesh jacket.

Whatever works for you, but you're correct - days in the high desert can go from darned cold in the early morning to sweltering heat by late afternoon, and then back to darned cold again a few hours after sunset. And when summer storms move through this area it can get seriously cold and windy. It's a good idea to be ready to ride in any of it.

Have fun on your trip.

Doc

 

I'm headed to Seattle and back through Glacier NP the first couple of weeks of September. I'm taking my mesh jacket & pants. For the cold mornings, I'll have my mesh jacket liner along with my heated liner. If it really gets cold, I'll add my rain jacket on top of it all. If you don't have heated gear, it's great. It packs light and you don't have to carry so many warm clothes. I also carry a "cool vest" and I would suggest getting yourself a Camelbak for your trip.