It's always contradicting to decide what to put on when wanting to set out on long trip.

On one hand, you might not have to chance to put on rain gear before you are soaked.

On the other, you might get overheated from riding with even light rain gear on the out set...

Any useful tips from veteran bikers here for this newbie?

Just curious though....why do you find it hard to put on a rain shell when you need it. It takes only a few minutes to gear up at the side of the road.

Besides once you ride long enough, you can read the weather pretty good and know when you really have to stop for rain gear.

If just light drizzle I won't bother. You'd probably dry up fast.

Nope..start off with normal gear..n if during ride it ends up raining we usually just ride...n get wet.

Maybe if we stopped for fuel n see the clouds are dark we might put it on

Some waterproof jackets have those inlet for airflow whcih goes to the cooling membrane and out through the rear outlet.

Really useful for touring as the cooling effect only kicks in when you ride at certain speed. But a hella hot and impractical for city riding if you do frequent stops at traffic light or less air flow when filtering. Yes i'm using andes drystar v3.

1st, check the weather forecast. I know it is mostly crap but it is still better than nothing. Then if it is not raining on the day you leave, just wear normal as the rain coat is very hot. Wear it at the side of the road or at a lay-by if it really rains. Sometimes, you can just ride through it if the rain is not heavy. The weather can be dodgy too. You can be soaked on part of the journey but fully dried off when you arrive. I have had that experience before and didn't bother to stop to wear a rain coat. Choice is yours

This post has been edited by lowpro: Sep 4 2022, 08:50 PM

Putting on is not hard.

Light drizzle I won't bother too.

I had been in situation when rain came down just 30 secs before my target stop to put on rain gear, it came down so hard within 10 seconds my underwear is soaked.

So I am gathering experience to read weather as a newbie biker

Like I said the key is to watch weather. Where it is raining and where the storm is heading so you know how much time you have.

Just this morning I was on my way back to KL from Ipoh. Noticed heavy rain ahead at bidor, so I decided to stop at tapah R&R to put on rain gear...but while stopped I noticed the prevailing winds blowing towards me and to the west. Fired up my weather app and concluded no need to put on rain gear and just wait. Had a coffee instead and waited for the storm to pass. 15mins later it was dry all the way to KL.

A couple of motorcyclist did stop to put on rain gear and carried on, but they will be caught in the rain.

This post has been edited by jaycee1: Sep 4 2022, 09:24 PM

Check the weather via app or just by looking up before you ride , If it rains when you're riding, Stop in a safe location and wear it. Also good to have is shoe cover.

Yep, bought a shoe cover since my last soaked socks and underwear experience

It's just too hot to ride with one at the beginning if its not raining. You'll be soaking wet not from rain but sweat once you reach your destination..haha

the most important is plan for the unplanned, do not rush if the weather sets you back

the mentality is very important, sometimes just need to do a reality check, and don't just tunnel vision into riding towards the destination. Like jaycee1 said, sometimes all u need is a coffee break and the worst weather passes

my rain gear is stupid difficult to attach, the internal liner type.
so it's clear I do not have one suitable for quick on-off for touring purpose. Key is to get the right gear.

My riding jacket came with that rain liner attachment.
Usually ride without it.

Putting it on is a pain in ass.

Now resorted to getting another rain coat to wear over the riding jacket when needed.

Most important feature, is hooded rain coat.

I was hit with heavy downpour in Taiping.

Couldn't find a safe place to stop and put on raincoat, safest place looks like 30 seconds ahead.
Rain came heavy and fierce, within 10-15 seconds I am totally soaked down to underwear.

So decided to ride on until a rest area nearby, take a shower and change into dry cloths

My Komine jacket has the internal liner as well. Real PITA to get on and off. I just wear a rain shell over the jacket now. Easier to get on and off. Besides. With the internal liner, your jacket still gets soaked and no way seals as good as a proper rain shell.

Indeed. Never rush a ride. If bad weather, take a break. Not worth the risk. Arriving late is better than not arriving at all. I also often ride solo, so dont have to worry about others or have to "keep up". Any experienced rider will know, trying to "keep up" is where all the bad things start.

This post has been edited by jaycee1: Sep 8 2022, 10:31 AM

I know what you mean, haha... 5 seconds is enough to soak. Taiping is well known for rain.

Back to your question, I did a 600km ride with that rain liner attached, with sprinkles of rain along the way. I think keeping dry as much as possible at the destination was important. Otherwise, I don't mind getting soaked. The rain liner was not comfortable, so I zip down the jacket and that definitely helps. Was it the right choice? Given the circumstance, I think it was the right call.

There are other considerations as well, like, how cold will it get? Will it affect riding comfort and deteriorate the fatigue level?
I can ride 10+ hours a day for short weekend trips on my sports bike, so it's worth knowing how much riding mana I have.

One of the best feeling is riding dry and warm in a heavy rain, and a good quality water flinging visor. It's definitely better than riding all soaking wet, feeling cold and with almost zero vision.

Riding comfort is very important, and water proofing is one key aspects for touring.

Oh, another consideration to stop is other cars, they tend to aquaplane and... u know la.

For bad weather riding, a must is to get a helmet that seals properly. Get a helmet with a pinlock, which is just about the only working solution against fogging. If your helmet does not have the pinlock pins, you can get "pinlock" stick ons that works just as good. I have the Soman branded stick ons for I think 30bux on my spare visors that work good.

My old MT Atom leaks and fogs so badly that it is practically unusable in heavy rain. Water drops down from the inside of the visor rendering visibility to almost nothing. To be fair, modular helmets tend to have more issues with sealing...but the MT was bad. Eventually got tired of it and got a proper touring helmet that works properly...I don't get a wet head even with all the vents open on my Rpha 70.

it takes some riders many years to realize, along the way they have spent too much money on subpar quality equipment, and the best way is to buy the right one at first

helmets, riding jacket, pants, boots, gloves

of course these are not versatile but they overlap, for example it's really troublesome dealing with DD straps at customs.

My HJC C70 doesn't come with pinlock , so I just open a bit the visor during thunderstorm/heavy rain. so far so good, no water droplets manage to seep in and i still can see properly.

But then again I am empathetic on new riders on a budget. Not everyone can afford to drop 5k on the "right equipment." I'm certainly not going to thumb my noses on someone that want to start on the cheaper range of equipment. One could technically get fairly well equipped with decent atuff for a budget of around 1500.

1) decent basic helmet - 500 to 600
2) riding jeans with armour - 150
3) riding jacket - 300
4) basic boots/shoes - 300
5) gloves - 100
6) good set of rain gear - 150

Total 1500. And you can upgrade from there....and the sky is the limit.

some spent all 1.5k on the helmet first...

As a newbie, I quickly realized how one can get headache and fatigue from unrealised dehydration and heat.
So nowadays I make sure I ride in comfort and stop frequently for a drink and recover my concentration.

Yeah, those cars splashing up water isn't fun, kena so much of it. darn.