A friend and I are going to ride from Albuquerque, NM to Las Vegas, NM this weekend.  It looks like there's about a 40% chance of rain for at least half the trip (maybe 400 miles).  What kind of gear should I get to ride in the rain or wet conditions?

Is there anything special you all can recommend?

hope you dont have a lunch box filter on that bike

this is what I use over my regular gear.  It's seen alot of rain and works surprisingly well for the price.  Almost no water gets thru.  It folds up into a 7x7x3 little bag and is pretty easy to stash with the rest of your stuff when not in use. 


http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/1/41/1452/ITEM/Tour-Master-Defender-Two-Piece-Rainsuit.aspx


For what it's worth I've ridden thru countless rainstorms and and never had an issue with a lunchbox or any style of open filter on any of my bikes.  I might just be lucky, though.

Just need to pack a deck of cards so you and your buddy can play, "Go Fish" while you're waiting it out under the underpass...

: ) - Bob!

Go to an army surplus store and look for wet weather gear.  Great stuff, but if its from a surplus store, check for holes or worn spots.  Also, these things don't breathe at all, so if it's a chilly rain, you stay "relatively" warm.  Well....warmer than you would without it...Good luck

Quote from: Big Lou on April 07, 2009, 01:13:51 PM
Go to an army surplus store and look for wet weather gear.  Great stuff, but if its from a surplus store, check for holes or worn spots.  Also, these things don't breathe at all, so if it's a chilly rain, you stay "relatively" warm.  Well....warmer than you would without it...Good luck

This is a good idea. I'm going to have to look for a surplus store around here.

glad I could help

Quote from: joshr08 on April 07, 2009, 12:26:55 PM
hope you dont have a lunch box filter on that bike

Doesn't seem to make a difference and I don't know why people would keep implying that it does. The stock airbox opening faces upwards and there is no drain out the bottom. How is that better? The tank provides plenty of protection for the air intakes, regardless of how they're filtered. If anything, the stock airbox moves the open area further back where the tank is actually narrower. I've ridden in some pretty heavy rain with no problems whatsoever with the bike taking in water.

As for wet weather gear, get yourself some waterproof gloves. Your hands will get so insanely cold if you don't, no matter what the outside air temperature is. Also consider putting rain-x on your face shield, and if you plan on riding at all after dark, you pretty much have to. Without rain-x, riding in the dark is impossible because the tiny droplets of water on your shield make all the headlights on the road look all sparkly and you can't see anything. You'll then be forced to ride with your shield open as your face freezes and you get pelted with raindrops that feel like BBs. Trust me, rain-x is a must at night in the rain. The more waterproof gear you have the better. You may find that some of your gear is not nearly as waterproof as the manufacturer would have you believe. I've had jacket liners start to soak through on me after only a half hour or so.

One last tip: put your gloves inside of your sleeves. If you don't, the water that accumulates on your arms will run down the waterproof jacket and into your gloves. If you have cold weather waterproof gloves, they will likely have a linter in them specially designed to wick sweat away from your hands. If you get water off your cuff and into this liner, it will quickly distribute the freezing cold water all through the glove and your hands will go numb super fast.

Fred, you gave a ton of good advice here, but if you lived in Buffalo instead of LA you would have many occasions when you'd have to park your bike until the rain lets-up so it doesn't suck water with that open filter.  I'm talking wind driven downpours that can last for hours.  All rain needs to do is get behind the engine and you're sucking water.  It'll happen when there's a hard rain with a side wind.  I used to ride with a guy who had a 550 Honda four with individual air filters.  His bike drowned once when we were riding in the rain.  I gave him a ride home so he could get his truck.  Once he got home, he blew out the filters with compressed air, cranked the bike for a couple minutes, and it started up again.

The stock airbox intake hole is right under the tank so there's no way water can get in there unless you drive into a lake.  That's why they put that stupid plastic box in there in the first place.

Oh, and as for wet riding, I have a rain suit I got at bikebandit for $22.  Keeps me dry as as a bone, and I'm not very sophisticated where gear is concerned.  I'll wear my waterproof winter boots to keep my feet dry.

And Fred is absolutely right about waterproof gloves and keeping them tucked into the sleeves rather than hanging out, as well as the Rain-X.