Hey guys so this is my first season riding in the dead summer heat (i got my bike late last august).
Winter riding was easy cuz I wore my freeze-out suit with a chest and back armor vest and a big warm leather jacket. That with maybe a thick pair of denim jeans, long socks and riding boots kept the cold out pretty damn well...

Now Im facing the opposite situation and I'm kinda stuck. I would wear a T-shirt with my armor and long jeans and riding boots, but it just seems way too unsafe. Do you guys recommend certain jackets/attire to wear to keep cool.

(Add before I get yelled at, I ALWAYS wear a full-faced helmet, I just thought that bit was too obvious to add)

PS- Im on a college budget, so im looking for the best safety:cool-looking:practical:price ratio!

Check out the 'what gear?' topic in the odd's 'n ends section of the forum: lots of info from lots of people...

I use the Rev'it Airwave jacket (199$ on revzilla.com > http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/revit-airwave-jacket).

Good value for money. Excellent ventilation.   

Full mesh or fully perforated leather.  www.motorcyclegear.com clearance and closeout section.  Get on their mailing list and you will get a new deal in your mailbox almost daily.

Unless I'm going to work I wear full leathers, back protector, race gloves and boots. Going to work I substitute the leather race pants with kevlar riding jeans and EVS knee/shin guards.

Dress for the slide, not the ride. Much better to sweat than bleed.

-B

I have a shift jacket with a RST back amour piece that works quite well

Mesh gear or perf leather is the best you can do, at least until over 105 when you might be better off insulating yourself from the heat. You can also get one of those cooling vests or just put ice in all your pockets.

Blue smudge is right: mesh gear works great UNTIL it gets too hot. There are other factors that go into it (riding duration, temperature, high / low speeds, etc) but you can easily become dehydrated with too much airflow.

Well I'm from NJ so the worst it gets around here is 100F...hot days are in the ninties but with NJs congested roads it an get pretty damn hot.

I have my sights set on an Icon Contra. What do you guys think?

Quote from: Paulcet on June 06, 2013, 02:08:25 PM
Full mesh or fully perforated leather.  www.motorcyclegear.com clearance and closeout section.  Get on their mailing list and you will get a new deal in your mailbox almost daily.

love them, its great when the owner is answering emails, calls etc still. they stand behind their stuff as well. I had a zipper broke about a month after purchase and they covered shipping both ways. they sent my replacement first and I returned my old one to them, so I never went without my gear.

I run an icon stealth accelerant. great blend with good discrete looks and some armor.

I wear an alpinestar textile fully armoured jacket and without the liner it's fantastic for hotter days. Almost the whole thing is mesh so as long as you're moving the airflow feels great. I think any jacket of a similar design would perform great on hot humid days.