Basic motorcyclist equipment for the rain
Next we are going to list and explain the most important items of equipment for riding your bike in the rain.
Waterproof clothing
You can normally use a waterproof jacket, pants (Cordura), gloves and boots. The layers and lining of these articles may be enough for short journeys or in light rain.
On this occasion, forget leather, since it’s a material that deteriorates rather rapidly when wet and filters the rain, soaking you inside. When it has absorbed water, a leather jacket gets heavy, more uncomfortable and takes longer to dry.
In heavy rain, or if you are going to be exposed to the rain for a long time, don’t think twice about wearing waterproof clothing. There are raincoats that cover your whole body, and even linings and outer jackets and pants that you can put on top of your clothes that are perfect insulation against the rain.
Other accessories for the rain
As you should already know, an integral helmet is your best option to be protected in the event of a crash. When it rains, one of the most inconvenient things is that the helmet fogs up easier, which makes riding more uncomfortable and dangerous. During urban, low speed journeys, you just have to slightly open the visor of your helmet to let the air in and stop it from steaming up. However, if the conditions are more extreme and you’re going faster, you should keep it closed. To stop it from steaming up, there are accessories such as the Pinlock, which is a type of double anti-mist visor. Don’t think twice about installing one on your helmet.
If you ride a scooter, a great option to protect yourself against the cold and rain are blankets. These can be fitted to the scooter itself, but there are also others that can be adapted to the person like an apron.
Sometimes gloves aren’t enough to keep the rain out. You can install fist covers to protect your hands and forearms. However, we recommend taking them off when it’s not raining or cold to have greater mobility.
Of course, we don’t advise using plastic or bags to protect your fists or footrests against the rain, as you could skip and loose control of the motorcycle.
More tips
To protect ourselves against the rain, we need to cover all the gaps between each item of our equipment. Therefore, bear this in mind when you put your gloves on and try to tuck the sleeves of your jacket into the gloves.
On the other hand, in the case of pants and boots it’s preferable that the boots go inside the pants to keep your feet free of drips. Finally, we appeal for responsible and much more defensive riding given the difficult conditions and the greater risk of accidents when it’s raining and the ground is much more slippery.