{"id":63021,"date":"2026-10-08T04:46:51","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T04:46:51","guid":{"rendered":"urn:motra-oct3:MOTRA:21"},"modified":"2026-10-09T21:27:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T21:27:17","slug":"motra-motra-april-2006-selecting-riding-gear-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/?p=63021","title":{"rendered":"Touring Tips \u2014 Selecting Riding Gear"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published in Motorcycles On the Road Again, April 2006.<\/em><\/p>\n

By Dale Borgeson<\/p>\n

There are three factors to consider when choosing what you wear when riding; safety, comfort, and cost. Fashion is also a consideration but it is the least important. Never let fashion considerations compromise safety or comfort. Your clothing is at least as important as the bike itself in making you comfortable on tour. Marginal riding gear can be just fine for short rides or even a day-trip but it can make a long tour less enjoyable at best and miserable at worst. I’ll just start at the head and work down to the feet.<\/p>\n

Helmets<\/p>\n

I always wear a helmet. Most people only consider the safety purpose of helmets but even if I could be guaranteed that I would never whack my skull on the pavement I’d still wear a helmet because wearing one is more comfortable than not wearing one. Even though I never have put so much as a scratch on any helmet in 28 years of street riding I would never even consider not wearing a helmet.<\/p>\n

Checking the Fit of a Helmet<\/p>\n

Remember, you’ll be wearing your helmet most of your waking hours while on tour so it better be comfortable. That means proper fit! If you have a helmet that’s too big, it won’t protect you in a crash and while you’re riding it will flop around battering your head into oblivion. If it’s too small it will squish your skull and give you a headache like you wouldn’t believe. Improper fit will even cause problems riding down to the corner market for a loaf of bread but the effects are much more pronounced on tour.<\/p>\n

Notes on Altering the Fit<\/p>\n

If the helmet is an otherwise good fit I will alter the helmet to eliminate the pressure point. I pull back the helmet liner to expose the polystyrene inner liner. I then use a spoon to gently compress the polystyrene just enough to remove the pressure point. Do this in very small increments. This sort of alteration will reduce the crash effectiveness of the helmet so you don’t want to compress the polystyrene any more than necessary to eliminate the pressure point. NOTE: The helmet manufacturers do not endorse this technique and doing this to your helmet will void the warranty of the helmet.<\/p>\n

Helmet Face Shields<\/p>\n

I’ve tried tinted face shields but I think that they are more trouble than they’re worth. You can’t, or at least shouldn’t, wear a tinted face shield at night. Since I can’t necessarily predict whether I’m going to be riding at night during a particular ride I don’t want to deal with the hassle of bringing two face shields with me; I just stick with a clear face shield. If it’s sunny out, I wear sunglasses.<\/p>\n

Helmet Fogging<\/p>\n

The Fog City face shield liner I have added is relatively inexpensive, about $13, and well worth the price. I install it when I buy a new helmet (about every five years) or a new face shield (about every two years). The purpose of the Fog City, as the name implies, is to get rid of face shield fogging in cold and high humidity conditions. The liner is a piece of plastic that you stick to the inside of your face shield such that a dead air space is created between the face shield and the liner. The liner is also coated with an anti-fogging film.<\/p>\n

Helmets and Shielding the Sun<\/p>\n

The second thing I’ve added is a tinted film to the top of the outside of the face shield. The purpose of this film is to make it easier to ride directly into the sun when it’s low in the sky. This film is a tinted transparent sheet of plastic that I originally bought as an attempt to create a tinted face shield without having to actually have two face shields. The film has the property that it will adhere to any smooth surface, that’s not too curved, without the use of adhesive. This film is made for private pilots. They place it on the inside of their windscreen when flying into the sun. I found that the film is not optically pure enough to look through so my attempt at making a tinted face shield failed.<\/p>\n

Earplugs<\/p>\n

Most helmets don’t do anything to attenuate the wind — some may even make it worse. Eventually the wind noise will cause Tinnitus and permanent hearing loss. Wind noise also contributes substantially to fatigue. Earplugs will minimize both of these problems. You won’t realize how much the wind roar tires you out until you ride all day with a decent pair of earplugs. You’ll be amazed how much more relaxed you feel.<\/p>\n

How to Insert Ear Plugs<\/p>\n

Sometimes earplugs can be tricky to insert. I’ve discovered a couple tricks. My ear canal is more oval than circular with the long diameter vertical. After I roll the plug into a small cylinder, I squish them flat and insert them with the flat dimension vertical – they just slide right in<\/p>\n

If you’re putting an earplug in the right ear, reach around the back of your head with your left hand and pull back on your right ear and maybe open your mouth all the way. Doing these two things helps straighten your ear canal and makes it easier to insert the plugs.<\/p>\n

After you’ve inserted the plugs, release your ear, close your mouth and gently hold the plug in position until the foam fully expands — usually about 10-15 seconds. Don’t move the plug as it’s expanding or it won’t seal properly. If you screw it up, take it out and do it over. Then do the opposite for the left ear.<\/p>\n

Be sure that you insert the earplugs far enough so that they will not touch the helmet.<\/p>\n

Riding Jackets<\/p>\n

There are some general considerations for jacket selection and a few extra things you may want to think about for touring. You may have several riding jackets to choose from depending on the weather, duration of the ride, or whatever. On tour you’ll only have room for one jacket – at least I only have room for one — so you need to make sure that it’s as versatile as possible. This means that it can cover the greatest possible range of conditions.<\/p>\n

I always wear a leather jacket on tour. Actually, I always wear a leather jacket when riding, period. In the last couple years I’ve bought two Cordura-Gore-Tex jackets, an Aerostich Darien and First Gear Kenya. I wear the synthetic jackets on day trips and riding around town but on tour I still wear leather. I’m not sure that this still makes sense and that perhaps I should change to a more modern jacket but that’s what I do. It’s probably habit as much as anything. There are also some well-made synthetic riding suits out there like the Roadcrafter II. I know several people who have these suits and love them but I’ve never owned one.<\/p>\n

Jacket Ventilation<\/p>\n

Make sure that it can cover the greatest possible range of temperatures. When it’s really hot you want as much ventilation as possible. A good jacket will have vents front and back so that you can get decent airflow through the jacket. It seems to me that under-arm vents by themselves don’t work all that well. Vertical zippered vents, two in front and two in back seem to give the best airflow around the torso.<\/p>\n

As the temperatures cool you need to block the vents – either by zipping them shut or somehow covering the openings. Zippered vents are nice as you can operate the front vents without stopping. Operating the zipper pulls with gloves on can be a problem. Just go down to your local hardware store and buy those little split steel rings for holding keys. Get one of the smaller sizes, like about 1\/2 inch diameter and attach it to the zipper pull. You’ll now be able to operate the zipper even while wearing winter gloves.<\/p>\n

As temperatures continue to drop you want to be able to snap or zip in an insulating liner. Depending on what you wear under the jacket and the material of the liner these features will allow you to cover a range of temperatures from about 50\u00b0 F to over 100\u00b0 F.<\/p>\n

I always wear at least a long sleeved cotton t-shirt under my leather jacket, even when it’s really hot. This makes a big difference in comfort, especially when it’s hot. You don’t want any bare skin touching the jacket or liner. If you do, it will feel real clammy and yucky. The cotton will absorb your perspiration and then allow it to evaporate. You’ll still be hot but you’ll be more comfortable.<\/p>\n

Unlike most leather motorcycle jackets, my jacket has a regular dress shirt type collar and it’s not lined with any cloth so the leather touches my neck and gives that same clammy feeling. I solve this problem by wearing a cotton bandana. It works really well and when it gets hot out I can soak it in water to give a bit more cooling.<\/p>\n

The problem with sizing leather jackets is that if it’s big enough to take several layers underneath for cold weather, when it’s hot and you’re just wearing a t shirt underneath it it’s too big and will flop around. Conversely, if It’s snug in warmer weather, you’ll never be able to wear enough under it when it’s cold. My jacket tends toward being too loose when it’s hot out, but if I stay below 75 mph the flapping is not too bad. I’ve gained about 20 pounds since I bought the jacket and it\u2019s approaching being too tight in the cold. I guess I need to buy a bigger jacket or lose some weight.<\/p>\n

Gloves<\/p>\n

I wouldn’t even consider not wearing gloves — they just give too much protection from small rocks, June Bugs (not that different from a rock in effect), and the like. Over the years I’ve tried just about every kind of glove there is and none seem to be perfect. Right now I wear Deer Traks. They are the most comfortable and sturdy gloves I’ve ever had. They have external seams. There is some debate as to whether or not external seams are much more comfortable when you are wearing them all day. The deerskin seems to breathe better and is much softer than cow leather. The Deer Traks are also a gauntlet style glove. Gauntlet gloves give much better coverage than a regular style glove.<\/p>\n

I won’t ever wear those fingerless gloves with the paper-thin leather. Those would shred in about 0.5 seconds if they hit the pavement at speed.<\/p>\n

Rain Gear<\/p>\n

I prefer rain gear specifically made for motorcycling. Motorcycle specific rain gear has a few useful features that you will not find on normal rain gear mentioned in the above paragraph. Motorcycle rain gear usually has straps on the bottom of the pant legs. These straps prevent the pants from riding up your legs in the windblast. This is a very useful feature. Motorcycle rain gear also tends to have tighter neck and wrist closures (at least the better stuff does). Motorcycle rain gear also tends to be cut a bit larger so that you can wear it over your normal riding gear. It should go without saying that just because it is raining that’s no reason to remove your protective gear. Motorcycle rain gear comes in two types, one piece and two pieces.<\/p>\n

Riding Pants<\/p>\n

Leather pants are expensive but they offer the best protection. As with jackets, the synthetic pants (like Aerostich) and the various Kevlar reinforced jeans may be fine but I have very little experience with them. There are three basic styles of leather motorcycle pants. I call them jeans style, racing style, and over-pant style. These are my own descriptive terms and I just made them up.<\/p>\n

Racing style pants<\/p>\n

Racing style pants have a tight fit and are armored. They can have either hard or soft armor. Most often they have hard armor in the knees and soft armor in the hips. Usually, the fit is so tight that there are vertical zippers on the lower leg opening. You open the zipper when you put the pants on and then close the zipper before you put on your boots. Racing style pants are almost always worn inside your boot tops.<\/p>\n

These pants often have expansion panels in the waistband, and they often do not have belt loops or any facility for a belt. I guess that they figure that the fit is going to be tight enough that you won’t need a belt. They often have perforations in the leather behind the knee or a cloth stretch panel. If there is leather behind the knee, perforations or not, and the fit is not nearly perfect the leather will bunch up and they can be quite uncomfortable when riding. This is usually not a problem with jeans style pants as the fit is loose enough that they seldom bunch behind the knee.<\/p>\n

Racing style pants are cut in a sport bike rider’s crouch. They are quite comfortable if they fit properly and you’re riding your bike. If you’re walking or even standing they can be quite uncomfortable — the knees bulge out and the butt sags. You really can’t walk in these pants; you just sort of waddle. That’s OK; they’re for riding not walking, right?<\/p>\n

Over-pants<\/p>\n

The key to being comfortable in leather pants is what you wear under them. I wear spandex exercise tights – the full-length kind that goes from waist to your ankles. Don’t laugh, it really helps and here’s why, as with the jacket, you don’t want your skin touching the leather. You want to slide around in the leather. Further, you want something that will absorb the sweat and allows it to evaporate. Sweat will evaporate through leather that’s been properly cared for and NOT waterproofed. It won’t evaporate fast but it will evaporate.<\/p>\n

Footwear<\/p>\n

Footwear is an item that has so many choices that it will have to be covered in a separate article.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Originally published in Motorcycles On the Road Again, April 2006. By Dale Borgeson There are three factors to consider when choosing what you wear when riding; safety, comfort, and cost. Fashion is also a consideration but it is the least important. Never let fashion considerations compromise safety or comfort. Your clothing is at least as … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":900710,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[151],"tags":[134,185],"class_list":["post-63021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-motra-april-2006","tag-s071"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=63021"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":900332,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63021\/revisions\/900332"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/900710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=63021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=63021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=63021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}