Rain gear advice
Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 10:15 am
Last weekend (24 - 25 June) was the annual "Thunder in the Valley" event in Johnstown, PA. The organizers estimated that there were 100,000 bikes there; my estimate is that 99,000 of then were American V-twins. The exhaust din from many of these bikes was deafening and I don't think I've ever seen so many tattoos and do-rags in one location. It was a very interesting event from a variety of perspectives.
Anyway, as anyone on the East coast knows, the weather has been atrocious this summer and it was particularly bad that weekend. We managed to avoid the wet getting to Johnstown on Friday but the ride home to the Philadelphia area on Sunday was essentially 4+ hours of heavy rain and sometimes dense fog. As I made my way back on the PA Turnpike past literally hundreds of Harley riders, many with no raingear and others with no helmets or any face/eye protection, I was as grateful for my full face helmet and wet weather gear as I was for the Roadster's excellent manners in the rain. The one minor gripe I have is that after about 90 minutes in a hellish downpour, the crotch seams on my 12 year old Dry Riders gave way and I rode the rest of the way feeling like I had a used Depends strapped in place.
Obviously, I need to replace some raingear and I'm looking for some suggestions. The PVC type (which my rain pants were) can be had quite cheaply and I know from experience that they are pretty waterproof - at least before their 12th birthday. They are also hot and hard to put on. A number of manufacturers offer coated nylon for a few dollars more. Are these worth the extra cost? What benefits do they offer over the PVC type?
Any suggestions gratefully appreciated.
Charlie
Anyway, as anyone on the East coast knows, the weather has been atrocious this summer and it was particularly bad that weekend. We managed to avoid the wet getting to Johnstown on Friday but the ride home to the Philadelphia area on Sunday was essentially 4+ hours of heavy rain and sometimes dense fog. As I made my way back on the PA Turnpike past literally hundreds of Harley riders, many with no raingear and others with no helmets or any face/eye protection, I was as grateful for my full face helmet and wet weather gear as I was for the Roadster's excellent manners in the rain. The one minor gripe I have is that after about 90 minutes in a hellish downpour, the crotch seams on my 12 year old Dry Riders gave way and I rode the rest of the way feeling like I had a used Depends strapped in place.
Obviously, I need to replace some raingear and I'm looking for some suggestions. The PVC type (which my rain pants were) can be had quite cheaply and I know from experience that they are pretty waterproof - at least before their 12th birthday. They are also hot and hard to put on. A number of manufacturers offer coated nylon for a few dollars more. Are these worth the extra cost? What benefits do they offer over the PVC type?
Any suggestions gratefully appreciated.
Charlie
