Like you Brits, riding in New Zealand often means doing so in rainy conditions. While I can't say I enjoy riding in wet weather, if I want to get out on one of my bikes, I'll need to prepare myself for that eventuality.

The worst I've had to deal with here was torrential rain and gale-force winds while crossing the centre of the North Island (a.k.a. the Desert Road) on my Vespa (yes, you read right - it's a 32 year-old, unrestored PX 200E) back in April.

Actually, the scooter handled the conditions better than the rider (it was fully loaded, so the trip was a slow 70-80 kph/45-50 mph in 3rd Gear over that stretch of highway).

I did feel sorry for the poor woman who had to mop up after me at the petrol station cafe I stopped at for a hot drink. Seems the conditions exceeded the design specs of my wet weather gear; even my flip-front Nolan was defeated by the wind and rain.

If nothing else, I now know I should be able to handle riding in monsoon conditions... :scooter:

A lot of my friends have become 'fine weather riders' in recent years, which means their motorcycles and scooters spend most of their time locked up in the garage.

Monsoons have started early this year in southern Arizona. Got caught in hail and rain mix on my new Fathers Day present from the wife and kids....VStrom 1000. Had to hit the dealer for rain gear on the way home.
The guys in the shop said I was crazy to ride in the stuff. I asked them who had ever ridden in the UK...end of story.
Oh yeah .....my wife and kids are the flipping BEST! Strom handled great in the deluge!:rain:

Congrats on the bike (and the generous family!) but the weather report worries me - I thought southern Arizona was bleached bones dry. Isn't there a song about it or something? (or maybe that was Southern California :confused2:).

When I'm there in Sept should I bring my full UK winter survival mode stuff or just stick with T shirt and shorts (decision depends on whether the rain is warm or not I suppose :rofl:)

It's nicer there in July…

http://chris-knight.smugmug.com/Moto...P1010250-L.jpg

Riding in malaysia ,we were able to stay dry by riding at the proper time,but when we returned to the west coast we, got caught in 2-3 hours by riding intermittently,the rain wasnt going to stop anyway so just pressed on. The best of all, was seeing the faces of the help at the resort,me a drowned rat(look like that often anyway),my wife just fine . Those stock chains will rust over night in places if not lubed well.

Hypothermia
 

Right there with you brother.
If you need to get somewhere or better still don't have to, then rain is just part of the ride.
My only exception would be when it is cold. The combination of the two factors will sap body heat in no time at all.

So far so good.

Sorry for the slow reply.............If you're riding, bring nothing more than 3 season gear. Where we are located, you never need much in insulation...maybe in Jan or Feb.

Touristing...a fleece and a light rain parka or windproof, just in case. Always shorts and fliflops!!!bier

AZ Summer is super hot but Thunder Showers and Flash Floods happen too. Like 2 inches of rain in an hour. (careful where you camp in the Desert)

But it's mostly brutal hot.

Sept. should still be very hot, short rain events possible. But weather will quickly switch come October/November. It was 27F at 7am when I rode out in late November of last year.

Had to ride slow, then finally pulled in after an hour for breakfast to let things warm up and let me thaw out. :freezing: I was not prepared for such cold having spent previous month in Mexico. No warm gloves, but put on several layers and turned on heated grips and Gerbing elec. jacket and did fine after that.

Southern AZ is fairly flat with foothills but head North and you'll run into some small mountain ranges. Temp can dip by maybe 30F up high. Even in Summer the Desert gets COLD at night in low areas. So lite 3 season jacket with Mesh/Vents is the right call. No Brit Winter wear required. bier

I've deleted a few off-topic posts and modified another. This thread addresses "riding in the rain." Thanks.

Yesterday I went out locally for a ride (Shenandoah Valley of Virginia) and foolishly left my rain gear behind (no *way* it was going to rain). Of course, you know what happened: I got drenched. No problem, there are much worse thing than a summer rain storm! But as I rode on in dry, warm weather, gradually drying out, and as a new adv rider wanna-be contemplating beginning longer rides soon, I had this thought: with the right, quick dry clothing (e.g. no cotton, thin layers, etc.), might it be okay at times to avoid rain gear if there's no chance of hypothermia? I'm a long-time backpacker and learned that I could hike miles and miles in wicking clothing and at least moderate rain without bothering with rainproof gear and without discomfort. I had the advantage of generating drying heat as I hiked, admittedly, but on a bike I can easily generate 40+ mph of wind.

So what say you who are much more experienced with moto adventuring than I: with the right (non-waterproof) clothing, can you easily weather light to moderate rain without all the extra layers? Can you just let yourself get soaked through and then dry out riding quickly enough to not be miserable (assuming it's not 45F out, of course)?

That wouldn't work if you want to wear a riding jacket with armor, like I always do.

unfortunately where the most rain is ,so is the humidity.In Malaysia the shirt(1) that was not cotton did dry throughly,the cotton shirts stayed damp and was to a point unuseble ,in the hot humid climate. I have a very breathable two layer mesh jacket that works great ,(except in the rain)especially after a little session of perspiration at a light, but too cool in the highlands during the morning, so was the only time I added a tee.
These conditions keep the adventure on many otherwise regular rides,building a kit that will meet the needs of all extremes. Beside taking one finger off the front lever.What would be a good rain suit in Asia ,the only ones I saw where suitable for the locals but unbreathable and would turn into a sauna similiar to a wet cotton shirt.?

You get very dirty in rain on a bike. Spray plus rubber dust from tyres and all the other crud that's otherwise in dust form gets stirred up. This stuff gets the outer layer of any breathable clothing to the point it stops breathing. It also becomes something you won't want to share a hotel room or tent with.


A basic plastic oversuit keeps you clean as much as dry.


Andy

Deelip, I don't see how that matters if you have armored mesh, for example.

I'm going to try it.