Riding in the Rain and Cold Apparel

[earlwb]

Rain
Unbeknownst to most riders, is that the Harley Davidson Rain Suits are really excellent, good quality and they work good.
www.harley-davidson.com

The Choco Rain Booties are great, especially at only $19.95 a pair too:
www.motoliberty.com/prod_detail.asp?Prod_ID=274
They work nice to help keep your shoes clean and dry.


when it is cold outside:
Don't forget that they have chemical hand warmers that you can use as well.

A face cover is really nice, like the leather one shown here:
www.jafrum.com/Accessories/Leather-Accessories/FM213;jsessionid=0a0014491f43c5208af373154638b9c9816e54ce818d.e3eSbNmTb3mTe34Pa38Ta38Lchz0
I actually went to joAnn Fabrics and bought a length of faux suede material, some fleece to use as a liner and some velcro and cut out a pattern using newspaper, then cut out the material and sewed it all up and viola! I had my own face cover.

The TourMaster Winter gloves are excellent, don't let the price shock you either, they work good:
www.motoliberty.com/prod_detail.asp?Prod_ID=125
They have a ladies version too:
www.motoliberty.com/prod_detail.asp?Prod_ID=126
One problem with many gloves is they are simply too stiff, you have problems gripping the handlebar grips and using the throttle. These gloves are soft and supple and feel good.
But many people like to use good ski or snowmobile gloves as well.

The balaclava is a good item to have too.
www.jafrum.com/Accessories/Leather-Accessories/FM5011-Polyester-Face-Head-Balaclava-Mask
But I tend to prefer the balaclavas they use in cycling more myself.
www.performancebike.com/shop/Profile.cfm?SKU=20872&item=10-5635&slitrk=search&slisearch=true
They have several to choose from here too.

A neck warmer is really nice to have, but you can do well using a long scarf too.
www.jafrum.com/Accessories/Leather-Accessories/FM212

Handlebar mittens or Pogies are good too.
www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp;jsessionid=ELQZPEDP5WCCHLAQBBJCCNVMCAEFGIWE?type=pod&id=0006032&_requestid=60275
But you might find it easier to make your own using fleece and faux suede or vinyl or naugahide materials.
coachlevi.com/mountain-biking/home-made-pogie-hand-warmers/
more about them here:
www.icebike.org/Clothing/handprotection.htm

The Sportbike jacket and pants with zip out liner actually work pretty good. I like to wear a fleece pullover under the jacket as well. But I like the jackets with body armor pads built in nowadays. With these you don't need a rain suit unless it is really raining hard.
Here is a jacket example:
www.motoliberty.com/prod_detail.asp?Prod_ID=426

Here is a pants example:
www.motoliberty.com/prod_detail.asp?Prod_ID=404

When I was young I would have given a kidney for some of this electric powered heated items like a vest, socks, gloves, etc.
But unless you have a larger maxi-scooter, the heated items probably draw too much power to be able to use.
www.motoliberty.com/list_prod.asp?CatID=11&SubCatID=29
But many years ago when I had just bought a shiny new Norton Commando 750, I got a set of electric gloves, socks and vest and pants from this company.
www.widder.com/
At the time the Norton had a built in power jack just for these items.

[memturbo]

I remember when I was a kid in the winter I had these electric socks

they used 2 d batteries on each foot and were made of wool .

I had 2 pair one for my feet and on as mittens for my hands

They were pretty heavy but they would get hot as crap and

sometimes if they got wet they would make me tingle.