Best waterproofing for your kit?

[ManDownUnder]

Anyone riding around in Auckland this morning will understand why I raise this...

Some leather parts do need to be exposed to the weather - boots and gloves come to mind. When going from A to B... slowly, in traffic - they get WET.

I know the trick of spraying CRC 808 (aka Silicone lube) onto them, sitting them int he sun, doing it again... and again... etc till they take up no more, but it does raise the issue.

Anyone out there with better waterproofing suggestions - or anything you'd swear by (even though it might be a little strange).

MDU

[Motoracer]

This isn't that helpfull but I think that Motomail has a specific waterproofing product for leathers. You'll have to ask them for info about it.

[merv]

I'm an old fashioned biker not too keen on hard work so if it rains and I haven't stayed home I put on the high class yellow over trousers (used to have NZ Railways ones but they finally wore out and now I have Warehouse ones) and rubber overboots (from Motomail). I have rubber over-gloves too but rarely use those. Carry all that stuff in my Ventura bag along with the storm cover for my Ventura bag itself because you can't trust the bags to be waterproof either. I can't be bothered waterproofing my leathers because the effect of most of that stuff is to attract dirt e.g. if you use sno-seal or dubbin or anything like that. I spruce up my leathers with that black liquid nugget stuff from the supermarket which is as cheap as you can buy. So I wear leathers for protection and wet weather gear over top for the rain. Now that might be a pain if you are commuting but as you have heard me say many times I treat my bikes as toys not transport so I travel into town on the train and don't worry about the rain then.

Now this isn't a great photo that someone else took but here's me in my flash yellow plastics with the silver cover over my Ventura bags on the VFR at Lake Pukaki.

[MikeL]

I have tried Snoseal and Dubbin and they both work to a certain extent. You will be O.K. in a light shower but persistent heavy rain (not entirely unknown in Auckland) will have you soaked through before long. I don't wear my leather jacket if there's a chance of heavy rain - I wear a Teknic instead. It has the advantage of more protection but its weatherproofing is not perfect - will take a lot more than the leather jacket though. I always wear leather pants but carry a pair of the same sort of yellow plastic pants that Merv mentioned which I can slip on if it starts to rain. Not exactly an elegant fashion statement but nothing beats them for keeping out the wet (you need to sew or tape up the pocket slits though). Boots can be a bit of a problem. I have been known to slip a couple of plastic bags over them in heavy rain (secured with gaffer tape)- works if you don't mind looking like a dork, and you have to remember you have them on when you put a foot down...
I suppose all in all it's a lot easier to stay at home or take the car when it rains, but for those of us in Auckland that would cut down our biking quite considerably!

[Big Dog]

If you wanna ride in serious rain you need serious gear. But if your like me too cheap to buy a proper rain suit.

Techy gear is good for up to an hour in persistant rain but beyond that expect to get your pecker wet.

The best weather protection I ever experienced was actually womens golf style (nylon with rubber backing) overtrou and storm cuffed jacket from the warehouse. $40 total cost 100% waterproof where it covers. Lasted about 2 years. And it fit in side pocket on any normal back pack or under the seat on the gpx.

The down side? Dayglo purple and pink, but at least no-one ever said they didn't see me.

I still have a pair of the same style trou (in Blue) in case I ever need to go for a long ride in the wet.

Very ugly but good wind resistance, low interference and I used to get to work/polytech drier than those in cages.

[ManDownUnder]

Yup - I got me one of those one piece Go Karting suits - cheapest ($180) decent solution there is... and they are actually really good!

It is the gloves and boots (aka extremities I am personally worried about, but while asking that question, I got to wondering about any other wisdom that's out there that maybe we could all benefit from.

MDU

[Motoracer]

I bought a second hand Dainese armored textile jacket and its soo good. I had a high speed come off and walked away with out any injuries. The Jacket now has a few tears in it but its still 100% waterproof!! When I ride with that thing, it might as well bucket down with hail and I couldn't care less.

If you are traveling overseas, it might be a good option to pick one up. Otherwise, you might find a good second hand one in e-bay for cheap.

[madandy]

Is it the gloves and boots you're worried about or your hands and feet getting wet?

I got a Dririder 'Hurricane' wet weather suit($110) which is brilliant in even the heaviest rain(and keeps me warm) we get in the BOP...I ride every day 40K return trip for work.

I've worn surgical type gloves under my Darbi's and plastic shopping bags inside my boots-over socks!- to keep my hands and feet dry!

[Coldkiwi]

cheapest and best waterproofing is like the boys have said... get a 1 piece rain suit. I picked my WFO one up from Leading edge for $120 early this year and its great. A bit of a knack to get into it but 100% waterproof and ultra fast drying.

I use beeswax on the boots/leather to keep it up to scratch anyway and like Mike said, it helps in showers but won't last long in heavy rain. Synthetics are what you need for proper protection and the Spidi hyper gloves ($275 from motomail) I bought last year have been fantastic for it although a little warm right now.

As for boots, the stiffness and thickness of the Stylmartin Yukons ($250 from motomail) I use for everyday riding repel the water quite well anyway and the beeswax does the rest. Only on odd occasions do I get wet feet.

 

 

[Big Dog]

Originally posted by Coldkiwi
Only on odd occasions do I get wet feet.

 

 

With sno seal applied properly and renewed every year my old Johnny Rebs were excellent. They could even be used as gumbootsup to about half calf. Lasted me 9 years of wearing in all conditions and very little care taken (had to have them resoled four times cos I kept wearing the rubber out) I only thew them out because the heel on opne cracked.

[Jackrat]

I use NIKWAX on my jacket,works ok,But if things get real nasty I have a line7 sailing suit.Nothing will get thru, that thing.
Just got to take the thing with me I guess,
NIKWAX is a leather cleaner and water proofer from England,I get it from a horse gear shop.

[130wide]

Gloves, take a spare set when it stops raining put the dry pair on.$80-$120
Boots, New world plastic rubbish bags, be carefully at petrol stations it gets slippery.$$what every you brought for tea
Jacket - pants, wind breaker/rain coat from Doyles outdoor stores, have had for nearly 4 years just starting to leak in the seams in very heavy rain, Speed tested to 290km/h in the rain $30.

[merv]

The good old yellow plastics I was talking about supplied by NZ Railways were high class NZ made Skellerup and they lasted me over 20 years on the job and on the bike. I finally ripped the trou on the footrest of my dirt bike last year and bought the Warehouse ones that like a lot of stuff these days are made from the highest quality materials from China. I don't how they will last but they look fairly tough. 20 years though I'm not so sure.

The old ones in 20 years never leaked a drip and kept my leathers warm and dry underneath. Same as 130wide though I carry spare gloves too but seldom would need to use them.

[What?]

Originally posted by Coldkiwi
As for boots, the stiffness and thickness of the Stylmartin Yukons ($250 from motomail) I use for everyday riding repel the water quite well anyway and the beeswax does the rest. Only on odd occasions do I get wet feet. 

  My Yukons are about as waterproof as Jandals!!

I have another pair of StylMartin boots which are totally waterproof, and ditto for Spidi gloves. Only way to waterproof leathers is to apply an oversuit. I currently use a 2-piece fro Jet Leathers. Cost around $90 and very effective.

[Coldkiwi]

as bad as jandals? thats odd. does it come in the zips or just through the leather?

I thought mine would be worse to be honest but they appear to be ok.  Maybe it has something to do with the angle I have my feet compared to your riding position? 95% of the time I ride with the balls of my feet on the pegs so the boots would be tilted a reasonable way forwards because of the riding position on my 600.