Stopped wearing leathers as they were so impractical, especially on longer rides as the weather could vary so much (or you could find the same front multiple times)
As a general rule, don't just look at motorcycle solutions, they are generally over-priced. Camping, Tramping and Hiking are very cross-applicable here, with the emphasis on packing small, being thin, but very good insulation. Remembering of course, they often won't be out in 100kph winds, whereas effectively we are the whole time.
Layers are the key. If the ride will be cold for the whole duration, I'll put thermals under the pants, possibly thermal liners in the pants (depending on weather). Remember it's rather hard to quickly remove that layer. On the top, depends on ride. Longer stuff has skinz compression top and bottom as the core layer, other stuff will either be an icebreaker t-shirt or just a t-shirt. A thermal top is quite usual (unless warm) as it's easier to remove that a jacket thermal liner, but perhaps both are in. For really cold stuff (like a 600km ride to Whakatane yesterday) I chucked the heated vest on, close to my core, under the armour. Jacket has to be for stuff sustained below about 5 degrees though (coz I can turn off as well, if required).
Depending on the bike gear, if it's my Rukka, I need nothing over the top, as it's completely waterproof and warm, so for cold winters only. My Revit is not waterproof on the outer layer, so when it gets cold or wet I throw a basic waterproof jacket on top... they're very good for blocking wind or rain, but don't breathe so well... perhaps the next one might be goretex...
Originally Posted by Jane Omorogbe from UK MSN on the KTM990SM
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