Half Baked in Florida, how do you do it?

miserycaptain

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I know that many of you are hating because the weather sucks and it's too cold to ride where you live. I have the opposite problem. Here in Central Florida it is in the mid 80's currently. I have numerous riding jackets to include, Textile, Leather, and Textile/Mesh blend. I have leather pants that I prefer wearing at all times. Of course the Helmet, gloves and boots are a given.

Dilemma:??? Even in the mid 80's, I roast my butt off in full gear:moon:. The thought of riding without any of the above mentioned protection just seems unacceptable. I occasionally wear jeans but do not feel near as safe in them. The high 90's with 100% humidity is on the horizon and will be here for many months.

My question to my fellow Floridians and us in the tropical climates, what do you all do? I can only handle so much heat before the exhaustion outweighs the fun factor. I don't want to ride only at night as this is barely tolerable in gear as well. I don't want to park it and wait till fall to ride more comfortably! What if any special jackets and riding pants do you guys trust in that vent well enough and offer full protection? I had fun today but it is really toasty here already and I know what's coming. I had to peel the gear off my sweaty body after a 30 minute ride around the block.:banghead:

I am fully sleeved on both arms so road rash would cost me way more than just the pain and suffering, it would cost me thousands in tattoo work. So, what to do? I guess I will buy an all white leather suit and white helmet and ride on cloudy days when I can. I know many of you can relate to the immense heat we deal with here in the South so tell me, how do you roll?

Dave

PS, I in no way am trying to antagonize those of you with cabin fever due to the opposite situation I am dealing with. Being from Vermont originally, I have been there and done that and it sucks too!:bowdown:
 
I've got the Joe Rocket Alter Ego. I strip it down to the mesh, and drink plenty of fluids. I don't have a lot of heavy traffic, so it's not so bad on those + 100 degree 95% humidity days we have. Febreeze :laugh:
 
I've got the Joe Rocket Alter Ego jacket and it's stripped down during the summer, have some AStar summer gloves, and the Joe Rocket Alter Ego pants and they all work pretty well as long as you're moving, sucks in the city in stop & go or in traffic. I used to work not too far from my work and I'm guilty of squid'ing from time to time. Never go with out at least a helmet though, gotta protect the noodle, even if it was a minor incident. I'm just extra vigilant and keep my head on a swivel when I go "naked", which isn't often. :laugh:
 
Gotta switch to jeans to survive the heat, or get used to being wet....

Full textile/mesh, and helmet and mesh gloves here...Warm in stop and go, but moves enough air when moving... leather pants are my downfall. Even perfed, they still sweat ya, so I resigned to jeans... it is what it is...
 
or...park your bike in an airconditioned garage and do summer mods like the people up north do in the winter:laugh::laugh::laugh:
 
Seriously.....move up north here...for oh...say 9 years and you'll NEVER complain about the heat again! I lived in PCB for 4 years before having to move up north....9 years later...I'd kill for 80 degrees in March and deal with the humidity after dealing with the 20 below, snow, and all the other crap that comes along with cold IL winters.

Not sure if it's ever been tried, but what about a couple of those freeze packs that remain flexible when frozen...pack a couple of those under the back armor in the jacket...that should help cool your core a bit which will help everything else. Never tried it myself but just a thought.
 
Misery,

I'm down here in Port Charlotte with my baseball team and back home its only 45 degrees. I'm a catcher and I'll tell you what, I'm DYING down here in this heat. lol. Kind of off topic but I just wanted to share:whistle:
 
Textile/Mesh blend is about the best you're going to get to thwart the heat. jdsbusa's idea is interesting, I don't know how long the ice packs would last but they sure would feel good for a while.

If you're out just joy riding do so in the early hours of the day. It's always coolest just before the dawn and the hottest times are 3-4 hours after noon.
 
Misery,

I'm down here in Port Charlotte with my baseball team and back home its only 45 degrees. I'm a catcher and I'll tell you what, I'm DYING down here in this heat. lol. Kind of off topic but I just wanted to share:whistle:

For sure and this is the tip of the ice berg! Miserable heat is on the way and oh, I have done 22 years in Vermont so posters telling me about -20, I been there, done that! I prefer the heat over the cold by a long shot but until you have felt your body searing in the mid day FL sun, you can't relate. It can make riding with all the right gear nearly impossible to enjoy. Anyhow, great advise to point save for the "park it and do mods" junk! I RIDE!:bowdown:
 
For sure and this is the tip of the ice berg! Miserable heat is on the way and oh, I have done 22 years in Vermont so posters telling me about -20, I been there, done that! I prefer the heat over the cold by a long shot but until you have felt your body searing in the mid day FL sun, you can't relate. It can make riding with all the right gear nearly impossible to enjoy. Anyhow, great advise to point save for the "park it and do mods" junk! I RIDE!:bowdown:

I ride too just not so much in june july or august and parts of september:laugh:
 
One of the few things I did not like about the Busa is the heat it throws off in S FL traffic + the aero package is so good that you do not get much air on the bod when moving.

I used perfed leather pants over shorts or draggin jeans with CF inserts & a mesh jacket with armor. I used a KBC helmet durnig the day, it flows more air than the other helmets I have. Nose picker gloves instead of full fingers.
Also installed the honda fan switch in the radiator which turns on the cooling fan about 40* sooner.
All of the above helped however the end result was to ride a V-twin Warrior during the day & roll out with the Busa at night.
 
One of the few things I did not like about the Busa is the heat it throws off in S FL traffic + the aero package is so good that you do not get much air on the bod when moving.

I used perfed leather pants over shorts or draggin jeans with CF inserts & a mesh jacket with armor. I used a KBC helmet durnig the day, it flows more air than the other helmets I have. Nose picker gloves instead of full fingers.
Also installed the honda fan switch in the radiator which turns on the cooling fan about 40* sooner.
All of the above helped however the end result was to ride a V-twin Warrior during the day & roll out with the Busa at night.

I agree with all you are saying. Air flow is minimal and the stop and go traffic is pure KILLER!:banghead:
 
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