Motorcyle Pants Can Protect You From the Weather

Protection from the weather is a safety issue. Physical stress due to heat, cold or discomfort is tiring and distracting. You will be less likely to be involved in a crash if you are comfortable and alert.
Feeling cold can affect a motorcyclist in three crucial ways.

The most obvious is a loss of feeling in the hands and feet that affects your ability to operate the controls.

Being cold or uncomfortable is also stressful and tiring, so you are more at risk of crashing because you are less alert and your reactions may be slowed.

Finally there is evidence that lower core temperature may affect decision making and emotional responses such as anxiety, irritability, aggressiveness, or detachment.

Insulation and wind proofing are the keys to avoiding cold stress. The principle of insulation is to allow a thick layer of air between the rider's body and the outer layer of clothing.

• Close fitting openings and covered zippers and other fastening points prevent wind entry and heat loss and are essential to maintain the warmth of the air layer.
• Motorcycle pants that are too loose may also result in heat loss from wind buffeting that forces the warm air out.
• Cold stress can also result from wind chill when wearing damp clothes, particularly leather. This is because, as the wind evaporates the moisture, it draws the heat from your body.
• Insulated boots and gloves can keep the warmth in your feet and hands. However, this will not be enough if your body is cold, because your brain will restrict blood flow to the extremities in an effort to maintain core temperature. If your body is cold, then your hands and feet will also be cold.

Wet clothing is a particular problem for motorcyclists because of the additional effects of the wind chill factor. The wind chill factor means that for every 5 mph wind speed, the surface temperature drops 5 degrees.

Some motorcycle pants do have waterproof or water resistant properties, whereas leathers are not so good at keeping you dry because leather absorbs water. However whether your normal gear is leather or textiles, you usually need to add another layer to be protected from rain.

Many motorcyclists do not wear protective clothing in summer because it is often uncomfortable. Apart from the injury risk in a crash, uncovered skin absorbs heat directly from the sun causing dehydration as well as sunburn. Dehydration can cause fatigue.

Just as insulation is the key to avoiding cold stress, ventilated cover is the key to avoiding heat stress. The idea is to allow wind to flow through the clothing over the skin to evaporate sweat. Air entry points though vents or mesh panels should be on the forward facing parts of the body with maximum air pressure, but should not compromise impact protection.