Rodehard

welcome from another new member!

53 minutes ago, Killer_kaw said:

I’m a big fan of Five gloves. 

Never heard of Five before - looks like nice stuff on their website.  Thanks for the tip!

What gloves do you guys like for this usage?

The Aeromoto gloves I have now are 5yrs old, and have a couple seams coming apart so time for a replacement.  These were great gloves.  Track ready (ish), vents that actually work, kangaroo skin palms.  I'd get another pair, but Aeromoto was a house brand for competition accessories, and they don't sell them any more.

Thanks in advance for your input!

Holy crap, almost $1000 for a jacket?

http://canyonchasers.net/reviews/gear/klim-badlands.php

@jacobhawkins  Yeah it rained lightly most of the morning - one of the morning sessions, it was only me and the coach on the track.  Some of the guys in my novice group had slicks, I can understand why they sat it out.  It dried out in the afternoon, then it was on!  Coach noted my front rotors were the right color.  Purple.  That old Kaw was heavy and fast:).

This sounds great!  I'm determined to get back to MO this year.

Did my first track day on my 48th birthday 4 yrs ago - went by myself but met some good folks there, coaches were great.  I took my ol' Zed - most fun I've ever had on a street bike!

ps - I'm slow, and I know it.  30yrs of street riding doesn't = fast on the track!

13 hours ago, 2talltim said:

All these jackets and pants with the removable liners and layer in a perfect word sound great. But my issue with them is I don't like to stop and you know how it usually works out. Your rolling along it looks like rain so your like do i stop? Can I make it to the next gas station before it rains? Maybe I should have put the liner in the last stop...No, it was too hot and I'd be sweating balls right now. So you think you can make it a while longer so you don't stop. Then it starts to rain but you think, "i'm only 2 miles from where I was going to stop". So you roll, then i begins to pour. Now you soaked already so your like "fuck it. i'm already wet" Then you have the thoughts of "If i'm not going to use it, why the fuck did i buy this jacket with the liners?"Or the story goes the other way, you did stop on the side of the road to put in the liner but it didn't rain. But now your wet anyway from sweating balls because most zip out liners are not breathable. 

That's why I say even though it might be a tad warmer on hot days the built in non removable breathable liners are the way to go. Gortex is usually the best but the off brand stuff works pretty damn good too. When I'm rolling and it starts to rain usually only have to reach over and zip closed a couple of shoulder and or chest vents. If it's really hot and i'm rocking my mesh I don't even care if it rains. I always have a fast drying shirt on underneath and it's very refreshing on a hot summer day, it will dry in no time. 

Yep, and double yep.  No one has invented that perfect easy on/off, selectively air conditioned or heated, fully waterproof or open air, ultimate riding gear.  I wish "they" would hurry up and do it!

Cross country riding in the hot summer, in and out of cold rain storms crossing mountains, make for a grueling day in the saddle.  Baking hot to wet and freezing and back, several times in a day can suck.  But we do it anyways :).

This is the setup that works well for me in temps from about 40F to the 90'sF, while minimizing the qty of gear to haul.  Very similar what a lot of you guys are using:

Mesh+Textile Jacket with armor (tourmaster Intake Air) with removable WP liner, Mesh+Textile pants with removable liner.  Both liners wad up to fit in a 1 gal ziplock.

Heated jacket and pants liners.

Cheap rain suit for over mesh gear - fits in a 1 gal ziplock..

3 pairs of gloves: vented track gloves, WP insulated touring gloves, heated gloves.

Gore-Tex boots.

Lots of ear plugs.

Naked bikes on long highway stints = Mesh gear over shorts/T-shirt for 85F+ temps, heated liner inside mesh jacket at anything below 70F, at 60F time to add the WP Liner.  Below 55F everything is on - the rain gear over the mesh+liner protects the heated liners from the wind, allowing the heated gear to run at a lower setting.

Faired bikes like my 1200rt, same as above but drop all the temps by 5-10 degrees before you have to start adding layers/heat.

1 hour ago, jacobhawkins said:

Super Duke, huh?  @jschaf

Welcome, Mark!

Thanks for the welcome's guys.

Found the Duke on craigslist - the 20-something original owner lowsided it on the dragon tail, some roadrash on the LH motor cover and some other minor bits but otherwise like a new bike, except less than half the money!

Hi All,

Been lurking for a few years, looks like you guys have some great fun, and some great rides together.

1AM on NYE, and I'm joining an online motorcycle forum - I'm such a party animal!

A little about myself:  so far still married :), 3 kids, with our oldest currently in in-home hospice after 4+ years of fighting cancer - she's a tough girl.  I'm 52, been riding since I was 10 on and off road, sometimes on purpose.  My street bikes have all been sport bikes (CBR, ZX-11, ZZR1200), except for the beemer I bought a few years ago.  It's for sale, great bike but sooooo slow.  The new to me KTM SDR is the best bike I've ever owned.  Love that thing, wheelies at will.

Look forward to this year's riding season, and hope to do some track days at MO, plus a lot of SEO rides.

See ya around!

Mark