riding in the rain

[racinchef]

Rained almost all weekend, so when it seemed like the weather broke early Sunday afternoon I took a chance and got leathered up and took off for a ride. I was wrong. Not too long after I left the house the drizzle was back and the roads nice and wet. Undaunted, I decided to continue on hoping that this was just a little cell of bad weather. The further along I went, the worse it got. It never rained hard, just constant drizzle. I never-the-less enjoyed my ride and got a good chance to see how my Nomad was in the wet weather. The tires never broke loose during most normal dry road riding. Protection was fairly good, though in a steady rain I would have gotten soaked. I stopped twice for coffee, and the second place I was out under cover enjoying my cup of java when a Suzuki SV650 pulled up. It was another local rider out enjoying the day. When he walked up to the store I said, "and I thought I was the only idiot riding in the rain today". He was another rider that had gotten back into motorcycles after many years. We got to talking about bikes and stuff and both went our way. Not too bad of an afternoon of a lousy weekend for riding. I had to leave my bike uncovered overnight outside because it was all wet, and in the morning it was covered in frost, so I couldn't take it to work Monday morning. I ended up working 11 hours so I didn't have any energy or time to wash it so I will ride into work today and give it a wash after work. So my summation is that even in the rain the Kawasaki Nomad is fun to ride and delivers satisfaction when you need therapy

[beezer]

Do yourself a favor and pick up a pair of crashbar chaps from Delinda here at PH Customs for $50. They'll block the rain for now but will also block the chill we get in the Northeast. You can actually feel the engine warmth on the inside of you legs like a car heater on low. Might be some of the best 50 bux you ever spent Bruce.

[ringadingh]

I agree with Beezer, If you block the front off, it gets a lot more comfortable in the rain and cold. Last week I rode home in the rain two nights, I barely get wet behind the fairing and lowers, unless its a serious downpour. My feet stay dry, but my hands get wet from the design of the fairing. I get wet mostly from stopping at traffic lights.

[dragon57]

I'd like to try a set of those; but, I have fog lights and highway pegs both on the crashbar, so I'd have to custom make them, I guess.

[rlfaubion]

They will accomodate hwy pegs. You could have them open up for the fog lights?

[beezer]

you can cut that area out and put some more black stitching on the seams

[pablo]

I have the Airlite enging guard chaps. They take about 1 minute to put on and about 5 seconds to take off. I have quit wearing chaps altogether since getting the engine guard chaps. They keep your legs and feet warmer in the winter and dryer in the rain. The chaps roll up and come with a bag to store them when not using. I keep it in my saddle bags in the summer for rainy weather.

I have the airlites also.I like them,but have not seen the ones from PH. I still wear chaps though, for protection in case I would go down.

[dlarue]

Dragon57,

We can probably make them to accomodate whatever you might have... Email me and I bet with a little help and measurements, we could get you fixed up.