revtothelimit - motorbike forum

Got to travel Aylesbury - Peckham - Earls Court - Aylesbury on Tuesday. Think the bike jacket will be chucked in the top box for the cross London part of the which will see me joining the riding in a T shirt gang
Any tips, beside getting a leccy bike, to survive the impending heatwave?

Open the sunroof
Aircon too full

BTW, it'll be 35c here later and I'm on track in full leathers

Yorick wrote: Sun Jun 21, 2026 9:11 am Open the sunroof
Aircon too full

To be coldest in the car, shut the sun roof and put it on recirculate for a few minutes.

If the roof is open, the cool air is just being blown out of the car.

If you're in a T shirt, beware of sunburn!

IIRC when air temperature nears 34C it loses cooling, instead heats you.

When my US friends were riding across desert areas, they filled pockets with ice. Half an hour later, it would have evaporated! Stop and refill, repeat ...

Get a big hankerchief / neckerchief, soak it, for a similar effect.

Take plenty of water & fruit juice. Beware if you don't need pee stops - you'll be getting dehydrated.

Aircon in car is fucked plus driving in London is horrible, not gonna sweat it out on the tube, so bike is least worst option...

BTW, it'll be 35c here later and I'm on track in full leathers

You'll probably be going more than 20mph though

Buff soaked in water round my neck sounds like a plan - at least it might disguise the rivers of sweat too..

Maybe a motorcycle cooling vest is worth the price.

I was wearing my Revitt mesh jacket yesterday,first time this year,looks like I'll be wearing it all week.

Don't take the jacket off, keep it on, but undo it down to about 3 " of zip, open any/all vents, and don't do up the cuffs.

You'll get a nice draught up your arms and round your body which will pull heat from your skin, without compromising safety too badly.

Cousin Jack used a gilet you filled with water and the evaporation kept you cool. This is the one he used, although apparently lots of others are available.

viewtopic.php?p=371015#p371015

I'd recommend not doing the journey, unless you absolutely have to. It'll be a furnace.

Leave at 5 in the morning

I'd recommend not doing the journey, unless you absolutely have to. It'll be a furnace.

Believe me if I didn't have to do it I wouldn't & work is usually pretty flexible.

Leaving at 5am would get me to the first appointment 2hrs early but make zero difference to the next leg

To properly survive very hot weather riding and be a tiny bit safe: mesh jacket and trousers, boots and gloves with lots of holes, an open face helmet with lots of vents (I use an Arai SZ-R). When I go out with the local chaps we leave early and are home by midday. Once home, if you haven't got a pool take a cold shower.

Wear shorts and a vest top and gan it up on t'back wheel.

Ideally stand up on the pegs while you're doing it and cross one of your legs over the pillion seat.

Dickyboy wrote: Sun Jun 21, 2026 9:29 pm

Leaving at 5am would get me to the first appointment 2hrs early but make zero difference to the next leg

Are you going to pick holes in everything?

Pirahna wrote: Sun Jun 21, 2026 9:48 pm To properly survive very hot weather riding and be a tiny bit safe: mesh jacket and trousers, boots and gloves with lots of holes, an open face helmet with lots of vents (I use an Arai SZ-R). When I go out with the local chaps we leave early and are home by midday. Once home, if you haven't got a pool take a cold shower.

Do you meet at the Blue Oyster Bar?

Le_Fromage_Grande wrote: Sun Jun 21, 2026 9:50 pm

Pirahna wrote: Sun Jun 21, 2026 9:48 pm To properly survive very hot weather riding and be a tiny bit safe: mesh jacket and trousers, boots and gloves with lots of holes, an open face helmet with lots of vents (I use an Arai SZ-R). When I go out with the local chaps we leave early and are home by midday. Once home, if you haven't got a pool take a cold shower.

Do you meet at the Blue Oyster Bar?

Sometimes. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092359690238

Le_Fromage_Grande wrote: Sun Jun 21, 2026 9:49 pm

Dickyboy wrote: Sun Jun 21, 2026 9:29 pm

Leaving at 5am would get me to the first appointment 2hrs early but make zero difference to the next leg

Are you going to pick holes in everything?

'Tis the way of the internet.

It got a bit warm and you're all scared of dying

Get a grip FFS

I bought a couple of heat gear compression tops they seem to work well under my mesh jacket but you need to keep moving for them to work