How to keep cool on an RT?

[johnv]

It’s been very hot in this neck of the woods this summer. Many days of 30 degree Celsius temperatures. While my R1150RT has great cold weather protection, it’s less than comfortable in the hot weather. When I get off the bike after a few hours, my backside and crotch area are usually soaked in sweat. I developed a nasty rash after 7 days of this while touring the Canadian Maritime provinces this summer.

I think that part of the problem is the seat. The BMW comfort seat is covered in a smooth vinyl that doesn’t breath very well. The other problem is that the fairing doesn’t allow any air circulation to the seat area. I’d be interested in knowing what RT riders do to stay comfortable and dry in hot weather. Should I be looking for an aftermarket seat with a more breathable covering? Or is there any way of increasing air circulation to the seat area? Maybe a more breathable pair of riding pants?

I’d appreciate any advice on this. This bike is a joy to ride except in hot weather. TIA.

 

John Veilleux

St.Bruno, Quebec

[imeyers]

I have the R1200RT. The problem in the hot weather is even with mesh clothing the RT does to good a job of blocking the wind. I ride with a mesh jacket and pants and I have to kick my knees out past the fairings in order to feel some air going through the pants. As far as the seat area, try using a little powder in your pants. Keeps everything nice and dry, at least for me. I cant wait for it to get cooler around here. Another month or so and I will be a happy camper, until then I will sweat it out.

[Blue Beemer Dude]

30? THIRTY!!! Oh mah gawd! If only it would get that cool around here! That's 86F for us Americans. Right now in North Carolina we've got mid-nineties with humidity that brings the "heat index" (analogous to wind chill) to over 100 degrees Farenheit. That's 38 to you, eh?

 

There is no way that I'm aware of to direct any air to the crotchetal area. I have asked my girlfriend to wave her hand there to help keep me cooled off, but people think that something else is going on, and after a while she gets tired anyway.

 

Actually, what we do in the South is to wear mesh suits in the Summer. Some wear them over pants, but to me that defeats the purpose. The downside of the mesh is that they don't offer the abrasion protection that a good heavy Cordura or leather suit will, but it's better than nothing.

 

Good luck.

 

Michael

[BFish]

first of all come down here to discuss hot. you'd laugh if i complained about the cold down here in february. anyhoo---i stay comfy in 90-105 degree humid heat by keeping on the go. i attempt to create my own personal windchill! only time i personally suffer is at stop lights during the day. i wear a mesh jacket and helmet with fingerless gloves, sidi boots and now bmw summer pants. rain can be a friend as well. my seat is a sargeant carbon fx (upgrade from bmw comfy seat).

[Whip]

Alaska leather makes a seat cover that helps...I don't have the link, but I don't think you'll have trouble finding it....

[Lightspeed]

Use a piece of sheepskin covering on the seat. It will provide ventilation between you and the vinyl seat covering. Works like magic.

[Stan Walker]

I ride nearly nekid.....

 

Or at least I ride a nearly nekid bike and leave the RT at home.....

 

Stan

[flyingreg]

Some ways of being cool on an RT is:

 

1) Have a beautiful, sexy, young female pillion on the bike with you at all times.

1) Wear only coordinated, high end, name brand riding gear.

1) Have all the latest techno gadgets, visible on the RT at all times, even when going to get the mail.

1) Join a gym and get back in shape.

 

That is a good start on being cool on the RT. Uh, what was that? You said stay cool? OK, so sorry

 

1) Don't ride where it gets real hot.

2) Observe item one at all times.

[Patallaire]

BEADED SEAT. Circulates air, relieves pressure points and you are not sitting in a puddle of sweat or of water if it rains. 1,000,000 taxi cab drivers can't be wrong!!

[Bob Palin]

When I get off the bike after a few hours, my backside and crotch area are usually soaked in sweat. I developed a nasty rash ...

I use a medicated powder, Mexsana in this case. It keeps you drier to a certain extent and comfortable even when you are soaked, should also prevent the rash. It's a cornstarch product rather than talc, spread it liberally all over the area in question (say everywhere covered by your underpants). The stuff on your seating area helps you slip around a tiny bit which really relieves discomfort. I've tried the MonkeyButt brand and it didn't work for me.

 

btw Mexsana is a Dr Scholl product, may be called something else in Canada.

solution 1 above is incompatible with my solution. ("oooh, yech")

[BFish]

Some ways of being cool on an RT is:

 

1) Have a beautiful, sexy, young female pillion on the bike with you at all times.

 

think i understand your concept which, when broken down into your basic premise, is that the hotter one is or appears to be, then in reality the cooler one will become, thus ambient temp is inconsequential!

[RichEdwards]

In sultry Florida, I wear mesh gear, UnderArmour shorts (avoid ALL cotton!) and I try to limit my riding to the cooler hours---that's 6 a.m. until noon. Then it's head for the air conditioning and a frosty mug of suds.

[CraCol]

There is no way that I'm aware of to direct any air to the crotchetal area.

 

The Elf pegs help by getting your legs out in the breeze... They are "Sahara Pegs" for the R12RT\ST, and ELF or Sparky depending on your flavor of R11xx.. Find them at http://www.ccmotorcycles.com/or a favorite dealer near you..

 

Craig

[BFish]

hey richbmw...isn't 6 am a great time to start out down here! best part of the day. hope to meet you at mt dora.

[ScottT]

It’s been very hot in this neck of the woods this summer. Many days of 30 degree Celsius temperatures.

You should come to McKinney Texas where the average high for August is 35 C. What do I do if I want to stay cool on my RT? I take my Magnum and turn on the A/C.

 

10-Day Forecast for Mckinney, TX (75071)

Forecast Conditions High/Low °C Precip. Chance

Fri Aug 12 Mostly Sunny 35°/23° 20 %

Sat Aug 13 Mostly Sunny 35°/22° 10 %

Sun Aug 14 Isolated T-Storms 34°/22° 30 %

Mon Aug 15 Scattered T-Storms 33°/21° 30 %

Tue Aug 16 Scattered T-Storms 30°/21° 40 %

Wed Aug 17 Scattered T-Storms 32°/21° 30 %

Thu Aug 18 Partly Cloudy 31°/21° 20 %

Fri Aug 19 Scattered T-Storms 32°/21° 60 %

Sat Aug 20 Partly Cloudy 34°/22° 0 %

[PhillyFlash]

I usually wear Coolmax (or similar polyester/polypropylene) long underwear. This fabric is moisture-wicking and quick drying. For hot weather, get the thinnest you can find, and if possible, something listed for summer wear. Although it sometimes will feel warmer with this on, it feels much more comfortable than wearing regular cotton underwear and having bare legs sweating against the inner liner of a riding suit. It will wick the moisture away from your body, and keep you drier, which makes a great difference. A very good outlet for this and other types of sportswear is Sierra Trading Post. They often have great deals on discontinued items.

 

Wet t-shirts help keep you cooler through evaporative cooling. You can soak your t-shirt whenever you stop, or get a Hoon Cooler to soak yourself as you ride. It helps you to stay a little cooler, although you'll be wet. Another good reason to have those polypropylene long johns. They really do dry very quickly, so you'll have less puddling that you're sitting in. Do not ride wearing cotton underwear. They stay wet for a long time, and you stay uncomfortable.

 

Whatever you do, please do not ride in shorts and a t-shirt. While some people think that this is a great way to stay cool, down here in the desert, all it gets you is dehydrated, and possibly dead. Riding dead is not good.

 

Other than that, make sure you drink lots and lots and lots of fluids, and at least occasionally, something like Gatorade. Sweat is good, and Gatorade puts more than water back in your system.

 

Good luck staying cool. But down here, the temps you're talking about are downright pleasant.

[Jerry_75_Guy]

So you want to be cool?

 

Assuming you're stuck with a faired bike ("Dr. Phil" is right; nekkid is cooler,

obviously)

 

1. mesh gear (I know, you're already doing that)

 

2.micro fiber water wicking undies AND shirt (I recommend long sleeve to keep your sweaty arms from sticking to the mesh, plus they cool your arms faster), as already suggested, over thin, zip off leg pants, and water wicking micro fiber socks, along with a dash of Mexsana ala "Killer"

 

3.evaporative vest, and /or hooncooler: keep your core temp lower, and

all of your "2000 Parts" will be cooler and you'll perspire less, so less rashyness (oh, phase vests should be included here too along with a neck cooler too if you'd like)

 

Do all of this and you'll be fine in almost any combo of heat and humidity.

In fact, until NASA releases an environment suit suitable for riding (heaven

forbid!!), that is as good as it's gonna get for now.

[Great_Kubuki]

Armored mesh jacket, and pants, gloves. Under mesh suit...No cotton underwear!, polypropylene shorts and tee shirt (from campmor or REI or the like). Light cotton gym shorts, tee shirt over that, so you have on something when you take off mesh wear. No jeans!

 

Powder the lower half before dressing, right after shower!

 

Beaded seat for RT for you and pillion so you get some air flow under your bum.

 

You can soak your tee shirt in water and it will act as a/c under you mesh for about an hour.

 

Lower Michigan has been in the 90's all summer. pphhbbtt!

[gottabmw]

Sheepskin seat cover.

[Deaner]

When hot go higher.

[flyingreg]

Some ways of being cool on an RT is:

 

1) Have a beautiful, sexy, young female pillion on the bike with you at all times.

 

think i understand your concept which, when broken down into your basic premise, is that the hotter one is or appears to be, then in reality the cooler one will become, thus ambient temp is inconsequential!

Give that man a cigar. You hit it on the head, so to speak. There is BEING COOL and there is STAYING COOL. Neither has anything to do with the other and one will most likely lead to a hotter state of being cool.

[mackerman]

I'd agree with the beaded seat thingy. I got mine from whitehorse press, http://www.whitehorsepress.com/, for $20 US, and it works as advertised. It also solves some of the pressure point issues that plague the stock RT seats.

 

Although 86 degrees isn't exactly "hot" by southern riding standards...

[jjohnson24]

Last week was riding in 42 degreeC ( 107F). Luckily the humidity was only 97%. When the humidity hits 100% it gets hot. How to stay cool? Ride fast!

[Tschamp]

For RT. How about this. flexible PVC ( plastic conduit ) say 2 each of 3 inch inside diameter run it from under the oil cooler up through the tree area over the top of the tank and down to the seat

[Mike O]

When hot go higher.

 

10,000ft drops temps -25 deg). At 9500ft, our cabin requires that HEAT be turned on after 9pm.

 

Mike O

[Mike O]

There is no way that I'm aware of to direct any air to the crotchetal area. I have asked my girlfriend to wave her hand there to help keep me cooled off, but people think that something else is going on, and after a while she gets tired anyway. Michael

 

LMAO...I got clean my screen now. Beer everywhere

 

Mike O

 

P.S. I grew up in Fayetteville. I never understood why we bothered to shower We were just wet all the time.

[Uggles]

BMW Savana 2 suit c/w Gortex liners. (Liners optional on cold/wet days)

Otherwise no probs @ all during 35 - 40C summers here. At present is -5C in the morning on the way to work .

Only thing wrong w/ the suit is its a PIA to clean with removing the armour and all but its my decision for ATGATT.

[Tool Man]

John,

I feel your pain....it gets hot even here in So. Cal. local mountains. If you go 20 miles east of the pacific it gets pretty warm.

 

So I have all the vented $hit too....and noticed the air gloves/jacket/boots just don't cut it as well as hopping on the GS and still get to shread a mountain road east of the water. I don't see how folks can ride through the middle of Texas in the summer. Call me a whimp....I can take it...but I spent many a summer racing in the desert and sitting on the starting line at the track waitng for the flag to drop, sweat rolling in my eyes...yea...that was the life.

 

So you see....my friend...it is time you grab that check book and head down to the dealer and grab yourself a GS and enjoy both worlds.

 

or you could just ride "neck'ed"

[KeyLime]

Try a summer windshield...a short thing that lets in a ton of air...

[Draftermike]

I ride standing on the pegs quite a bit, although not sure what it would feel like if my bike hadn't come with bar risers.

[johnv]

Thanks everybody for all the helpful suggestions and advice on staying cool. I realize that to some folks here, the summer temps in Canada must be downright balmy. But we live at the other end of the temperature scale for almost half the year, so 30 degrees C is pretty hot for us. I will be looking into optimizing my riding apparel for next summer. I will dump the jeans and cotton briefs and invest in a mesh riding suit.

It won’t be long here before the liner goes back into my jacket and thermal underwear becomes the standard again. In fact, I’m looking forward to it. I enjoy riding the most in the cooler seasons of the year. I do most of my mileage in the spring and autumn.

As for the suggestion to buy a GS, yes I am seriously thinking about it. I can’t afford two bikes so the RT would have to go. Only problem is, I have to convince my wife that she will like it. She says she doesn’t want to ride around on a “big dirt bike”.

 

John Veilleux

[Tschamp]

Motorcycle Consumer News Voume 36 Number 3 March 20058 has an article about keeping dry. They call it "Monkey Butt". Flash Gordon MD. says that synthetic fiber keeps him dry. He uses underwear and shirts from www.wickers.com There is also some powder called.........you guessed it, Anti Monkey Butt powder www.antimonkeybutt.com

[soboy]

John: Ditch the cotton underwear and replace it with a good pair of bicycle riding shorts with a chamois insert in the crotch. Before putting on the bike shorts, apply a generous amount of talc powder - baby powder works well, but the anti-monkey butt powder is the bomb - best stuff I have ever tried.