Motorcycle Touring in Malaysia - Gears

Going on a short holiday on your bike can be fun.

But one should consider the things that could happen when you are on the road as after all, riding is a high risk activity. At times shit happens, it may caused by the rider him/herself doing some silly things, or it may even caused by other road users.

You may look cool riding your motorcycle with sneakers and jeans but the consequences are, well... see for yourself.

 Note that jeans are not the best abrasion material, especially when you are sliding on tarmac at 80kmh.

Racing leathers are great for protection, but wearing on a hot and humid day for 10 hours will totally get you "worn" out. These suits are designed for the tracks.

However, in modern days motorcycling we are blessed with many high quality touring boots, jackets and pants made from breathable materials which can keep us cool and dry, which helps the rider to track more miles and more importantly, concentrate on his riding.

Gore-Tex materials provides the option for the rider to ride comfortable in long journeys, while it is water proof. This makes this kind of material essential for us riding here in this region where Malaysian riders need to brave the rain and the heat all at the same time. I had the experience of riding around Malaysia a year ago on my Hyosung, 5 days on the road with scattered rain on the Northern region in April. It was alright when there were no rain, when it starts to drizzle, you would need to decide whether to stop and put on your gear, and if you decide to ride on, the rain might just decide to pour on you.

Funny enough, many times when I decided to stop and put on my Givi rain suit, but after a 20 minutes stop by the highway shoulder (it is a pain putting on rain pants standing by the road), I started riding again and within minutes the rain stopped, and the road was bone dry after that. Think about it, underneath the rain suit, it is the riding jacket and pants and I was still wearing T shirt and underpants under the jacket in the heat. If you decide to take the rain suit off (it is also pain getting rain pants off standing by the road), and magically the rain may start again in a few miles.

Don't get me wrong, these rain proof suits are great for getting the rain out and keep you dry. But putting them on and getting them off is a pain. Moreover, if you have them on for a few hours, you will definitely start to sweat as the suit is not breathable.

Other than Gore Tex, which in most cases are the super premium products sold by renowned motorcycle gear producer, there are other cheaper options to Gore Tex which are also breathable, like the Drystars products by Alpinestars, or from Dainese D Dry line of gears.