Better Biking - 25 years on

The recent "summer weather" made this article from the www.geton.co.uk website particularly interesting, especially for those riders of a certain age who can remember the days before Gortex, Pin Locks and Textile bike wear.

Remember the eighties? Spandau Ballet and Gary Numan, big hair and big shoulderpads, yuppies and the Miners’ Strike? Remember that motorbike you had? Great in the spring, but those leathers were too hot in summer, and in winter you got wet and cold.

If, like thousands of people, that’s why you swapped two wheels for four, read on. Because the riding experience has changed since the days of Kate Bush and the c90 cassette, and one of the things that’s improved is the weatherproofing.

So we decided to test the kind of bike you might have been riding 25 years ago, and the gear you might have been wearing then, against the kind of motorcycle kit you could be enjoying now.

Get On took over the climatic wind tunnel at MIRA. It’s the place where Bear Grylls trained for his microlight flight over Everest, and Ben Fogle and James Cracknell practiced for their race to the South Pole. So it should be able to match the worst a British winter could throw at you.

Into the tunnel went some brave journalists, including Mike Bushell of the BBC. Dressed in typical 1984 leather kit, helmet and gloves, he “rode” a 1984 Honda VF500. In those days commuters were hardy, so he was riding through rain, in temperatures 10 degrees below freezing, in a 70 KPH wind – that’s over 40 mph.

The rain proved versatile, turning itself into ice when it hit him, but still managing to soak into the leathers and form mist inside the visor. After 5 minutes he was losing the feeling in his fingers, and “the wind just cut straight through me which was pretty painful.”

So much for the good old days. Now for today’s riding experience.

On a brand new BMW sports tourer, dressed in new kit from Weise and BMW, Mike found it much easier to smile at the weather. The bike’s aerodynamic fairing diverted the wind away from his body, along with some of the rain. The new generation of breathable waterproofs kept the water out without getting unpleasantly sweaty, and the helmet didn’t even steam up.

In fact, he was comfortably warm and dry, able to see and keep wiggling his fingers throughout the “ride”. Did we mention that the motorcycle has heated grips, so holding the handlebars is cosier than a hot water bottle?

Just to be sure, we tried summer conditions as well. With the same headwind we pushed the temperature up to 35 degrees, with humidity just to ensure a sticky ride. That’s in the eighties  leathers, of course. In the new breathable gear he stayed fresh and relaxed.

Three times British Superbike Champion John Reynolds came along to see for himself. “I’ve still got all my old leathers from when I first started riding and it’s quite amazing how much the kit has developed since the 80’s,” he said. “Back then the leathers were made up of individual panels which came apart and were pretty useless at keeping out the cold and wet. Now the new synthetic fibres are quite amazing at keeping you warm when it’s cold and cool when it’s hot. I road ride much more than I ever previously did, which is a joy in the new kit.”

And who are we to argue with that?