I'm looking to see what you guys have for the cold months of September and October. Something casual that I can wear when I'm off the bike too.

 

Well, your going to get alot of different thoughts on this. I like to wear my Green Bay Packers jacket ( semi heavy jacket ) and some pilot gloves that I got from when I was in the Air Force. I do most of my riding on the pavement and would never wear this stuff if I'm off road. The stuff I wear would not give enough protection while out in the woods.

 

What's the status of your bike.

 

On dual sport runs I wear a moose enduro jacket. It also looks ok off the bike.

Moose Racing Dirt Bike Motocross Jackets Men's Riding Gear - Motorcycle Superstore

 

-Complete lower end rebuild, brand new cam chain(old one was stretched), magneto, seals, etc.

-Cylinder sleeve was cracked, being replaced by Advanced sleeve

-New DID O-ring chain and Renthal 14t front sprocket with JT steel 42t rear sprocket

-New IMS gear shifter lever from Honda xr650L

-New black tusk hand guards with integrated turn signals

-Edge tail light and new bikemaster stalk turn signals

-New maier klx300 rear fender

-New Acerbis Supermoto front fender

-Utah Skid Plate

-X2 headlight

-Toggle switch to replace key ignition(currently working on a mount for Vapor speedo and toggle switch to fit between the X2 light and the tripple clamp) - it's tight in there

-Ported and polished head with polished cams and jornals

 

Whether it is 80 degrees out or below freezing I wear my Thor enduro jacket. The jacket has a removeable liner that is pretty heavy and excellent front closure seals that block wind.

The only problem with an endutro jacket is that it has bike specific things on it like an extra long tail in back and a drawstring around the neck that definitely make it stand out as not a typical jacket.

Long ago I would wear a plain old carhart jacket. That was much worse in the rain.

 

Without going through the excruciating details of my entire riding gear wardrobe, I generally feel that casual wear is not well-suited to riding due to fit, protection, and weather. I have developed this attitude over years of seeing friends end up with head trauma, skin-grafts, spinal injuries, and worse.

I employ these strategies when considering gear:
- Different sets of gear for street and off-road use
- Look for removable linings & vents
- When necessary, I wear my casual clothes underneath my riding gear and bring a cable lock to secure my gear to my bike when I get to my destination
- Integral armour (elbows, knees, shoulders, spine)
- Mesh & perforated shells with few under layers in summer
- Solid shells with as many layers as it takes in winter
- Pay a little extra for ‘waterproof’ (which will inevitably turn out to be only water resistant!) to avoid hauling a rain suit around
- If its skin you’d prefer not to have grafted, cover it up (having asphalt-worthy gear can be the difference between riding home with a broken turn-signal, and leaving the scene in an ambulance)

If you must use casual gear to ride in, I’d suggest it’s best to stay in-town at lower speeds, and at least be wearing leather boots, jeans, leather jacket & gloves.

 

I have a nice sort of biker style leather jacket that has a zip out lining so it goes from fall to winter well and looks good even if I need to dress up. I always wear motocross gloves, I have two pairs one for summer with lots of vents and a winter pair with some insulation.

 

The best cold-weather wear I have found for riding my KLX is my snowmobile gear. The dual-shield (helmet) helps with fogging. The jackets have removable liners, high necks to keep wind out, and reflective panels for visibility. They're generally more water-proof than other jackets as well.

If I were doing miles of highway, I'd look for something different, but i've got a 3.5 mile trip (each way), and most of it is 20-30MPH zones on an AF base.

 

When I was young and broke, I lived on a street bike for over a year in a part of Idaho that tended to get very cold in winter (below 10F). I used whatever I had...two layers of thermals, jeans, wool shirt, ski pants and jacket, etc. If it was a long ride, I'd even put rain gear under the ski pants and jacket to keep out the wind. It probably would not have offered much protection against the pavement, but it was what I had. Not really good advise for someone trying to be safe and comfortable...but it worked at the time. Now I have leather for the street, and am on the prowl for some good textiles.