Riding in hot weather – how to stay safe on a motorbike

Martynn Randall is technical editor at Haynes and has been with us for approaching 30 years. He's written more than 60 Haynes publications and has owned more than 85 cars and 60 motorbikes... so far!

Riding a bike in the heat isn’t something we normally have to think about much in the UK, but heatwaves seem to be becoming more frequent here at home and it’s easy to get caught out during those dashes across Europe. I wouldn't have relished riding in southern Europe's record-breaking temperatures during July 2023.

So here are tips to help you stay safe when riding a motorcycle in high temperatures, wherever you are in the world:

1) Stop and rehydrate regularly

Our riding gear is chosen to protect us and keep us warm, but on a hot day it’s easy to overheat riding slowly or when stuck in a jam.

With ambient temperatures in the shade exceeding 25°C, even in the UK, it gets really warm in that helmet. It’s fine if you can keep a good pace up, but it quickly gets uncomfortable at lower speeds.

There have been times, particularly in Southern Europe, when I’ve been close to fainting due to dehydration, and it’s very difficult to spot the symptoms until it’s too late.

I recall riding into the centre of a town in Northern Italy on a blisteringly hot day. It was early afternoon, and I hadn’t stopped since breakfast.

As I came to a halt at some traffic lights, the world started spinning, and my vision started to blur. I managed to make it to the side of the road, put the side stand down, then fell onto the pavement. Some kind passerby helped me with my helmet and made me drink some water. After about 15 minutes, I felt much better, convinced them that I didn’t need an ambulance, and got back on the bike.

2) Protect yourself from the sun

It’s tempting isn’t it? The sun’s shining, the locals on their scooters are riding around in t-shirts, shorts, and beach sandals, and you’ve got a jacket, jeans and gloves on. Surely, it’s better to be cool?

Well, being cool is better than overheating of course, and no one is ignorant of the consequences of falling off wearing shorts etc. We’re all grown up, and can imagine how much fun it will be to spend a few hours in the emergency room, having gravel removed from knees, hands etc.

However, I got caught out many years ago in southern France, 35°C plus, and riding to a race meeting about an hour away with some locals. I knew the pace would be slow, so I reasoned that the risk of falling off was low, and the risk of overheating was high. Shorts and T-shirt it was then.

Riding along at 40 mph was just about comfortable, but when I got back I realised my mistake - no sun cream! I was the proverbial lobster… and very uncomfortable for days.

Obviously sun block/cream will hold back the sun burn, but seems to have a magnetic effect on insects.

3) Use the air to keep cool

If you can maintain a good speed, the airflow around you will help to dissipate some of the heat. At lower speeds, airflow can be increased by opening the various helmet vents, and maybe keeping the visor open a couple of millimetres. Most helmets these days have an integral drop-down sun visor, so the chances of getting bugs/dust in your eyes are pretty small.

If your helmet doesn’t have a sun visor, some helmets have two slots in the visor aperture to facilitate the arms of a pair of sunglasses, but due to the movement of the helmet, they can still be a little uncomfortable - pressing into the side of the head.

Good quality jackets usually have air vents built into the design. These are zipped openings on the front, rear and arms of the jacket. Unzip the vents and the passing air can flow into, around and out of the jacket - makes quite a difference. Just don’t forget to zip them up before the rain.

The price and design of these jackets varies enormously. From £60 to £1000, textile to leather. They all have their idiosyncrasies, strengths and weaknesses.

There are also some recent gizmos designed to increase air flow, particularly up the sleeves of your jacket. Check these out! I’ve never used them myself, but I can’t see why they wouldn’t work. They’re called Ventz, and cost less than £20.