A quick summary on the bike gear after this first downpour: boots (Altberg Hogg) are 100% waterproof all the way; GoreTex/Thinsulate gloves got completely soaked; jacket & trousers are waterproof linings are OK – though the outer ‘waterproof’ pockets are useless and, after 1-2 hours had little puddles inside them; tank bag: reasonably waterproof; tank bag side panniers: complete waste of time – though they do help to keep rain off the legs.
Although waterproof, the GPS (Garmin Quest) is not designed to be used on a single cylinder motorcycle. Over the course of about a year, vibration from the bike had damaged the screw threads and loosened the rubber gasket, so the unit wasn’t waterproof any more.
(I wasn’t aware of that until I took the damaged GPS apart, at which point half of the screws nearly fell out on their own, and one had gone missing completely.)
Lesson learnt I guess. I just hope the camera will hold up to the constant hammering from the engine. The vibration from the single cylinder even makes my hands feel like rubberised (still the next morning!).
Whatever electronic gear survives this trip is going to be worth getting – I’ll have the summary ready in a year’s time.
