Yucatan in Feb: Do I NEED a mesh jacket?
 

I've been lurking on this board for years but I'm not sure if I've ever actually posted... Anyway:

The only time I've ever been south of the border was last February in Costa Rica, not on the bike. It was beautiful and I wished I'd had the bike, but down by the water even in early February it was HOT. This January/February I'm headed down to Mexico, plan to do a lazy meandering of most of the country I hope. The only MUST is meeting my girlfriend who's flying into Cancun for a week to hang out on the Yucatan with me. Necessity says I'm coming down dressed like a eskimo with full liners and electrics etc. I'd been planning on bringing the mesh, too, but as I get closer to actually packing the bike am having a bit of a reality check. Can anyone give me some opinions? My non-mesh jacket is a black Joe Rocket Ballistic, which can zip out to only a thick cordura shell with half-assed vents in the biceps and back. Usually I'd go for the mesh in anything over 70 or so, although I can deal with the JR up to the low 80s if I keep moving. It's not IMPOSSIBLE that I bring both, but I'm on a KLR that's already seeming like it's going to be a bit overwhelmed. I don't have the means to purchase some kind of do-both jacket like a Kili air, so please don't rub it in by suggesting. :D

Thanks a ton for any opinions.

-Luke

Luke, hi I went to Costa Rica in 04 and rode in a mesh jacket for the protection factor then layered up with all the clothes I had plus rain gear in the Highlands. 90,s at the seaside low 50,s in the rain in the mountains.
Do you have a electric jacket liner ? I use a Gerbring with a controler,just dail up the heat you need.Sort of changes everything instead of just wrapping up and losing heat as you go. Not cheap, $200 plus $60 or so for the controler but well made and very compact and it won't bother your KLR to run it. Good luck on your trip!

I do have an electric vest and I have grips to install before leaving, though the KLR stator can't support both on full so it'll be a bit of back and forth there. The issue is I have to be able to endure REALLY cold, because in the mountains up north it could easily be freezing (not to mention I have to get there from new york in winter :( That means I MUST have with me a real jacket with liner, plus thermals and a fleece. No option. I'd hoped to ALSO bring the mesh but it looks like it may not fit.

-Luke

You won't hit mountains or unusual cold temps by traveling the Gulf Coast, Hwy 180.
Unless there's a weather front coming through, you should be fine from Brownsville, TX all the way down.
Stash your gear someplace if that would make things more comfy.
Once you hit Tabasco, you'll begin to sweat.
I'll be down there in Dec.

need mesh jacket ?
 

As you are starting form New York the coldest part of your trip really will be the leg south .May I suggest that timing is everything to being comfortable, as I live at roughly the same latitude and have the same dilemma.You on the east coast actually have it a bit milder so all you need to do is have the bike ready and loaded and wait for a spell of dry and above freezing, and race south on the Interstsate when it occurs. You really don't need electric clothing if you make yourself like an onion in layers of all the clothing that you are already planning to take. Cover the whole lot with a roomy single-piece rainsuit to keep the wind out. I found that this worked great for me ,leaving Ontario on Feb .1 with temp at the freezing point and warming as I went south.Then as the weather gets milder you can peal off layers and stash them in your pack.
The heated handgrips on your KLR are a great idea, I have them too and they made the cold portion of the trip enjoyable. With this strategy you can wear your mesh jacket form the start, leave the black heat-sink at home.
As for the mountains of NW Mexico, do you really want to try them during Jan.-Feb ?- the coldest and snowiest ( yes it does snow in Chihuahua 's high country- this morning at 8am ET it wa already freezing -5C at Temosachic brrrrrrrr)) months of the year ? Can you arrange another vacation at a more agreeable motorcycling season for that region?It might be no more fun than riding in the Catskills or Adirondacks in winter.Motorcycles at heart are warm weather conveyances , I woud stick to climatic zones that are pleasant, there are lots and lots of good roads to explore in warm zones of Mexico and maybe tag on Guatemala and Belize while in the neighbourhood.

Simple zipper fix...clean it with a toothbrush and lube with vaselene.