A full day of motorcycle riding in rain is easier when you put waterproofs on early, close the gaps between your kit and keep a dry change within reach. A good jacket helps, but water running into a glove or down a collar can undo a lot of its good work.

Use the stops to clear a misted visor, get warm and change a wet layer without soaking the rest of your clothes. If cold, tiredness or poor visibility defeats the setup, finish the ride early.

If you're still deciding whether a different start time could avoid the rain, our departure-time guide covers that. Here, the question is how to make the wet miles and the breaks between them more comfortable.

Get waterproof before you get wet

The useful moment to put on an oversuit is while your clothes and hands are still dry. Once rain is reaching your base layers, covering them stops more coming in but leaves you wearing the water already there. Take the opportunity at a proper parking place or services before the wet section. Wrestling a boot through a trouser leg is much easier when you're sheltered and have somewhere steady to stand.

Know which part of your outfit is waterproof. Some jackets have it built into the outer shell; others rely on a separate layer. For example, REV'IT!'s Outback 5 H2O has detachable waterproof and thermal liners. They do different jobs. Check that the rain layer you need is actually fitted, and follow your garment's instructions about where it goes.

Try an oversuit on over the full outfit you intend to wear, including the warm layer. Can you get it on over your boots? Can you reach every fastening? Does the crotch pull tight when you sit down, or the jacket hem lift above your trousers? A suit that fits nicely over a T-shirt in the shop may be awkward over riding kit.

Check where the pieces meet

Put everything on and sit on the parked, securely supported bike in your normal riding position. Reach for the bars, bend your knees and turn your head. Look for gaps that weren't there while you were standing up. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation's gear guidance describes close-fitting rainwear openings and protective clothing that accommodates your riding posture; the joins deserve as much attention as the fabric.

Jacket and gloves

Start with the path water would take down your sleeves. If a glove's open gauntlet sits outside the sleeve and forms a little funnel, rain has an easy way in. With an outfit designed for it, a sleeve overlapping the glove cuff lets that water run past the opening.

That isn't a rule to force onto every glove and jacket. Cuff design, handlebar position and the way your sleeves sit all matter. Follow the intended arrangement for your kit, then check that it stays closed when your arms are stretched forward. Flatten any folded fabric that holds a channel open, and fasten the cuffs without restricting wrist movement.

If you use overgloves, try them with your riding gloves before the trip. You must still be able to grip and use the controls properly. Discovering that the extra material bunches under your fingers is a job for the driveway, before you're trying to fix wet hands on the road.

Collar and waist

Close the main zip fully and lay any storm flap flat. Check that a neck tube or scarf isn't leaving a wet strip of absorbent fabric running from outside the collar to inside your jacket. Keep it neatly tucked, with enough freedom to turn your head.

At the waist, check the overlap again while leaning forward. Use the jacket-to-trouser connection where the kit provides one, but also check how the waterproof layers overlap: a connection zip and a rain seal aren't automatically the same thing. A short jacket riding up at the back needs sorting before a long day of spray.

Trousers and boots

With ordinary rain overtrousers, the legs should shed water outside the boot tops. Tucking them into the boots gives rain somewhere to collect. Check the overlap with your knees bent; a trouser leg can look plenty long enough standing up and retreat above the boot on the bike.

Close ankle openings and fit any retaining straps as the maker intends. If your trousers have an internal waterproof liner, check that layer too. You want a continuous overlap at the boot, without an exposed sock or trouser lining leading water inside. Boot covers also need to work with your foot controls and stay clear of moving or hot parts.

When one area gets wet, look at the nearest opening before assuming the fabric has failed. A damp wrist, neck or sock top gives you somewhere useful to start checking.

Stay warm without getting clammy

Choose a comfortable base layer and add insulation to suit the conditions. Several manageable layers give you something to remove at a warm indoor stop or add before a colder section. Keep enough room to move normally; stuffing another thick jumper under an already tight jacket makes reaching and fastening things harder.

Wait until you're ready to leave before closing everything up. Carrying bags downstairs and strapping them on while dressed for a cold ride can leave you sweaty before the engine starts. At a sheltered stop, open or remove outer layers before you overheat, then put everything back in its riding arrangement before setting off.

Dampness inside a jacket doesn't always mean rain has passed through its waterproof layer. Sweat is another possibility. So is the clammy feel of a soaked outer fabric: Mountain Equipment explains that this “wetting out” can reduce breathability even when the jacket isn't leaking.

The water-repellent finish on the outside helps droplets roll off. GORE-TEX's care guidance explains how that finish wears and needs maintenance. Check your own maker's cleaning and treatment instructions before the trip. A spray treatment won't fix a torn seam or an open cuff.

On the day, deal with how you actually feel. If the layer against your skin is wet and you're getting cold, get under cover and change it. Trying to work out the exact cause can wait until you're dry.

Keep a clear view

Start with a clean visor and deal with scratches or damage that interfere with your view before leaving. Pack a clean, soft cloth separately from the one used for luggage or the bike. Road grit on a cloth is unwelcome company for a visor.

If your helmet accepts an anti-fog insert, check its fit beforehand. Pinlock's instructions call for the silicone seal to make full contact with the visor. Use the instructions for your particular insert and visor when fitting, adjusting and cleaning them; the insert needs more careful handling than the outside of the visor.

Anti-fog equipment has limits. SHOEI's Pinlock instructions explain that an insert can become saturated during prolonged cold or humid conditions and may need to be removed and dried before reuse. Set up the helmet's ventilation as its maker directs. Also check any day-only restrictions for your exact visor-and-insert combination, especially if a long day might finish after dark.

At breaks, check whether the problem is road spray on the outside, mist inside, or your glasses fogging. Each needs a different fix. Clean and dry the relevant surfaces with the approved method, and let wet components dry properly before refitting them. Use a visor suited to the light: Britain's Highway Code warns against tinted lenses or visors that restrict vision in poor visibility or at night.

If you cannot keep a clear view, find a safe place to stop. Don't keep extending the ride by another junction while hoping the mist will sort itself out.

Pack dry things you can actually reach

A spare pair of suitable riding gloves earns its space on a wet tour. Keep it dry in a closed waterproof bag until you need it. If you change gloves, check why the first pair got wet before feeding the next pair into the same open cuff. Dry your hands before putting them on, and put the wet pair somewhere separate.

Pack dry socks, a base layer and something comfortable to wear after riding in their own waterproof bag too. They give you a change during the day and something dry for the evening. A spare neck tube takes little space if the one you're wearing becomes soaked.

Keep the overnight clothes separate from the things you expect to open at roadside stops. Even good luggage cannot protect its contents while the lid is open in the rain. Put the rain kit, spare gloves and visor cloth where you can retrieve one item and close the bag again, without exposing your whole change of clothes.

Do the same for your phone, money and the key you need to open the luggage. An easily reached pocket isn't necessarily a waterproof pocket. Use the pocket the garment maker identifies as waterproof or a suitable waterproof pouch, and keep closures shut. Wet gloves make touchscreens and small fasteners more awkward, so sort out directions and payment while stopped and sheltered.

Before departure, try this with the bike loaded: retrieve the waterproofs, spare gloves and dry layer, then put them back. If you need to take off the tent and unstrap the main bag for all three, the packing order needs another go.

Make the next stop count

A useful wet-weather break has somewhere to get out of the rain, take off wet outer kit and sit down. A fuel pump may provide cover, but it doesn't give you all of that. Look for a café or services before a long stretch with few places to stop, and allow time to eat, drink and sort out your clothes.

Once parked, keep gloves and the helmet somewhere rain cannot fall into their openings. Take off wet outer layers before opening the bag of dry clothes. Fix the irritating little things now: the collar rubbing your neck, the twisted sleeve lining, the damp sock. They become much harder to ignore after another wet stretch.

If cold fingers are making fasteners or controls awkward, or concentrating on the road is getting harder, stop and reassess. The Highway Code's fatigue guidance says to stop somewhere safe if you feel sleepy; a motorway hard shoulder or emergency area is not a rest stop. Don't wait for the planned lunch break because you've only just left the last one.

If the day is wearing you down, consider a shorter remaining ride once you're warm, dry and properly alert again. If you cannot recover, finish for the day and arrange somewhere to stay or another way onwards. Check on your passenger too. Being quiet behind you doesn't tell you whether they're comfortable.

Suspected hypothermia needs emergency help. The NHS lists shivering, tiredness, confusion, slurred speech and slow breathing among its symptoms. Don't wait for every symptom: call the local emergency number and follow the dispatcher's advice. Get into shelter and replace wet clothing with dry coverings while waiting for help; don't ride yourself to hospital.

Give tomorrow's kit a chance to dry

When you arrive, get yourself changed and open out the wet kit before settling in for the evening. Ask where you can hang it without dripping across the room. Separate removable layers as their instructions allow, empty pockets and give damp items space rather than leaving them folded together in a pannier.

Follow each item's care label. GORE-TEX's glove instructions recommend gently squeezing water towards the wrist and line drying with the wrists pointing down, away from heaters. Its footwear guidance calls for natural drying at moderate temperatures without direct heat. Open boots and remove insoles if the boot maker allows it, so the inside has a chance to dry too.

Don't transfer a jacket's drying instructions to everything else. Some outerwear permits controlled tumble-dryer heat to restore water repellency, while other garments specifically prohibit it, as the GORE-TEX outerwear care page makes clear. A radiator, hairdryer or hot towel rail is not a shortcut to use without checking the item maker's instructions.

Deal with the visor and insert while you have a clean, sheltered place to work, then set tomorrow's dry base layer and gloves aside. Keep wet kit out of the bag holding them.

In the morning, check inside gloves and boots as well as feeling their outer surfaces. Thick linings may still be damp. If the outfit hasn't dried enough for the conditions ahead, use suitable dry spares, delay leaving or change the day's ride. Starting another long wet day already cold and damp is a problem to solve before you pack the bike.