Interplanetary transients with particular signatures different from the normal solar wind have been observed behind shocks and also without shocks. In this work we study the relations between four well known transient signatures, namely: magnetic clouds, helium enhancements, and bidirectional electron and ion fluxes. We found that although commonly different signatures appear in a single interplanetary transient event, they are not necessarily simultaneous. We also study their association with near-surface solar explosive events, and found that most of them were associated with an H&agr; flare and/or the eruption of a filament near solar central meridian. An east-west asymmetry in the associated solar events seems to exist for some of the signatures. The presence of a coronal hole near the site of the explosive event was also confirmed in the majority of the cases. ©1999 American Institute of Physics.