Author Topic: Winter Riding (Read 4376 times)

gearjammer · « **on:** April 15, 2007, 09:02:39 PM »

Hey Guys,

Today I rode out for the first time when it was 32 deg F. It was such a good experience. From where I come from (india) ,temperatures do not drop below 75F except for some insane monsoons. I was excepting to die of hypothermia or something but with some layers of clothing , riding pants and a jacket I was fine! It even started snowing for a bit. The only downside was that I had perforated track gloves and my hands were frozen. Does anybody ride out in winter? I would love some tips and pointers.

Daytona · « **Reply #1 on:** April 15, 2007, 09:45:18 PM »

Quote from: "gearjammer"

Hey Guys,

Today I rode out for the first time when it was 32 deg F. It was such a good experience. From where I come from (india) ,temperatures do not drop below 75F except for some insane monsoons. I was excepting to die of hypothermia or something but with some layers of clothing , riding pants and a jacket I was fine! It even started snowing for a bit. The only downside was that I had perforated track gloves and my hands were frozen. Does anybody ride out in winter? I would love some tips and pointers.

Yep maybe get a job with ins that pays 4 a shrink! 32 deg! Like in Fahrenheit???

Hey just kiddin

There are clothing 4 about any temp. Just watch the ICE!!!

snofrog · « **Reply #2 on:** April 15, 2007, 10:07:36 PM »

the coldest I have done any real riding in is on a 720 mile day .it was 29 when I left for indy and a gs rally got up to 60 in indy and by time I got back home it was 27. lots of layers help immensely . M

speedytriple · « **Reply #3 on:** April 15, 2007, 11:41:16 PM »

i live in north east ohio and ride almost all season. only time mine sits is when the snow is covering the roads. i rode to work yesterday 30 miles each way in 37degree weather. on the way in it was 28. with layers and the right gloves you can do it in some comfort. i wear under armor cold gear. its like ong underwear but better. blocks wind much better then cotton long underwear, and wicks any moisture away if you do get hot. then i wear my t-shirt, with a henley pull over on top. the outer layer is my first gear trekkar jacket. with the liner in of corse. for pants i wear under armor cold gear under my first gear ht over pants with the liner in. i use alpine star waterproof boots. with thick shocks. use a polar fleece and silk baclava. under my helmet. for gloves i use quest winter gloves with liners. they are 150grams thinsalate, with fleece liners. very warm. if it is real cold like under 25 i add a work vest i have under the jacket. and a extra layer of neck protection. hope that helps. i need to invest in some heated gear i think.

gearjammer · « **Reply #4 on:** April 16, 2007, 12:07:21 AM »

Wow. Come to think of it, maybe I should invest in some winter riding equipment. After a while on the freeway, i had to pull over and stick the gloves on the engine to warm em up. Do you use heated grips? My friend's got em on his futura and says they work well. I have my doubts.

speedytriple · « **Reply #5 on:** April 16, 2007, 12:27:09 AM »

nope no heated anything. i have the same thought on the heated grips. they may keep the inside of your hand warm, but the cold wind hits the front not the insides right? i am looking to buy some buell hand gaurds like they have on the xcross. block the wind from hitting the front. with these heated grips might work well? i know some of the bandit guys use the vstrom ones on there bikes. that is the only thing that gets real cold on me is my hands. even with real warm gloves it still gets cold from the wind chill. if its 20-30 out riding on the freeway at 60+ mph makes for some real bad wind chill.

mike

stormi · « **Reply #6 on:** April 16, 2007, 03:29:58 AM »

Quote from: "gearjammer"

Wow. Come to think of it, maybe I should invest in some winter riding equipment. After a while on the freeway, i had to pull over and stick the gloves on the engine to warm em up. Do you use heated grips? My friend's got em on his futura and says they work well. I have my doubts.

I have heated grips on the 919. Now that I've had them,.. I don't know that I'd want a bike without them. I paid something like $24 cdn for them, so they're not a huge investment. I also had to buy some wire and a 87a relay, and I splurged and bought a nicer 3 way switch. . So total investment was under $40.

Here's the added bonus. I've read that power anything ( like heated grips,, clothing, power point for a camera, etc) is actually -good- for the charging system. When the bike generates excess power, the regulator rectifier has to bleed it off in the form of heat. Less excess power, less work and wear and tear on the charging system.

So in essence, it's a $40 RR protector, that just happens to warm your hands at the same time.

smooth operator · « **Reply #7 on:** April 16, 2007, 06:47:09 AM »

If the roads aren't covered with ice or snow (we get alot of snow in Erie) then I like to get out aleast once every month. Instead of wearing my leathers on a cold day I'll wear my insulated Carharts and I have a pair of snowmobile gloves.But its not the same kind of ride that I'd do in the summer. The roads/tires are cold, there is loose debree on the roads,especially intersections.And on a warm sunny day when you get the snow melting across the road,becarfull later in the day when it cols back down and turn to ice.When it get back above freezing abit, and I wear my leathers instead of the Carharts,I'll wear a sweat sirt over the leathers. It will keep the air from coming through the perferated leathers and doesn't restrict my movment.(too many layers under my leathers and its restrictive)Along with all the snow here(was snowing yesterday and still today) we get salt spread on the roads. If you deside to ride on salted roads,make sure you give time for a good cleaning afterwards. Dan

Daytona · « **Reply #8 on:** April 16, 2007, 09:34:26 AM »

Hey i guess some one has to do it!

Red01 · « **Reply #9 on:** April 16, 2007, 12:16:56 PM »

Quote from: "speedytriple"

nope no heated anything. i have the same thought on the heated grips. they may keep the inside of your hand warm, but the cold wind hits the front not the insides right? i am looking to buy some buell hand gaurds like they have on the xcross. block the wind from hitting the front. with these heated grips might work well?

I'm sure hand guards would supplement how well heated grips work for the back of your hands, but despite the fact they heat the inside of your hands, they still work well on unguarded controls. I wear the same gloves year round. (Non-vented, non-insulated leather like these.) While the backs of my hands will be colder than my palms, it's not uncomfortable (for me anyway) and I'll ride into the low 30's (*F) as long as there's very little risk of ice. Most of the time I have to cycle the grips on and off because my hands will get too hot. I was too cheap to opt for the optional heat-troller, I just have the low-off-high three position switch.

rkfire · « **Reply #10 on:** April 16, 2007, 12:31:34 PM »

I use a snowmobile suit for cold weather. It's so warm, when I first tried it out, I had too many layers on underneath and now just a shirt and jeans. My hands don't get cold tho, I have a pair of non-motorcycle specific leather gloves with a wool (i think) inner glove built in. For really cold, I have a balaclava (under 30 degree), but my helmet seals nicely too.

I'm retired now, but used to ride the bike year round to work. I can honestly say I was warmer suited up than I would have been if I wore just a winter coat, and waited until I was nearly at work before the car heater actually kicked in..lol.

IcyChaos · « **Reply #11 on:** April 17, 2007, 02:24:47 AM »

I don't ride in the crazy snow, but I have rode in the 20's at night.

The best cold gear I've ever bought is PolyPro. I bought it from the army surplus store, and its pretty inexpensive. Its like long johns, I bought the pants, shirt, booties and neck warmer. I find it works best right up against your skin, then layer up more if needed. I've been fine with the polypro clothes, and jacket / jeans / gloves etc.

rmtcook · « **Reply #12 on:** April 19, 2007, 03:34:48 PM »

A family member gave me some heated gloves a while back, but I haven't tried them yet. Most of my winter riding is just short < 1 hour rides, so a decent pair of winter gloves does the trick. Has anyone installed/used a pair of heated gloves? One of the things that freaks me out about them is that there are obviously wires that run from the converter that I have to attach to the battery and plug into each glove. I'm not sure how to set the whole thing up?

My current winter gear includes windpants over my jeans, regular motorcycle mid calf boots along with a fleece and jacket on top. Keeps me pretty comfortable.

Red01 · « **Reply #13 on:** April 19, 2007, 05:47:37 PM »

Gerbing's gloves come with a harness (available seperately for $10, if you have their gloves and no harness). The harness runs down your sleeves and to your waist, where you'd plug it into a quick release plug that's wired to your bike's electrical system. Their gloves will plug directly into their electric jackets/liners, too.

rmtcook · « **Reply #14 on:** April 19, 2007, 11:39:15 PM »

Quote from: "Red01"

The harness runs down your sleeves and to your waist, where you'd plug it into a quick release plug that's wired to your bike's electrical system. Their gloves will plug directly into their electric jackets/liners, too.

Holy Crap, the wires run down my sleeves and into my gloves? I don't like the sound of that at all. I have visions of doing something stupid like walking away from the bike still attached and pulling it over or falling down, or something equally sophisticated.

Anyway it's going to be 70 here in the frozen flooded Northeast this weekend, so I'll deal with the heated gloves issue next year!! Time to take off the windscreen. Woo Hoo!!