Riding in winter

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  • HobbyMan
    MeatHead Idiot "GURU"
    • Jul 2006
    • 1801
    • Colleyville, TX

    #31
    Is it better to ride faster to get to where you are going and freeze yourself, Or is it better to take is slower to keep warm and be in the cold longer?
    United States Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, NY
    If I can do it at 18 yrs old, anyone can
    "You know something, You can't polish a turd"
    "What are you rebelling against", "Well, what do you got?"
    Acta Non Verba

    Comment

    • e.z.nightrider
      XStremely XSive
      • Apr 2005
      • 212
      • Rockford IL

      #32
      Yes, I ride in the winter. And yes I DO miss the Vetter my XS 750 had. I ride down to about 30F any colder and the old knees just can't take it. Also the weather can change so much during the day I don't like getting caught in freezing rain or snow. Been caught in the snow twice, that's twice to many for my tastes. The last time I acummulated 1" of the white stuff on me and walked into house looking like a snowman.

      Ed Z.
      It's an 80 LG My Midnight Ride
      81 XJ650 MAXIM The Preachers Bike (Gone but not forgotten)
      82 KZ 305 CSR Training Wheels (now my daughters)
      82 GS 850 GL SWMBO's (HER RIDE)

      'He who wanders is not always lost."

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      • oseaghdha
        XS-XJ Guru
        • Aug 2006
        • 1075
        • N43.02.5,W88.14.2

        #33
        Originally posted by HobbyMan
        Is it better to ride faster to get to where you are going and freeze yourself, Or is it better to take is slower to keep warm and be in the cold longer?
        Go fast.

        Eventually, it will occur to you that ITS $#@%@^ COLD! and you will start hauling a$$ anyway.

        Saves a step.
        XS1100SF
        XS1100F

        Comment

        • strom
          XS-XJ Guru
          • Jul 2002
          • 1577
          • Slovenia, EU

          #34
          I ride if the streets are not frozen and clear of snow.
          Put a fairing on... but the bike got so booooooooooooring with that thing on.

          LP
          If it doesn't have an engine, it's not a sport, it's only a game.
          (stole that one from I-dont-know-who)

          Comment

          • The Lorax
            XS-XJ Guru
            • Jun 2005
            • 1048
            • Riverside, OH

            #35
            I have no fairing, no bags, just bike. lowered, straight drag bars. My shop has issued us uniforms and being that the pants are something akin to plastic...40 degrees F is about my limit. here in Ohio, the mornings are a touch nippy but the afternoons have been beautiful. I don't usually get to ride to work this time of year...that plastic pants thing..kinda like riding with no pants...if you hold them up to a relatively bright light, I think you can see through them. mayhaps I'll get some chaps, chaps for my laps...uh oh, I'm starting to flake out...with that, I'm out
            I am the Lorax, I speak for the Trees

            '80 XS1100 SG (It's Evil, Wicked, Mean & Nasty)

            '79 XS1100 F R (IL Barrachino)

            '00 Suzuki Intruder 1400 (La Soccola)

            '77 KZ400s (La Putana)

            Comment

            • Incubus
              XS-XJ Guru
              • Aug 2006
              • 1003
              • Austin TX

              #36
              If we have winter this year, I might consider not riding until it is over. It can sometimes take two or three days until it warms back up here in Austin. It got below freezing once a couple years ago. Didn't warm back up until morning...

              Patrick
              The glorious rays of the rising sun exist only to create shadows in which doom may hide.

              XS11F (Incubus, daily rider)
              1969 Yamaha DT1B
              Five other bikes whose names do not begin with "Y"

              Comment

              • jimboreeno
                XStremely XSive
                • Aug 2005
                • 427
                • Smithville, MO

                #37
                Left for work this morning .. 38 degrees:

                Had the dress clothes on for the office (works with my black boots)... then the carhart insulated overalls...then the rainpants (wind/waterproof)...then the leather jacket...scarf....gloves with wind liners...open-face helmet with face-shield...windshield (not a full fairing)on the bike...

                TOASTY on the 1 hour ride in. And great with w/o the coveralls on the way home.

                Fall colors are peak here (Nashville and North to KY where I live) and it is supposed to rain the next couple of days. This may be one of the last/best ride for colors this season for me. I took about 2.5 hours to get home! Glad I didn't cage it in this morning!
                Last edited by jimboreeno; 10-25-2006, 09:25 PM.
                JimBoReeno
                My Ex!"Half-Breed"
                '82 XJ1100 Maxim with
                '80 XS1100SG Motor

                Current Bike
                2000 Indian Chief
                Millennium Edition

                Comment

                • Pat Kelly
                  XS-XJ Super Guru
                  • Jul 2002
                  • 3046
                  • Golden Valley, AZ

                  #38
                  I put the fairing, lowers, hardbags, and trunk back on the E. Now ready for winter. Going to work isn't bad at 10 pm. Comming home at 6 am is getting cool.
                  I used dilectric grease on all the connections I deal with. Seems to help with the charging. Before I would idle with 12 volts, turnsignals would go from 10 to 8 volts. Now turnsignals go from 12 to 11 volts. I may put my stereo back on.
                  Took all that off to do the 2nd gear fix. It's working fine tho neutral is difficult to find now. Guess I'm not supposed to stop.

                  Now for some $ to bore my XStra cylinders and put the big bore kit in the LG. All the parts are gathered and waiting.
                  Pat Kelly
                  <p-lkelly@sbcglobal.net>

                  1978 XS1100E (The Force)
                  1980 XS1100LG (The Dark Side)
                  2007 Dodge Ram 2500 quad-cab long-bed (Wifes ride)
                  1999 Suburban (The Ship)
                  1994 Dodge Spirit (Son #1)
                  1968 F100 (Valentine)

                  "No one is totally useless. They can always be used as a bad example"

                  Comment

                  • MAXIMAN
                    XS-XJ Guru
                    • Jan 2005
                    • 1817
                    • As far from the government as humanly possible.

                    #39
                    [QUOTE]Originally posted by GNEPIG
                    .. I ride all winter.

                    say no to fairings
                    fairing and fairy looks and sounds too similar.
                    [/QUOTE

                    HEY!!!

                    No need to get personal.



                    But when's the last time you rode 4000 miles in 5 days with no fairing or no windshield.

                    I've made long trips on naked bikes...but it's NOOOOOOOO fun.

                    Gimme a fairing...and during the winter especially...

                    Comment

                    • GNEPIG
                      XS-XJ Guru
                      • Apr 2005
                      • 1647
                      • fl

                      #40
                      But when's the last time you rode 4000 miles in 5 days with no fairing or no windshield.
                      .. you are my hero

                      Comment

                      • fredintoon
                        Master of XSology
                        • Mar 2004
                        • 6795
                        • Saskatoon SK

                        #41
                        Longest trip

                        But when's the last time you rode 4000 miles in 5 days with no fairing or no windshield.

                        Lessee now, closest I came was 4,000km in 10 days. Riding all round Lake Superior
                        & stopping at every tourist viewpoint & I didn't use no steenkin' fairing or windshield.
                        But it was in the summer and I was much younger then.
                        Fred Hill, S'toon.
                        Fred Hill, S'toon
                        XS11SG with Spirit of America sidecar
                        "The Flying Pumpkin"

                        Comment

                        • Jerry
                          XS & TRUE XJ GURU
                          • Jun 2002
                          • 3023
                          • Elma, IA.

                          #42
                          winter photos

                          Here are a couple photos I took last spring when out for a winter ride:







                          Above about 20 deg F and dry makes for a decent outing if you have the gear. Course, here in Colorado I can often smowmobile 1 day and ride the XJ the next; within about a 1/2 hour ride I go from about 4,800 feet (home elevation) to around 10,800 feet (top of Grand mesa) so can choose what type of riding I want to do.
                          Jerry Fields
                          '82 XJ 'Sojourn'
                          '06 Concours
                          My Galleries Page.
                          My Blog Page.
                          "... life is just a honky-tonk show." Cherry Poppin' Daddy Strut

                          Comment

                          • jimboreeno
                            XStremely XSive
                            • Aug 2005
                            • 427
                            • Smithville, MO

                            #43
                            Winter rides

                            OK...If you wanna compare winter ride pics....

                            Just a day in the neighborhood...


                            This one was a challenging ride...


                            Be careful of the natives when riding in the winter!


                            JimBoReeno
                            My Ex!"Half-Breed"
                            '82 XJ1100 Maxim with
                            '80 XS1100SG Motor

                            Current Bike
                            2000 Indian Chief
                            Millennium Edition

                            Comment

                            • HobbyMan
                              MeatHead Idiot "GURU"
                              • Jul 2006
                              • 1801
                              • Colleyville, TX

                              #44
                              Brrr.. Thats cold! How about this Texas weather down here. 75deg this morning on the way to school and 50deg when I got out. It isn't that cold, but I keep thinking that it is going to get hot and then in a few hours, the temp drops 20deg. I was sweating on the way to school and chilled on the way home.
                              United States Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, NY
                              If I can do it at 18 yrs old, anyone can
                              "You know something, You can't polish a turd"
                              "What are you rebelling against", "Well, what do you got?"
                              Acta Non Verba

                              Comment

                              • planedick
                                XS-XJ Guru
                                • Mar 2005
                                • 2068
                                • Yorba Linda, California

                                #45
                                Winter....

                                I remember when I was young riding in the snow on my Hardly 125 Hummer. Of course I was (am) crazy. Now I live in So Cal and there is no winter and I ride year round.

                                PS I have an extra fairing in case anyone's interested. Later I'll take pics and list it on E-bay if no one here wants it. PM me if you are interested....
                                You can't stay young forever, but you can be immature for the rest of your life...

                                '78E "Pathfinder" Show bike...
                                Lovingly restored by Dave Delzell
                                Drilled airbox
                                Tkat fork brace
                                Hardly mufflers
                                late model carbs
                                Newer style fuses
                                Oil pressure guage
                                Custom security system
                                Stainless braid brake lines

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