Cold Weather Gear

[natemoen]

Alright, weather is getting colder (32 degrees on my way in this morning) and my gloves and jacket are not up to the task. So I am asking all, what do you have that keeps you warm 0 degrees on up. The riding pants I have are good so I am just thinking upper body gear here.

Then I have to put the fairing on....

[jetmechmarty]

I have an earlier version of this:

Joe Rocket Ballistic 8.0



It's good in the cold, long, and waterproof.

[CatatonicBug]

I use a Frank Thomas jacket with the removable liner. When it gets into the 30's, I put the liner in. I also have a set of Vetter Hippo Hands that I use all winter. I wear my summer gloves under them, no matter how cold it gets. Of course, this is all behind a fairing with lowers. The full-face helmet with a chin dam (mesh thing under the chin) makes a big difference too. I got the 2-layer snowmobile face shield for it to prevent fogging, and that helps all year.

[haywardguy929]

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o61/Cheeze929/cheesehead-winter-knit-hat_zps66cfc969.png

[haywardguy929]

That didn't work.

[hamjam]

my jeep

[650mark]

cold weather gear

i wear a joe rocket alter ego jacket year round here in phoenix. it's full mesh for when it's hot and it has a zippered outer cover panel(front and back) that goes on when it's cold and it is very warm down to about 45 degrees. when it's colder than that i plug in my aerostich heated vest and stay nice and warm. i wear aerostich fleece lined deerskin gloves for the cold temps and they are great. if it gets colder than about 35 i wear my ford truck

[Jerry]

I have a Tourmaster jacket that uses a zip-in liner. I just put the liner in for colder rides and close the vents. Sometimes I put a heavy sweat shirt on under the coat. Layering works.

Gloves: I've tried several, and have a set of Hippo hands as well. Best I have found other than the Hands is a pair of insulated leather gloves with cotton liners. They have a fairly long cuff that tucks into the Tourmaster sleeve. Snowmobile gloves work but they have less dexterity and more bulk.

Some people have fit cartridge style hand warmers in their handlebars, which helps. Really hard-core folks use heated vests. The vests are great but not cheap. They are available from several sources.

Helmet: I have used anti-fogging sprays in the past and they work well. The dual-lens shields that HJC and others put out are not DOT approved for the most part; they are aimed at snowmobiliers. Also have a silk baclava that I wear underneath the helmet, helps keep the back of the neck warm.

[650mark]

i've also installed grip heaters on a couple of my bikes. they cost about $25, take about an hour to install and will make even the coldest ride doable.

[natemoen]

i've also installed grip heaters on a couple of my bikes. they cost about $25, take about an hour to install and will make even the coldest ride doable.

Give me a link for that! That's cheap!

[Bellerophon]

Give me a link for that! That's cheap!

+1 post a link.

[trbig]

Nate, there's a few cheap options I go with and though I haven't ridden in zero degree weather yet, I have ridden down to 7 degrees, which isn't too far from it. That being said, I am hot natured and don't require as many clothes as some. The most expensive part is the bottoms and I wear regular pants and some Carhart coveralls though you said you've got the pants taken care of.

On really cold days, the answer is layers. I'll wear a short sleeve shirt, and long sleeved over that (So I can shed some later if needed) then I just wear my regular mesh armored jacket with the rain liner inside it to help hold in heat, then I wear some cheap rainproof jacket over my mesh jacket to simply block the wind out. This may sound like a lot, but honestly it's only the adition of the thin jacket over my mesh jacket that's out of the ordinary from regular cool mornings. Blocking the wind makes all the difference.

For gloves, I've found the best thing is a pair of waterproof/windproof snowmobiling mittens with some decent Thinsulate in them . It may feel weird clutching and braking with all your fingers at first, but having all your fingers in there together to warm each other up VS seperated by fabric like in a glove makes a HUGE difference. Also, on long rides, I can throw one of those air activated handwarmer packets in there if needed.

The most important piece of the warming puzzle for me is the balaclava type covering that slips over your head and covers your neck. I can buy them locally for @ $8 and wouldn't take $80 for it on a cold trip. If I keep the cold and wind off my neck and fingers, I'm good to go for wherever. Just don't let that black ice sneak up on you.

[motoman]

Hi Natemoen, Some thirty yrs. ago when i would ride the Venturer to work the ten miles oneway, I found that two pair of good ole' brown cotton gloves worked. That was in temps of -25degrees!......still cold but doable. Being an avid skier back then I tried my fancy heavy ski gloves. Didn't work and almost had frostbite using them. This was at speeds of 55-60mph. Fairing and lowers were a lifesaver for the rest of my body. I would layer as Trbig stated. That is ALWAYS the best anyways for holding in bodyheat. I even on occassion would use heavy insulated mittons as Trbig stated. Now all this was riding in some serious cold temps. Wasn't fun, but worked. Back then I couldn't afford the HippoHands, but these days, that not being an issue, some 6yrs. back I purchased every good to perfect set I came across on the bay. One set new still in its original packaging. Gave one set to Jerry as he tries to ride good part of winter when roads are clear to work on his Conny. I keep a set of the heavy nylon wool insulated ones rolled up and on whatever bike I do trips on at the time, just 'because' and keeps gloves dry if I come across a real turd-floater. The regular heavy up the elbow ones are a bit cumbersome and tend to block some rear visibility on my ST. The one set of hard-side Hippo-Hands that bar mirrors go thru I used to occassionaly put on the Venturer if they are gonna be left on for a while, but anymore, if I have to go somewhere for errands and its near freezing, I ride the F-350. Have heated grips on the ST. They help, but do nothing for hands backside if really cold. There is some Hippo-Hands copies out there that sled riders use that would do the trick, but having the fairing/lowers on a bike solves most of the issue for upper body.

[Iron Duke]

cold weather Leathers

Fleece timberland zip up , ebter underalls, silk or fleece balaclava
Masei modular helm , riverroad or the lined deerskin gloves and on top
all black leather pants and coat/jacket, leather wellingtons heavy
socks have road when it has been 15 degrees and stayed comfortable

[petejw]

stick a cpl of sheets of newspaper in front between ur shirt
and jacket, works really well for stopping the cold
getting thru.