Cold Weather Riding

[D. P. Larmee]

As winter will be here in full force before we know it, I thought I would start a thread for people to share there cold weather riding tips with the rest of us. I tend to ride through the winter and here in Chicago it can get a bit chilly. This often leads to some creative thinking to thwart off hypothermia as well as just getting the damn thing started in the morning.

I noticed last year that I had a hard time starting my XS11 G if the temps got much below freezing. I resorted to using a 100 watt light bulb resting on the engine that I plugged into a lamp timer to click on an hour or so before I had to leave for work to heat up the oil. This worked great as long as I made sure to ride it at lunch. If I left her for a full eight hours I wouldn't be able to get her started come quitting time without a spray of starting fluid. Do any of you swich to a thinner oil in the winter?

As for staying warm while riding I have found a homemade electric vest to be indispensible. It always sounded a little girly to me, but after trying one, I'm a true believer. You'd be amazed at how much of a difference it makes adding an outside heat source as opposed to just trying to keep your own body heat in. I can remain tolerably comfortable into single digit weather now. Doed any body have any tips for keeping their hands warm? This seems to always be the weakest link for me.

[xExcessive 1120]

Cold Weather

Hi D P! I used to ride when ever I could with my first '79F with no fairing...right out there. I used a full face helmet and still have the best thing I ever found. That is a pair of US Air Force cold weather pants that are thick felt with nylon on the inside and outside. They are heavy and sometimes can be found at Army Surplus outfits and have pockets above the knees designed for seated wearers with snap closures and buttons for suspenders. If anyone out there finds a pair buy them you will never be cold again. I rode 40mi in temps starting @ 18DegF and falling to 2 degrees above 0! I used down mittens for my hands and had few problems, once I adapted to the change from gloves. The best were made by WEISS and were orange nylon inside and black leather with a white stripe (BMW?). This in Northern Vermont so we get the weather too! That was twenty years ago when my body put out more heat and I was highly motivated. I got caught out in a snow squall with a rear tire that was so worn the bike would stay up without the sidestand. But I enjoyed running on the lake ice and was amazed at how much traction you get as long as you are really tender on the brakes. I am still working on my full faired sidecar rig as my colder weather grocery getter. Also full Duo-Therm long johns and rubber pack boots top off my winter out fit with wool pants under the Air Force "Keepers" All the best, Christopher.

[rover]

For hands, wear one or two pair of latex gloves, the ones like for washing dishes and snowmobile mitts. I ride a lot until the snow comes to get myself used to the cold, so I can snowmobile for several hours. There is more excersize in snowmobiling that on a cycle

[dpotter58]

I'm gearing up for cold weather down here in Maryland. Put the fairing on two weeks ago getting ready for the cold.
Years ago when I did not own a car and only left the bike home when there was ice or snow on the roads, I wore the long johns with a brrrrr suit. Possibly the best winter buy of all time is a set of vetter hippo hands.
I have not put them on yet but they are ready to go.
It's not too cold here yet still in the 50s in the morning and warming to the upper 60s.

[ratbyk]

Cold Weather Riding

To keep my hands warm on the Ratbyk I have off road bush guards on it. They deflect the wind and rain away from my gloves and help a bunch. It also has hand warmer grips. They work so well that I can only leave the heat on for about 5 minutes out each 15.
For the arms, legs and body I wear a snow mobile suit. Does a good job. I also snap/velcro a neck support around my neck. This is wrapped with a very small towel around the outside to increase it's size a bit. With this no cold air gets in around the base of the helmet or down into the neck area on the snowmobile suit.
If really cold out I will also wear a down vest but it is not needed often out here on the coast of the NW. Wet roads are our biggest problem. That and trying to keep the bike clean with all the rain.
Another trick is to put your gloves on top of the motor every time you stop. Helps dry them out and warm them up.
Ken/Sooke
78E Ratbyk
82 FT500 "lilRat"
92 ZX11 Temptress.

[srq68]

I'm gearing up for serious winter riding too: long-sleeve t-shirt, jeans and leather jacket at least! Switching from 3/4 helmet to full face too.
Finally some decent riding weather with morning temps in the low 70's...
Whish you were here....

If you complain about the cold, try sitting at a left-turn red light through 3 cycles at 3:00 pm, breathing diesel truck fumes, engine heat risong between your legs, no wind, 95 degrees in a shirt and tie, and the threatening thunderstorm ahead,... that's our bad riding season...

You can always put warmer clothes on when it's cold, can't take much off that the minimum when it's hot...

[ratbyk]

srq68, Thuuuummmmmm
Any hurricanes lately?
Ken/Sooke
78E Ratbyk
82 FT500 "lilRat"
92 ZX11 Temptress

[Pain]

I am planning on doing some riding on Saturday here in WI, up to the Dells to meet some people for breakfest.

The good news is they are no longer perdicting snow

I have Yamaha jacket I got a couple years ago from a dealer. With the liner, I have never been cold, though I have been eyeing up the WIdder stuff. Still thinking about it, though this might be the weekend.

Picked up the Extreme Carhartt overalls for my legs. When I tried them out, I was just too hot (Temps in the 40s), so they should work well.

For the hands, I have heavy gloves, but just got some of those chemical hand heaters (My special is headed back to stock next summer - I am thinking about this Standard for my new 15,000 a year bike - I didn't want the heated grips). Will be trying them out.

-Pain

[iron_llama]

Back before I had a semi-reliable winter cage to ride in Minneapolis, I was stuck commuting through snow and ice on my Suzuki GS450. From top down, my cold-weather kit was as follows:
-full-face helmet
-scarf/neckwarmer
-Swiss army 'motorcycle coat' from sportsmansguide.com - this is awesome; rubberized canvas with a thick felt liner. It's very warm, comes down past mid-thigh, worked very well.
-German Army surplus winter mittens, with the 'trigger' fingers exposed, also from Sportsman's Guide
-Sweedish Army 'motorcycle pants', basically insulated canvas bib overalls- very warm, with a large pocket on each shin to accomodate a seated rider.
-engineer's boots- of course, I wear these year-round.

I would warm my hands on the sides of the block at stop lights, and rest my heels on the crankcase, which would keep my feet warm.

OK... Get this... I now live in Arizona... in the #$%^& DESERT... and my friend Marco, who just bought a beautiful new Honda 750... complains that it's too cold to ride, at least at night. I'm trying to get him to see the error of his ways. If there's no ice on the road, you owe it to yourself to ride.

[Pain]

I should also add that I do change to a winter-weight oil when it gets chilly, though I haven't yet this year. Have the oil, just haven't changed it yet.

-Pain

[John]

My winter riding gear is: Full face w/shield, Wool stocking cap/toboggan (for the sotherners) w/ the top cut off and pulled down over my neck and tucked under the jacket. Leather bike jacket, hooded sweat shirt, Jeans, long johns, and chaps. Riding boots and thick socks. You gotta dress in layers. Deer skin gloves w/thinsulate and long cuffs. The windshield on my bike has 'wings' that cover the handlebars, and grips, so I don't have much of a wind problem there. When I was younger, and dumber, I used to ride all winter, as long as the roads were dry, and there was no precip in the forcast. The coldest I rode in was 25 degrees. I still enjoy riding but the freezing I can do without, so I don't ride so much in the winter, but I don't put it up either. It still gets out when the temps are in the 40 or above. I keep the 20w-50 oil in it all year also.

[young nip]

cold weather riding

okay ,Afetr reading this last thread of inevitable reality,,,,imagine I just bit into the largest and sourest lemon on earth .Imagine the expresion on my face after.....the realization of COLD weather .snow???? yuck guys!!! Say it aint so!!!OH my Gosh!! must I consider winterizing and storeage of my baby once More????!!!! perish the thought.
Hmm ,anyway, suns shining today, roads are dry. got a full tank...- sh*t its cold/////where did I put my lined gloves??? honey ,Im going for a ride!!!
steve

[Dennyz]

Full face helmet - Shoei with chin and nose shield.
Fleece neck cover - a fleece tube that seal off my helmet and jacket collar.
Water proof riding jacket with zip in liner for my upper body
Snow mobile Gore-Tex gloves
Water proof riding pant with zip in liner
Polypropylene long underwear
Riding boots with heavy cotton socks (my boots are insulated and water proof)
(No fairing or wind screen)

This setup has kept me warm down to 25 degrees going 70 mph for hours on end. It works pretty well in the rain, but eventually the water will come through the front of my jacket. I do plan to go back to a wind screen of some sort. I have had a problem with the rain hitting my chest and going up inside my helmet. A screen would stop this and keep the rain from driving through my jacket. I tried snow mobile handle bar/grip muffs. They are kind of a hassle at first and look a bit dorky, but kept my hand dry and warm. They enable me to wear lighter gloves which reduce drip fatigue from bulky gloves.

I rode to Phoenix and back in February one year. It was 2 days of riding in rain and cold each way with 4 days of increasable warm riding (tee-shirt and no helmet at 9:00pm) in between. Look forward to doing it again on of these winters.

[Jerry]

I guess I like my comfort, even in cold....

Lowers on the Vetter
HJC helmet with heated faceshield (run 2 wires to an RCA style plug for power. Big problem I had was fogging windshield.)
Liners inside leather "chopper" (thumb only mitts) goves. These have long cuffs to overlap wrist area.
Really cold use, a Refrigiware suit, which I also use for snowmobiling. Otherwise I just put the liner in my Tourmaster jacket, have matching pants. This combo works well into the teens.
Snowmobile boots or my regular boots with wicking-style heavy socks. Note: I have floorboards on the XJ, for cold weather riding move feet back toward rear wheel for extra heat.

To date I have not tried a heated vest, mostly because of the Vetter and heavy outerwear, but am considering it. Problem areas for me are knees (armor in Tourmaster pants help) and finger tips. Have considered adding snowmobile-style hand warmers, have a set I bought but not yet installed. Couple styles, one wraps under the grips and the other mounts inside the bars. I have the inside-bar style. Have used those crushable chemical hand warmer packets for longer runs in cold weather, work OK but not really suitable for shorter commutes.

[Czekus21]

Hands;, Vintage 1983 Full length, insualated riding gloves, Head;, Full face helmet, scarf, Upper body;, tank top/T-shirt/thermal shirt/
Longsleve shirt/Leather jacket, Legs;, Thermals/loose fitting jeans/bib carhart overalls, Feet;, insualated hunting socks/leather boots.
Well I think that just about sums it up. Ya kinda feel like the maltomeal kid but movement is not restricted and it can get pretty downright cold. The coldest I've riden in was around 10 below 0. Now that's cold. Don't even want to think about the windchill factor at 75mph.
Back in the early 80's I used to ride alot from Pheonix Az. To my folks place in northern Cal. At the time I was in my late teens and didn't even think about the snow and ice. Talk about getting a quick education. I road enough on snow to actually feel more comfortable on a bike in the snow then in a cage. That was then. not now. I still ride in the winter, perhaps morso then in the summer but as far as snow, only when I have to. I HATE ICE,,, The only place ice is well liked by me is in a bourbon and coke.
Winter oil;, I don't think that you would want to go below a viscosity of 5 or above a rate of 30, Hence, A good , SJ rated 5w30 diesel motor oil should get you through the winter.