[dfgpilot]

These questions are mainly for you riders who don't mind riding when its cold.
Brrrrrrr!!!!!

How cold can it be for you to still go out and Ride?
How long will you ride for?
What riding gear do you use for the Winter?

So far for myself the coldest I've been out has been 24 degrees F.
Riding time 1.5hrs before a break
Riding Gear - Full Face Helmet, Layered Clothing, Leather Jacket, Schampa
Head Gear, FirstGear Ht Overpants, Boots, Olympia Winter Gloves w/Gortex

Look forward to your posts

 

[woodchucks800]

your time an temp. about right longer if warmer. The big problem around here is the snow an ice . The bike doesn't like it . Can't say I care for it much either. When it's that cold I wear my snowmobile bibs their alot warmer an made for those kind of temps.

 

[Peewee]

be very carefull it is not only about being cold,the pavement is cold and the tires are cold ,thats a dangerous mix

be safe

 

[centerpunch]

20's is the lowest I have ridden in for about an hour and a half. It was a very sunny day though, and that made a difference. I was wearing a flip face helmet with leathers and long johns. Hands and feet got a little cold by the end of the ride.

It has been in the low 60's here in Central Oregon for the last few days and have put a couple hundred miles on with my half helmet. The only bummer is that they have cindered the roads lately and the air is full of dust. Makes for keeping a bike clean rather difficult.

DJ

 

[JoeNomad1]

Who left the door open? It's getting cold down here. It was in the upper 20s to low 30s this AM. It wasn't very windy, but I still skipped a day. It suppose to be in the upper 30s tomorrow morning and in the mid 60s in the afternoon. I don't have a full face helmet..yet! I will probably pick one up for days like this.

 

[woodchucks800]

Who left the door open? It's getting cold down here. It was in the upper 20s to low 30s this AM. It wasn't very windy, but I still skipped a day. It suppose to be in the upper 30s tomorrow morning and in the mid 60s in the afternoon. I don't have a full face helmet..yet! I will probably pick one up for days like this.

That's why I've got one Joe. thats about the only time I wear one when it's cold. usually wear a half helmet an a neck gator, more comfortable. The flip up does help with the cold wind though. I forgot I left the door open sorry ,could you close it for me? (LOL)Usually the winter's up here are pretty brutal but not this year. Looks like the cold stuff is in the upper midwest an New England.

 

[MotoLappa]

I'll admit it, I am a wuss. I head for home if it drops below 45 and I won't take my bike out of the garage if it isn't atleast that in the morning. I have done it but ,I don't like it. Not Fun.

 

[rwrighter]

That's why I've got one Joe. thats about the only time I wear one when it's cold. usually wear a half helmet an a neck gator, more comfortable. The flip up does help with the cold wind though. I forgot I left the door open sorry ,could you close it for me? (LOL)Usually the winter's up here are pretty brutal but not this year. Looks like the cold stuff is in the upper midwest an New England.

The winter here in central Ohio has been pretty brutal this year. We have had more snow and ice than i can remember. Although the first week of 2005 we did warm up, but had heavy rain everyday,with several areas in Ohio totally flooded. Some people lost everything they own in these floods. Now back to the deep freeze and about 8 inches of snow on the ground. It was
-7 degrees this morning when i got up. Needless to say I'm not riding :neutral:

 

[archer]

Scared of the rain

Snow and ice! What's that? I'am scared of the rain here in arizona.LOL :grin:

 

[dfgpilot]

We did get some snow finally in the Big Apple over the Weekend. Temps in low teens.
Too slushy with the road salt and to icy to go out.

Peewee your right about cold pavement and cold tires. My sister in CT bought my brother-in-law a 2005 VTX1300R for Christmas. He should have bought a Kaw(to each their own-he now has a cruiser and ridin). We picked it up 1/15/05. Temps about 26F
and I did notice that the tires lost some of their grip with this cold. Maybe the Tire companies should make them with an all-season compound so they stay more flexable in sub zero temps. Hey, they do for cars why not for bikes.

Woodchuck800 when its real cold don't go out with out your neck gator is so true.
We loose a lot of body heat thru our necks. Covering it up makes the ride much more comfortable.

I think the people around Tahoe may not be riding to much this winter since they have had from what I heard on the news 19ft of Snow.

Got to go - See you guys on the forum later

 

[ispeed77]

These questions are mainly for you riders who don't mind riding when its cold.
Brrrrrrr!!!!!

How cold can it be for you to still go out and Ride?
How long will you ride for?
What riding gear do you use for the Winter?

So far for myself the coldest I've been out has been 24 degrees F.
Riding time 1.5hrs before a break
Riding Gear - Full Face Helmet, Layered Clothing, Leather Jacket, Schampa
Head Gear, FirstGear Ht Overpants, Boots, Olympia Winter Gloves w/Gortex

Look forward to your posts

that all sounds about right to me. i have yet to go on any long rides below 30 degrees, but you seem to have the clothing down. the next step would be electric clothing, but i don't want to do that, not sure about you. that's just part of the reason for me installing the fairing, warmer in the cold. as far as how often to stop for a break, it comes down to the individual. probably not a good idea to ride for too long, even if you feel warm, unless you have full body electric. its good to just stop and stretch every hour or so, especially when it is cold. the colder you get, the longer it takes to warm back up. as far as the neck gaitor goes, i were one almost all the time, as well as a turtleneck. i shave my head, so my head and neck get cold pretty quick, and i don't like that. hehe

 

[SteveA]

I put all the bikes up comfy & cozy as soon as the salt is spread on the roads. The main answer as to cold weather riding comes down to how badly I want to ride. I always want to ride-temps don't matter, just the salt. If it's under 30 degreesF, I will ride the dirt bike, but only down to about 10 degreesF, no colder. Flesh hurts pretty bad at those temps. But you're not going too fast anyway, so no problem. You'll even start to sweat while working the bike.
Ride safely. Counting the minutes till Spring.

 

[jukief]

I've ridden in the mid-20s, but it really was pretty brutal, even though I was really bundled up. I prefer to have the temperature be at least 30. If it's that cold in the morning, but I know it's going to be warmer in the afternoon, I'll go ahead and ride.

Today is glorious in Colorado, BTW. It was 40 degrees when I left home at 9:00 this morning and will reach a high of about 62. I'm in heaven! I was taking care of my mom last week (after emergency surgery) and was stuck indoors, in another town, without my bike while the temps were in the high 60s every day. I about went nuts.

Unfortunately, it's supposed to get cold tomorrow. But that's tomorrow... I still have half of today left. I think I'll take off work early and go for a long ride. Woo hoo!

 

[Paco]

Not worried bout the cold, but the salt the locals throw around here, it eats up the bike.

 

[Spooph]

The coldest I've ridden in was 2 degrees F. From top to bottom, I had my snowboarding socks with my regular riding boots tied losely (the laces were fastened, but made sure to give the toes lots of circulation benefits).

A nice fluffy, oh gosh, what are those things called! Sweatpants maybe? Not the swishy kind, the soft kind. My work pants over that. Underwear of course, but won't go there.

Undershirt, work turtleneck, thin jacket, thick jacket, riding jacket (luckily this one's big to still give me mobility with all the layers underneath). Snowboarding gloves with liner and heat packs. Helmet with added Foggy mask - so I could see, and yellow riding glasses.

A fogging mask is the biggest worry for me in the cold. I clean my visor once a day, to decrees fogging, use the fog mask, and always breath out the bottom of my helmet.

When I ride in the cold, I always ride the limit, and when the road gets shiny, i get super cautious, because I don't know if it's wet or ice. I also use the RPM's and rear brake only for slowing down, because once the front tire starts sliding on ice, it's done.

Just throw in the towel while you can still feel.... If the rear gets outa wack, you still have a chance. My bike is also super cold natured, so warm-ups and cool downs are essential.

Keeping my liquids and tire pressure in check has also provided an incident free winter riding season. I got my bike in mid-Sep, and just clocked over 3300 miles! I love this thing, hope this long windedness helped.

 

[T-man]

These questions are mainly for you riders who don't mind riding when its cold.
Brrrrrrr!!!!!

How cold can it be for you to still go out and Ride?
How long will you ride for?
What riding gear do you use for the Winter?

So far for myself the coldest I've been out has been 24 degrees F.
Riding time 1.5hrs before a break
Riding Gear - Full Face Helmet, Layered Clothing, Leather Jacket, Schampa
Head Gear, FirstGear Ht Overpants, Boots, Olympia Winter Gloves w/Gortex

Look forward to your posts

Well, as long as I don't have to the driveway and the roads are clear, I'll go as low as 35 degrees on my thermometer (mountains around me will be colder). Lower than that is just too much for me. Will go about an hour at a time and wear good , winter gloves, lotsa layers , ski mask, half helmet with bubble shield, and my Widder System 2 heated vest underneath it all(except for a t-shirt). I find it will transfer the warmth and keep everything else warm. Of course, full leathers, jacket and chaps.
The bike will have on my taller windshield (2" higher than summer) and engine guard chaps.

With that, nothing even feels cool.

 

[Bob R]

Well, as long as I don't have to the driveway and the roads are clear, I'll go as low as 35 degrees on my thermometer (mountains around me will be colder). Lower than that is just too much for me. Will go about an hour at a time and wear good , winter gloves, lotsa layers , ski mask, half helmet with bubble shield, and my Widder System 2 heated vest underneath it all(except for a t-shirt). I find it will transfer the warmth and keep everything else warm. Of course, full leathers, jacket and chaps.
The bike will have on my taller windshield (2" higher than summer) and engine guard chaps.

With that, nothing even feels cool.
__________________


Hey T - with all that garb, I bet ya look like Ralphie's little brother Randy in Christmas Story!!!
And those mountains around you are definitely COLDDDDD!!!

 

[Frankt07]

you guys got em big n brassy. i rode thursday and it was probably in the 50's. i wasnt real prepared but froze my arse off nonehteless. i had jeans, riding boots, long sleeve shirt and leather jacket. had to wear a bandana over my face cuz my boogers were freezing to my mustache......lol

 

[tdaugharty]

35f BUT mostly mid 40's is where I'll back her out of the garage. Anything lower and you have to layer up to much to be responsive on a bike.