Cold ride

[Puunjob]

I am going saturday to help a friend pick up his new gs500  but we couldn't find a truck so I volunteered to ride it home for him (he doesn't have his liscense yet and the girl he bought it from wants it out of her garage now) anyway I was looking for some sugestions on riding when its cold

The air temp should be about 40 and I will be riding for an hour any sugestions on what to wear how often to stop ect.  would be greatly appreciated.

[Frost]

hey...I'll be picking up my GS500 on saturday too!!!...for a second I thought the friend you were talking aobut was me...

I'll be riding ALL day on saturday and sunday...should be 7-10 C...

you ever ski?....if you do...ski gear should be fine...if you don't have any cordura jacket...

just bundle up and layer a lot...you should be fine...

hey...if i can survive riding in canadian winter...you guys down there should have no problems at all

[GRU]

just put on some warm clothing like a thick shirt and over that a windproof jacket...you should be fine...i rode my bike for 5 KM when it was -5 celcius

[Greg Gabis]

Layers, layers, layers.

Top:
Base layer of thermal underwear.
Long sleeve shirt, perhaps a turtleneck.
Heavier sweater/sweatshirt/fleece pullover
Riding jacket-cordura/leather

Bottom:
Base layer of thermal underwear
Jeans

If you can add a windstop layer such as nylon overpants or jacket, that helps.

A bandanna/mask is helpful. The chinstrap of your helmet will hold it in place.

Your hands will suffer the most. If you have insulated leather riding gloves use them. You can use a winter/ski glove but you'll give up some abrasion resistance.

Your regular heavy boots will be fine. You may want to double up on socks.

1-hr in 40 deg F weather is not difficult. If you get cold and start losing concentration, by all means stop and warm up!

Duck down out of the windblast when you can. I heard newspaper is a good windstopper if you don't have a nylon-type jacket.

Be mindful that the suspension and tires will be cold and the bike will feel just a bit different than when it is warm. That affect is most notable below freezing, tho'.

And now for a little windchill info:
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/windchill/index.shtml

[Jace009]

I went for a ride today about 1hr long. it's 40* outside and I wore a pair of sweat pants, jeans and my riding pants. Then a spandex shirt, nyon wind breaker, and then my riding jacket....It was good except the wind kept hitting my neck/lower head...I think I might grow a beard  :lol:

If you start to get cold stop and warm up!! last thing we need is for your hands to freeze and you can't hit the brakes

[yamahonkawazuki]

the bandanna idea works great,  fold in half diagonally, tie behind head, and tuck lower end into coat, and use helmet straps to hold it in place, but in some instances, while this DOES work, it can cause your face shield to fog up also gloves and layers of clothing, and thermals if youve got them

[miket]

All the above, plus shove a newspaper in front of your chest and a pair of rubber gloves on top of you riding gloves for stopping the wind. A windproof balaclava would be optimal. Missing that, use a silk scarf. I have ridden several times in below 30 degrees weather, although shorter distances, and my hands and my neck are usually the only places where I get cold. Oh, my crotch too, at times.

[conradvr]

My Dad has found a great layering technique for riding.  When him and a few mates did a ride around Australia they encountered a very wide range of temps especially in the desert areas (and they needed to travel light).

1. Use the Dri-Rider Dri-Mest Jacket.  This jacket has mesh panels in it.  It also have a removable liner that is waterproof and naturally a windbreaker.  On hot days remove the liner and it is almost as good as riding with a tee-shirt only but a bit more protection.
2. As other have said layer up, he used t-shirt, long sleeve t-shirt and a fleece jacket.  Combined with the Dri-Mesh jacket and its removable liner just about all conditions are covered.
3. Get one of the polar fleece neck scarfs you use whilst skiing (slips over your head onto your neck).  This is great for protecting the neck and stopping cold drafts into the helmet.
4. Heated handle grips - I guess for us some gloves with removable liners and maybe an external windbreaker will have to do.
5. Water proof pants- these double up as windbreakers, just wear jeans + fleece tracksuit pants underneath.

Basically if you can insulate and cut out the wind you will be toasty warm.

Cheers
Conrad

[Cal Price]

All of that advice echoed, take frequent stops to move your limbs and blood about a bit. I find the worse areas are hands which I have improved greatly with a big and wide screen plus doubling-up the gloves when it's really bad (I've just arrived at work at 0630 and it's minus six) and the upper leg, L J's or overtrousers (or both) usually do it for me, the stops also stop your brain seizing up, when you get really cold it makes you slower and affects your thinking, being dopey on a bike in poor conditions is not a good place to be, stop for a coffee, stay alert.

[Jeremichi]

I took the bike to work this morning and its 24f.  Thats pretty damn cold.  I had two pairs of gloves on a mask to cover my head and neck.  Probably should have worn another pair of pants too.  Be careful for ice I found out the hard way leaving my apartment complex this morning.  Anybody if a front turn signal is on ebay?

[richard]

The coldest ride I've made was about 12f, after dark, through a fog bank.  I stayed fairly warm because I had on (in addition to thermals and a heavy jacket) a full body froggtoggs suit (waterproof, windproof).  That was before I installed my heated handgrips, so my hands got a little chilly, but it was a 1.5 hr drive.

The things I've learned to consider most when riding:

Make sure your pants are wind-proof.  Most people have windproof jackets if they ride, but as it gets colder, the wind just goes right through whatever you have on.  at 40 degrees, however, I'd be fine in jeans and thermals.  I don't get cold easily, though.

Wear a scarf, or something to protect your neck.

Try to find a way to protect your ankles.

When it's really cold, I always have my froggtoggs which go all the way to my shoes and protect my ankles from the wind, as well as a standard issue military (dad was in the air guard for 22 years) scarf tucked into my helmet.


biggest tip, though, ride around in that temperature at the speeds you'll be riding for 15 minutes or so, and pay attention to where feels at all cold.  You won't get overly cold in that time, but notice where needs extra protection.

You'll do fine!

[pantablo]

all good advice.
I'll add that it IS VERY IMPORTANT to a) cover your neck, you'll lose lots of body heat there so a turtle neck, neck gator or thick bandana/scarf is a necessity and b)move your hands and fingers alot while you ride to know if they're still getting bloodflow. 40* isn't *too* bad but you need to be careful about heat loss.

[Hi-T]

I live up the road from Rich and have had rides in 8* weather.  40* ain't that cold-  I jump for joy when it's clear and 40.

I do fine with thermals, jeans and an overpant- like a snowboarding pant or a thicker Nike wind breaker.  I ride with a Joe Rocket Jacket and a fleece pull over and stay toasty up top

THE PARTS THAT GET COLD are my hands and neck.  I now use a micro-fleece baclava thingy that fits perfect under the helmet and keeps my neck warm. I always ride with leather gloves and it;s hard to find something to fit over them and give a SAFE throttle and clutch feel.  You can use small pocket warmers and drop them in the gloves or hang your hand over your engine and let the hot air blow on your hands-  doesn't wotk for your throttle hand when you're on the freeway though.

[Kerry]

This is exactly what led to the development of my "Throttle Retainer".

I went on a 300-mile daytrip the first December I had my bike.  It had just come back from the shop (8 weeks after hitting that cow) and I HAD TO RIDE!  All I had for my hands were my leather gloves, and the temps were in the mid-30s.  About 1/3 of the way into the ride I realized that if I didn't figure something out quick, my hands were gonna turn brittle and fall off.  I tried to sit on each hand for a while, but it was really awkward to hold the throttle with my left hand.  (Talk about unsafe!)

Luckily for me, the boys at the shop hadn't repositioned the throttle grip quite right.  If I tightened the screw for the bar end down tight, the throttle wouldn't snap closed anymore.   :x  Hey, wait a minute....  Problem solved!  Over time that rudimentary lifesaver grew into a purpose-built feature.

These days I pull some thin, windproof mittens over my gloves for the cold.  Like Hi-T hinted, they take away some of the flexibility and "feel" from the grips and controls.  But they keep me toasty!

EDIT: Changed links from sisna.com to bbburma.net

[litestuf]

Well... everyone seems to have the right idea... LAYERS.

It's easy to take some OFF but you can't put on what you don't have.

I live in Quebec, that's near Canada, north of Newyork,Vermont and Maine. Our average "daily snowfall" is about North Dakota's yearly snowfall. We had three full weeks of -30 to -40,60 F degrees... now that's MF'in c o o o o lllldddd. TABARNAK! (That's french for "What the f%$k was Jacques Cartier thinkin!!!)

I have Bullson clothing... it's light, warm and wind proof. The latter is primordial if you want to stay warm. Hands & feet are first to freeze, the face too is a freeze area if your dumb enough to wear a beanie.

Signs of hypothermia are, shivering, disorientation, sleepiness, euphoria and death in that order (don't ask how come I know). Hypothermia is one of the best ways to die... the other two are Highside and face on into a Peterbuilt while looking rearward.

Cheers all :mrgreen:

[jabbajosh]

Icon makes a nice pair of gloves "Icon Patrol Gloves" they have a removeable fleece liner in them they kept my hands warm last night when we were riding about 100 mph in 25*-18* F weather.


http://www.rideicon.com/brandsite/RideIcon/www2004_sd/gearProductSummary.jsp?action=Q&category_title=Gloves&category_id=184&product_group_id=1828&parent_title=&parent_id=&product_name=PATROL&rank=500

[RandiBBB]

I don't know how the heck cold it was out today but we did 100 miles and no kidding I've been home an hour and my thighs are STILL cold!!     My riding buddy wears tights under her jeans and said that helps her and she also has a pink bandanna around her neck.  DEFINITELY putting some under things on for our next ride!

[Rema1000]

Icon makes a nice pair of gloves "Icon Patrol Gloves"
http://www.rideicon.com/brandsite/RideIcon/www2004_sd/gearProductSummary.jsp?action=Q&category_title=Gloves&category_id=184&product_group_id=1828&parent_title=&parent_id=&product_name=PATROL&rank=500

Hey, those look pretty nice!  I've been looking for winter gloves with armor, but some winter brands just have leather.  I had been looking at http://www.newenough.com/olympia_model_4650_ultima_1_gloves_page.htm, but the armor in the Icon looks superior.

Are those Icons waterproof?  Price?

[jabbajosh]

dont know if they are waterproof yet, but i know that they are around 90 USD a pair,  if anyone has any questions about icon gear IMO im an Icon posterboy, i wear an icon mainframe helmet in the black gloss, i wear the patrol gloves in winter in black, the superduty gloves in summer in black, i wear the motorhead jacket in black on black, and i wear the super duty boots in black the only thing i dont have is a pair of their riding pants yet, but they are on order!

[Maniac]

Puunjob,

How'd the ride go?