Do dirt bikes count?  After my last race of the summer/fall, I put the GS away and get the CR250 out!  Roostin' in the snow is a freekin' blast!

Rich

I ride all year.  But then look where I'm from.

Paul  

I'm sure gonna try. Definitely not going to brave any Michigan six-inch snow storms, but rain and cold don't bother me so much. I tested my raingear the other day, and i especially like riding in torrential downpours simply for the strange and sometimes pitying looks you get from cagers.        

I've said this before but...

Northeastern Mass., all year, barring snow on the road or heavy rain.  Wife doesn't like the rain, so I respect that (tho she's completely wrong )  :kiss:

Trev

I ride all year too in NE OH as long as streets aren't slippery with ice or snow.  Always wet with salt water though.   :lol:  Been out in 15-20F weather for shorter distances.

Been using rusty old 81 CM400A with 98k on clock for winter bike.  Think the restored 97 GS will be my winter bike by next year and Hondamatic will be retired.  Rusted thru front fender fell off recently.    :mrgreen:

My virago was my winter bike of choice...Still will be I guess...Winter riding is actually better than summer for me... I tend to sweat a lot...and have good cold resistance...anyway that's why the gear is there...My complaint is that the suit dont let in enough air to make me feel comfy so I have 1/2 the front zip open...and the shoes I have are so air tight...My feet ... well you know...So I swap boots as soon as I get to work. Leave the ventilated ones at work.
Cool.
Srinath.

All-year, all-season rider here, been doin' it almost continuously for 17 years, love it, wouldn't give it up for the world. I just enjoy the looks I get from car drivers when I ride in the rain :mrgreen: . The rest of you are just hardcore! Right on!

Quote from: SpazzRWCI know someone out there rides all year. (Except in the snow obviously)

What's wrong with riding in the snow?

My bike in the snow is on page 7 of the wall of fame.  I forgot to include my member ID but the caption is

"89\' on a 350 mile trip through Tahoe and Truckee"

You should see the looks on people's faces when it's 13 degrees and snowing and you ride by them on a motorcycle....  HAHAHHAHAHAA I &*^@#$*^ love it  :mrgreen:

QuoteI ride all year too in NE OH

GSJack... you're this Mid-Atlantic Boy's HERO!!!

I live only a mile from campus here in U.P. and I've been thinkin' hard about selling my truck to my Bro-in-law and going Bike/Bus/ShoeLeatherExpress all year long...

how can I NOT go all-weather now?!!  After being brought up MD/VA style... I can't let this Ohio badass show up my peeps!  I gotsta represent this January!!!  

P.S.  Jack's choice of bikes in the colder months makes a good point about winter wear... if you live in a state that salts their roads, this is a  major corrosion factor in the winter.... that salt will hang around until the first few spring rains ... and it WILL to damage to your bike's belly (particularly exhaust systems).

I ride all year as long as the road surface is "friendly".

One or two winters ago I rode to work with no problems.  It rained during the day, and then the temperature plummeted and the rain turned to ice.  As I headed for home across the long parking lot, I thought I'd better see what kind of braking ability I had.  I put minimal pressure on the front brake and WHAM! the bike was on the ground.

I got a passerby to help me pick the bike up.  It took a while to start it up again.  I rode home on the snow-covered sidewalks and the slushy parts of the road, avoiding anything that looked like an ice sheet.  When I got home I went along the snow-covered side yard toward my shed.  I used the front brake as I approached the gate (like I always do) and WHAM! the bike was on the ground again.

Moral?  Be very careful about friction-challenged surfaces (DUH!).  Cold air is one thing - slippery asphalt (or grass) is another....

You may have seen the pic below in the cigarette lighter How-To.  It shows my standard winter "getup".  


Yep, those are insulated overalls.  "Farmer Johns" I call them.  Which makes sense, because I bought them at a feed/seed/horse tack/ranch gear store.

The white thing around my neck and over my lips is a Turtle Fur (acrylic?) tube.

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

Riding in the winter is a blast.  You have the roads to yourself.  I live in Bergen County NJ and make a loop into NY State around Greenwood Lake.  If it's too cold to go too far.  Almost always I find at least one other person riding.  So I'm not the only nut.  It's a pisser to see the snow icicles on the sides of the road.  Down to 30 degrees is no problem.  Dress warm and put your rain gear on last to block the wind.  Stick some aluminum foil under your pants over your knees and you are good to about 1 hour at 30 degrees.  If it's over 36 your are ok for about 1 and one half hour.  Wear a Neck Gaiter.  That is the most important thing besides the gloves.  Consider a pair of Thermal  Trousers made of some Hi Tech material.  I have a pair made by proline sports in the UK.
It's sad to see people winterize their bikes instead of themselves.

Quote from: KerryMoral?  Be very careful about friction-challenged surfaces (DUH!).  Cold air is one thing - slippery asphalt (or grass) is another....

You may have seen the pic below in the cigarette lighter How-To.  It shows my standard winter "getup".  

Yep, those are insulated overalls.  "Farmer Johns" I call them.  Which makes sense, because I bought them at a feed/seed/horse tack/ranch gear store.

Those look like Carhart overalls to me

I've also been told to use the rear brake when traction is not good (gravel, dusty, grass?)

I'm still deciding if I want to be a year round rider.  My big concern is people around get even worse at driving when its raining  .  I've gone through wet weather alright so I'm not worried about doing that.

I'll need some good rain gear before I ride too far in the rain.  I hate coming out to a bike with a wet seat :lol:

Quote from: 70 Cam GuyThose look like Carhart overalls to me

Yep, you got it.

When it gets REALLY cold and/or wet, I second what mp183 said about adding a waterproof/windproof layer on the outside.  I bought my FroggToggs big enough to go over my entire winter "getup" - overalls and all:

I'm the Michelin Man on the left.  Can you tell that I tend to go for visibility over fashion?  

I sometimes pull windproof mittens on over my regular sport touring gloves.  They're windproof, not waterproof, but my windshield helps keep the rain off.  They make all the difference in the world on a long winter ride!


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

Here in upstate NY in the Adirondacks, winters are about as severe (and long) as they can get anywhere.  I'll try to ride into November, but at the first real snow, I'll winterize and cover the GS...and hibernate her in my UNheated garage.  HOWEVER...the battery will be warm, snug, and charged inside the house, waiting to be dropped back in on the first rideable day...after which it will go back inside til the NEXT rideable day...til I'm sure the night temps will no longer go too far below freezing.
And yes, skiing (xc and downhill) does take up a lot of the riding slack during the winter.

I'm out all year (minus snow days). Biggest things I found to help were:

1 - Windproofing (including a balaclava for your neck)

2 - Keep the hands warm

I wear my JR jacket and snowboarding pants to deal with the wind. To deal with the hands I just wear some mid-weight gloves (found them to let the warmth through better from my heated grips   ).

If your hands are cold, not only does the ride suck to the point that your hands hurt, but it's DANGEROUS. If you can't feel your hands, you can't feel your controls. Longer highway miles seem to be much more conducive to heated grips. You spend much more time away from your heat source in the city.

This will be my first year attempting to do so, and in Pittsburgh I dont know how possible it will be. Guess I will find out sooner rather than later...

I plan to ride as long as possible this winter also. It was in the upper 40's this morning on my ride to work and will be again tommorow. Only problems I had was the wind coming up my neck and on my face. So gonna find something to stock that, I had a fleece pullover with the color up under my leather jacket but the wind still got in there. And my hands were getting a bit cold so gonna find some small stretch/form fitting gloves to wear under my gloves.

I ride all year in Seattle.  In fact I started riding in mid December.  Rain or shine, I'll be out there (at least commuting).  I don't get to go on as many full day rides during the winter as during summer though, because twisties aren't as fun when your slipping and sliding around every corner.

I'm a bike-only type so I ride 365, Ice is a problem but the GS is very stable, years ago i rode a lambretta scooter and the weight distribution was a horror, it flipped on every corner. I only missed one day last year when the ice was bad but thanks to global warming (alledgedly) our last few winters have been cancelled ice-wise, can be very wet here but simply getting the right kit and reproofing it with a spray every Autumn does the biz. The DVA is not supposed to do driving tests when there is ice but I passed mine in very borderline conditions, I think the examiner saw that I had come 30 miles in sleet/snow/rain and let me take the test, it made my Christmas!