ok i'm really close to getting a bike and starting to get nervous about using one as my daily year round in VA. i can avoid riding when it's about 35-, but i'm going to need some gear to keep me warm between 50 and 35 degrees F. i'm looking preferably for a one piece suit that won't break the bank. maybe $250 tops. what do you all recommend?

i've already got gloves and a neck warmer picked out. and i have a jacket and rain gear for warm weather riding. the last thing i think i need advise on is this cold weather outer wear!

and if someone wants to talk me out of dailying this bike go ahead and try... i'm open to advise from you veterans. i'm a college student, so i won't be needing to ride every day. this is just for the 2 hour drive to home and the 2.5 hour drive to the gf every few weekends.

http://www.cbxmanmotorcycles.com/Arctiva-Mens-Mechanized-2-Bib-Black.aspx

ok i found that and it looks pretty good. i have enough good clothing for the top already now that i find 1-piece suits to be so expensive. has anyone here had this "bib"?

Quote from: KasbeKZ on June 15, 2009, 08:10:30 PM
and if someone wants to talk me out of dailying this bike go ahead and try...

don't let 'em talk you out of it.  There are only a few things more rewarding than riding to work when it's nasty outside.  It allows you to say things to your "fairweather" Harley riding boss like...

Hey chief, looks like you're only as bad a$$ as the weatherman lets you be.
or
Hey chief, doesn't that skull and crossbones bandanna keep you warm?  
or
Hey chief, for 20 grand you'd think your bike would work in the rain too.  

It makes him so mad!!!!!
 

Quote from: ineedanap on June 15, 2009, 08:47:20 PM

Hey chief, for 20 grand you'd think your bike would work in the rain too.

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAA

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAH
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Welcome to the board!  

VA is a picnic!  I've been riding since 1980 in upstate NY weather that makes people at work shake their heads and I have yet to crash on asphalt.  I never spent much on gear.  A full face helmet keeps your head warm, and I paid sixty bucks for mine, used, SNELL rated of course, in excellent condition.  I bought my lined and padded leather jacket from a surplus shop for 80 bucks.  It's good with a t-shirt underneath until it's in the 40's, then I wear another layer underneath, and another layer if it's in the 30's.  I have a $20 rain suit.  I wear my steel toed work shoes so that didn't cost me anything extra.  I have three pair of gloves. One was a gift I rarely use.  I have a pair of cold weather gloves that cost 35 bucks, the warm weather pair came with the bike.  How much is that all together, $195?

Some will tell you spending several hundred bucks on gear is essential.  I beg to differ.  I live by CBMRA (Cheap Bastard Motorcycle Repair Association) standards.  That's why I ride a GS 500.  It has to be the cheapest to own and operate good cool bike out there.  If you have a bad crash, all the gear in the world won't save you.  A $500 brand name racing suit will help you keep your skin, but does nothing for compound fractures. I don't know about you, but I'm a lot more worried about broken bones and permanently damaged joints than losing some hide.

The key is to keep everyone away from you, and don't ride like an asshat!    Motorcycling is risky whether you're geared-up like Robocop or not.  Your brain and a well-prepared motorcycle is your best defense.

Now go out there and find some bargains and save your money for more important things, like tires and your insurance bill!

Man I'm a full fledged member of the CBMRA association too. Jafrum.com has some awesome deals. How about a $45 full face helmet, new. I paid $100 for a fully CE rated armored leather jacket which is quite nice and much better than any other name brand jacket for that price which is none. Heck I'm so cheap I change my oil filter every fourth oil change and it's worked so far. No signs of anything going bad since I've got over 31,000 miles and pretty much zero oil consumption and never needed to change a shim on the valves. My new big splurge is jafrums new carbon fiber helmet with dual visors a normal clear and a  tinted one that pops out under it fighter pilot style.

If I didn't already have enough gear I would totally get the non-mesh version of this suit, and might anyways. Pretty much every feature you could want and only $250 which is amazing for a riding suit!
http://www.webbikeworld.com/r4/teiz-cross-continent-suit/

thanks for all the suggestions guys. that suit above looks great but it's sure not meant for cold weather!

it's good to know that you get by with a leather jacket and few other layers in the winter. but what about the legs? that's my biggest worry. i have a jacket and some layers to wear up top, but jeans and long johns won't cut it for the legs i'm sure.

The best thing I've ever owned on a motorcycle were heated grips. http://www.hotgrips.com/store.php?crn=203&rn=119&action=show_detail They weren't too expensive, and it lets you ride in decently cold weather with pretty thin gloves. The grips actually worked better in thinner gloves as it let the warm through easier. The back of your hands would still get a little chilly, but it always kept your fingers from going numb, and that was the important part, and I used to ride my bike until the roads had ice on them. For a while I also had some heated gear you could plug into your bike.... some chaps, a vest, and some gloved, which were good for staying warm, possibly excessive though. Just find boots big enough for an extra pair of socks and stock up on some long johns. If the ride is long enough, you might want to consider getting a nice windshield for the winter months as well.

Quote from: KasbeKZ on June 16, 2009, 04:38:30 AM
but what about the legs? that's my biggest worry. i have a jacket and some layers to wear up top, but jeans and long johns won't cut it for the legs i'm sure.

Leather pants, or nylon/gore-tex pants (or non-mesh suit). You can buy in a size that you can wear layers underneath. I won't bother you with my preference in ride to work wear, you think it's out of your budget. I don't see any one-peice at new enough, but there are multiple two-piece options that are at or near your budget.

http://www.newenough.com/protective_apparel/textile_jackets_and_pants/

If you are immortal and never will crash, the rain suit pants can provide the windbreak layer and you can layer on underwear, sweats, jeans under that. But an actual road-resistant layer is better suited to mere mortals, and costs less than the trip to the emergency room to have road removed from your skin.

Since you have not bought your bike yet, the other thing you can do is prefer the faired version, or get an E and stick on a giant Plexifairing for the winter like GSJack does - probably more coverage than the F fairing and easily removable for hot weather. "Hippo-hands" are another winter-ride help.

For serious cold, you can start in with heated gear, but I don't know how much you can hang off the GS electrical system without exceeding its ability to keep up. Generally easier to keep the wind off you, add more insulation, redirect hot air from the engine to be more on you, or stop and have a cup of coffee/chocolate/tea along the way in a nice warm diner.

I just started riding last year, went through November in Upstate NY (temps down to ~30 - colder with wind from riding).

I've got Tourmaster Venture pants and a textile jacket with a full liner - so no 1 piece (usually way more expensive anyway).  The only problems I've had are hands - I'm looking at getting some VStrom handguards for this coming winter.  Luckily, even the hands aren't too bad - you've got a heater with you all the time 

Kas,

I commute in the DC area so our weather patterns should be somewhat the same.  A one piece suit might be nice but is not nessesary.  With you being a student, it sounds like the driving factor is cost.  My advice is to get the best protection you can afford.  When I first started out, I spent my whole budget on a good helmet.  That meant riding around with my bomber style leather jacket (non-armored) and military leather gloves for awhile.  To add protection, I wore elbow pads under the jacket, knee pads over my jeans, and shin guards under the pant legs.  I figured cheap protection is better then no protection.  When it got cold I added a nylon rain suite on top of everything.  I started saving and replacing, first the jacket, then pants, then gloves etc.

You will never stop upgrading your gear or your bike.  One day I might get a one piece racing leather suit but I've never been able to justify the cost.  Maybe I'm just a cheap bastard.

-Porkchop

thanks guys. that was a great link! i found some pants that look perfect in there. i think i'm pretty well set now. i've got a while before i need to worry about the cold weather stuff anyway.

i do plan on getting teh 500f. i like the fairing for several reasons, mostly because of wind protection.

You any good at making things yourself? you could probably make some warm pants by getting some decent jeans, flipping them inside out, and sewing a layer of something wind resistant up the front of them, and then flipping them back out. If you did the whole front half you could just sew seam to seam, and wouldn't have random stitches all over your pants. Jackets are pretty easy, but the most important part about riding gear is keeping the edges sealed. The warmest jacket in the world won't do you any good if wind can blow up your sleeves and down the neck. Some gloves with long cuffs help so you can velcro them around your wrists, and a cheap neck warmer to cover your neck might make more of a difference than what the actual coat is made of.

Even if it's not the coolest looking stuff around, a cheap rain jacket over your normal riding jacket will definitely help with the cold wind. I remember my shoulders getting pretty sore from the cold air hitting them as well.

I used to always sit at redlights with my hands on the engine too, if things start to go numb.

thanks again for all the responses guys. i might consider making some pants that are warm enough, but i do want a bit of the safety that comes with the pants you get for riding.

so i guess i need to ask some more specific questions:
can someone recommend the best pants for staying warm in temperatures near 35 degrees (under $200)?
also, will my carhart jacket be decent to use as an outer layer until i break down and get a real cold weather riding jacket? i'm thinking several under layers, then a sweat shirt, and then my carhart. do you think that will be tolerable down to 40 degrees or so?

Yeah, carhart jackets are warm as hell and resist wind quite a bit too.  Just follow the tip to use gloves long enough to stop the wind from blowing up your sleeves.

I am very much mortal, just a very careful and somewhat lucky one.

I would have suggested riding pants, but you're trying to do it on the cheap, so something has to go, and it's not a helmet, jacket, gloves, or a decent pair of shoes!

By the way, jeans with long johns and windbreaker or rain suit pants over them will keep you warm enough to ride for a couple hours in 40 degree weather.  It's all about layers and keeping the wind off you like tt four said.

I ride in Ottawa into Nov / Dec, so long as the roads are bare and dry.  I've done this for years wearing kevlar-lined riding jeans (bought cheap on sale) and my legs were OK for short rides.  Rain paints over top to cut the wind helps a lot.  I've since bought a pair of proper riding overpants with insulated waterproof liners - $$$ but well worth it as soon as you can afford. The biggest problem has been hands getting cold and stiff,   I'm going to install my heated grips later this summer - a friend described them as "like riding with a mug of hot chocolate in each hand"   The fairing on the F helps, but I like to be able to bend my fingers to use the levers!

The most important parts to keep warm are your torso, head and hands - I wear a riding jacket over my suit jacket, and a fleece vest as well.  

The two things I've learned that may be most useful to you:
1) Motorcycle clothing often goes on sale in the fall - just in time for our winter riding needs!
2) Wind chill is exponential!!  

Have fun being a little smug at your fair-weather riding friends, but take care.  Being too cold while riding will decrease your reaction time and can fog your thinking (voice of experience here)  Being wet and cold is just horrible and dangerous.  Dress for it, use your judgement, and you'll have a great time out there!

Quote from: StevenJS on June 16, 2009, 08:17:12 PM

Being too cold while riding will decrease your reaction time and can fog your thinking

Not to mention your visor. Make sure you get that sorted out, as it's hard to keep your visor clear when it gets that cold as well. As nice as it is to keep your face warm, you usually have to keep some cold air circulating through there or you won't be able to see, whether it's letting some in from the bottom of your helmet, or cracking the visor open just a little bit.

You know what I wish I bought when they had them at the local dealership? Some waterproof riding jeans. I think they still had the kneepads in them and everything, but I bet that'd be super warm in cold weather, and I'd still look normal too. I'm sure they're all over the internet, but I hate buying clothes I can't try on.