| Author | Message | ||
     Johnboy777 |
What's the coldest weather you can ride in all day - and what gear do you use to do it??? ... (6 - 8 Hours) I'm looking at some better cold-weather gear and wanted to see what you guys are using vs. the temp you can spend all day in. I'd like to ride to Nashville from Cleveland, OH (about 9hrs or so) to see my son, within the next few weeks. As my first test, I spent 2 hours riding Christmas day at 38*F or so and my hands were frozen when I got home. My legs were okay with a pair of FirstGear Men's HT Overpant, and my Transition II jacket with liner and a heavy polar fleece mock T kept my chest so-so warm. But that may not be good enough for all day. Thanks, John H. . | ||
| Mikej |
Look into the Aerostich lobster gloves, they are rain gloves that go over your regular gloves and do a great job of breaking the wind if you don't have heated gear. The three-fingers take a little getting used to though. http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/US/Aerostich-Triple-Digit-Rain-Cover-p-16447.html (Message edited by mikej on December 27, 2007) | ||
| Scooter808484 |
For that kind of duration, especially on a trip where you can't just take shortcut home, I think I'd have to have electric heated stuff. I use Gerbings heated gloves, jacket and socks. I only use the socks when going out for a longer ride 3-4 hours. With this stuff I can feel pretty good to 35 or below for several hours. Don't go out too much colder than that for fear of ice out here in the damp NW. Once you have it, you'll use it all the time. | ||
| Ulynut |
Johnboy, Scooter got it right. Electric is the way to go. The gear you have now is more than enough if you add a heated jacket liner underneath. I wear just a T-shirt under my liner, with a Fieldshear insulated jacket over that, and insulated riding pants, Olympia gloves, and I'm good all day in anything down to about 30 or so. I do plan on getting heated gloves soon. I think most people would be very comfortable wearing the same. | ||
| Etennuly |
I have the HD heated jacket that works well. By itself, not enough. A balaclava really helps for the head and neck. I installed Poly Heaters, used with my Buell Gauntlet gloves. Much better. I wear Buell riding pants( can't remember the name), they are great at stopping cold, they work best with long-johns when staying out for hours. I don't have heated pants or sox. I wear high HD leather boots with basic thick winter sox and powder. These things together work well on my Ulysses. I put my big ass windshield back on for the cold weather and haven't turned on the poly heaters since and have to continually regulate the jacket on and off. I didn't get a regulator switch for them yet. I feel that with what I have now I could easily do the ride you are talking about. The main issue is keep your body, especially hands and feet, DRY. | ||
| Bienhoabob |
Electrics is the way to go for long periods of riding. I have the electric liner and gloves from HD. (Gerbings, I think). Costs a little,but well worth it. I have to wear a long sleeve shirt under the liner. Without it, I get burn marks on my forearms. With the gloves/heated grips and liner, your neck, arms, back and lower back, hands are all heated. I brought the thermometer control also to regulate the heat. I also wear a ski mask type hat that fits under the helmet and over the face is extremely helpful. Bob | ||
| Bearly |
I ridden for two hours at a time at temps below 21°f. I've ridden all day at temps around freezing and been fairly warm. I have Widder Heated Vest, Arm chaps, Leg Chaps and gloves. I wear a hood under my helmet and two pairs of socks. I wear a long sleeve T shirt under the Widder Vest and sweat shirt over it. Then my riding jacket over all that. On my legs just a pair of jeans with the Widder electric chaps all under my riding pants. I have the Sidi Corsa boots and some times I'll put on my gators just to block the wind around my boots if I'm going a long way. I have the Buell heated grips now which makes a huge difference. Especially if it's raining and in the 30's. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
Thanks for all of feedback - electric sounds like the way to go - found these on the Gerbing site, Gloves $139 - liner $199 (they have my ape-like sleeve size as well-37/38):   I guess I can plug the gloves into trhe dash outlet, and the liner into my SAE Battery Tender outlet, along side my seat. I think I can find a clear 35-40*F day to leave Cleveland. Goodletsville, here I come! John H. (Message edited by johnboy777 on December 27, 2007) | ||
| Mikej |
I sometimes use a thin baclava thing, but I wear it different from others. I pull it clear down over my head, turn it around backward with my neck going through the face hole of it, then put the normally head portion over my chin and then buckle up the helmet. Keeps both my neck and chin from freezing. Works better for me than some of those triangular scarf things, two of which I also bought from Aerostich when I was up there once. The triangles work well, but the thin baclave works better for me. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
Baklava???  | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I have the magic silk ski mask thingy from Aerostitch. It's great. Let me know when you're in town, and I'll see how many of the local Buell crew I can round up for lunch or dinner! | ||
| Slaughter |
The Gerbings gloves plug into the jacket liner. Jacket liner plugs into the pant liner. Socks plug into the pant liner. Nice system Sunny and I were visited by Santa and he got us BOTH Gerbing heated gear. I especially like the heated collar that zips up like a turtleneck and keeps that breeze under the helmet off my neck. If you already have outer gear, the liners are the only way to go. Much info on their website and call them - very helpful folks | ||
| Johnboy777 |
Hey Ft_bstrd, Thanks, that sounds good - is Green's Grocery still around? As I recall is was down the road from the Judd's estate. I stayed at a B&B too somewhere around there a few times, when I was working at Castle Studios on Old Hillsboro Rd. What a great area. John H. . | ||
| Metalstorm |
It doesn't really matter what brand you get. Aerostich, Widder and Gerbing to name a few are all pretty warm & toasty. Heated grips are a HUGE plus. My cold gear consists of a light Aerostich electric vest (the green one) with zip on/off non heated sleeves. A fuzzy lined leather western style vest to keep the electric vest snug on me, Fleece over pants, thin balaclava (whatever those ninja looking things are called) and a chin fairing (windproof triangle bandana from Aerostich). All this is worn under my Roadcrafter suit. Hands are kept warm thanks to Tourmaster Winter Elite gloves, Polly grip heaters, Buell handguards and Tourtech handguard extenders. I can ride all day in the high 20s, low 30s. | ||
| Rotorhead |
Without breaking the bank (thanks to the gear the Army provides me) I have rode in the cold(25-40)for 1000 mile day this winter. The key is to keep the wind from taking YOUR heat away. Layers is the only way to stay warm. Finding the right amount of layers to keep you warm and not looking like the kid from Christmas story is the hard thing to do. A synthetic layer keep the bulk down and keeps the moisture off the skin. Synthetic long underwear tops and bottoms, socks and "bali" for the head are my base layer. A medium weight pair of gloves make up my hands base layer. For the second layer I put on a medium weight vest only for extra chest cold from the wonderful windscreen the Uly has. BTW the newspaper on your chest trick works too. Third layer a heavy poly pants and jacket. They fit not to tight so I can still swing a leg over the bike. Oddly enough I have found that my PVC rain gear is warmer than my Gore-Tex gear for an outer layer when it is really cold below 40. Same deal for my hands a PVC outer shell http://www.rain-off.com/index.htm over the medium gloves works best at keeping the heat in the hands. The lobster mitt works great and is warmer than fingers by themselves. For the feet it is a different story bulky socks in your regular boots cut blood flow and your feet will freeze. To be more comfortable you may want to buy a larger pair of boots or heated socks (about the same price). Again, I found plastic is my friend on my feet. You can all remember when you were young and mom putting the bread bag over your shoes to slide in your galoshes easier well it keeps my feet warm too. Synthetic sock with a medium wool shock and a bread bag slipper makes for warmer feet for me. So in my PVC shell and POLY insides I'm ready to be a shrinky-dink if there is a fire but in the COLD it keeps your heat in and the cold out. I don’t recommend doing any type of physical activity (i.e. pushing the bike or walking any distance) because you will be in a puddle of sweat in no time. PVC does not breath!!! It is great to ride in but not work in. If you take a break off the bike take off that outer layer or you will be sucking when you get back on the bike. The only electric heat I have is my POLY heated grips. If I didn't have those I wouldn't even think about riding (at least north anyway). The best money I have spent on my bike to date. I’m cheap and the money I have saved has paid for tires and gas!! | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Hey Ft_bstrd, Thanks, that sounds good - is Green's Grocery still around? As I recall is was down the road from the Judd's estate. I stayed at a B&B too somewhere around there a few times, when I was working at Castle Studios on Old Hillsboro Rd. What a great area. John H. Do you mean Pucketts in Leipers Fork? It's on Old Hillsboro Rd. The Castle is really cool. Rumor has it that it belonged to Al Capone. PM me with you itinerary. I'd love to meet you. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Alright, the coldest I have ridden for a 7 hour ride was 21 degrees, it was barren dry but friggen cold. Last New Years Day. How did I do it?.... I put on my nyoprene wetsuit as my primary layer, dryweeve thermals under as leggings, longjohns over those, denim pants (on looking back this was the weak link) rain pant slickers, aqua neoprene socks, Service issue cold weather boots, boot gaiters, a long turtle neck, electric jacket liner, Buell armored jacket, with neoprene inserts in all the cold air zippered spots, a full face mask, neck wrap, full face helmet, heated gloves.... Rode off road for two full tanks of gas then home. (wrangling the bike through the sludge is a good workout and builds alot of heat~ I was quite toasty) Looking to repeat next week if there is no snow on the roads up to my fav spot | ||
| Xbimmer |
I've upgraded my cold weather gear this year with some new stuff. Last year I was riding with a 25-year old electric vest with Widder-compatible connections and the usual polypropylene long johns and socks, balaclava, and layers under a Tourmaster Saber jacket and Olympia overpants. Sidi On Road boots and Tourmaster Cold Front Carbon gloves also. More than enough for comfort until we hit altitude last January where it was 6 degrees when we departed in the morning. That was a friggin ordeal. Just upgraded to a Tourmaster Synergy vest and a First Gear (Warm-n-Safe) jacket liner for the wife. Both units put out far more warmth than what I've been used to. She gets the Widder digital controller for her liner now, the Synergy stuff comes with the controllers as standard. For winter SoCA riding even in the mountains that is quite adequate gear for me. I ride year round so maybe I'm more used to cold than most riders around here. | ||
| Maximum |
Last week I did a 6 hours day in the 16-24 degree range. Here was my gear... Feet - Aerostitch Combat lite boots with one pair of socks. Left foot was slightly cold, but not painfully cold. I have used two pairs of socks before and my feet were very cold (the dogs need a little room to move). Hands - Buell OEM heated grips for the palms and Warm-n-Safe heated gloves for the top of the hands. This was a very effective combination as my hands were never cold. I did use some moisture wicking glove liners too, which was more to help my hands from burning when using the heated gloves on high! Head - I use the Wind Stopper brand Balaclava for the neck and face when temps go below the mid 30's, and it makes all the difference! Upper body - I have the Olympia AST jacket that I use below 80 degrees. When temps are in the 40-60 degree range I add my Warm-n-Safe heated jacket liner with the Heat-Troller thermostat controller. Adjustability is the key; I would not use the heated products without a way to adjust the level of heat (i.e...being connected directly to the battery). When temps go below 40 degrees I add the Olympia jacket liner that came with the AST. This goes in between the jacket shell and the heated liner, which blocks more wind and reflects heat back towards my upper body. I was very comfortable down to the mid teens! Legs - I wear the Olympia Ranger 2 pants by themselves down to the 40's, and add the included pant liners below that. In the mid teens my legs were a little chilly (mainly upper thigh), but they were not cold. But my legs rarely get cold (since I have a good amount of meat on them). The bottom line is that you need to wear layers, but not so much that it becomes restrictive. Also it is a good idea to stay well hydrated. | ||
| Metalstorm |
Quick question for Maximum, Do those Warm & Safe gloves only heat the outside? I mean the top part, not the palm? If so, that would truly be an unbeatable combo with heated grips. | ||
| Maximum |
That is correct Metalstorm...the Warm-n-safe heated gloves heat the top of the hands and the grips heat the bottom of my hands. I did find that the gloves would almost burn the tops of my knuckles when on high, so I added some glove liners (Glove Liners) to provide a little separation between the heating elements and my hands. Seemed to work great! Since the gloves don't heat the palms, the gloves are the equivalent of a medium weight glove in thickness and provide better feel and finger dexterity than my other winter weight gloves. I connected the gloves through my Warm-n-Safe jacket liner which is controlled by a Heat-Troller...but I will probably replace my Single Heat-Troller with the Dual control version (still connecting with pre-wired jacket) so that I can adjust the temp of the gloves independently from the jacket liner. I will try to post a full review of these glove in the near future (with pictures), but this should at least answer your question. In the end, all the way down to 16 degrees for several hours, my hands never got cold! | ||
| Mainstreamer |
In addition to all the layering and heated gear mentioned above a full fairing is essential to significantly reducing the wind chill factor. | ||
| Hooliken |
Gerbing jacket liner, gloves and sox here. Ridden all day in the 20's with no worries. I will HIGHLY recommend some sort of temp controller because this stuff gets H-O-T. I picked up a pair of the BMW gortex touring boots and they are brilliant. I was having a hell of a time finding boots to fit my size 15 feet that would be comfortable with winter weight sox. With these boots I wear a pair of cotton under the gerbings and the piggies stay toasty warm. | ||
| Ratbuell |
I ride with HD/Gerbings heated jacket liner and heated gloves. Dual thermostat. FXRG textile jacket, Buell Adventure pants over jeans, Wal-Mart composite safety toe work boots (surprisingly warmer than steel toes), regular old white athletic socks and a tee shirt. If it's windy or wet, I wear a fleece over the heated liner and under the FXRG. Also a balacava under the helmet to try and keep wind from sneaking thru the collar. DO NOT plug heated gear into a battery tender outlet unless you have changed the fuse!!! Tenders use a 2A fuse; heat requires a 15A fuse. And to all those who use layering for warmth, I agree, it's the way to go for hiking or camping. But I like the heated stuff on the bike because I don't have layer on layer of stuff impeding my movements. Range of motion is great, I don't feel (or look) like the Michelin Man, and I stay toasty warm to boot  I do agree, the heated stuff is a bit pricey...but it is worth it and once you have it, it won't sit idle. Without a doubt, heated clothing is the best money I've spent on my motorcycle habit. | ||
| Teeps |
I would have done a ride like that when I was 25. Probably would have used insulated ski gloves, full set of long johns, levi's, fatigue jacket (or snowmobile suit), ski mask, full face helmet, and insulated hunting boots. Now, I'd rent a Caddy and go in style and comfort. Leaving the motorcycle ride for fairer weather. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
"I would have done a ride like that when I was 25....... Now, I'd rent a Caddy and go in style and comfort. Leaving the motorcycle ride for fairer weather".. "A man has got to know his limitations"......  . | ||
| Irelage |
I love my Warm-n-Safe heated coat. I ride with the Motoport Kevlar Mesh suit with the rain/wind shell and the heated coat works for me in the 40s. If I were to go with a none mesh jacket I'd roast. Regular riding gloves and mesh pant work in the mid to high 40s with minimal pain for my 42 mile commute. The neck gator or baclava is critical for corking the heat in. http://www.warmnsafe.com/ | ||
| Scooter808484 |
Johnboy, If you go with electric... at least with Gerbing, you must get the controller! I've never had mine on all the way, if you plug it in directly, you will roast!! They sell them with one or two control adjustments. The one with two would work best with the jacket liner like the pic. The line is wired with two separate circuits, one for the jacket, and one for the extensions for the gloves and the other plug, which would be for pants/socks. I had the single controller before the jacket liner, and it works OK, but sometimes body is hot, hands cold or vice versa. | ||
| Jlnance |
As my first test Good job. Most people don't do tests. I rode across Wyoming recently, it was probably in the mid 30s. I'd have died w/o heated gear. I had Gerbing vest, pants, and gloves. Make sure it's waterproof. If it rains on you in 30 something weather, it's gonna suck bad if you're wet. Aerostitch sells 3 fingered overgloves for rain. They are great AND they keep your hands warmer even if it isn't raining.  | ||
| Metalstorm |
Great pic Jlnance. That would be a great Uly advertisement pic Thanks for the info Maximum. I've never been keen on heated gloves due to the bulk and the wires (don't really want to spend money I don't have on a new liner that has connections in sleeves when I have a good vest) but those Warm & Safe gloves have me mighty interested. I think a small piece this year's summer bonus just might be spent on a pair plus a dual troller. |
