| Author | Message | ||
     Gearheaderiko |
I started this topic because some of us would like to continue to ride and "winter storage" is an unpleasant outlook. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
I'm no stranger to cold weather riding or gear. However, I was poor back then and there have been many improvements in riding gear. Spending $800 on a Roadcrafter suit is still not in my budget and often a $60 rainsuit will get the job done.But everybody is different and while I've seen guys ride in t shirts with the weather in the high 50's, thats far from being anywhere near my comfort threashold. Just to clarify: I'm talking near freezing weather, or sustained long distance riding in anything below 50 degrees. I'd hope that everyone here can find a way to stay warm in 55F+ without much trouble, because you'll hit that temp in summer months in many places. My apologies if this is a redundant thread (which I'm sure it is).If its covered better elsewhere in Badweb and others would rather post there, then so be it. I barely can keep up with the Thumper forum (and thats not been easy lately) as it is. | ||
| Ezblast |
Last time I rode in that kinda cold, leg cramped up just as I pulled in for home. Ended up dropping the bike and breaking a levor - the CR no less. No more cold riding fore me - lol EZ | ||
| Sycho |
Erik, how far is your commute?  | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
I guess I've been hidden in the threads, enough said..... | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
20 miles. The temperature drops 10-15 degrees 2 miles from home, but then it slowly warms back up that 10 degrees until I get to work. | ||
| Crackhead |
Check out the Tourmaster, Centurion One-Piece Suit or if you prefer 2 pieces Tourmaster 3/4 length Epic jacket with the Flex (mesh with textile add on panels, rain liner and insulation) Pants. I have the Venture Air Pants (mesh with rain liner and insulation) and would prefer to be able to add the textile panels over the mesh. The one thing that helps me is to put a stocking cap down the front of my pants to keep the jewels warm and to move my legs to the passenger pegs to stop the air from being diverted upwards towards my jewels and up to the helmet. I also have the Transition series 2 jacket, which is nice but the built in rain hood and other featuers make the Epic a better cold weather jacket. The Transition is more for southern "winter". | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
The centurian looks good and at half the price of a roadcrafter. I definitely prefer one piece for all weather protection as long as I dont have to dislocate a shoulder getting into it! I'll keep my eye on pricing near winters end. For the first time in a very long time I think I have to put winter tires on my car before I buy gear for riding  I have stuff I can get by with for winter riding, but my goal is for easier fitting and more consistent gear. You know those days will come and it'll be 50F when you go into work and when you come out its in the high 20's. Thanks for the input. (though I cant ever remember any trouble keeping the 'jewels' warm. How cold DOES it get where you live! LOL!). | ||
| Crackhead |
2 years ago when I was riding down in the upper 30s with a 1 hr commute in the dark to work. Unfortunately, I have to drop the 2 yr old son off at daycare, so, my riding has dropped dramatically. When my feet are on the normal pegs, the wind is deflected into the center of my legs and up to the chin bar. If I moved my feet to the passenger pegs, the wind stops being funneled to my jewels and noise level drops. The Cortech (tourmaster sport line) Scarab winter gloves work well too. The long gauntlet prevent wind work working in around the wrist. It is hard to find armored winter gloves. I guess every sport bike rider puts it up on stands for the winter. Here are a few reviews from Web Bike World: http://www.webbikeworld.com/r4/tourmaster-transiti on-series-3-jacket/ http://www.webbikeworld.com/r4/tourmaster-transiti on-2-jacket/ http://www.webbikeworld.com/r4/tourmaster-epic-jac ket/ http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-gloves/cort ech-scarab-gloves-review/ | ||
| Blueblast |
I picked up a FirstGear one piece insulated suit a couple of years ago that does a pretty decent job of keeping the wind out and is darn near waterproof as well. If memory serves me right, I paid about $150 for it. My hands and feet are the hardest things to keep warm. It's a little big, but I like that as it lets me layer underneath the suit without being restricting. Tight clothes = cold toes  | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
I've wondered about that suit as its half the cost of a tourmaster and 1/4 the cost of a Roadcrafter. Have you tried it anyplace besides SoCal? | ||
| Swampy |
On the cheap what really matters is wind resistance. I have used a $15 rain pant from wallyworld one spring when I was riding to the UP. I had a pair of polypropylene long johns, jeans and the rain pants, it made a world of difference compared to just the poly and jeans. now I have some Cortec pants that zips to the firstgear jacket. What I am saying is make sure you get wind resistant material and that there are zips and velcro to keep the ankles and arms tight from wind intrusion. As many of you might know I wear 80% wool socks all year round, that helps to keep the feet warm and dry in the winter and cool and dry in the summer. Good luck on your venture into the artic, I hear it is going to be cold and snowy this year at least where I live. The wife and I are moving into the mother-in-laws house, we are selling ours so I will be garageless for awhile. The plan is to take the house equity and put that into tearing down and doubling the size of the existing garage of the mother-in-laws house. I like my mother-in-law so this is a win-win for me plus we are presently taking care of 5 properties so when our house sells that will take us to only 4 places to take care of leaving us more time to ride... | ||
| Blueblast |
Haven't had it out of state yet. That being said, I have ridden in it for a couple of hours in mid to upper 30's temps. I wear a lighter jacket under it and poly-pro longjohns and shirt as well. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Good advice Swampy. Before I moved to 'Paradise'* I always carried a one piece rainsuit as rain and emergency cold weather gear. It works extremely well. I'm still undecided about going for zip together two piece or a one piece. A one piece suit is hands down the best solution for rain and cold, but it can be inconvenient especially for around town with frequent stops. If I was touring, I'd be heavily leaning towards the one piece. The weather has been above freezing on a semi regular basis here in the "great white north", but I've still too much to do to worry much about riding. Spent yesterday putting the snow thrower on the tractor (parts of which Sears assembled wrong making it completely inoperable-aaargh-If you want something done right, do it yourself ). *For more information on "paradise", listen to "The Last Resort" by the Eagles. Yeah, its an old song, but sadly, so am I! | ||
| Britchri10 |
You're an old song? I have a Survivor one piece suit for the cold/touring option & a regular jacket/pants combo for going to & from work. The one piece is superior for blocking the cold but the two piece is more convenient esp' as this is Florida & it can be cold in the early AM but near 70F by the time I get to go home. Chris C | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Survivor? Brand? Yes, an old sad song! | ||
| Britchri10 |
Joe Rocket. Chris C | ||
| Robertl |
I picked up a SEDICI Verona Waterproof Textile Motorcycle Jacket recently and can honestly say I now understand how people ride in the colder temps as it completely blocks the wind with several vents. Doesn't vent as much as I was expecting but then again I have 2 other jackets for warm temps. I would agree with the rain gear over existing gear as that should definitely keep the wind out. I almost bought some but wife surprised me with a trip to cyclegear to pick up the new jacket. I also have the freezeout boot liners and neck wrap. Think they were $10 each on clearance so definitely worth it. Now to just find some gloves that work and don't break the bank or hurt my knuckles. I put a Givi windscreen on my M2 last year and that helped move the air from my gut to upper chest which also helped some. Hope that helps, Robert | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Thanks Robert! Yes...gloves..... Anybody know of a decent set of winter gauntlet style gloves? I've effectively gotten my tolerable nighttime riding temperature done to 38F (yes, in f'n June). While I do have electric gloves they are a lot of trouble (pia) to hook up (I don't wear them) and it seems that all winter gloves fit as if you're wearing 6 pairs of gloves (including my electric gloves). That takes away all road and brake feel and god forbid you hit ice or have to avoid a deer! So anybody found a thin glove that actually works in the cold weather? | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
PS thanks Crackhead for the links! | ||
| Lostsurfer1771 |
If there is a campmor store near you they sell really thin glove liners with a reflective thermal lining on the inside. They're really warm but are definitely meant to be worn under heavier gloves. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Help! Any Snowmobilers use anything to keep their faceshield from fogging/frosting up? I used 'Fogtech DX no fog wipes' and although they worked, they also left vision blurry. Blurry is not what I'm looking for. I also found out this week that temps below 25F and especially below 20F, fog turns to frost and no amount of flipping the visor up can cure that! Any proven ideas? | ||
| Vicenzajay |
Erik, Have you tried the Invision inserts for the inside of your visor? Pricy at $25, but for two weeks now I've had zero issues with fog. Temps have been from 32 to 38, but it has worked flawlessly at speed and then down to a stop. I'm sure it will only last so long and it will have to be replaced, but even $25 a season will work for me - has really changed the fog battle in my commute. Jay | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Thanks, I haven't tried that. I'll look into it. For me, not being able to see very likely means hitting a deer (which I've already done). With so much snake oil on the market, I'd rather hear from someone who actually uses a product. I've rarely ever used a face shield and many things I've used on face shields, goggles and glasses have had disastrous effects impairing visibility. They must make a product for snowmobile users that works. (I'm not ready to wire up an electric defroster for my face shield just yet) | ||
| Vicenzajay |
Definitely understand. This product is an applique' that attaches to the inside of the visor. They include a template and fairly detailed instructions. I can only speak to how it works - not to how long it will last. It works a treat - an unbelievably different experience than riding in the cold without it. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
I actually already use Invisions speed tint! | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
I ordered one for each faceshield equipped helmet. Seemed like a no brainer considering your testimonial and the ease of installation of the speedtint! Thanks! The next task will be to find a neck warmer/protector that isnt bulky or stiff and works. (The full face is warmer than the 2/3 helmet, but the bulk of the neck warmer with the full face makes it a bit uncomfortable and because I have a neck injury, it just leads to a migraine ) | ||
| Vicenzajay |
I just (two weeks ago) got the River Road microfleece neck warmer....got it from Amazon for 8.50'ish and free shipping. For me it's completely non-bulky and soft (and warm :-)) - and I can turn my head at will. That's over a turtleneck shirt that makes up my second layer (inside layer being some aviation long underwear thin-weight). I'm really happy with the way it's taking care of my neck. It crunches down well under the helmet for me - can't vouch for how it would work with your helmet. Mine's a standard Harley full face helmet (actually, it's a composite, as the full face shield flips up). | ||
| Bluzm2 |
I'm a little late to the game here but better late than never. My cold weather gear kit is as follows. First Gear HT2 Over Pants with liner. First Gear Kilimanjaro Jacket with liner. If it's real cold I throw on a Aerostich Kantsue vest (non electric) Olympia leather winter gloves, if it real cold I'll use a set of Aerostich silk liners. Old ratted out pair of Prexport WP360 boots. HJC helmet with PinLock insert and chin dam inserted. PinLocks are DA BOMB for fog proofing, better than anything else I've tried. Lastly the most important thing HEATED GRIPS (Thanks Reep!)! All of this is put over my normal "office" work cloths. Dockers, decent shirt etc. I ride to work most days until it snows. It's about 16 miles, not far at all really. It is heavy traffic and a lot of stop and go. There are 60+ MPH stretches though. This setup is pretty good down to 20 degrees or so. Below that you have to add a neck gator and the heavier First Gear winter gloves. At 30 degrees or above I can go for a couple of hours easily. I do have to put in a put for First Gear. They really stand behind their products. After a couple of years I had some zipper problems on the pants. I emailed them and asked if they had a zipper repair kit, the pants were long out of warranty so I just wanted to buy a repair kit. They had me sent them the pants, the repaired one leg zipper and the fly zipper at no cost. I had a snap pop off the jacket a few weeks back, once again I emailed them for a snap kit, after I sent them a picture of the snap, they sent me a snap repair kit, no charge. I'm about to head out to Sears, I trashed a 20YO torque wrench and need a replacement.. I'm taking the bike! It's about 22 deg right now.. Brad | ||
| Ezblast |
LOL |
