Riding in 50F degree, rain and at night.

[lego1970]

Just got back from running a few errands that took about 2 hours to do, in the cold rain at night. Aside from my legs (don't have waterproof pants) I stayed pretty warm until the last 30 minutes, then I was getting pretty wet and cold all over. Except for the poor visability, it was a lot of fun.
I love Dual Sports, they are just so well planted when conditions are otherwise not great for two wheeled vehicles. Winter riding never bothers me, and I've done quite a few single digit temp, 120 mile trips on the interstate. Matter of fact, winter riding on the interstate is sometimes one of my favorite things to do as long as the pavement is relatively free of snow and ice, but I've never been a fan of rain. Tonight was kinda fun just because I'm getting geared up for winter, but otherwise as I said, I could do without rain. One thing I learned tonight, is that I gotta get some rainX on the visor. I tell you what, I could barely see on some of the two lane roads when oncoming headlights were coming at me. Thats all I wanted to say. Nothing important.

[Weldangrind]

Glad you made it back in one piece.

Does Rain-X really work?

[lego1970]

I've used it on Semi trucks for years and love it because it really helps keep rain and snow off the windshield plus it really helped on the side windows so I could see the mirror better which allowed me to see if cars are riding along side me. I don't know about a motorcycle visor, but I'm gonna try it. At least on a car or truck, the main thing is to be sure to wipe off the residue really good or it leaves kind of a warped look on the windshield. I imagine with a curved visor that's even more important. It's supposed to rain a lot more this week, so I'll do it and let you know how it works on a motorcycle visor.

[FastDoc]

My 2 cents.

Get an electric vest.

D/S bikes are good in colder weather, partly because they are slower with less wind chill. Also, off roading, for me at least, is usually 25 MPH or so or slower, whith a higher physcial workload to keep me warm.

Finally, a handlebar mounted windshield would extentd the riding season, but it may look sillier than I could stand. :roll:

[lego1970]

My 2 cents.

Get an electric vest.

D/S bikes are good in colder weather, partly because they are slower with less wind chill. Also, off roading, for me at least, is usually 25 MPH or so or slower, whith a higher physcial workload to keep me warm.

Finally, a handlebar mounted windshield would extentd the riding season, but it may look sillier than I could stand. :roll:

I always wanted to get a heated vest but my chest normaly stays pretty warm. I have a buddy that says I should get the heated vest even if my chest stays warm because he says it will help keep the rest of me warm as well. I put a 12volt outlet on the bike, a throttle lock, and a homemade windscreen that keeps the air of my chest. Bark busters helps keep the wind off too. The throttle lock is nice because I can take my hand off occasionaly and warm it along the engine or in my crotch area. I do a lot of interstate riding so sadly wind is an issue. I've had a few sportbikes and I once had a naked Buell. One Christmas day I went over to my Brothers house a couple hours away when it was 8 degrees. That bike had absolutely no wind protection and compared to a full fairing bike like a CBR is was pretty rough. Hands, knees, and neck are the vunerable areas. I got caught in a snow storm in Utah once on a dual sport and when I finally (going 15mph) got down to lower elevations the snow had stopped so I could finally go highway speeds again. By that time I was soaked and shivering badly. Once I was back to highway speeds my knees were acheing from the cold. I had to stop, take the saddlebag rain covers off and zip tie them around my knees. It helped big time. That night at the hotel, I sat in tub filled with warm water for a couple hours trying to warm back up. Aside from those couple miserable times, I like the solitude of winter riding. I'll have to look into heated vest.

[FastDoc]

In my 200,000 plus miles of riding, I'd been through a lot of cold, but I tink you have me beat.

I've had a hot tub in my past few homes, and would sometimes jump tight in to warm up after a ride. I've had times so cold I did not think I'd get my helmet off, and the hot water would cause pain. But after a minute, Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I have a Gold Wing now, with heated seats, grips, and heat diffuser for my lower legs and feet, and a big windshield. Add a heated vest and I'm good to go,

BTW, I have a brand new pair of top of the line electric gloves, never used, I'd sell cheap.

The vest keeps all of you, including your fingers and toes warm by keeping your core warm by preventing peripheral vasoconstriction.

[FastDoc]

People always comment when I ride in cold weather.

My response:

"I'd rather freeze on a bike than be warm in a cage."

My limits are it has to be above freezing, or at least sunny and above 20, and it must be dry.

[lego1970]

Thanks for the info FastDoc. With Christmas, three birthdays coming up and a slow time for tree work, I don't really have disposable cash at the moment otherwise I'd look into your gloves. However if gas prices keep climbing again, I'll be forced to ride the bike even more, so heated gloves might be a good investment in the future. Thanks again.

[TurboT]

I just recently did some offroad riding up north in our province here in a town called Williams Lake. It's a 7 hour drive from the city of Vancouver.

I think the warmest it got during our ride was -3 C, or about 26 F. It was sunny and crisp, and I loved it.

Now I wouldn't say I was at highway speeds, the fastest I got going was about 75-80km/hr on the side of a highway from one trail entrance to another, but during those times where I felt the cold was through the breather on my helmet. My lips were bothering me at the end of the day. No full face shield here, MX style helmet with Scott goggles. Both days of riding we were out a good 3.5 hours straight.

What I loved was through all the wrestling with the bike, I didn't overheat. The cool, oxygen rich air was good for me, and the bike once warm was a rocket. I've found in the summer, when the weather is pushing 30+ C, with all the gear, and the effort to control the bike, it's less enjoyable for me since I'm overheating and drenched with sweat. I'll take winter riding anytime! ...although not the same since I don't want to go near idiots in cars on a bike.

I posted a few photos of my adventures.

Mud Puddles with ice.
http://i566.photobucket.com/albums/ss108/GioBikePhoto/HPIM0437.jpg (http://s566.photobucket.com/albums/ss108/GioBikePhoto/?action=view&current=HPIM0437.jpg)

http://i566.photobucket.com/albums/ss108/GioBikePhoto/HPIM0436.jpg (http://s566.photobucket.com/albums/ss108/GioBikePhoto/?action=view&current=HPIM0436.jpg)

The view from up top.
http://i566.photobucket.com/albums/ss108/GioBikePhoto/HPIM0442.jpg (http://s566.photobucket.com/albums/ss108/GioBikePhoto/?action=view&current=HPIM0442.jpg)

http://i566.photobucket.com/albums/ss108/GioBikePhoto/HPIM0446.jpg (http://s566.photobucket.com/albums/ss108/GioBikePhoto/?action=view&current=HPIM0446.jpg)

[FastDoc]

My gosh that is beautiful country! :D

[TurboT]

It is beautiful there, for sure!
I'm still mad at myself as the day before we went up the hill on the other side, to where the cell phone tower is placed. We could look down at the entire community, and the lake. It was breathtaking and I wish I had a picture of it!

[lego1970]

Those are great pics. I use open face helmets for everything except on a sportbike and or very cold days. I've had other open face helmets but I recently bought a open face helmet with a full face shield, and I love it. It's still allows great visiblity, good ventilation on warm days, but keeps my lips from getting chapped and keeps the bugs from leaving a mess on my face. Once it dips down below 40F I wear a thin ski mask that goes way down past my neck. If it gets below 25F I also wear a turtle neck shirt as well.

[FastDoc]

I wear full face for street and dirt biking.

[TurboT]

When I started out that first day I didn't even have my coat on! Standing still it was brisk but not bad in a long sleeved sweatshirt. As soon as I started getting up to speed, the not putting a coat on was looking more and more like a bad decision. Luckily my riding partner was on a ute quad, and had a storage box holding my coat. Put that on first chance I got. :)

Full face shiel is a good idea for sub zero temp I think, but since I didn't have one, made due with chapped lips. :)