Riding CSC TT250 Through Winter, Any Suggestions On Winterizing?

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by timcosby

thats when it gets cold for 2 days then warms back up to 80!

Oh yeah, you mean like the freak snow we had back in December then a couple of days later I'm wearing shorts and flip flops. BTW Tim, I have closed toe sandals for the winter time.

[Biker_Andy]

Well as a Canadian with a TT250 I should probably chime in. First I had a good laugh when you mentioned extream cold. - 40° is fairly cold when your working outside for 10 hours but I wouldn't call it extream. I put about 30 miles on my TT250 yesterday but it was beautiful outside and all the snow had melted. I know how much you easterners love your roads plastered with salt. Here it's usually too cold in winter for salt. If they do salt roads it brings the moose onto the highways edge to lick the salt off. The good thing about moose and motorcycles is you never hit more then one in your life. The bad thing is that it's because at best you'll never be able to ride again. Now for the advice...

The only thing you really need to "winterize" is yourself. Your TT250 will do fine in the cold. I'd run the stock battery until its toast because you can always kick start her if you need too but I'm cheap and can't justify replacement until theres a failure. Most important things you need to address in cold weather riding is keeping your visor clear and your hands warm. Frozen hands or a frosty visor is very dangerous. There's several ways to keep your hands warm and since your commute is only 10 blocks all you really need is decent gloves. I've had a lot of problems keeping my visor clear when it's cold out. One breath with the right temperature and humidity can make it impossible to see through. I'd suggest no visor and instead a good pair of safety glasses and a balaclava for under your helmet. Another danger of cold weather riding is a frost covered seat. Your seat can be extremely slippery if it has a good layer of frost on it. Make sure to clean it good before you ride if she sits outdoors. I keep an extra cloth in my top box so I can wipe off the seat when needed.

[BitcoinDood]

Originally Posted by Biker_Andy

Well as a Canadian with a TT250 I should probably chime in. First I had a good laugh when you mentioned extream cold. - 40° is fairly cold when your working outside for 10 hours but I wouldn't call it extream. I put about 30 miles on my TT250 yesterday but it was beautiful outside and all the snow had melted. I know how much you easterners love your roads plastered with salt. Here it's usually too cold in winter for salt. If they do salt roads it brings the moose onto the highways edge to lick the salt off. The good thing about moose and motorcycles is you never hit more then one in your life. The bad thing is that it's because at best you'll never be able to ride again. Now for the advice...

The only thing you really need to "winterize" is yourself. Your TT250 will do fine in the cold. I'd run the stock battery until its toast because you can always kick start her if you need too but I'm cheap and can't justify replacement until theres a failure. Most important things you need to address in cold weather riding is keeping your visor clear and your hands warm. Frozen hands or a frosty visor is very dangerous. There's several ways to keep your hands warm and since your commute is only 10 blocks all you really need is decent gloves. I've had a lot of problems keeping my visor clear when it's cold out. One breath with the right temperature and humidity can make it impossible to see through. I'd suggest no visor and instead a good pair of safety glasses and a balaclava for under your helmet. Another danger of cold weather riding is a frost covered seat. Your seat can be extremely slippery if it has a good layer of frost on it. Make sure to clean it good before you ride if she sits outdoors. I keep an extra cloth in my top box so I can wipe off the seat when needed.

Great tips thanks! I'm in Buffalo right next to Ontario Canada. We know cold too. Never thought about that with the visor. I'll definitely take that into consideration. I've only tried a couple times but that kick start seems all but worthless. I suppose I should have a good go at it to make sure I can start it with it. Great tips thanks.

[Biker_Andy]

The only way I can kick start my TT is if I'm giving it a good twist of the throttle while I kick. My old Honda needs a twist of the throttle to kick it too. I don't know why she starts fine with the electric start without any throttle but you can kick it all day and she won't start unless you give it gas.

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by Biker_Andy

The only way I can kick start my TT is if I'm giving it a good twist of the throttle while I kick. My old Honda needs a twist of the throttle to kick it too. I don't know why she starts fine with the electric start without any throttle but you can kick it all day and she won't start unless you give it gas.

Yeah, same here. Electric start just push the start but kick needs a little throttle. Push the kick start until you feel the compression then let up and then kick it.

[BitcoinDood]

Originally Posted by Biker_Andy

The only way I can kick start my TT is if I'm giving it a good twist of the throttle while I kick. My old Honda needs a twist of the throttle to kick it too. I don't know why she starts fine with the electric start without any throttle but you can kick it all day and she won't start unless you give it gas.

Nice, I'll try that when I leave work today. It's been awhile since I kick started a bike.