Winter/Cold Weather Riding Questions

OK - I got to ride this AM - it was 32 here in NC - I have leather gloves, but they obviously aren't much good below 40, as my hands got so cold and hurt so bad by the time I had rode 18 miles that I thought I was going to lose them! And I'm not exactly a woos - I grew up in cold windy snowy winters in eastern PA snowmobiling my ass off as a kid. So I definitely have to get thicker insulated gloves. The rest of me was fine with leather jacket, chaps, and small triangular leather neck collar.

Haven't tried drilling the holes in the face shield yet - maybe get to that this weekend. This morning I think it was just too cold to fog up any lol.

 

I just started a new job -- I have to be there at 5am, and it's 30 miles away. I bought a full face "bank robber" mask this afternoon. I'm going to wear some rubber gloves over my leather gloves for now, but need to get some cold weather ones.

Heated grips are on list for the first paycheck.

This might suck enough that I'll look for a closer job w/ better hours once I have some $$$ in the bank.

 

Ok, left the house at just after 4am Friday, with latex gloves over the leather.

It didn't help a bit. My hands got so cold that I still had red patchs on the back of my hands until this morning. I checked the shops around here, but no decent gloves in stock.

I've found some insulated general purpose cold-weather gloves that fit over my crash gloves. Going to try that in the morning. If that doesn't help, I think I might have to look for a job with better hours. :?

 

Widder makes nice gloves that are electrically heated. I also use snowmobile gloves with great sucess. Sure hope you don't have to go looking for employment, it's not a very open market, at least not right now or right here.

 

I've used the yellow Rubber dishwashing gloves with some success. Over insulated work gloves.

 

This is my first winter riding. It's not that cold here yet (somewhere in the 50s this morning, or around 12 this morning for you centipede types ); so far the jacket and gloves work great. But no one told me that the riding position on a motorcycle funnels the wind right into your crotch. Man, the boys were cold!!!

 

I'll be anxious to hear about any gloves that work well in the cold and rain. I have been using lined isotoner leather gloves (insert OJ joke here). I have a 25 mile ride at highway speeds in a variety of pleasant weather. Just this week we had low 20's a couple days, and about 1.5 inches of rain today. They keep my hands functional, but can't say they stay toastie.

I haven't had much luck with anti-foggers either. In my 25 mile ride, there are two areas that are considerably colder than everywhere else. When I leave those areas, the temperature difference is enough that even my mirrors fog at 60mph! I've just had to suffer by taking some rain to the face just so I could see. I might have to look into the snowmobile helmet idea.

Sorry 'bout your "boys" jazzmoose! I can also relate to that as I have found that my jacket also funnels water to the crotch area. Lucky for me, my "waterproof" pants also allow some water to seep in at the crotch. It's really rewarding to shown up to work looking like I wet my pants!

I think I will also try the "robber mask" idea. I found that my chin gets rediculously cold when it's below freezing even with my shield down and vents closed. Have people tried those fleece neck gaiter things for riding? They seem like they would work well,.

I guess I'm done rambling......on the computer anyway.

 

Well, I've solved the cold hands from the morning ride problem. I quit that job!

Now to find something closer to home. :?

 

a drop of dishwahsing soap on a damp paper towel, rub it in real good and let it dry
thank the paintball guys for that one

 

Ya know, I'm no expert here but what about RainX.

I've used it in my goggles at work and it does help.

just my .02

 

Personally, when it gets real bone-chillin' cold ... I park the bike and take the Buick. I'm too damn old to be hard-core; anymore.

But, the kid from down the street had the whole nine-yards of riding gear to go along with his plastic-wrapped bike. He rides when the conditions are adverse or suicidal. (Like soon after a windy and rainy morning that greases the roads with a coating of wet leaves.)

He showed me his "Anti-faceshield-fog" invention. Silly-looking, but ... undoubetedly effective!

He's got a shortened-down, rubber, snorkle and a bandana in his jacket pocket.

When he takes-off in the morning ... he breathes through the snorkle he bandana'a around his neck, sticking-out from beneath the rear of his helmet. I told him to make one that clips on the helmet and get a Patent.

"I just might do that" he said!

 

I'm with you Rick. Age HAS slowed me down in the cold weather.

This evening, the wife and I went out to dinner on the bike........ COLD!!!!

I'm sticking to sunny days for a while if I just have to ride!
Such was the case at dinner tonight.

 

Do not get the one that has real or fake sheepskin on the innerside, or the ones that seem to have a nice soft lining. I've tried both, and they itch and tickle so badly that it drives you insane! I now have a leather outer/satin lined one and although it doesn't look as cozy as the others, it functions much better without the constant itching and tickling.

 

If you want good cold winter riding gloves, look for a thinsulate insulated glove that is 40grams or more of insulation. Ive ridden in 20 degree weather with these and my hands were fine. Just make sure they dont get wet cuz that'll change the results immediatly. As far as the fogging issue, Rain-x does make an anti fogging solution which works great in cars, but have yet to try on my helmet. When I exhale when riding in the cold, I usually point my breath downwards towards the vent and lower chinbar and that works pretty good for me. I still plan on riding thru November on my bike or even longer if the roads stay bare. As soon as they start to salt, I'm putting it away!

 

I do use rain-x products on my helmet (anti-fog inside, rain-x outside). It does work failrly well, but I do have to apply it more often than I would like. It seems like if conditions are such that either is necessary (heavy rain or really humid cold), I have to re-apply every couple days. I guess it's a pretty small price to pay for being able to see, but would be nice to have something last for a while.

I did try dish soap as an anti-fogger, but found that it was hard to get it wiped enough to be clear without distortion. I also found that the soap allowed larger beads to form ; so instead of a thin foggy film, I had sections that collected larger droplets which was almost more distracting since it refracted light differently, and was not uniform. I have not tried the shaving cream idea, but do worry that it might harm the plastic.

I do recommend rain-x on the exterior. It really does help bead and shed the water better than without it. As I'm riding, I just turn my head each direction for a few seconds, and the wind is enough to clear most of the water.

 

For a fogging visor, I just crack it a hair like someone else suggested and it stays right clear. Also, breathing through your nose (air travels down) as opposed to your mouth (air travels into visor) seems to help a bit as well.

I saw a suggestion about drilling the visor - sounds like a bad idea. I'm sure it would compromise the structural integrity of the helmet (I know, sounds like Star Trek).

Rob

 

Well, my visor on my full face helmet broke at the swivel - so I had to get a new one - I'm going to tape the old one, drill some 1/8 inch holes in the nose area, and see what happens when you try to drill the plastic.

How would drilling the plastic shield compromise the helmet? I thought it's only intenmtion was to prtect from wind, rain, bugs, and maybe small rocks/sand etc.

 

Fog City makes a fog shiled that goes on the inside of your visor, that works. I put one on mine about 2 yrs ago, and havent had it fog yet, thru rain or these chilly (ok cold) november mornings. I may have to scrape the frost off my seat, but my visor doesnt fog up. Think it was about 20 bucks at dennis kirk or somewhere like that.

 

I'm fairly certain that the shields are meant to be shatter proof in the event you land on your face. If you drill holes you are creating weak points that could cause the visor to break and create a shard that could end up in your face or eyes.

I wouldn't underestimate the safety considerations placed on the visor but that's just my 2 cents.

Rob