New Jacket.

[patrick_777]

Or sheer boredom, in my case.

[Water Warrior 2]

BB, how many miles on the Vulcan now?

[mrlmd1]

I just tried out my new First Gear jacket over the Columbia snowsuit I have, and amazingly I was able to get it all on and all zipped up without any difficulty. I had a little trouble getting my helmet strap latched on under my chin as it was tough to bend my arms up that high, but other than that the whole thing was pretty comfortable. It's was about 40 when I went out for a half hour ride at 60 mph - that translates to a wind-chill of about 25, and I was very comfortable, No wind came in anywhere at all, and with a scarf on, none up my neck into the helmet either. A snow suit is definitely a good option for winter riding and probably much cheaper than motorcycle suits. If you don't want to by a whole one piece suit, at least look for a pair of snowmobile pants. They block the wind fine and are also insulated, they are just not armored. I'm sure this outfit would have stood up to temps another 20 degrees lower.

[alanmcorcoran]

Be careful with scarves. They have a nasty tendency to become unwound and wrapped up in moving parts. I have a personal ban on scarves on snowmobiles that I think I would also extend to motorcycles. I think Opsgear is out of the Maxit Gators, but these work as a safer alternative.

40's not really that cold, but I agree - snowmobile suits do an excellent job of keeping one warm when going at ridiculous speeds in cold weather. But they suck once you've dropped your Polaris into a powder trough... or through the lake ice.

[mrlmd1]

The scarf goes around and both ends are tucked way inside the jacket, not like the barnstormers in the open cockpits with them blowing in the breeze.
If I got caught in the rain with that on, I'd probably put the rain suit over it so it doesn't get soaked, altho it's supposed to be waterproof.

[patrick_777]

Originally Posted by mrlmd1

not like the barnstormers in the open cockpits with them blowing in the breeze.

But that looks so cool!

[mrlmd1]

If you make it just long enough so it doesn't reach down below the seat and get caught up in the wheel, I guess it might be safe enough,
But if it got into the wheel it would probably break your neck as the bike went down. Or catch fire from an exhaust pipe's heat.
Better keep it tucked inside, Who wants to look cool riding a motorcycle anyway?
Actually I tuck it inside so nobody sees it.

[patrick_777]

Scarf in the wheel...yuck. That could get messy.

[burkbuilds]

WW- just under 9700 miles on my Vulcan in 7 months. I think I made a good decision about taking the truck to Atlanta this week, looks like we are going to get about an inch of snow tomorrow. With Atlanta drivers, that will probably cause about the same amount of mayhem that two feet of snow gives to a major northern city! People down here can't even drive in the rain, much less anything more slippery. For that matter, they aren't even very good at driving when it's dry and sunny.

[Water Warrior 2]

BB, that is a fair bit of distance in just a short time. Have you had any issues with the bike ? How would you rate it as a commuter bike ? What have you done so far to keep it safe and in good repair ?