Winter Weather Riding Tips?

[music man]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider

If it is 18F and spitting freezing rain, ANY car is better than a bike......or raining buckets and a 40 mph wind. That WAS my point.

As for going years with little maintenance cost, that probably means you will be putting on a lot of miles and tires alone for a bike (2) often cost as much as a set for a car (4) and only get half the mileage (typically).

Maintenance cost and costly repairs are at two totally different ends of the spectrum. because now you are talking about maintenance(tires, oil changes, air filters etc...) PLUS new alternators, valve jobs, transmission issues etc... Compared to the bike that you put tires, and maybe a chain and sprocket set on in that same span of time. PLUS, your statement that ANY car is better than a bike in that kind of weather is way off the mark, because if you can't afford to keep it running, then you are walking in that 18F cold and rain, and i will take riding my bike in that weather any day over walking miles and miles in it.

And Heated riding gear is a Luxury, NOT a Need, at least not in the southern states, I have made it through two winters riding my GZ almost every single day, sometimes with temps in the high teens (without factoring in the wind chill), with no heated riding gear (and for that matter, no Motorcycle specific cold weather gear whatsoever), and the first winter I even wore a Beanie style helmet, so my face was exposed too. So it is all up to what you can and/or MUST withstand, Last winter I literally didnt have a choice, the skyrocketed gas prices from last summer had left me Cageless, so it was ride in the cold or nothing, granted I don't live in Chicago or Wisconsin, or god forbid, Canada in the winter, but it is still a Battle against the elements trying to ride in the winter here too.

On a closing note, I FULLY AGREE with Easy Rider (theres a shock for ya!) that your chances of having an accident raise Exponientally when it is brutally cold outside and you are on your bike, no matter what a study shows. Even if you discount the ice/snow and wet, you are still left with the fact that your mind is almost fully pre-occupied with the fact that you are freezing your ass off, which doesn't leave much room in your mind for concentrating on the road ahead of you. So if you are going to ride in the cold, take advice from someone who has some experience doing it, be twice as careful riding as you would be if it were warm outside.