Winter Weather Riding Tips?

[Water Warrior 2]

BB, the controllers are a good idea. Having a more controlled power drain will allow the battery to keep it's charge up to snuff when the temps drop a bit.

[music man]

Originally Posted by alanmcorcoran

I drove a Peugeot (and an American made replacement after it the Peugeot was stolen) for almost three years through some very harsh winters (Ithaca New York, sub zero temps, late seventies.) Having very little money, I rode with no special gear, crappy (sometimes no) gloves, work clothes (crappy cheap suits) and a crappy thrift store Army jacket. I can't say I enjoyed freezing my ass off (those years are probably why I will be a California resident until I croak) but I don't remember any serious accidents. You get a little wind protection on a moped - they're like a scooter in that you stick your feet and knees behind a fairing and you can crouch down a bit to reduce wind chill. It was a bit hairy going up and down hills on snow, but northern cities are pretty aggressive about plowing, sanding and salting so there usually isn't ice except in the middle of a freezing rain storm.

Just mention this because there are often financial/legal reasons, bordering on economic survival, that lead otherwise sane people to ride year round in cold climates.

:bow: :bow:. and I get looked at like I am crazy, when I ride around here all winter, Alan you are (or at one point in your life were) one tough S.O.B. . And I don't blame you, I think that would drive me to Florida/California/Hawaii too.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by burkbuilds

The answer, 10 amps for a total of 120 watts available for accessories on the Vulcan.

I think that is a good figure to assume for most medium size bikes; 250's a little less, touring bikes somewhat more. You need that much "extra" capacity to recover from a flat battery.

[burkbuilds]

WW- I agree, I think I will definitely have to install the power controllers on my bike. That will give me separate control of the gloves and vest as well which is also a plus. I'll have several weekends to come up with a mounting solution that I like before cold weather arrives this Winter.

Alan, wow, you really went "barbarian" on us back in the day! I can't imagine riding under those conditions but I understand how desperation can motivate us to get through some tough spots in life, you have my respect! I don't even like the Winter around here I can't image New York winters. I am somewhat amazed by how few bikers will ride under ANY adverse conditions. Even around here I seldom see any other bikers riding in the dead of winter and they even drop off a good bit when it hits upper 90's in the Summer, and only a few venture out in the rain even when it's warm and I suspect most of those just got "caught" in it, not an intentional decision to go out in the rain. Of course I still see the occasional hard core "biker" who is riding in a vest with no sleeves, a beenie helmet with goggles, and no windshield (because that wouldn't be cool looking!) when it's 30 degrees outside but I think they have a different sort of motivation than the rest of us.
Me, well aside from the economic reasons, I just really like being on the bike better than riding in an enclosed vehicle until it becomes painful to do so. I've always worked outside,cold, rain, sleet, heat whatever and I just prefer that to "conditioned" enclosed spaces, although I really hate cold the most. (I'll take 100 over 50 any day!) (I'm actually hoping that the global warming theory is true, I do my part by spraying a can of aerosol into the air on a regular basis. O_o ) There is something about the wind hitting you and the smells you encounter and feeling the changes in temperature that make me feel "alive" and you just don't get that inside a vehicle with the windows rolled up and the air on!

Thanks again for everybody's input it has been very helpful!

[burkbuilds]

Hey, I found out that Denniskirk.com has a replacement Stator for my bike that is supposed to increase the power output significantly both at idle and at cruising speed, they also have a better Regulator/Rectifier that fits my bike. Anybody have any hard numbers on this, the Denniskirk site just lists this as a significant increase over OEM and better quality all around over the OEM, which does seem to have some maintenance issues from what I've read for the Stator and the Regulator. Together both items and shipping is gonna be in the $225 range. Even if it's just a 10% increase in total alternator output (OEM about 33-35 amps= about 400 watts) that would amount to about 40+Watts of available additional power which is significant to me, plus, it's a pretty easy swap to do.

[burkbuilds]

I sent e-mails to two companies that supply replacement Stator's for my Vulcan 500. RicksMotorsportElectrics.com said they make a stator for my bike but it is OEM spec, not additional output. Electrosport.com said they make a replacement for my Stator and it gives an overall increase of 20% compared to the OEM stator. That would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 80-90 watts (roughly 7 amps) of additional power output at 4000 rpms. That is pretty impressive and will help tremendously with my winter accessory loads.