when is it too cold to ride

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Avoided using the brakes, or leaning in the turns, as much as possible.

 

 

Yeah, those brakes and leaning in the turns are all HIGHLY overated and not needed.

 

 

 

[Guest tx2sturgis]

[ame]

[/ame]

[Barrycuda]

The coldest I had the kawasaki out was probably in the single digits in New York. Cold, nothig else. A few years back i took a back roads trip from florida to GA. Over night it was frost and ice on roads while the sun was down. That wasn't nice at all. As for the Venture, the coldest was yesterday, in the low 30's when I went to Steve's house for frigid day of fun with electronics.

[Barrycuda]

I also ride all year long. I finally bought my first item of heated gear a few weeks ago. Heated glove liners. Other than that I wear a couple thin but warm layers and some fire hose style pants to cut the wind. Coldest it has been when I left the house at 3:30 AM was about 8 degrees. I was as warm as could be. At 45 and above I really don't wear much more than I would in the summer. The older I get, the more I like the cold. And we don't get much snow here outside of Washington DC so the riding season can go all year.

 

BB, what type of heated glove liners do you use. that's one thing I don't have good cold and wet weather gloves.

[Brake Pad]

17 degrees on my 1984 1200 Wing, our club called the Royal Knights MC of Plattsburgh NY went on a road trip to the Blue Mountain Lake Meuseum one Sunday Morning, we were still on the road after dark. The roads were dry, put could not ride any faster then 35-40 because of the wind chill factor ( That's the night I figured out plastic bags) will help you stay somewhat warmer. Finally got home in West Chazy, about 11:30 pm. Walked into the shower fully clothed, could not fell my hands or feet, after 15 minutes, I was able to get my Helmet off.

[Rick Haywood]

Today -4 fegrees

[Chaharly]

Depends on the length of the ride. Heated gear would be a literal life saver

[KB2RWW]

As most of you know I go to great lengths to ride, I have even been known to ride in a snowstorm or two for a meet and eat. with today's technology anyone can ride all year long, It's personal preference that limits riding.

[dna9656]

I have insulated riding pants, some fair gauntlet gloves (insulated) a Cabella's' "B-3" Bomber Jacket, a full face helmet, I were a thin on the top/thick around the neck balaclava PLUS a THICK knitted tube around the out side of the balaclava ; it not only increases warmth and comfort but it keeps the wind out from under the helmet. For those of you that are too young to know what a B-3 Jacket is, it was designed for Bomber crewmen on B-17s ,B-24s, B-25, B-26s. All these aircraft weren't pressurized so at 30,000 feet it was pretty dang cold.. 30 to 40 below PLUS the Wind Chill Factor. When my Gauntlets ain't makin' it I have some polyurethane mittens I wear inside a pair of USAF current issue Arctic Mittens I bought on E-Bay. My hands have been pretty comfortable with this set up, a little cool if i ride the Road Star, she's got no fairings but she does have a windshield. I have ALL the fairings on the Venture and feel almost no wind at free way speeds. I drive 26 miles each way to work and I don't ride when there is snow, or freezing temps and rain forecast. I ride in the rain otherwise. Oh yeah I got some insulated boots (think Sorrels) issued to my while serving in AK. that are pretty warm too. I forgot, I wear some pretty good LONG JOHNS too! The more wool the better.

[syscrusher]

When there's snow in the driveway all around the 4wd SUV it's just too easy to decide to drive that.

When there's snow on the mountain and you're touring you can try to wait for the snow plow but you've got to ride over the mountain sometime today.

I hope this was helpful.

[KISA]

-10С more than 30 miles

[Great White]

As soon as black ice is a concern or I'm just not enjoying it anymore because I'm too damned cold.

 

Whichever comes first.

[Bert2006]

When the salt comes out on the roads! :crying:

[ragtop69gs]

When It freezes the moonshine!

[cowpuc]

I was born with ride weather monitors protruding from my chest muscles.. When the weather is right for riding the monitors are soft, when not they get hard like two little frozen peas..

They will soften up if it's cold and I put a shirt on, which I have had to do in the past to get home to the safety of my warm garage.

[Brake Pad]

coldest I rode was 17 degrees, when I lived up state NY ( Adirondacks )

[kevin-vic-b.c.]

meet my buddy Paul Mondor

 

[Great White]

[VerntureVet]

IMO it all boils down to experience and rider comfort. And I don't mean how cold the boys get because when riding in cold weather it SHOULD BE common sense to dress the part but just in case remember to dress the part and don't forget about wind chill. My Royale convert will see cold weather this year and in years past the Sportster only came in the living room when there was snow on the roads. Black Ice is something to look out for more so on a bike than a car. Remember some drivers can't even control a car when the roads are slick so watch out for them also.

 

Everyone has brought up a combination of things to consider and I think all are great points. If you want to ride in the cold/wet/snow and you have never done it. Remember to dress for the conditions and on your first few rides take it slow and take short trips. I remember when I was 15 and took my 1st turn over 20mph on a big boy bike. I went so wide I ended up in the grass one the outside of the turn. I learned to counter steer and to not be afraid to lean deep. Now 25 years latter I can take the Hayabusa around a tight 90 turn @ 30-40mph.

 

Take it slow learn how your ride handles in the weather and rain or shine you can be out on the bike. For me when snow hits I break out the road legal Pit Pike and keep on trucking. Its normal for me to do 20K a year or more combined on bikes and the car (when I have one) gets maybe 3k a year if its lucky.

[captcharger]

I use to live in Chicago while I was going to school. I got my first bike (Honda 450 nighthawk). No wind screen living on a student's income. Had to use that bike alot no matter the weather. Had to at times sit at the stop light, pull my gloves off and stick my hands on cylinder just to warm them up.

 

I won't ever go that cold again. But I have found that if I bundle up good then I can handle most weather. I avoid freezing temps though due to ice concerns and won't ride in snow at all.

[RLM]

I don't like to ride too much below 37 38 degrees. It makes a big difference if the sun's out or not. For me living in the snow belt 45 degrees in the fall is a lot colder than 45 degrees in the spring if you know what I mean.

[CaseyJ955]

I'm not sure if there is a limit to how cold it can be while still riding. I've ridden in sunny dry but below 0. Thats mighty cold my friends. If you have the right gear, even heated gear and the roads are clear then it's a personal judgement call. If the roads are wet then I stay above 40f and dont go far. Here elevation and temp changes can come up on ya right quick and freeze the ground right under you. Trees shade areas and leave patches of ice on otherwise clear roads. Lots to think about.

 

IMHO mixing freezing temps with wet is a hard no, the cost and likelihood failure is high. If your freezing while riding your more likely to make a mistake, that sort of freeze fatigues a rider pretty fast. I've been stuck in pucker-factor 9 trying desperately to keep the wheels in the tiny little grooves cars cut through the frost and snow. I hope to never have to do that again.

 

I have done some very long trips in some nasty weather, nothing left to prove. If in doubt I take the cage and live to ride another day. So my own guidelines are 40 deg if wet, as cold as I can stand it if it's dry.

[JBeierDC]

Rode to work yesterday morning - 62 miles at 33 F. Used my snowmobile pants under chaps and my normal cool weather jacket with the snowmobile gloves. Was a GLORIOUS ride. But we have had our couple bouts of rain to wash the salt off the roads, and today, its scheduled for some higher winds and rain, despite being a little warmer today, I drove in with the jeep rather than my RSTD. Mostly as I know it wouldn't be fun dodging tar snakes with the wet and wind today.

On the other hand, last month we had a few days of -30 F to -20 F and I saw a imo 'crazy' (or is it 'death wish'?) - biker out on the road in that with enough snow on the ground my jeep was complaining.

As many before said, cold is relative to your experience and I must say comfort to control ratio - with the proper gear cold isn't much problem for the bike or you, but you have to think out your gear vs the conditions with the speeds you will be going.

Wind chill from your speed is just as bad as anything else. My .

 

JB

[N3FOL]

I guess we can also ask, 'When is it safe to ride'? I may ride with temps down to 20°F as long as frost is not on the ground. Day time riding at 20°F with lots of Sun is perfect. Night time riding at 20°F can be tricky. If I know that it will be dark by the time I get home, I usually take my van to be safe.

[N3FOL]

I don't like to ride too much below 37 38 degrees. It makes a big difference if the sun's out or not. For me living in the snow belt 45 degrees in the fall is a lot colder than 45 degrees in the spring if you know what I mean.

 

Fall temps is finally here in our area. After today and tomorrow’s rain, we will have low 50’s in the morning. To me that is just perfect Fall riding temperature. As you have mentioned, 37° with or without Sun is just fine as long as there is no wind chill factor. Anything over 10 mph of wind in our area below 40° is a ‘No Ride’ for me.

 

 

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