Cold weather gear

[loingrader]

first gear kilimanjaro jacket
first gear kilimanjaro pants
widder electric gloves (soon to be discontinued)
set-up (gran prix) waterproof motorcycle boots

got everything but the gloves at newenough.com.  gerbing makes nice heated gloves too, but they draw a lot more amps than the widder's do.

pants and jacket are waterproof and can be used during the summer on those wet rides.  just remove the liners.

with this setup i can ride comfortably all day long at 15-20 degrees.

coldest trip was 25 miles at -11.2 degrees F.

i've been using this stuff for 3 years, and there is 0 wear on them.  i got them a little big so i can just wear them to work over my work clothes. 

it extends my riding season by about 5 months, which is awesome.

[fringefan]

Sorry man but anything less than freezing does not get me excited to do much except making a fire.

[loingrader]

there are lots of guys that won't ride if the temp is below freezing.  can be dangerous if you're not careful.  last winter i popped over a hill on the interstate (doing 80mph) and was greeted with a 1000 ft sheet of ice.  i was riding the blackbird.  i didn't move a muscle or even breathe for the longest 8 seconds of my life.  as i was approaching the end of the ice i could feel the whole bike starting to occillate (front tire to the left/rear tire to the right, and then back, and forth, etc.) because there was absolutly no traction what so ever.  after i made it across the ice i drove on the shoulder (rougher rock) to the nearest exit and took back highways (rougher rock)the rest of the way in to work with no problems.

i was wearing proper gear but the bike wouldn't have fared too good at 80mph on it's side. 

another justification for the klr.  it won't be as big of a loss if i ever lay it down at speed when riding in the winter.

[The Yeti]

Yeah, I'm good down to around 40 degrees if I'm not moving too fast, anything under that and I usually stay home. Don't have any electric gear yet.

I get the feeling that you commute a lot on your bike...I do not, I pretty much only ride the bike for pleasure on the weekends & days off. Used to commute, but I only live about 5 minutes from work...not worth the hassle of getting all geared up and the risk of some damn soccer mom running me down trying to get her kid to school while putting on make-up and talking on the phone.   

I have a set of Carhart "extreme cold" overalls that I'll wear when it gets below 40, but that doesn't happen too often.

[Hank]

I rode in today at 20 degrees, and that's pushing it for me even though it's only a 5 minute ride.  I'd need insulated pants to go any colder, and I don't think I'll mess with that for such a short ride.   It was invigorating though!

I don't really like to start the bike for such a short ride either.. oil doesn't even get warm.
I need to get a new tire on the DRZ and start riding that.   I don't mind abusing that bike quite so much.

[loingrader]

i commute 60 miles every day.  it will be 76 miles a day once the house gets done in february.

for a 5 minute ride i'd probably just ride the ttr and go slow.  i'm with you hank, i wouldn't start the katoom for a 5 minute ride.

people think i'm kinda nuts in the dead of winter, but it saves gas and it's so much more fun being on a bike than in a cage.  even if it is a little nippy.

[fringefan]

It is suppoed to be in the 60's tomarrow so with all this talk about cold weather riding it makes me want to ride when I head up to deadwood.

[The Yeti]

Supposed to be 73 tomorrow!

http://www.weather.com/outlook/driving/interstate/tenday/57701?from=36hr_fcst10DayLink_driving

Looks like a very nice weekend, too.

[Dustin]

Well Bret you motivated me enough to ride in to work today!!!  I live 20 miles from work so I was a little better off than you. It was 25°'s when I left the house, the ride was brisk but not uncomfortable.

Gear I have
Olympia - Bushwacker jacket
Fieldsheer - Four Season Pants
Leather gloves and boots

With some better gloves and something covering my neck I think I could probably ride comfortably in the 20 degree range all day.

[loingrader]

heated gloves make a huge difference.  my entire body feels so much warmer by just having warm hands. 

normally i just wear one of those fleece neck things (30-45 degrees).  i put it on over my face and eyes before i put my helmet on.  then when i pull my helmet on it goes down a bit so i can see, but keeps my neck, chin, and the back of my head, out of the wind.  i have an aerostich baclava thing that is thin and covers my face (except for my eyes) and head that i wear when it is below 30 (under the fleece neck thing). 

it is also nice having  a fog free face shield.  my hjc helmet came with one.

nice work dustin. 

[Dustin]

So whats better, heated gloves or heated grips?

[Dustin]

I've been looking in to making a heated jacket liner, my wifes a good seamstress and I'm an electrical guru so together we should be able to come up with something.

[loingrader]

there are directions online for making a heated vest for motorcycling.  shouldn't be too hard with your experience.

in my opinion, heated gloves are better.

-you can use 1 pair of gloves for any bike you've got in the garage
-it keeps the outside of your hands warm (the side that gets all the wind) vs grips
-5 minute installation
-you don't have the wire on the throttle side of your bars getting snagged or broke, and it's one less switch that's on your bars waiting to get broken.
-i like em.

i think if i lived in a climate where it never got below 40 or so, heated bars would be ok.  any colder, expecially when wearing thick winter gloves, i can't imagine that the heated bars help much. 

it has to be damn cold (below 0) before my hands even start to get chilly.  i'd like to see heated bars that can do that.

[loingrader]

dustin, here's the link for the home made electric vest.

http://www.klr650.marknet.us/diy-Electric_Vest.pdf

by the way, www.klr650.marknet.us is a very informational site for the klr650.

[plumber mike]

It's that time of year again. 120 miles yesterday. 35 degrees. I started to get cold hands about 5 miles from home.

Loingrader- What kind of heated gloves do you run and where did you get them.

Has anyone considered studded snows or is it just plain silly?

The few inches of snow earlier this week have me scrambling to extend my season.

A homeade electric vest could only come from a KLR rider. Shocking

Stay warm everybody