Advice for cold weather

[LgFJR]

for those who are interested HIPPO HANDS are back in production according to the website............

https://www.hippohands.com/index.html

I'm usually riding in T-shirts in December so not really up on the cold gear............lol

 

[gixxerjasen]

From the looks of that road, clearly those bikes were wheeled very carefully into the position for the picture. I wanna know what both you and the bikes looked like after the ride...and more importantly, what the guy riding in the back looked like.

Don't know thy you would say that. He said he road in it, and a slush and mud mix is very rideable, especially with knobbies.

Yeah, but look how clean the bikes look!

Bingo! I've driven in that crap and know how quickly something goes from shiny to looking like a giant dirty turd. Those bikes were too darn pretty to have ridden even a hundred yards in that slop.

Tough crowd!

That was the beginning of the ride out to my buddy's place.They got Soo dirty I had to take apart the engine and clean it!

See, now THAT is dirty. I feel your pain.

 

[rwortman]

I have ridden at 34 degrees with a Goretex membrane jacket, standard thermal liner and a heated vest, windproof overpants, Goretex uninsulated boots, standard summer weight rain (windproof) gloves with the grips set to 3/4 and was toasty warm. I only got cold when I unplugged to get off the bike and take pictures. Colder than that means ice patches on the road and I am on 4 wheels.

 

[Bearly Flying]

I really appreciate all of the Good tips from our Friends in South Carolina, Florida, Southern California.

How I ever survived without this knowledge, snowmobiling in -40 deg F is beyond comprehension.

Like Big Sky said, Hot Buttered Mom and Enjoy......... Or something like that......

 

[gixxerjasen]

Hey! Don't leave out those of us offering up advice from Texas where it's still pushing triple digits outside.

Of course, those of us in the South know how to keep warm in the winter. You with your molasses for blood can stay warm easy, we of the thin watery blood need to use technology and layers to stay warm, so we know more about it than you do.

 

[Old Guy]

I really appreciate all of the Good tips from our Friends in South Carolina, Florida, Southern California.
How I ever survived without this knowledge, snowmobiling in -40 deg F is beyond comprehension.

Like Big Sky said, Hot Buttered Mom and Enjoy......... Or something like that......

I alluded to that here.

But it's all relative; what we do to stay comfortable here at 20 degrees F may be useful to someone in colder climates.

 

[TomInPA]

https://www.warmnsafe.com/remote-control-heat-trollers/
The advantage of warm & safe is the remote control. With this setup you don't have to have the controls strapped to your leg. But you do have to remember to shut the remote off and/or carry an extra watch size battery.

They also have a hard wired remote that I think is the way to go if you have only one bike.

@Neihart, from your description you have the old-style W&S remote Troller. Mike will exchange that for the newest version for like $30. It uses a single AAA battery that you can get to easily. The troller only uses power from the battery when you change the temperature setting (sends a signal), and when there is a receiver that is on. Otherwise, it uses no power, so leaving it on makes no difference. The only thing hooked to bike power is the receiver in the jacket.

 

[ai4px]

The best advice that I can give on staying warm is search ebay for set of the "original Vetter Hippo Hands".

These are a good solution, even without heated gloves IMHO. But you must also install rigid hand guards as well (vstrom hand guards, etc). Otherwise the wind pressure can force the brake handle back enough to engage the brake lights. The guards will also give the hippo hands a better shape.

ymmv

I used hippo hands on my ninja with Kury grips. I installed a button snap in the end of the kury grip and the snapper part of the button to the hippo hands. This allowed the grip to rotate freely while holding the hippo hands away from the clutch and brake levers. I like the rigid handguard idea though. The ones I had (can't remember brand) had fleece lining and round arm openings that mated perfectly with my winter jacket. Ohh and one more thing.... I cut out some foam to fit around the bars and cables snuggly to seal out any breezes inside them.

Hippo hands were GREAT until I left them laying across my seat one day and the dog chewed one up. At that point, cycle gear had some heated glove liners on sale and I just opted to get the liners instead of replacing the hippo hands.

 

[Caladin]

Hippo Hands are a great idea. I personally haven't used them though. But have thought of getting them many times.

-8c (17f) is the coldest I have ridden at. My commute is an hour of highway each way.

I find that as long as I keep my core hot, I can keep my hands warm. I used a Warm and Safe heated jacket, pants liner, and socks. Combined with a good jacket with warm liner, riding jeans with goretex overpant, and a half belaclava, I'm able to ride extended periods below freezing and arrive warm.

I can't say enough good things about my Warm and Safe gear. The dual zone controller is top notch (I have it hard wired into the bike). They stand behind their product and gave me top notch service when I had a warranty problem.

 

[CA G-Man]

+1 for Warm and Safe. The thing I like about it - and the same holds for any other heated gear, I'm sure - that hasn't been discussed here much is that it gives you a much wider range of temperatures in which you can stay comfortable by using the heat-troller. For me, wearing the liner jacket and liner gloves I can be perfectly comfortable anywhere from about 24C (with all vents open) down to below 0C (watch for ice!) with long johns on and vents zipped up. Sure beats stopping to add/remove layers every 20 minutes as the day warms/cools or as you change altitude. On my last trip I saw a swing of 19 degrees C down and then the same up again in a span of 18 minutes as I went up a mountain, crossed the summit, and then descended into the next valley).

FWIW, given a choice get a liner jacket rather than a vest. Even if you have a barn door windshield you'll probably appreciate having the heating coils on the upper arm where the wind can hit quite easily.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Uuuuhhhhh, you do know that the lowest the FJR's temp gauge will read is 17f...right? This to tell you, it may have been colder; unless you verified that by something like a bank temp display.

 

[Old Guy]

Uuuuhhhhh, you do know that the lowest the FJR's temp gauge will read is 17f...right? This to tell you, it may have been colder; unless you verified that by something like a bank temp display.

Those bank signs can be pretty unreliable. I've seen them across the street from each other 10 degrees apart. Back when I earned an honest living I worked for a bank, and I used to adjust them by having an employee drive by in their car and tell me what their temp said in front of the bank

 

[Caladin]

Uuuuhhhhh, you do know that the lowest the FJR's temp gauge will read is 17f...right?

I did not know that. That's good to know! Thanks

 

[El Toro Joe]

Um, AJ...I believe it's 16 degrees that the temp gauge bottoms out at.

 

[Harald]

You are absolutely right, El Toro Joe. This picture was taken when it was 12 degrees:

 

[Old Guy]

Well, thank you, Harald, for posting that because I did not want to have to test this for myself this winter

 

[HotRodZilla]

Aw fuck...16, 17, whatever. Haha...

 

[Old Guy]

Aw fuck...16, 17, whatever. Haha...

Maybe it's a rounding error

 

[TomInPA]

Seriously numb nuts! By the time it's that cold who cares? If you find a window and motivation to ride in sub-freezing temperatures, you're the man! WarmNsafe gear will make it easier, but you still get credit for being one of the few that will be on 2-wheels. A sunny cold winter day is tolerable, mainly because a ride is rare

 

[El Toro Joe]

Seriously numb nuts! By the time it's that cold who cares? If you find a window and motivation to ride in sub-freezing temperatures, you're the man! WarmNsafe gear will make it easier, but you still get credit for being one of the few that will be on 2-wheels. A sunny cold winter day is tolerable, mainly because a ride is rare

We left Hungry Mother State Park, VA. Thanksgiving weekend a couple years ago. And everyone's temp gauge was reading 16. I didn't see anything above freezing until I got north of Beckley WV. Slabed it all the way home...highest temp for the day was 38.