Winter Riding... Methods Perspective.

[Method]

OK, so ive read a few of these over my time here and have been realy impressed in the information that others have put across. Obviously everyone has a slightly different oppinion etc on what to do / how to do it, so heres my attempt at a guide to riding through the winter

Firstly:
No, it is not winter yet, if you believe it is... your in for a shock.
It is autumn, its unpleasant at times, but its nothing compared to winter.

Ok, now ive got that out the way and scared off all the fair weatherer's, lets get to business.

Preperation:
Preperation is the key to getting through a desperate winter. Failing to prepare is preparing to fail, and all that. Basically, if you havent spent the time to sort your bike out before the rain, wind, ice, and snow come, then your going to be spending the entire time repairing your bike to get it through.

The Bike
Now before winter starts, you need to be sure that the bike is up for it. This means checking all of the following:

Lights: It gets dark earlier in winter, and visibility can be minimalistic at times, so you need to make sure that you are both visible to other road users, and that you can see what is ahead of you. Check Indicators, Headlights, Tail lights and Brake lights and replace / repair as neccesary.

Tyres: Make sure both of your tyres have tread on them. If you've had a pretty hectic summer of racing around roundabouts and long rideouts in the heat, make sure you still have plenty of depth left in the tread of your tyres, this is crucial for catching any possible grip there may be on the roads as they get worse. Put your bike up on a paddock stand / center stand and spin the wheel slowly in your hands, checking all around the tyre for any cracks / damage, and to see if there is anything petruding into your tyre. Once again, replace as required - tyres are important.

Brakes: Test your brakes once again by placing the bike on a center stand / paddock stand and spin the wheels seperately. Listen for any kind of "binding" noise (which sounds like scraping metal), to make sure that your brakes are not binding at any point, this is important to check because if your front brake is binding, it is trying to stop the wheel dead, this means that when the road is slick / icy and you are trying to turn, the brake will effectively be trying to stop the wheel and can cause the wheel to drag to a certain point that will cause it to loose traction and slide out. Not Good. Make sure that your fluid resevoirs are all topped up as they should be and that they do not need bleeding. Test this by pumping each lever seperately and seeing how they feel. Make sure that the lever will become almost solid when compressed (It doesnt feel spongy), and that when the lever is release, the calliper releases too and the bike can move forward.

Cables:
Make sure all your cables are oiled up nicely and are free, its the worst time of year to have a sticky throttle, or if your trying to pull in that super stiff clutch you've been riding on all summer. Trust me, with cold hands - the clutch WILL hurt your hand

Coolant / antifreeze levels:
Ok, for those of you with liquid / water cooled engines, you need to sort out your cooling systems. Check your anti-freeze / coolant levels in your header tank (where you put the water / coolant in), and make sure it is at the correct height. Also make sure it is the correct consistancy (this varies from brand to brand and type to type so check the back of the bottle to make sure).

And of course, Your Battery!
Winter put a serious strain on any battery, so... Have you got a good battery? If your not sure, here is a simple test...

Put your ignition on and turn on your dipped beam. Wait 3 seconds and turn on your indicator. Watch your headlight beam and see if it becomes brighter, and then weaker in relation to the indicator light. If the headlight dims when the indicator is on, then your battery is pretty bad. Also test with the headlight and brake light. Another way is to start your bike up and let it idle. Put on your dipped beam again and watch it. Rev your bike through the range and see if the headlight increases dramatically with the revs.

If your in doubt of your battery being able to cope with winter, replace it. Better to be safe than sorry, winter is the wrong time to be taking risks.

Clothing!

Now then, the expensive part

Now ive ridden through what, 3 winters now and they have been pretty bad. So from my experience i will try to give you an idea of what kit you should be looking out for.

Ok lets start with the obvious. Leathers are crap in the snow and driving rain. Textiles all the way

Go down to your local bike clothing store and take a look around. At a minimum, you will need a textile jacket and trousers, water proof gloves and a set of waterproof boots. Thats at a minimum.

Jackets:
You can get two main styles in textile jackets. There is the "summer size" jacket, which is basically a waterproof jacket with removable linings. These however will come down to the same point as a normal leather jacket, just above the top of your bum crack. Now these are great because they are relatively light to carry around with you and wear, they are very comfortable, and they do the job! (They also look a little more tarty). However, the other type of jacket is advised if you are going to be doing long stints on motorways, and if you have a long miserable commute to work every day / you want something a bit warmer and hardcore. These are the jackets that come down to just below your bum cheeks These jackets are complete winter jackets, waterproof to the point of destruction and extremely warm. If you dont mind looking a little less fashionable, then these are the jackets for you!

Trousers:
Find the most comfortable set of 100% waterproof textile trousers with removable lining! The removable lining is great for those nice sunny days where you only need a set of jeans underneath

Zipping in, jackets and trousers can be "zipped in" to each other by a zip at the top of the trousers and the bottom of the jacket. This is a great idea as it stops drafts getting up your back when riding. Not all trousers will fit all jackets though, remember that! However when you buy a jacket with the zip at the bottom to connect to your trousers, they normally come with the second part of the same zip. Simply unzip this and sew it into the trousers, voila! You have a matching set! Remember though when sewing this zip into the trousers, you need to make sure it is a solid joint, no point in having it fall off in the wind is it?

Oversuits:
These are the lightweight, waterproof sets that can be rolled up and put under your seat. I would advise everyone riding through winter to invest in a set. For about £5 you have a set of waterproofs that you can simply slip over the rest of your kit when ever needed. EG If your riding around without the lining in your trousers, or you've been riding about in your leathers and the rain starts, simply pull over, pop on the over trousers / jacket, and your sorted!

Gloves:
Now, this is always a bit of a grey spot. Obviously you want your hands to be as warm as possible, so naturally you run for the biggest looking gloves you can see, with the most furry lining inside. Probably not the best idea, "why?", well think about it, with those gloves on, your fingers are now ~2/3cm fatter. The problem with this is that winter gloves that are extremely large and quilted, can mean that you dont have the feel to the bars that you need to be able to ride steadily through winter, you will get clumsy, and find yourself knocking a whole manner of switches when your trying to find the indicator. Its not a good idea. So when picking gloves, find the warmest pair that you can, that still allow you the feel and grip on the bars / controls that you require!

Undergloves are a good idea too (you know, those wooly ones you used to get for going to the fireworks displays However, they fall into the same trap as pointed out above. They can add to the lack of feeling you can get, so be carefull! Remember, comfort is important, but your safety is more so! As i always say, safety first, comfort later

Boots:
Ok so at this point you should be about ready to hit your overdraft, but you still need some boots! Now then, make sure you have 100% waterproof boots. There is nothing worse than getting wet feet in winter. You foot gets slightly damp, it then gets cold, and colder, and colder, you then begin to get a bit numb and before you know it your getting seriously clumsy. Not only that but its bloody miserable turning up to work with soaking wet socks So once again, make sure you get a set that fit you correctly, as you need the same amount of feel through your boots, as you do with your gloves. After all, your braking with your foot arent you? Winter is the worst time of year for clumsy braking!

Extras!

Ok, so on top of all you basic setup, its a good idea to take a look at extras that you can get, as these can make all the difference!

Fog Protection: As the weather gets colder, you will start to steam up your visor. As the winter progresses, this will get more and more rapid, until you get to the point where you find yourself riding everywhere with your visor up so you can see where your going. Thus arriving at work with a face as red as a tomato. To avoid this, you should definately look at getting some kind of fog protection, and these come in sooo many different ways.

Visor Inserts: These are very good, definately worth the £15 you spend on one, however you need to put it on correctly otherwise they are worthless!

Foggy Masks: I wear one of these all year round now, i bought one last winter and it is great. The only problem is that once again you need to spend the extra 10 / 15minutes setting this up correctly for your face, otherwise once again, it will be worthless.

Pinlock: By far the best. If you have a pinlock visor, then get yourself a pinlock anti-fog insert, good to go. If you dont have a pinlock visor, go to your local clothing shop and find out if there is one available for your helmet, they are worth it, trust me!

Foggy Hyperoctics (*sp?): Now, these things are very good, they come in different styles from different brands, but they are the same basic thing. They are an anti-fog insert that sticks onto your visor, but they react to lighting conditions. These are usefull in the winter as you not only fog up, but you will get a lot of glare from everything around you, frost, sun, other headlights, snow, etc. These things will react to all that and tint slightly to prevent the glare and brightness affecting you!

Anti-Freeze clothing: Produced by Frank Thomas i believe, this stuff is great. It comes in all forms from vests to longsleeve shirts, to underwear to full suits, to socks and gloves and even headwear! Its brilliant stuff! What it is, is basically a suit / sock or what ever, that goes underneath your normal clothing to keep you warm. How it works i am unsure, but its basically like having thermals, and damn they are good! Stops you from getting frost bite on those cold mornings! Lovely and toasty

Remember, the warmer you are, the happier you are. The happier you are, the more alert you are. The more alert you are, the safer you are! And thats what we all want to be!

Riding:

Ok so as far as clothing goes, i think its all pretty much covered there (im sure ive missed something, but what guide would be complete without something missing ). So onto riding:

Now i wont go overboard here, as i could talk for hours about riding through the winter etc, and this thread is allready stupidly over-sized

Basically, you need to be smooth. During the wetter/colder months, the roads are going to become more and more slick. This means that grip will be nowhere near the level it was at during summer, so you need to take care.

Be ultra smooth when releasing the clutch and pulling away, be steady on the throttle (no brutal acceleration), and definately take care when pulling the brake. It doesnt take much at all to lock up a wheel during the winter months, so you have to be steady.

Dont let yourself be caught out. Theres nothing worse than racing around and seeing a car pull out ahead, and having to slam on the brakes. Fine in the summer, your tyres can cope with it, however if you try this in the winter, you'll be overtaking said car on your 'arris! So take things steady, make sure you give yourself plenty of room to brake if you need to, and stay alert

Clean your bike regularly. When you get in after a ride through the rain and dirt, with grit on the roads, your bike will suck it all up. Get that sponge out and some soapy water and clean it all up. Get all that road crap off from your brakes and wheels. Keep everything as clean as you can, otherwise you will be turning up to summer bike meets with pitted forks and god knows what else. Keeping the bike clean means that you shouldnt in theory have to pay out for repairs when your brakes seized due to road grit etc...

Riding in snow:
Now, i dont know if your planning to or not, but personally i have no other way of getting to work, and i did all this last year.

Riding in the snow can be fun, or it can be incredibly stressfull. Just a few pointers if you are going to be out in it this year:

Be ultra ultra smooth on everything you do, snow is slippy and it doesnt take much at all to get the rear wheel spinning, or either wheel locking.
Take your time when going round turns, try not to lean the bike over too far as it doesnt take much for it to slide away.
If you feel you need to, drag your feet along side. Your not going to be doing more than 5-10mph anyway, and that quick dab you so desperately need just to pop you back up straight, is there and ready as you need it!


Righty Ho, i think that just about covers it. Just a few more little things:

Methods Super Tip!
Take some kind of luggage with you, a rucksack, and tank bag, a tail pack, what ever. Just make sure it doesnt unbalance you. Take a flask of hot drink, a snack (energy bar or something), a few basic tools, a phone (charged), and your wallet, everywhere you go! Carry your breakdown card with you everywhere too. Theres nothing worse than breaking down in the middle of winter with nothing with you. However, with a flask of warm drink, and a chocolate bar while your waiting for the RAC, in your nice warm textiles and boots, with your thermal anti-freeze undergarments on, with your lovely warm gloves... Not all that bad now is it? Kick back and enjoy the show

Ok, That about does it for me! Hope this is of some use to someone, otherwise i suppose ill see it down on page 5 by lunch time!

Good luck everyone, and enjoy the winter months! They aint as bad as everyone makes out, as long as your prepared for them!
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My Bikepics.com - No Brakes, No Gears... No Fear.

[feef]

don't be afraid to invest in handle-bar muffs. these are ugly great things, but are much more effective than any thick glove, and will keep the wind and rain off your hands, and cuffs.

not pretty, I know, but if you're riding thru winter, you're hardcore enough that noone would laugh at you anyway

heated grips are nice, but obviously require replacing the grips on your bike. Oxford do some nice wrap-around heated bits, that velcro onto your existing grips, so you can remove them when you don't want them.

If you can stretch to it, a taller screen (or even a screen of any sort if you're on a naked bike) will help keep some of the wind off. In cold damp weather, wind-chill is much more dangerous than the temperature of the air itself. (at 30 mph, an air temperature of 5 degrees, will feel like -2 )

Necktubes are a plus.

check out "sealskinz" which are insulated, waterproof socks.. even if your boots are waterproof, there's no harm in a second layer.

Obviously in the winter, you can get sun, as well as rain, wind and snow. However, the sun is so low on winter days, that a tinted visor doesn't help as much as it does in the summer. try sticking a strip or two of insulating tape along the top of your regular clear visor, to act as a "sun visor".

To help stop your visor misting up, I sometimes ride with it opena touch. However, in rain, you end up with rain running down inside the visor. some duct-tape or something similar, along the top of the visor, and onto the helmet can (if done properly) allow the visor to be opened a touch, with the tape acting as an additonal seal to stop water running down inside. a little bit of blu-tak, on the lower front edge of the visor seal will prevent the visor closing fully, and will allow a small stream of air in. I prefer this to having the visor open 'one click' as it's not open as wide, so I don't end up with tears running down my face from the cold, and it also prevents the wind from forcing the visor shut.

finally..

if you are going for a longer ride, in the cold and wet, and you're wearing your thermals, windproofs, jacket and trousers and maybe waterproof suit. Please remember to go for a slash before you leave. When the cold hits you, and you end up dying for a pee, it's a frustratingly dangerous struggle with many layers to releive yourself at the next convenient stop

a
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Mudskipper wrote: feef, that is such a beautiful post that it gave me a lady tingle
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[Black Knight]

And this is why I have a car!


Good post btw!
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[Suzuki]

I just bought myself some new boots for the winter.

They're a sports style set of waterproof boots from Frank Thomas. They've even got the "Anti-Freeze" label on them that Method spoke about. They definitely are toasty!
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[killa]

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=61629

As requested by Method, whore....
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[Method]

[UrbanRacer]

rode the bike all through last winter, wont be doing it this year. i kept my bike clean yet i ended up having to replace a shit load because of corrosion.
heres a new thread for someone to start, "Tips for storing your bike over the winter months"

[Groove]

Anyone else kinda looking forward to it?

I like feeling toasty yet being able to see my breath

Its a shame i have no winter clothing or textiles what so ever.

I do have a snood thingy though
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[Method]

[Misc]

What's the best way to store a bike if it's not garaged, i have a Oxford cover but that's thin as anything, are there any insulated covers around? Is it bad to leave a bike outside & not ride it that often?

Also, when does the worst part of winter actually start & finish?

Chris.

[Itchy]

Or to brave/mad people just ride exactly as normal , using a bit more FS365 and undoing your brake caliper every 2 weeks.
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[mr.z]

[krebsy]

Did a 200 mile 7 hour round trip in Feb, leaving at 7:30 am and returning at 4pm. My hands, even with the all season gloves and wolly inserts were too cold to properly pull the levers. I stopped and took the woolies out as I'd rather have cold hands that could bend to pull the levers than marginally warmer ones thsat were too stiff. Cold frosty day on the way out with blinding sunlight for most of the trip and cold and wet through the darkness on the way back. I almost gave up on the return leg 20 miles from home when it started pelting with snow when I left the filling station. Luckilly that cleared after half a mile or so.

Cold weather=not fun. .

Still, the divvy came through the winter with nothing but a sticky caliper and baked on WD40 all down the engine. (kept the road salt off).

Get a spray can or bottle of Nikwax to coat your gear with. Liberally coat it on, let it dry and then stick a load of anti-slip matting over your seat to stop your arse sliding around all over the place. Nikwax is great for waterproofing but it is seriously slippy as a polish..

K.
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What's my New Year's resolution?

1280 x 1024.

[Whosthedaddy]

[tribal_tiger]

I've the winter gloves, visor inserts, heated grips, good textile clothing.



Just need a bike!
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How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could Chuck Norris?

All of it.

[TOM M]

I rode through 2 winters one on my 50cc scoot and the other on my rs125. I didnt bother last winter when i had the zxr because i had a car instead.

Good post above with lots of good advice

But this year i wont be as a) i have no bike and b) ive deceided i hate being cold and c) keeping the bike free of salt and corrossion is a bastard



The car heaters already on number 3 permanently (i hate cold)
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Now owner of a 1200 Bandit

[Jack_Cheese]

Snow is by far the worst part of winter riding. That and ice. Ice has spit me off once before, and snow gave me one absolute mother of a highside. I think it'll be car time in november

Your kidney region and knees get F*cking frozen in winter, so knee tubes and kidney belts are a lifesaver Keep your eyes on lidl and aldi for cheap riding gear

Jack
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[SoND]

The necktube thing is a must, without it your face will freeze up to painful levels very quickly.

A newspaper/magazine down the front of your jacket helps stops the wind getting to your chest as bad.

Are heated grips worth the money?
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[Itchy]

[hmmmnz]

good write up there method, havn't seen you about for a while, hows that bike of yours running
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Wiring Diagrams BIDNIP it bitches

[kawakid]

He he, i've ridden in winter including snow before and it sucks.

I'm buying a £500 car and selling it come March time!!!

[syl]

[Gazdaman]

I also agree heated grips are worth their weight in gold.

At times the tips of your fingers get cold whilst you palms are warm, but that can be rectified by actually gripping the grip properly.

Gaz

[Serendipity]

Personally I highly rate handlebar muffs. I tend to use summer gloves with mine, partly because the muffs offer so much protection my hands stay warm, but also because the muffs are a little restrictive and the summer gloves give me much more feel.

Never tried heated grips. At traffic lights I lean down and grab the engine and on clear bits of road I warm my clutch hand in the air coming out from behind the engine.

Be a little wary of inner gloves or too many socks. The best insulator is air and if you cram your gloves and boots too full of fabric you run the risk of reducing the amount of trapped air as well as restricting blood flow. Nothing wrong with nice warm socks or very thin inner gloves, but just be careful you don’t go too far.
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[airpig]

Spent last winter on a Honda NSR125F with a crap helmet that kept fogging up. Annoying freezing fog would freeze my visor so would have to lift it but then my bloody eyelashes would freeze!!!

Had the heated pads to go around my grips but my finger-tips would be stone-cold after a while but generally glad that I bought them. Not looking forward to this winter tbh. Need to get some better gear for this one I think.

Will be my first winter on the cbr so will be a bit nervous of the handling. Worried that I'll be too agressive with it but I'm sure I'll adapt quickly. It is also my only form of transport so no choice!!

Bring it on!!!!
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