Springs just around the corner, how was your winter?

[Whosthedaddy]

As the title, the clocks go forward tonight (well sunday morning anyways) meaning longer days, warmer roads and more bugs on the visor

Its all good from here on out, so looking back how was your winter riding, did you learn anything or even regret riding through the frosty months?

Any tips that you will be taking forward to the spring and summer?

Was it your first winter under your belt, or just another one of many?

Did you even brace the winter roads or is your bike still under wraps in the garage?

I've had the bike since the beginning of December and will proud to say that I have nearly done 500 miles on the old girl and she hasn't dropped a beat, not a single one

The choke has been my only downfall on those cold mornings and the tendency to try and turn it down too soon

This was my 2nd winter but the 1st time that I've had to rely on 2 wheels to get me about due to car troubles. Since passing my test I have never been a big fan of the wind and rain, but now I laugh in the face of old mother nature and all that is thrown at me. I admit that its damn scary when you are being blown all over the road, but relax and it becomes fun .

I still cant blip the throttle which means that the gear changes down are a little fierce and have caused many a rear wheel squirm on the damp roads, just one of those 'moments' and then carry on as if it never happened.

The recent spell of bad weather has highlighted that I seriously need some protective clothing and boots and something for those rainy days.

Oh, how can I forget all that christmas traffic everywhere great fun and very educational with regards to being brave and teaching you to go for those filtering moments.

Winter riding wasn't all that bad was it?
____________________
Current : MSX 125 Past : CBR 900RR Monkeybike : c50 LAC : ZXR750 H2 : FZR600 : ZX7R P3 : YW100 : TRX850: Trophy 900 T309 : GSXR 600 L0: Monkeybike : XJ6S Whosthedaddy

[SoND]

This year it never got cold at all, maybe a few frosty mornings but nothing serious. Where the hell did it go?

I didn't have to commute anywhere and I had the bike out when I could so it wasn't a bad winter. Although both my bikes have been in pieces for well over a month now and I'm going mad. Going down today to see if the bolts I need have arrived.

Roll on summer
____________________
Go back to bed - You have no rights - "Streetfighters ~ Mainstream motorcycling's crackwhore sister."

[ProXimaCore]

That was my first winter of having a new bike. It really didn't get used very much after November.

Weather here today is amazing. Best day of the year so far. Just getting ready to go out for a first proper run of the year.
____________________
Honda NSR125R -> Suzuki GSXR400R GK76a -> Kawasaki ZX636 B1H -> Honda CBR400RR NC29 -> Nothing

[Gazdaman]

Carb icing was an issue. Rain killed my GPS and iPod in one particularly crappy ride.
A few rear wheel slides sucked.

Heated grips and decent textiles made it all just fine.

Gaz

[Louise]

I didnt really enjoy the winter months. Tho most of it was on the 125 going to Brigthon was a nightmare. Couldnt push past 60-70, frozen hands - sniff knees.
Then I got the 600 in Feb, altho I lernt on my DAS to ride in the rain and snow I still didnt like it.
But, im still a noob and that was my first winter on 2 wheel.
Look forward to the rest

[Itchy]

Winter was fine my 4th one

, only had to rebuild the caliper once and unseize the rear brake once too , due to all the crap on the roads salt etc.

Corrosion was kept at bay (though the bike is already corroded) with liberal dashings of FS365 , which I realised wasn't that good anyway namely as
if you don't wash it off every now and again it forms a thick layer of grease type substance all over the bits you've sprayed it over, and is a devil to get
off your hands and and actually clog / foul cables!. my engine casings my look shiny but touch them and you get a gray grease everywhere.

other than that it was an easy winter, didn't even have to put on any winter gear , went round in my summer gear ALL year round.

All my hammerite coatings came off though, and had to be cleaned and re-sprayed , hammerite is tough but not that tough.

Also this winter has much less riding involved be lucky if we managed a group ride out once a month let alone the daily rides we
did during last winter.
____________________
Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[Groove]

My winter?

Got caught for speeding at the beggining of it.

Got banned in the middle of it.

Back on the road at the end of it.


____________________
|| Past: 1991 Kawasaki ZXR 250 ~ 2003 Honda CBR 600 F Sport ~ 2004 Kawasaki ZX6R B1H 636 ~ 1999 Yamaha R1 ~ 1999 Kawasaki ZX6R J ~ 2004 Kawasaki ZX6R B1H 636 ~ 1998 Honda VTR1000F Firestorm ~ K1 GSXR 600 Track bike ~ K6 GSXR 1000 ~ 2006 Speed Triple 1050 || Current: 2005 R1 https://www.adrucore.co.uk

[MattHirst]

Well i'm suprised i didn't come off....

But i did learn 1 thing, never forget to clean your winter gloves...and have to make do with summer gloves for a few days.

i had to walk around with my helmet on for about 10 minutes when i got to work because i couldn't feel my fingers to undo it

[MarkJ]

Did around 4,000 miles through this, my first winter. Wasn't as bad as I was expecting, maybe 10 days at the most where my fingers went numb. I was surprised that I didn't come across any black ice, the roads always seemed to be gritted . The bike's been coated in FS365 before and after every ride and it's been a godsend. I'd give it a quick rinse down after almost every ride. Bar the front brake hose connectors everything is looking sparkly . I'm now more confident in rain and generally poor conditions and when we had those really warm weeks a few weeks back I couldn't believe how much grip there actually was on the road.

Next year I'd like to get some bar muffs, a screen of some sort and some heated grips. All in all, a good winter

[ncrn]

First winter on a geared bike, but second otherwise.

I managed to come off on snow, I got over confident and paid the price for it, I've learnt my lesson won't make the same mistake again.

Apart from that kinda un-eventful, I found that getting better gloves does make a massive difference for your temperature.

Didn't really have any problems with corrosion, just my bikes a bit dirty and needs cleaning, then again roads round here didn't need salting much so I guess I was just lucky?
____________________
Past: 55 Sym Jet, 91 ZZR250, 03 NSR125R. Present: 97 ER-5.
https://www.nsr125.co.uk - NSR Owners forum.

[crazymotorbik...]

Winter? What Winter?

Mine was OK really. Its been very clear round here, only day we had any snow was this Thursday and that was only a sprinkling. Saying that i did slip off on some ice early on in December No damage done.

Ye olde Gpz305 played up a little bit with carb icing but a dose of Pro FST saw that fixed.

All in all a good winter for me.

Cheers,
Shaun.

[kawakid]

Was much better than last year.

Only 3 days did I have to go to work in the car, due to snow/ice.

Only problem, we had snow early this week and there's still loads of salt about, because we haven't had a decent down pour since.

So I'm on the ER and not the Z750S and I'm still washing it down daily at work with the hose and applying Scotoiler anti rust stuff.

But I can't complain, the best thing was fitting them Oxford heated grips, I really rate them and I used to be the first person to think of everything Oxford as cheap Chinese pound shop crap.
____________________
I've a twin and a 4.

[iooi]

What winter.

So far the coldest ride home this year was last thurs night. Only seen the odd frost on my early starts, the so called snow was a total joke and its not even been that wet either.

Biggest issue has been the flipping grit that gets laid down as the council seem to want to use their supplies up..... Even though its not been cold enough for it.
____________________
Just because my bike was A DIVVY, does not mean i am......

[garth]

Er, fine.

Got the goose as a winter hack. You kind of regret buying a chinese remould rear tyre when it's wet though. Snaking from the lights!

Roll on all the weekend wobblers, dry roads and packs of miserable, fat Harley owners.


____________________
You ain't a has been if you never was

[Method]

Winter?

Haha If your classing the last few months as "Winter" then you realy are a lightweight

We have had the warmest, most pleasant "Winter" for ages... God if you had troubles over the christmas and new years period this year you should be seriously worried

I remember 04/05 Winter, i spent 30minutes having to bump start my mates divvy in fresh snow because in the time it took us to park up and walk to the cash machine, have a nosey at the camping store and come back to the bikes, his carbs had litterally frozen...

I was taking pillions that year in the snow in rush hour traffic, i remember rolling down the slope to the petrol station and not being able to stop, casually cruising past the pumps on the forecourt before basically stopping by coming into contact with a wall on the other side.

This was pathetic, my mate never even changed his gloves. He got away with using a set of "Inner Gloves" from Heine Gericke and that was that...

Winter indeed
____________________
CBT Aug '03 ... Gilera GSM 50 ... Honda NSR 125 Aug '04 ...
Full Test Dec 04... Suzuki GS500 Jan 05... Suzuki SV650 Mar 07... Gixxer 6 K5 May 08... Oh and my 'Rado
My Bikepics.com - No Brakes, No Gears... No Fear.

[_Will_]

3rd winter, not too bad i guess - roll on sun though!
____________________
Past -Honda qr50 | 2004 Peugeot Tkr s 50| | 1996 Yamaha XJ600s Diversion|

[Gazdaman]

I think the bit that sucked the most was getting gritted whilst only wearing my jeans. Those gritter lorries really chuck that stuff out hard!

I think I only had to wipe ice off my seat 3 or 4 times this summer. And I managed to completely avoid snow, more by luck than judgement.

Gaz

[Sharpy]

1st winter....

Been ok really not done anything i shouldnt have kept the bike pointing the right way....

Only yhing is not wear summer leathers just because the suns out... its not always that warm...
____________________
Crazy, not Stupid.......
https://www.staffordshireriders.co.uk/forum/index.php
https://www.myspace.com/the_sharp

[EuropeanNC30R...]

[Gazdaman]

Arg, it's the cold getting to my brain.

I've also moved back to my summer gloves of late, and have actually braved the outside with my leather jacket rather than my thermal textile one.

Gaz

[quacker_boy]

Winter's the best time of year to ride out here. It's getting too hot now, even at night
____________________
wizzzard wrote: Imagine God just stopping by, tidying your front room up and then quietly letting himself out again. Statisticly more likely to happen than Korn being on here.

[mchaggis]

Winter? Meh. There was a bit of slimey stuff, and a bit of snow. Nothing to write home about (and this is in Aberdeen remember). My bike was in a shitty state and wasn't running right through most of it, so I never really bothered using it that much, especially seeing as it's spent the past few weeks with no front end and no MOT. Now the sun's getting out and the roads are clean and dry I can't wait to get it sorted out and back on the road.
____________________
I must not be a troll...
Mmmm, Guinness
Discovering the delights of Hammerite and a 3/4" brush.