buuuuurrrr toooo cold

[turnh]

Went for a little ride out today as it was the first time in ages its been dry. However it was a tad chilly. I have Thermal windstopper trousers and some Frank Thomas trousers which work well. I also wear a baselayer and then another layer and a windstopper followed by an Alpinestar jacket. These seem to work okay as well. The problem is my feet....I wear Sidi Vertigo boots and my feet are so cold. I have tried thick socks with a liner under them and they are so cold and painful (I nearly cried but then I am a girl). Does anyone have the same problem or any tips. I also have this problem with my hands, well my right hand in particular as well even though I have winter gloves (Tuzo TZG 5)
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turnh

[T0MMY]

My body rarely gets cold but my hands always do. Does your bike have a fairing?
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ZX6R + CBR600RR

[turnh]

It isn't really only part...Its a Honda Hornet
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turnh

[G]

For your hands, a pair of liner gloves is a good start, but ideally heated grips and decent bar-muffs should leave you with hands that never suffer - I also find this helps my arms stay warmer too.
For the feet, windproof socks might be a start, but I'd also consider heated socks - available on ebay etc. Rarely suffer much from cold feet myself and not sure I'd be bothered with the hassle of heated socks for shorter journeys. Some better boots designed to be generally warmer would definitely help - I use goretex army boots for winter riding - think I've got vertigos (got two sets of Sidi race boots, not 100% which) and seem to remember they do let a fair bit of air through.

[27cows]

A decent pair of bar muffs are a good solution to the cold hands problem. They look naff but who cares about looks if it stops frostbite

Course, some of us are just hard as nails

[turnh]

You are very right...my husband is fine....its just me but as I said I am a girl....or maybe I could use the excuse of not having a Fairing (My husband has a SV650 which has full fairing).
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turnh

[G]

Fairing doesn't make a massive difference to hands/feet on an SV650 I'm afraid .
Believe it's fairly well-known that women do actually tend to get colder, especially at the extremities (I'm sure there's several dirty jokes in there somewhere ).

[turnh]

I think that is very true.....

Its such a shame because I just can't go out in this weather because my feet are so painful and numb. It was very difficult riding back as I had no control over changing gear or the throttle.......Quite frightening really......I thought I might try some plastic bags over my feet see if that helps......
I have just ordered some Windstopper socks so hopefully that may help.
Trouble with the gloves is they just fit and I can't really get much under them...
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turnh

[G]

If you've got the cash, Tucano Urbano muffs will probably sort all your cold-hand worries. I'd definitely start on more sensible boots for your feet - second hand if you haven't got the cash or don't want to spend it.

[colin1]

Wear more clothes.

Your body takes heat from your extremities to keep your body warm. If you make more effort to keep your body warm, your hands and feet wont feel as cold.

So all the jumpers, fleeces etc you can wear and still bend your arms, and ski trousers over bike trousers.
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[DMan]

[LeeR]

If you're wearing "normal" Sidi Vertigo boots then most of them are vented. If however you're wearing Sidi Vertigo (aka Mega) Gore boots then you shouldn't be so cold with two pairs of socks.

I ride 40 miles to work at 80-90 mph in the current weather and my feet haven't got really cold yet. The coldest I've ridden in so far this winter was -7deg C in the dry, I wore two pairs of socks and Sidi Mega Gore boots, yes it was cold but it wasn't painful cold.

Gloves I think are a different matter and if they're too tight they can actually restrict circulation which will of course make you even colder. I sometimes ride using silk liner gloves but there is a trade off point where I can no longer feel the heated grips because the liners + gloves are too thick.

I'll be honest and say I thought the benefits of GoreTex were a myth, you know "it's just a waterproof membrane and others: Sypmatex, Aquatex, Shelltex etc... are just as good" but they're not. I haven't found anything as windproof and effective as GoreTex and unless your boots, gloves, and clothing are GoreTex lined (IMHO) I believe you are going to feel cold.

Of course the reality is sometimes it is just very cold and you may need to stop for a few minutes to warm up (as I did in freezing fog on the M5 before Christmas half-way to work, because a finger and thumb were frozen beyond feeling) or slow down a bit and get there a bit later.

Also Colin's quite right on the layering of clothing, keeping your core temperature up will keep your extremities warmer for longer.

But there are lots of factors with the cold, it depends on your individual ability to fight cold, mentally and physically (and believe it or not women are better equipped than most men).

Eating well before going out in the cold is critical, not so much your body spends all it's energy digesting, but enough to keep you going for your journey.

Without offending anyone, circulation will be worse if you are a smoker.

Moisture in the air when it's cold is a killer, because once you have a layer of moisture on you (fog, rain, spray etc...) riding in the cold becomes like riding in a fridge. The cold air chills the moisture even further which just saps your heat, and you can't beat that effect you just have to get out of it and seek shelter.
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My claim to fame: Austin Vince nicked my pen...

[Ariel Badger]

[G]

DMan:
I prefer the "look at that poof with muffs, oh look, he's wheelying past me, what does that make me?" .

[Skudd]

[DMan]

"G"
In your case maybe, my scenario would be "Hey, look at that poof with muffs, he tried to pull a wheelie and stacked it"
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2001 Hornet 600 - "Faster than yellow" Blue; Current: 1998 Yammy FZS 600 "Fazer" Black
You show me how to control a wild fucking gypsy and I'll show you how to control an unhinged, pig-feeding gangster.

[G]

[Skudd]

The boots were Ashmans and I had had them for about 6 years, the cuts to the toes were on the leg I broke, but there were marks on the other foot. I have always worn MX boots since, but have not crashed ( touch anything) to prove their worth............ yet.
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Famous last words of Humpty Dumpty. " Stop pushing me "
Petty Anarchists look at "1984".............. The Visionary looks at "Animal Farm".

[G]

While motocross boots are seriously tough, I believe there can be some issues with them concentrating all the force applied to where they 'end' just below the knee, meaning that in some cases they can cause more damage than they save - but then the same can be said for anything, as a lot of it is luck in having the right thing on at the right time - though if there's enough force to decently brake something, there's generally little you can do about it anyway as it has to go somewhere.

[Ariel Badger]

G, if you read the Myth-busters article you will see that they subjected the boots to crushing forces that they are intended to resist and protect from.
the problem in a crash is either a direct toe on impact driving the toecap backwards into the foot bypassing the natural crumple zone of the toes or an impact under the foot bending the toes up resulting in the toecap being forced ito the foot.
Best not to crash at all
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Bikers make great organ donors, get 115 on your licence today.

[G]

I took that situation to be covered by this:

[Skudd]

Mine was the actual cap edge that caused the cuts, not something getting through them. The toe of the boot bent back on its self.
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Famous last words of Humpty Dumpty. " Stop pushing me "
Petty Anarchists look at "1984".............. The Visionary looks at "Animal Farm".

[Ariel Badger]

[G]

[waffles]