Winter Gear

[Nai]

Ok, as a cyclist my winter gear has always been the same as summer gear. Cycle shorts + Tight top + Small waterproofs shoes. Socks down the pants when its cold to stop the John Tompson getting wind chill, and its all good.

I get as a motorcyclist without the pedalling I am prolly gonna freeze my balls off. Gear wise at the moment I have several pairs of Kevlar Jeans, a short leather jacket, and an all over waterproof suit (which isnt great, sorta does the job, cant fit much on under it as its a medium and I am a large). I have leather gloves only that do not fair well in rain.

The motorbike will be used to commute up to 40 miles a day at least Monday - Friday throughout the whole winter.

Would I be best off buying one of them under clothes thermal layers and a better waterproof suit and gloves, or is it better to buy a full textile set (goretex and that?). This is going to be my first winter on the motorbike, hoping to see it all the way through on 2 wheels.

[ms51ves3]

You can pick up the Spada Milan-Tex, two piece, waterproof, textile suit for around £125.

[Muscle Bike Rider]

Textile jacket and trousers (waterproof), you can remove the lining when the weather improves so use them all year if you want. A good pair of winter waterproof gloves and boots are essential, nothing worse than numb fingers and not being able to feel the controls, thermal socks I find helpful to. I would recommend fitting some handguards or muffs to your bike too as this helps with the windchill when your on the move. You should be able to get most of this either off the forums for sale section or ebay for a reasonable price, place a wanted ad with want you want and sizes you may be pleasently surprised.
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Previously Known As A5tra_G
Old Bikes :2010 Kawasaki ER6 F & 2000 Honda VTR Firestorm
Current Bike : XJR1300

[Nai]

Thankyou and thankyou!

Ill have a look.

[calyx]

hein gericke pathan gloves are really warm and dry.
hand guards could do a better job though...

If you have cold feet try sealskinz socks. They are amazing. (money and performance wise)
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Boris - London

[ms51ves3]

[Nai]

[gmanxiii]

I've done several harsh winters with just some cheap thermals, textile bottoms, leather jacket with thin goretex walkng jacket over the top (dont like the bulk of big textiles or big goretex jackets). Newspaper down the front to stop wind leaking through. Build up a few layers and you'll be fine. Inner gloves also help and a couple of pairs of socks.

If its the morning bowl of hot porridge before you set off, should keep you warm for at least 20-30 mins which was about the time it got me into work!
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I kills hondas

VFR400NC30 > ZZR600 > CBR600FX > CBR1000rr

[c_dug]

After riding through the best part of last winter in crap gear, and then seeing the last month or so in good stuff I can tell you now, the good stuff is priced at good stuff prices for a reason!

Anyway, 20 miles is enough to get pretty cold, it doesn't matter how much you wrap up (within reason) you are still going to feel the cold!

I suggest many layers, leave no skin exposed, a good neck tube is an absolute must!
If your boots aren't waterproof stick some Tesco bags in a pocket for when it rains, you will feel like a wally, but they keep the feet dry (under the boots over the socks)

Also, when it snows and the ground is solid ice, you will come off, I have learned this the hard way twice, also ice hurts!
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[pinkyfloyd]

Summer gear, heavy jeans, leather jacket and lighter gloves, or leather jeans.

Winter gear I wrap myself as much as possible against the elements. T shirt, Fleecy top, Textile suit with thermal inners, thick woolly socks and heavy winter gloves. I even have a fleecy scarf that wraps around my neck and over my nose.

Anything to keep me cosy.
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Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[londonbill]

Worth rembering that with any winter gear, the cold will get in.
As a rule of thumb, the better the gear, the longer the delay before the cold eventually get's through, but get in it will, no matter how much state of the art gear you are wearing.
You have to think about what is likely to be the longest journey you are likely to do at the height of Winter, and buy accordingly, but always buy the best you can afford.
Hands and feet are always the first to suffer.
The reason being, that when the temperature drops, the body, being the clever piece of equipment it is, draws it's heat resources away from the extremities which it considers not so vital, toward the core (chest and abdomen area), where all the important organs that we need to work properly to stay alive, are housed.
It's a survival mechanism that kicks in in extremely low temperatures, which of course you will be subjected too on a bike, especially when you factor in wind chill.
Keep the body core well lagged, and whilst the hands and feet will still get very cold, they will at least remain functional.
I have found the best bit of Winter kit I've ever used is a heated waistcoat.
It does mean running a connection terminal off your battery, but these things really do work.
It also eliminates the need to multi layer up.
I wear a T shirt, my heated waistcoat, a sweathshirt over that and then my Rukka winter jacket and I'm warm as toast no matter how cold it gets, even at motorway speeds.
I've been using it for the last 10 years every day, every Winter and it's brill.
It's hugely important to get this right if you're going to go any distance in the Winter.
Hypothermia is a very real hazard we face in the depths of Winter.
Sounds extreme I know, but it can and does happen.
About 20 years ago, late one night I was travelling from London to Cornwall, and was about 150 miles into my journey, when the feeling of intense cold, gave way to sleepiness and feeling extremely unwell.
I pulled over in a layby, got off my bike and became dizzy.
The next thing I remember was coming around in the back of an ambulance with an oxygen mask on my face being rushed to hospital.
I was found unconscious by a passing driver.
I had hypothermia.
That was the moment I started to take the issue of wearing the right winter clothing on long journeys very seriously.

[ms51ves3]

[Nai]

cool beans ty. I will prolly grab that suit, some of the glove under layers mentioned here. I reckon the grandad socks will be fine. Balaclava from ghostbikes, they have a decent looking one for £9.

As an after thought i checked the army surplus store for thermal under layers. They have a set for £14 so will grab them too.

Cue comedy picture of someone wearing 18 layers of clothes lookin like a michellen man.

[c_dug]

I find the gloves the worst when you have multiple layers, I payed over a tenner for some chunky thermal gloves from a service station in the middle of a cold January night and they didn't fit under my gloves, felt like a right moron.
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[27cows]

The best way of surviving a harsh winter is to...

MAN UP!



Which you will. After a few years of riding into icy blizzards, your body becomes accustomed to being frozen and copes with it much better.

Or you could just drive a car, like half the limp wristed nancy boys on here
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The RXS100: vehicle of choice for Chuck Norris

[FURBAR]

Is that you mannig up in winter on a 100 mph plus bike .. or like me, around 50 - 60 . .. mph ... which helps .. a lot ...
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Fuk um !!

[iooi]

The idea of lots of layers is to trap air between them. So make sure that they are not too tight.
That is the main killer on gloves. Its very hard to get a inner glove that will fit nicely under your nornal gloves.
So be prepared to buy a 2nd pair that are a bit too big and the inners will fit under without being too tight.
In fact buy the inners and wear them when looking for the winter gloves
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Just because my bike was A DIVVY, does not mean i am......

[waffles]

[Moo.]

Im still waiting on aldi and lidl doing there next round of cheap but decent thermal layers.. they do inner gloves for a few quid too..
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A2 Passed 18/6/10

[Nai]

[iooi]

For a top box you need a rear rack to mount the box on. Ask your local dealer about one.

Crash bungs tend to be made for the bike, as they have to be mounted to the frame. Some even require the fairing to be drilled
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Just because my bike was A DIVVY, does not mean i am......

[Bloke]

[Nai]

[Welshd1k]

[Hockeystorm65]