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Tips for winter riding 2020


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Hi all,


With cold weather approaching in 2020 wondered if tmbf community would share their tips to keep riding through the winter and products out there that hace served them well in the past.


Thanks.

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My experience in over 40 years of all round the year riding is .....

Very, very few ride all year round ....

Riding along the M1, M5, M4 etc in the pouring rain / snow in Dec, Jan, Feb and all other points, I am invariably alone ....

Come March / April they all appear again on the bikes that have been in the garage all winter, waving and nodding ......

WHERE WHERE YOU IN FEBRUARY !!!


Comes to mind ...... and breath .... :)

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Many years ago I slid off after changing down a gear on my GTR1000. That was on icy slush.

I've also had experience of skating about on ice while riding a BMW R1200RT - absolutely terrifying !

A couple of hours after that I was riding on a straight road with a very thin layer of snow which had blown off the adjacent field. Fifty metres in, the front wheel suddenly went to full lock and I was on my side with a burst shoulder. That was eight years ago and my shoulder is still out of shape.

So, if temperatures are forecast to be under 5 degrees C, or if snow is forecast, I'm not going to risk life and limb. My car has all season tyres and climate control - that's more like it !

As for advice for those braver than I am, I would suggest a light bike with tyres in excellent condition, heated grips plus handlebar muffs and top quality goretex clothing - worn over several thermal layers. And please don't pity we motorcyclists in our cars while the bike is tucked up in the garage - we don't really feel we're missing out on anything. In my case, been there and done that. :cry: :)

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I've ridden all year round for years, both here and in Leicester where I used to live. The only tips I would say are, buy decent gear, I've wasted so much money over the years on crap, inferior products that weren't really fit for purpose. If you stay dry and warm the whole thing will be more bearable. Secondly, slow down, plan ahead and keep your eyes open, make sure you have good tyres for wet weather riding, if your bike has traction control use it, if it has dynamic riding modes use the armchair setting. Not sure how long you've been riding but you develop a feel for the bike, the one thing that improved my winter riding ability, and this wouldn't be for everyone, was learning to ride off road. If you can learn to control a bike in off road conditions then it'll give you a better understanding and feel for what the bike is doing, more importantly it'll teach you how to react and go some way to preventing over reaction. IMHO I think it helps to stop you from panicking when things go awry, such as when the back end steps out . Lastly I would say, pay attention to your bike, brakes, tyre pressures, lights, good coating of ACF50, look after the bike and it'll look after you. There is no real one size fits all solution to winter riding, just take it easy and scrub some speed off. :thumb:

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Can't help you with what brands to buy. I don't think you need top of the line gear. I've been riding for years with a cheap jacket and trousers that I bought at a bike show. I don't even know what brand they are. In the winter I just put plastic wet gear on over them. Does the job fine.


As for riding, on cold mornings you have to be very careful on the smaller side roads, like coming out of housing estates. They can be very slippery. Once you get onto a main road you're fine. You have to use some common sense too. If there's obvious snow or ice on the ground get the bus :mrgreen:

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There are many types of winter and riding...

Wet

Cold

Wet & Cold


Road conditions

Cold

Cold & wet

Icy*

Snow*


*Conditions I avoid riding in.


Try 30 minutes try an hour build up gain experience...

Learn what works for you.


For me heated grips & some sort of fairing...

Layers I can add and remove, zip up.

Up to an hour it's not too bad sheet that you need to know how you like to stay warm..

Some get technical by base layers and work up... I go cheap but find what works.


Waterproof is Gortex or try your luck.

If your wet is it sweat or rain? Where did it get in? Was it a leak or did it get in up sleave, down neck over boots?

Trousers that don't need braces are probably not high enough water can go up hill!

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The best way to save money and protect your bike from the ravages of Road Salt is to go on line and complete a SORN declaration .

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I used to commute from Sheffield to Dereham in Norfolk 3 days a week .... 260 miles a day .... all year round ..on a variety of motorbikes, primarily a Kawasaki EN 500 and MZ 300's ...

I normally set off about 0430hrs...

In winter i would rock up at the Mess about 0700 - 0730hrs in the morning... often frozen to the bike seat ... I would stop outside the main door, a member of the Household staff would come out with a mug of coffee, helmet off, drink half of the coffee and pour the rest of the hot liquid over my crotch to free myself from the frozen seat ...

Stupid ... i know ...


But many of the mornings and evenings where a pleasure to ride ....


And they paid me £0.48p / mile


And I only had to work 3 days a week ..... :D


But it gave me an insight into riding in low tempratures ... and riding in poor weather .. which has stayed with me ...

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I ride for pleasure but very occasionally I have to be somewhere and the wife is using her car so I have to use the bike. That said I won't ride in snow or ice unless I get caught out which I haven't for years. The only bit of me which gets cold is the very tips of my fingers. After a couple of hours they can get quite painful. As to clothing quality layering works for me.

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I didn't take my car licence until my very late 30's so the bike was my only means of transport .... I only did it because my employer paid for it ... :D


As for winter riding ... i picked up my Himma in late November from a dealer in Macclesfield ... I came over the Cat and Fiddle to Buxton in deep snow ... Just me ... the snow gates where closed ....

It's surreal when the only tyre tracks are behind you ...... yours .....

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For the bike: ACF50 all over (except the brakes :shock:). Fender extender to protect the engine from the worst of the grit and salt. Rear hugger perhaps to protect the rear shock. Hand guards, or muffs (muffs are warmer, but I've always been too vain to use them. A screen large enough to keep the wind off your chest.

For you: I'd say buy the best (not necessarily the most expensive) you can afford that's designed to keep you warm and dry, Goretex if you can run to it. Rukka is excellent, but eye-wateringly expensive. Other good brands include Held, Klim, Knox. IXS (from J&S) is a great budget option, but still good quality. But tbh most brands you can find out there - for example at Sportsbikeshop - do good kit. You can often pick up good deals on secondhand stuff from ebay.

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When your fingers stop hurting after about an hour, that is the onset of frostbite !

What the others have said, kit is king. Heated stuff is the new silver bullet.

I ride all year with work, but the truth is, no one is handing out medals for your suffering & extra risk, there is no shame in wintering your bike & getting a cheap hack car. If that's not an option, the right kit is king & be super smooth, yes it makes you a better rider but feck its hard work.

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There's winter riding, and there's winter riding. Once it gets cold enough for ice/black ice the bike stays where it is; otherwise there's plenty pof good gear to keep you warm, plus heated grips/gloves, etc.


One thing I'd recommend is giving your bike a good ACF-50 treatment, though. They do like rust, and if you don't protect them...

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When your fingers stop hurting after about an hour, that is the onset of frostbite !

What the others have said, kit is king. Heated stuff is the new silver bullet.

I ride all year with work, but the truth is, no one is handing out medals for your suffering & extra risk, there is no shame in wintering your bike & getting a cheap hack car. If that's not an option, the right kit is king & be super smooth, yes it makes you a better rider but feck its hard work.

and the fun is very short lived :|
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