Topic: My winter gear report, for those who ride in the chill

[DavePhipps]

I live in Indiana which doesn't have a ton of snow but does get downright cold. I don't have a car so I'm still commuting on the bike. The lowest tempI've ridden in this year is 6 degrees F.

Gear I use is:
Teknic Stinger Jacket
TourMaster Riding pants
Fieldsheer Montana gloves

The Teknic Stinger Jacket is great. It's very windproof, and waterproof. It has a zip out liner for use in the cold parts of the year. I  usually wear a Tshirt and a light sweater under it and have no problems with the cold.
In the summer the lining gets removed and it has multiple zippered vents that canbe opened to keep you cool.
It also  has CE approved armor in the back, shoulders and elbows.
All around a great year round jacket.

The Tour master riding pants work pretty well too. Basic black textile riding pants. Waterproof with CE approved armor in the knees. I got a size larger than I  needed so I can put them on over other pants. Legs have stayed nice and warm all during all my rides.

Fieldsheer Montana gloves are wonderful to a point. They keep my hands pretty warm down to the mid 20's after that I  could use a bit more insulation. They are waterproof and have a nice wiper blade built into the left hand index finger for wiping your visor. I wish all gloves had this feature. The gloves also allow for better feel than most  winter gloves I've used. That's great news when you're trying to use get the keys in the bike while having the gloves on.
My feeling on the Fieldsheer gloves is they are the best I've ever used, but I'm might want to get some silk liners for them.

My hemet is a Fulmer AF400, and the visor is broken so  no review for this one. I have to  say though, if you ride in the winter get a full face helmet and some anti fog spray for its visor.


Most of this gear is a few years old and be gptten at discount prices at  places like http://www.newenough.com/

For the Bike I've gone down to  5-30 yamalube, and I'm taking the battery in at night.

Dave







 

[mgbgt89]

I got the same pants for christmas and love them. They make a huge difference in keeping the wind out. The 350 gets to play in the snow now. I'm glad i got dual sport tires instead of street tires. Riding in fresh snow is pretty fun. Once it goes through a few freeze/thaw cycles though, the fun goes away.

[mgbgt89]

I wear insulated spandex/rubber work gloves, with welding gloves over them when the temp gets into the 20's or lower. Can't feel the switches, but they keep my hands very warm. They have lots of flex and I don't have any problem with feathering the clutch when i'm sliding the back tire through corners.

[DavePhipps]

I wear insulated spandex/rubber work gloves, with welding gloves over them when the temp gets into the 20's or lower. Can't feel the switches, but they keep my hands very warm. They have lots of flex and I don't have any problem with feathering the clutch when i'm sliding the back tire through corners.

I'm on the FZR 600 right now. It get's way too twitchy in the snow. When I get the CB550 going I'll tackle snow again.

[Steve_K]

I don't ride my CBs in the winter.  When I do ride I ride either my 86 GIXXER or my SV1000 only because I have Gerbing electric stuff.  Need a lot of juice, more than the CBs have.  Gebring stuff works great!
Steve

[andy750]

Good report and always good to know what works.

I ride a 2003 VStrom in the winter and the fairing really makes a big difference. I wear a Hein Gericke goretex winter jacket (few years old),Scott goretex winter gloves (very good and waterproof) and just got Rev it Factory trousers - these are very warm - so far down to 7F.

I have rode the CB750K4 down to 20F and its ok to start, run etc. However I did find my fork boots were cracking (even though they were not so old). Due to the cold? I dont know....

Cheers
Andy

[Rocking-M]

I finally got a set of Cold Gear under armor. The warmest long johns I've ever owned.
They really work. I got them specifically for the bike but tried them one day here logging.
They work to good for that.