18°

[Madmx]

Cold this morning. Reminds me of the north. And kinda a replay of bike choice. The tw has been my main commuter at these lower temps. The xt was my northern commuter. The old school air cooled yamis rule for firing up and taking off in these temps. Life is good with old dinosaur friends.

 

[Soggy Biscuit]

My Strom started up without any issues. It's currently 23º.

 

[woods]

All my bikes are in the garage for the season. Need to put Stabil in them. DR is up on the rack for a few repairs.

 

[Madmx]

I leave my commuter bikes outside. So crankcase oil temp is usually air temp. I have fired the DL in the 20s but not below. I have 1000s of below 20° starts on various bikes. Even the best cold starting yamahas don't mind a blanket, oil viscosity change and a tender. I made do with none of that this morning and crankcase temp below 20. Hard on the battery till I change to a thinner oil. It will be warmer tomorrow. Ha..all my coworkers reported 20 min to thaw windshields.

 

[Madmx]

All my bikes are in the garage for the season. Need to put Stabil in them. DR is up on the rack for a few repairs.

Sounds like your maintenence season just started. We can only ride in the woods in the winter. So trail clearing is next for us.

 

[woods]

Sounds like your maintenence season just started. We can only ride in the woods in the winter. So trail clearing is next for us.

My woods has about a foot of snow in them. I've drifted out of woods riding anyways. My off road bike is my DR650 and its outfitted, sure, but its still a bit of a pig. I'm more drawn towards dirt roads riding and curvy paved stuff.

I'm getting too old for this shit.

 

[Madmx]

My woods has about a foot of snow in them. I've drifted out of woods riding anyways. My off road bike is my DR650 and its outfitted, sure, but its still a bit of a pig. I'm more drawn towards dirt roads riding and curvy paved stuff.

I'm getting too old for this shit.

Well ours is basically non trail so the speeds are slow. Play bikes do as well or better than built machines. Definitely not Dl1000, klr or drz territory. All 3 can do 80% but I just don't care for it. I get fun out of walking and kicking sticks off the lines. One year we used a mud mower to break the trails.

I went in the woods a week ago. And buried myself on a tse250r. Better yet I lost my way in. So I had to find a way out. So nasty thorn locked pivot turns. Gets me out of the house for awhile!

 

[Madmx]

Well tomorrow morning will be low 20s... then it warms up!!

 

[Soggy Biscuit]

I switched out the 10w40 over a month ago to 10w30.

 

[Madmx]

I switched out the 10w40 over a month ago to 10w30.

Well I use to leave oil samples in the garage in the Ohio home. Sometimes the garage was colder than outside. I had a jar full of marvel mystery oil gel on a cold morning. I got kinda got perturbed and switched to 0w or 5w on my xt. 0w was great at 6° and under. Warning these are cold start oils and not suited for moto use! We are nearing solstice..and clear nights in the south can be colder than the north. Weird but I grew up down here. A drz runs like crap at 22°. My strom is not bad plus a windshield. I just need to switch the oil and proof the battery. Strom is in a constant draw from clock. The v beast need to be ridden everyday!

I would prefer to state experience VS anything. Every bike is different. My rxv flamed out at 38° My 20w50 roller bearing efi 2007 883 would fire at or below 20°. Maybe I am air cooled carbed stubborn. Best efi bike for below 20° was 2009 fz600r. And had crazy power in the fuel map before warm.

 

[DJ_MI]

You guys are hardcore in these temps!


What kind of gloves are you using?

 

[Soggy Biscuit]

I use a pair of Bilt gloves made for winter riding. They're also good in the rain. They do get cold on the exterior but the air doesn't break through. My hands are fine. The gloves are kind of thick. So take some time before rolling out to get used to their feel on the throttle and levers.

 

[Madmx]

You guys are hardcore in these temps!


What kind of gloves are you using?

Ha...I will go check!

Fly winter gloves with gauntlet. I have also used all weather with the thumb wiper blade. This morning I had a short sleeve under a long sleeve under a short sleeve with 3 hoodies under a rain jacket. One Hoodiie hood was inside my mx helmet. My ultimate thermal was thin dress pants under jeans.

Short commute but I was sitting on a log with my boots to a fire barrel after walking around on frozen slush mud for the first 2 hrs.

I usually use a high quality snow ski jacket from thrift store. It is in my truck this morning..I think nautica but have used Columbia or anything designed for high wind sealing. All simple and cheap. Gloves probably cost the most. I usually have a bandanna covering my nose/chin and partly stuffed in my goggles. I just used my fleece tobogan this morning as a fur burger wind block. The bandanna works much better for open face mx helmet riding.

 

[DJ_MI]

Thanks. 👍

Do you guys have visor fog problems? My hands and my visor are my biggest challenges right now.

 

[DJ_MI]

I use a pair of Bilt gloves made for winter riding. They're also good in the rain. They do get cold on the exterior but the air doesn't break through. My hands are fine. The gloves are kind of thick. So take some time before rolling out to get used to their feel on the throttle and levers.

Here's what I'm using now. I definitely have to get used to the extra bulk. They aren't warm enough.

Uline Vortex™ Gloves in Stock - ULINE

Uline stocks a wide selection of Uline Vortex™ Gloves. Order by 6 p.m. for same day shipping. Huge Catalog! Over 42,000 products in stock. 13 Locations across USA, Canada and Mexico for fast delivery of Uline Vortex™ Gloves.

www.uline.com

 

[Madmx]

Here's what I'm using now. I definitely have to get used to the extra bulk. They aren't warm enough.

Uline Vortex™ Gloves in Stock - ULINE

Uline stocks a wide selection of Uline Vortex™ Gloves. Order by 6 p.m. for same day shipping. Huge Catalog! Over 42,000 products in stock. 13 Locations across USA, Canada and Mexico for fast delivery of Uline Vortex™ Gloves.

www.uline.com

Try...jeez wings..what the heck air deflectors. Gen3 klr are the best and nobody wants them because everyone wants bark busters. Might fit your bike. I have used oil qt containers split in half for the xt.

Glove liners...look up micro wire diy heated liners.

Preheat gear and time right without sweating.

But cold hands are good and bad. A warm core and good hydration can have bare hands blistering hot in 10° shoveling snow holding onto a aluminum shovel.

I once got a bright idea for hot hands...bad deal. It can pump cold blood back to your heart. If your hands get cold stop at a gas station. Throw your gloves on the engine and go hang out and warm your core. But life isn't always that easy. I was sweating today with frozen toes! Probably hydration, age and living wild.

 

[Madmx]

Jeez so many rules one can forget. Short commutes a Mechanix glove can work if you keep zero air gap in between your fingers. I rode the last Ohio winters like this because of crazy traffic and I needed speed response VS warmth. But I have to cover one finger per lever. So my health was immediately shown with white fingers that took some time to return to color from the heat suck of the lever and air exposure.

I have not tried this method...but is very cheap, works but has drawbacks. The muff that goes around your handlebars. My stepson has used these on a scooter. I think this could be the greatest idea and the Danno voice says "do you really want to be tied to your handlebars?" So I like but apprehensive...a clean eject might not be a bad thing.

 

[DJ_MI]

Thanks for all the great tips!

Try...jeez wings..what the heck air deflectors. Gen3 klr are the best and nobody wants them because everyone wants bark busters. Might fit your bike. I have used oil qt containers split in half for the xt.

I'm working on some wind deflectors made from mud flaps. I only tried one and it was blowing a lot of air on my face and body so I molded it with a heat gun. It should wrap around my hands better and divert less air onto me. I have the other one molded but still need to melt the holes in it for the zip ties.

Glove liners...look up micro wire diy heated liners.

I have some glove liners somewhere. I'm gonna have to find them.

Preheat gear and time right without sweating.

I'm a heavy sweater so that's been a problem. Gotta get the timing right.

But cold hands are good and bad. A warm core and good hydration can have bare hands blistering hot in 10° shoveling snow holding onto a aluminum shovel.

Yeah, aluminum is cold. My hands get way colder with my aftermarket AL bars compared to the stock steel. I even considered buying some stockers for the cold weather but at $100 bucks I'll make do with prepping better.

I've found that a good base layer long johns with some puffy pajama style pants followed by jeans and then rain pants keeps the wind and cold air away from my legs. I can’t find my knee pads to help keep my knees warmer. Short wool socks covered with long heavy wool socks keep my feet warm enough. Up top I have a base layer, t shirt, hoodie riding jacket and then a rain jacket to keep the wind out.

Last year I was riding and my neck got so cold I cut a hole in the top of my knit hat and used it as a neck gator.

If your hands get cold stop at a gas station. Throw your gloves on the engine and go hang out and warm your core.

I have a carbon muffler which is great as a hand and glove warmer. It doesn’t get too hot to melt or burn. I can leave my gloves on it with the bike running and they don’t get ruined.

 

[DJ_MI]

Jeez so many rules one can forget. Short commutes a Mechanix glove can work if you keep zero air gap in between your fingers. I rode the last Ohio winters like this because of crazy traffic and I needed speed response VS warmth. But I have to cover one finger per lever. So my health was immediately shown with white fingers that took some time to return to color from the heat suck of the lever and air exposure..

I wrapped hockey stick tape around my levers. It helps a little bit.

The muff that goes around your handlebars. My stepson has used these on a scooter. I think this could be the greatest idea and the Danno voice says "do you really want to be tied to your handlebars?"

I’ve seen those but never in person. I’ve heard good things though.

 

[Soggy Biscuit]

Thanks. 👍

Do you guys have visor fog problems? My hands and my visor are my biggest challenges right now.

Anti-fog insert for your helmet helps with the fogging. What it doesn't do is keep the visor from freezing from within, due to your own breath. The only way to avoid that is to crack it open and let some of that cold air in. Even with the anti-fog inserts on both helmets, the spots where my nostrils are lined up eventually spot freeze. Over time, those spots will expand and I will need to stop and wipe off the visor. You can leave the vents open for better circulation. I tend to leave the bottom open so the air doesn't freeze from the inside so quick. I keep the top vent closed.