Winter Motorcycle Riding - How to Ride Comfortably and Safely in the Cold and Know When to Quit

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

I love watching videos about riding motorcycles in the winter. Then I watch Euro motorcycle videos with them riding in Siberia in the winter. Now that's serious cold.

[@allahjoseph]

your wrists, your ankles. Just rode in 32 degrees. Couldn’t feel the weather with the right gear, but my hands would occasionally get cold with all season gloves. Pro tip for anyone on a super sport without heated grips/gloves; wave your hand over your muffler as necessary- preferably before early stages of frostbite. The lower the muffler the harder it might be to do on the move… The faster you go the colder it gets, especially if you’re wet- so stay dry. Something’s to mention about road condition: roads were salted 2 days prior. Some roads are completely dry because snowfall was not that bad the other day. Water from streets connected to puddles were tracked on the roads- it’s 7am and I was not the first vehicle on the road but the roads are still pretty fresh. Definitely doable, but be sure to take care of yourself and prepare prepare prepare. This video is extremely comprehensive. Also; biggest issue below 32 is ice. Try to avoid doing anything if the risk is unnecessarily high

[@darrylcarden1851]

I got a universal style, peel and stick on inner visor fog shield that works similar to a pinlock a month or so ago. Made a HUGE improvement in the visor fogging. Only a problem with my glasses now, and even that’s only when I’m not moving. So just have to crack the visor open at stop lights.

[@thebigoaktree8401]

Cooler weather is better for me. Have a hard time riding over 80. Also I ride in all the gear.

[@_o.0_.]

Thank you for the analysis and analytics

[@bigg2768]

S.E. Michigan, I’ll ride in any windchill no problems. Draw the line once the ambient temp gets to freezing. Won’t take the chance of an icy spot. Also won’t ride after salt is put down. Layering…skip the high priced name brand stuff. Plenty of cheaper options in long underwear, wind blockers, etc. Skied for years in sub zero temps with ‘the cheap stuff’ and use the same today on the bike. Toasty warm.🎉

[@RidgeRoamer]

Thanks for your input!

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

In England in the old days before they could afford a car and when gasoline was still rationed for 10 years after World War II your insurance company gave you a discount if you hooked your sidecar onto your bike all winter because that lesson the chance of you falling down and having an accident. Personally I like having the stability of the Sidecar specially if I was in snow and ice like I still lived in New York.

[@RidgeRoamer]

My best friend rides a Ural Gear Up 2WD sidecar rig. Total cheating, haha. It's a motorcycle technically, but it's also part ATV!

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

@@RidgeRoamer my insurance company Geico considers my Ural to be an ATV full coverage insurance on it plus Towing is $100 a year can't beat them great customer service as well and cool motorcycle insurance commercials too

[@FranklinBurns42]

Great video! Real sound advice. I guess I’ll do some shopping

[@RidgeRoamer]

Thanks for watching, and for your comment!

[@archibaldcunningham2569]

Yesterday I've had my bike exactly 40 months. 42,430 (recreational) miles on the clock now. In the Seattle area I ride year round, have never winterized my bike nor ever had a battery tender. I do short rides in the cold, and it's better than not riding. Brrrrr. 😀 Slick roads, no grip, turtled up, what's not to love.

[@RidgeRoamer]

Awesome! Enjoy, and ride safe! Thanks for watching.

[@BRAAD2024]

Great info thx

[@two-up]

Hello great material very nice mounted ;)

[@RidgeRoamer]

Thank you for watching!

[@TechAndMotorcycles]

So i have thermals and stay moderately warm i was in high 30’s on the freeway doing 65. I have a cruiser. Now i have klim gauntlet gloves but my finger tips get insanely cold. I added in a glove liner but its bulky and helped some but eventually back to frozen hands. Anything that can keep hands warm when its that dang cold?

[@stevek8829]

Hand wind blocker, heated grips and even heated jacket liner. The jacket liner keeps your core temp up and that helps ALL of you. Also, there are mitten gauntlets for that real cold.

[@RidgeRoamer]

Hand guards to block wind help tremendously, but do look a bit odd on cruisers (they make clear plastic ones that help them to not be as noticeable). I would definitely recommend heated gloves. I am doing a separate video on the ones I use, should be out soon, but there are quite a few options on the market, and they make a huge difference.

[@darrelgraham9206]

Heated grips or Heated gloves

[@vintrillaquism]

Ride through some more salt and tell me how that works for you.

[@RidgeRoamer]

My bikes get used. All of them. They are machines, designed to ride. Not afraid of cold, dirt, bumps or salt. They get wear, they get damage, they get cleaned, maintained, and fixed as needed. I can't imagine it any other way. Thanks for watching!

[@Todd66]

If you get caught under dressed on the bike and you are wearing a regular non V neck shirt, you can turn your shirt around ( back towards the front ) and it will give a little better wind protection in a pinch. Heated grips, heated gloves and hand guards will make the coldest of days doable. Those 3 things used together are a serious game changer. It’s almost distracting to have comfortably warm hands going 70 mph when it’s 50F and the sun is down. Having warm hands when I ride no matter the temperature is like magic. One of my first mods on my 2000 Valkyrie was to install heated grips.

[@RidgeRoamer]

Thanks for watching. Great input!

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

Firestone used to make snow tires for motorcycles. My uncle had a set mounted on rims in the basement hanging on the wall of the house in Astoria. When the slope season came he would just swap the wheels out. Him and my other Uncle who were motorcycle cop for the city police Road their Motors all through the winter the city try to make them switch to a car in the winter and they went to the union and the union told the city to go f off.

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

I went on a group ride going to Gainesville and it turned cold. I rode my bike to Goodwill and got a nice big heavy jacket for $2. Everybody was going gee I wish I thought of that. Kept me warm. Of course winter in Florida is different compared to up north. The coldest day in Florida would be a nice warm spring day up north. That's how you tell the tourists down here we are all bundled up and they are all walking around in shorts.

[@TyeWills]

I live in Missouri. On a Monday it could be negative 6 and that same week Wednesday it could be 50 degrees. Can’t put the helmet up for too long.

[@RidgeRoamer]

I understand that one. Middle ground states that vary so much make it hard to every winterize a bike and put it away until spring. It's more about just finding the right days to ride. Here in TN we run that fine line of riding weather versus not riding weather, all winter long.

[@antiR3ality]

100 F ~ 38 C 50 F ~ 10 C 10 F ~ 4 C 30 F ~ -1 C 40 F ~ 4 C

[@robertgagne9355]

All good points. One thing that I have to deal with in my area is salt. The DPW crews lay down salt on all the public paved surfaces, they do it as a pretreatment, when there is snow in the forecast. Since I am un able to rinse my bikes off in the winter, riding on salted roads is detrimental to my bikes. I'm lucky to get one or two days of riding during the winter.

[@RidgeRoamer]

Salt is definitely a HUGE deterrent to getting the bike out on the road. Have to wait for a rain or enough runoff after salt treatment so the roads get cleared off again. I feel your pain (used to live in Michigan)

[@porkchop10]

@@RidgeRoamer native Michigander now in Ohio. These dummies use so much salt it's not funny. My bike was such a good deal slightly used, I don't even care about salt on the bike, it's the loss of traction that scares me.

[@arthurcutaiar9994]

Ohhhh poor babies. I didn't know salt was a major killer of motorcycle. But it do taste good on steak. Its only a motorcycle, ride, park, ride n repeat

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

In the old days when you had steam locomotive the cinders that came out of the locomotive Firebox would be bagged up and the cities would use them to melt the snow because they would be black and they would attract the Sun. That's why cars lasted forever in those days because they did not use salt on the roads. When they killed all the steam locomotives there was no more Cinders available that's when they started to used salt. You can get dressed up or you want it's all the heated gear you could be toasty warm but you're still going to hit that piece of black ice and go sliding down the road on your ass. That's one thing I love about my sidecar rig with 3 wheels it's hard to fall down.

[@kaejuka6249]

I live in Michigan and was hesitating to get a bike because I wouldn't be able to use it for 3-5 months out of the year. this helps. Thanks!

[@khrisstake2210]

Just get a thick thermal

[@robsonenduro3316]

when you start shivering from cold it's time for a glass of brandy.

[@RidgeRoamer]

Cheers!

[@wingandhog]

I’m in New Mexico. Although the state is a mess, the riding is epic…. Year round

[@RidgeRoamer]

It is indeed. I was stationed in New Mexico while in the military, and I did enjoy the riding. Head up into the mountains if it's hot, down in elevation during winter months. Great views. Definitely epic! Thanks for watching!

[@wingandhog]

@@RidgeRoamer …. Yes. That’s how I came here. USAF

[@RidgeRoamer]

@@wingandhog I was Air Force as well. Stationed at Kirtland.

[@wingandhog]

@@RidgeRoamer …. That’s where I was based. I worked on Manzano Mountain. (That big hill with all the electric fences around it). I was NCOIC of the Power Plant. Met a local beauty and decided to stay.

[@RidgeRoamer]

@@wingandhog I'm very familiar. I was a Research Lab guy. My office was out there, in one of the buildings between the K9 center and the Fire Department, and we had a machine shop right along the mountain there. Been a while...

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

When I was working there were days I would have to ride my motorcycle in 32 degree weather at 5 in the morning to the landfill. I bought a snowmobile suit from Dennis Kirk and the lady was your in Florida what do you need a snowmobile suit for in Florida? I would wear my regular riding clothes underneath it it would keep me toasty warm I didn't want to take the streets to the landfill because I just wanted to ride all day but I couldn't turn that 12 bucks an hour down especially in 2004. Now being old in Florida if it gets too cold I simply stay home I rode enough to work in 20 degrees and sleet I would come home and I could not feel my arms from my elbows down. Now let's not forget I would be dressed up nice and warm because I would be hanging on the back of a garbage truck. Best exercise in the world kept me skinny.

[@maluinthe90s]

When riding in cold weather, box breathing illicit a thermogenic response that will help with temperature regulation.

[@JaredAF]

Best video on the subject

[@RidgeRoamer]

Thank you, I appreciate that.

[@JaredAF]

@@RidgeRoamer Thank YOU for the excellent video!

[@MCHoodlum13]

Must be nice to be seasonal rider.

[@dangoodwin2948]

Excellent video 👍

[@vernleroyson331]

I live in Southern Indiana and ride year round. The only time I don't ride is on icy roads. Snow is not a problem. I am 64 yrs old and have never owned a helmet and have been riding since the 70s. I ride a Evo Electraglide and various other FLH's with Metzler triple 8's. You need to closely monitor your air pressure..i run 39 psi front and 38psi rear in the winter. Layer clothing and use rain gear as outer layer and you be fine.