Who else rides in winter when able?

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Don't store my Duc, just gets ridden a bit less frequently this time of year up through Spring. I'm good down to about 37 F with my current gear but after a few hours it's time to head in. Actually prefer cool weather riding to sweating my arse off in July and August... bike runs better, too (but of course tires don't grip as well). Only winter aids my bike has is heated grips and power outlets for heated gear (but my gear isn't). Running 15W50 but start-ups are in the garage which doesn't get below about 55 F . I always let warm up to a coolant temp of 130 F before heading out and take it easy the first ten minutes or so but that is year round protocol as well. All of the above assumes dry roads with minimal salt/sand residue. In try to stay out at least an hour, preferably 90 minutes to a few hours if practical. Friday before last I rode back from dealer 15,000 mile service (no valve adjustments needed, yay!) 90 minutes on the slab, only fool on a bike the entire trip.... okay saw one other bike going opposite direction, exchanged waves (Looked like a Harley FLHR).
 
I ride year around. If the roads are clear, I ride.

I have a 2008 Goldwing with Navigation and ABS. It has factory heated grips and seat, and I have a Gerbings heated jacket liner.

I annoy campus parking, as they have a bad habit of piling snow in the motorcycle parking areas, and then I'm out riding when there's still snow piled up... and then I have nowhere to park.

And motorcycles are NOT allowed to park in the regular lot with the cars (even though I have a car permit).
 
I ride in winter. Sometimes I store one of my bikes in the motorcycle trailer, because my 300' driveway is the most dangerous part of the ride........Driveway forms ice overnight, which does not thaw during the day.......It can grow to a couple inches thick! So, I pull my trailer down the driveway, unload, ride, reload and pull the trailer back up the driveway. My neighbors think I might be "Touched", but I feel better after a ride.
 
We just moved to an apt/condo, and the way my bike is tucked in, I couldn't easily pull it out of the garage even if I wanted to. But besides, most of the time in winter, roads are very nasty here, not to mention it's no fun to ride when it's 22F outside. So no, I typically let it sleep through the winter.

One of these days we'll move further south where riding all year will make more sense.
 
I'm still riding my Concours 14. With snowmobile gear if I keep it 70 mph & lower I don't get cold. The hard part was finding good gloves. I don't ride if there's a chance of ice or strong cross winds. The way people look at me they think I'm crazy, I like riding.

TBH, I get colder racing my sled on a frozen lake than riding the bike on the street.

In the summer I had sport bikes picking on me, last week I had 2 snowmobiles egging me on.....I lost haha
 
Even when the roads here are clear there is often too much sand and salt residue on the roads....that salt especially can wreak havoc on bikes with corrosion as it is kicked up and the sand can cause me traction issues. I wait for spring and a few good solid rain showers to clear the roads before I take my bike out.

Maybe I just need a beater bike like a Buell Blast. lol
 
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Maybe I just need a beater bike like a Buell Blast. lol


Your riding season is longer than ours. In Michigan you ride when it's cool or you don't ride long, spring and summer can be cold here. I lived in Iowa City for a few years and rode my Triumph Trident until winter hit then I put it away.
 
We can and do ride all year round in NZ, but commuting it gets down to -3C in the mornings...and I tend to take the car then. I need to get better gear, then I'll commute all year on the bike.
 
I don't unless its fifty and we have had rain to wash the salt away . If I get a chance I like to put 50 miles or so , and top off the gas . Cold weather riding is hard on Harley as oil never really gets warmed up.
Jake
 
Mr.RC45 in the Truckee Snow
gallery_3131_51_8823.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: buckeyejake
I don't unless its fifty and we have had rain to wash the salt away . If I get a chance I like to put 50 miles or so , and top off the gas . Cold weather riding is hard on Harley as oil never really gets warmed up.
Jake



Sure it does. I rode in November a few seasons ago. It was -8c. I had my heated gear on.
My dipstick oil temp gauge showed 220f after 7 miles riding to the main highway. So why would you think a harley doesn't get hot. Just because it's air cooled doesn't mean cold ambient temps will prevent the engine from achieving operating temp.
In fact ambient temp has very little effect,if any,on combustion chamber temps. So if those temps are consistent as with warmer operating conditions then ambient will have little effect on the temp inside the actual engine.
Sure the front jug will be cooler however that doesn't mean inside isn't hot.
 
But if you are going to ride an air cooled engine in low temps, make sure to let it warm up, especially if you have 20w50 in the crank case. Let that oil thin up a bit before getting on and riding it. Or just fill with something like a 10w50.
 
Originally Posted By: Clevy
Originally Posted By: buckeyejake
I don't unless its fifty and we have had rain to wash the salt away . If I get a chance I like to put 50 miles or so , and top off the gas . Cold weather riding is hard on Harley as oil never really gets warmed up.
Jake



Sure it does. I rode in November a few seasons ago. It was -8c. I had my heated gear on.
My dipstick oil temp gauge showed 220f after 7 miles riding to the main highway. So why would you think a harley doesn't get hot. Just because it's air cooled doesn't mean cold ambient temps will prevent the engine from achieving operating temp.
In fact ambient temp has very little effect,if any,on combustion chamber temps. So if those temps are consistent as with warmer operating conditions then ambient will have little effect on the temp inside the actual engine.
Sure the front jug will be cooler however that doesn't mean inside isn't hot.




Where did you record that temp from ? The tank ? That seem way out of line , the hottest I have seen is about 230 . Winter temps would be way less than 200
Jake
 
180 is the point at which moisture begins to evap out of the oil more effectively, yes?

Originally Posted By: buckeyejake


Where did you record that temp from ? The tank ? That seem way out of line , the hottest I have seen is about 230 . Winter temps would be way less than 200
Jake
 
I wouldn't think the oil temps would vary widely while riding, say at 65 mph, whether it's 90 degrees F or 32 degrees F. I ride some every month of the year.
 
I 'm thinking at 65mph and 32deg f, the air is pulling more heat off any metal surface wheater a cylinder fin or radiator, then if it was 90f. That in turn will be less heat transferred to the oil.The internal cyl temp should be very slightly lower. So less heat is generated, then if it was 90f. The only water cooled bike I've ever owned, would run at a lower temp at highway speeds. Around town ,it would still be slightly lower. And it took longer to warm up in winter. So if your oil runs 20-30 degrees cooler in winter, whats it gonna hurt?.,,
 
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