Rode to work today with ice, frost and 20F. How big are your gonads?

[FIZZER6]

How cold have you ridden?

So after 2 weeks of not riding due to cold, rain, ice and snow I decided to suck it up this Friday morning and ride the bike into work. As I wheeled the FZ6 out of my garage across the frosted grass my bike gauge temp registered 20F!

I wasn't so sure this was a good idea. I've only ridden below freezing (32F) once and it sucked.

This time though I had snow mobile gloves and a Joe Rocket Balaclava!

What a difference those 2 items made! Windproof pants and heavy leather jacket over a fleece. With the balaclave in place I felt no wind on my chin or neck at all. Toasty as could be. the only thing that got cold was my feet after 15 minutes. I need some of those windproof boot covers.

The only thing I forgot was my PinLock faceshield so I had fogging issues all the way in so I had to leave the shield cracked when below about 40 mph.

It was actually quite entertaining to see all the strange looks from people in cages with their heat cranked up to high! :spank:


How Cold have you ridden?

 

[motojoe122]

Last year I rode to work in 28 deg weather, but I had heated gloves and it did warm up later in the day.

 

[Botch]

26 F is the coldest I can ride; like you the faceshield frosts up below that. My new helmet has a Pinlock insert, but it glares so badly at night I won't use it anymore.
Ice, frost and snow scare the heck out of me, however; the roads have to be clear for me to ride. Which is silly, I rode my bicycle on snow and ice in South Dakota as a kid constantly.

 

[FIZZER6]

I was dodging some re-freeze in shaded areas of the road but there is no salt or sand on the roads here in the winter unless we get a freak blizzard.

 

[cmantis]

Ive been riding almost everyday. Few days off last week when my lock froze and I couldnt.

Heres the crazy part I own heated gloves ive never worn because im too stubborn to find them.

 

[ltdillard]

28, no wind this morning here in my part of the DFW area. Tourmaster pants, Joe Rocket jacket, balaclava + neck thingy from Cycle Gear, Sliders winter gloves, and HEATED GRIPS. That last item makes a huge difference over last year's riding.

Fogging issues with full helmet. I've read of using everything from Murphy's Oil to deodorant to prevent. Of course I forgot to try one of them before starting out!

 

[Andz]

My gonads are big enough but my brain and self preservation instinct are bigger.

 

[Jblk9695]

Once in the distant past I road across the Mojave Desert at 15 degrees, not something I want to do again. I'll ride in the mid 30's but try to avoid freezing temps cause in the mountains you never know where the ice is hiding

Jerry

 

[cmantis]

Damnit had to leave the bike at work the ignition cylinder was frozen when I went to leave.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

How about these Gonads....

Freezing Rain riding on my Enduro with studded tires

3-4 inches of snow on the FZ6, I will never do that again!

On my Enduro

Ride even in the dark. That's pure ice.

Did someone say 20 degrees is cold? Try zero!

 

[Andz]

How about these Gonads....

Freezing Rain riding on my Enduro with studded tires

3-4 inches of snow on the FZ6, I will never do that again!

On my Enduro

Ride even in the dark. That's pure ice.

Did someone say 20 degrees is cold? Try zero!

Respect! :bow:

 

[aclayonb]

ONE TIME - I rode an hour on the highway at around 18F. I've got better things to do now....like check the weather.

 

[bigdog9191999]

My gonads are big enough but my brain and self preservation instinct are bigger.

that about covers it!


but me personally i go about 40 is about my lowest.

we have a guy with a wing that rides as long as the roads are clear, regardless the temp



and vegasrider gets mad respect for sure!!! although i have considered something like an enduro instead of a sled (snowmobile ) as it would take about the same gear and the bike would be much funner to mess with peoples minds with! then trail riding in the summer! but i am afraid that the wife thinks i am pretty nuts already and that wouldnt help. besides i am to cheap for all that.


but it does make me think about it.. i have goldwing with car tire on now, a snow tire with studs wouldnt be that hard, but thinking 900lbs of bike may be a bit much.. have also considered snow tires on a trike and possibly chains just for the wft factor.. (using an old cheap beat up trike, why waste a good one)

 

[mylo]

As I live in Ireland its pretty much always cold/wet/windy here

 

[LFZ6]

I don't ride under 55° F. I just don't have the gear for it. Eventually I will ride in cooler temps. Thinking about getting some Ice Breakers to wear under my suit. Need to do some more research though.

 

[Koozi]

It was 55 this morning and I thought about it briefly. Drove instead, but mostly because I was too lazy to get all my gear out.

40 is my cutoff too, although I have ridden in the 20's when nothing else was running. You guys can have all the cold you want, lol

 

[FIZZER6]

Damnit had to leave the bike at work the ignition cylinder was frozen when I went to leave.

WD40 that crap! Should cut right through the ice.

 

[FIZZER6]

It was 55 this morning and I thought about it briefly. Drove instead, but mostly because I was too lazy to get all my gear out.

40 is my cutoff too, although I have ridden in the 20's when nothing else was running. You guys can have all the cold you want, lol

You Florida guys are killing the rest of us! If it were 55 degrees I'd be riding every friggin day with my standard gear, don't even need cold weather gear at 55F. :spank:

I rode to work again yesterday at 35F. Didn't feel any warmer than a did at 20F. To me anything under 40 feels the same on the bike due to the wind chill factor. 55F-65F is perfect bike weather! Gear up and you don't get cold or hot.

 

[FIZZER6]

I don't ride under 55° F. I just don't have the gear for it. Eventually I will ride in cooler temps. Thinking about getting some Ice Breakers to wear under my suit. Need to do some more research though.

You don't really need anything too fancy to ride from 55 down to 32F. I have ridden at 38F for 3 hours in the mountains of NC in October and all I had was my leather boots, full face helmet. Neck warmer and wore a standard 1-piece rain suit over everything to block the wind. If you can block the wind and have a couple layers on under the wind blocking layer you won't get cold, at least down to 32F.

 

[Andz]

My comment earlier still applies but ice and snow are almost non existent here. A few years ago we were riding to a rally with an early start. I was wearing my 2 piece Dainese leather suit and long gloves, a Buff neck warmer and boots. It felt really cold in some places but not unbearable, when we stopped for a smoke break one of the cagers travelling with us said it had gone down to -3C (around 27F).

Luckily we have dry winters