Winter Riding

[Hollow]

Guys with this fast approaching winter and me being a newbie rider for the most part. I have a question. Do you guys ride in the winter? If so how do you wage the danger of ice? You know as well as me it doesn't have to rain and freeze to be ice. Buisnesses and ppl with sprinkler systems love to run those damn things in the winter leaving a biker a big unseen suprise up ahead. No I don't really get cold in the winter. I love the winter far far far better than the summer. I want to ride this winter heck all year around but would appreciate any advice from the experienced winter warriors. Thanks

 

[thirty_too]

alright dude/ dudet... i live in clemson and you live in spartanburg.... thats what, hour and half tops away... i think it 'iced' for maybe 7 days tops last year. obviously, be careful in the mornings obviously but i plan on riding all winter :thumbup: so i encourage you to do the same... i used to live up on the other side of travelers rest and it got cold but never iced over consistently... hope this helps... o ya, you ever go to bike night in downtown Greenville on wed nights?



edit: dude only... i see your name is David sry

 

[Hollow]

I know you may laugh your tail off and its okay but I have only been to Greenville I believe 5 times and that was just to visit a bro that lived there for a short time. About bike week and bars clubs etc.... I have never got into those kind of things. I am really close to home. I do like to go and ride for a bit with ppl but try to keep from the rowdy folks and anything loud. I like for the most part peace and quite. But thanks for the information about the winter riding. I was mainly concerned about anything that wets the road in unknown areas and creates ice in the road were you would never expect it. But I see your point of just being careful.:thumbup:

 

[thirty_too]

actually i have never been... i was hoping to find another FZ6 to go with.. and to see what to expect lol... but ya be safe and good luck and maybe ill pass u one day... later

 

[grumpy1luvs2eat]

I lived in Ohio until last December and I rode whenever the roads were free of ice and snow. But the occasional patch of ice can make life interesting, to say the least. If you learn what to look for on the streets and roads you can enjoy winter riding. Pay attention to surfaces that appear darker, wet, or different from what you know are safe to ride. Shadows thaw slower than sun lit sections. Don't make radical movements if you are unsure of the surface. And don't ride unless you are very confident you can handle it. Take short rides at first, get experienced, then enjoy. Gear up for conditions. GRUMPY

 

[teeter]

I agree with everybody so far. I ride all winter except days that are likely to be icey -- Sub freezing after rain/snow. Earlier in the season you can trust colder days because the roads are too warm to ice over of course.

If you see ice that you can't avoid don't change speed on the ice AT ALL. Slow down before it, but not on it. Also, stay upright and straight when crossing it. Winter riding teaches you a whole new way of riding.

Another benefit is that you'll be a safer summer rider because you won't have gotten rusty over the winter which is a real concern, even for seasoned riders. It's also great for the bike. Keep it limber, ya know?

Now, I have unfair advantage. On the more questionable days I ride my dual-sport. It has fewer nice bits to damage if I do go down and it SEEMS to do better on the slop (rain / slush / snow.) It should, considering the knobby tires. Also, in Richmond, VA so snow and ice aren't major concerns.

 

[bluenova]

Whether it's ice patches in the winter or gravel patches in the summer, the important thing to remember is the bike will cope fine as long as you don't make sudden changes. So no hard acceleration or braking and smoothly enter turns. If you feel it slipping out keep going and ride it out, if you slam on the brakes or open wide the throttle you'll probably go down, but if you just keep going through smoothly the bike will recover in most circumstances.
The only time I give up riding in the winter is when it's snowing, that's just too much for me.

 

[steveindenmark]

In Denmark most of us stop at the end of October. After all this is Scandanavia.

Ice is a real pig and can be hard to see.

It really is just not fun riding in winter if the weather is not goo.

Steve

 

[WeWonItThreeTimes]

In Denmark most of us stop at the end of October. After all this is Scandanavia.

Ice is a real pig and can be hard to see.

It really is just not fun riding in winter if the weather is not goo.

Steve

Similar here, season starts in march, ends in october. But this year we started in February and they say its gonna be realy warm winter. Fingers crossed

 

[FZ1inNH]

Here in New England, most stop riding after the frost takes over. We get black ice on the roads from night dew freezing on the roads. Black ice is deadly for a motorcyclist and you've got to be foolish to try it. I don't remember which forum it was and the member but someone lost their relative when they went down on black ice but not because of this, because ANOTHER relative was following in a cage, lost control on the same black ice and ran over the downed rider. Horrible!

For cold weather riding, before the ice comes, I have some great all-weather gear. I have a FirstGear Textile jacket that has a insulated quilted zip-in liner. The mesh pants with the windbreaker liner is more than adequate. The boots are waterproof Alpinestars that I wear year round and are very warm. Some snowmobile gloves and a balaclava from Undergear wraps up the rest. I can drive to about 30 degrees so long as there's no dew out!

 

[Pirosko]

You have a winter in south carolina?? That's where we vacation in the winter!!! Lol

 

[Sosu2211]

Here in France, we either get really mild, or really bad winters... with rain *way* more of an issue than ice/snow. That being said, I'll probs lock the bike away for November, December, January...

However, earlier today I went out and bought a new set of Alpinestars Gore-tex gloves, scarf and thermal trousers, so you never know!

 

[BranNwebster]

I plan on riding all winter.

 

[FZ1inNH]

I plan on riding all winter.

You don't have a winter! :spank:

 

[keira]

I'm with FZ6inNH on this one. I will ride sparingly in the winter because of the black ice threat, but I have ridden in snow when my car was in disrepair. The best thing I can say if you do end up doing it is to just be extremely aware of your conditions and the things around you (cars, sprinklers, etc). The more aware you are, the safer youw ill be, though you may not be able to see everything. Stay properly geared and get some frame sliders. Heated grips are a must for me under 50 degrees, and a gore-tex raincoat will block the wind when worn over any riding jacket, you just have to deal with the extra layer.

And if you are really worried about traction, there are ways to put studs in tires, so it may be worthwhile to have a second set ready to go.

 

[AJ_rider]

You have a winter in south carolina?? That's where we vacation in the winter!!! Lol

+1

exactly what i was thinking! :spank:

I plan on riding all winter.

Winter in Texas? Lucky! :Flip:

 

[MisterX]

Luckily, I live in North Alabama where winters can be pretty mild up until late January/early February. Then it can get quite chilly and icy from time to time. Thing is, here, it can be 20 degrees Fahrenheit one day, and then 45-50 degrees the next. I suspect I can keep the bike out for the winter.



X

 

[Hollow]

I plan on riding all winter.

I agree 100% on your signature. :thumbup:

 

[Hollywood416]

I ride most of the winter. IMHO when it's cold enough to worry about Ice it's to cold for me to ride any distance. But until the high is below 40* I am riding. If you were to ride when there is worry about Ice just treat it similar to wet roads everything smooth and with extra caution you should be just fine.

 

[colobb]

When I was thinking about riding this last Winter, I always drove the car first to check out the road. We didn't have a particularly cold Winter, but we had an absolutely sh*t load of snow, record total snowfall of 489" - thats just where we measure it, we got more than that.

So the road would be dry, but then the forecast the next day was snow, so I didn't get to ride until June, which is when it finally stopped snowing. So thats my way of doing it - if theres a chance of snow/ice on the road, I drive the car first to check it out and then make the decision. Afterall, you only get one life.
:Sport: