I have held off addressing the subject of Cold Weather Riding until January rolled around so I could examine the subject with the due respect that it deserves. In other words, it's hard to remember riding in the cold when you are dripping sweat from under your helmet in the middle of August, I think it has to do with the human psyche and its ability to forget unpleasant memories. For years I have subscribed to the Sammy Hagar approach to riding or "I can't ride till it's 55" degrees that is, but recently my attitudes towards winter time riding have changed a little, by say ten degrees or so.
Partially due to our friends who enjoy the sport of snowmobiling in some of the coldest conditions on Earth, and partially due to the fact that a generation of die hard riders, and partially due to new and improved materials manufacturers are now cranking out suits, jackets, and some pretty gnarly gadgets to keep us warm while tooling down the highway. Now before we get started let me say that I won't be discussing any of the electric battery operated or plug in suits, gloves, socks, or boots that are available which claim to work miracles when it comes to keeping warm on a motorcycle. If you own this stuff and love it then I am very happy for you, but since all these articles of clothing and footwear come in close contact with your body and rely on electronics made in that paragon of quality control "The Republic of China" I will be omitting them from this post.
Now lets begin! Rule number one, road going motorcycles operate superbly on warm to cool dry asphalt or concrete surfaces, they perform reasonably well when in that same temperature range on marginally wet surfaces. That's it! Were you expecting more? Alright I'll expand on this, you see a motorcycle requires its rider to defeat "Old Ma Gravity" who is trying to pull the machine and rider to the ground any way she can, and poor road conditions just stack the odds in her favor. It's easy, just remember if it's wet and freezes it should be considered the enemy, and an enemy that doesn't fight fair too boot! The pavement can look dry and the thermometer may even read above freezing, but that's the time when those two old crones "Mother Nature" and "Old Ma Gravity" get their heads together to create a little winter mayhem. So in case you haven't realized what I am trying to convey yet, DON'T RIDE A MOTORCYCLE WHEN IT GETS WITHIN FIVE DEGREES OF FREEZING! Or you might end up like the young lady in this photo who seems to be overjoyed at the fact she has just cost herself a minimum of $500 worth of damage to her motorcycle after falling on a snow covered road, so much for the old cliche about women being smarter than men.
But again I have strayed from my original point, better winter riding gear. First I would like to take the time to dis-spell a popular myth as to what material makes for the best cold weather apparel. You will hear from a great many riders (especially the ones who ride a certain V-Twin brand) that leather is the best form of cold weather protection, and while leather does afford many fine qualities including abrasion resistance when skidding along the pavement on you backside, durability, and good looks, it simply sucks at keeping you warm. The fact of the matter is leather turns frigid as soon as winter air passes over it, true it does resist air penetration but then so would a jacket made of solid ice, which come to think of it feels sounds about right. If you placed enough synthetic insulating fabric underneath it you could probably create a nice warm garment, but then the good looks aspect of the thing would go out the window when you found your self resembling half a fully inflated leather football. The cost aspect would also have to be considered since it would probably require the skins of a whole herd of cattle to make a jacket and pair of pants. So that leaves us with the only sane choice for winter gear, the petroleum based thermal insulated Textile line of gear.
The invention of thermal insulated clothing sounds more like fiction than fact, it seems the the famous outdoor apparel designer Eddie Bauer while on a fishing trip circa 1936 nearly died from hypothermia and the experience drove him to find a way to improve the insulation qualities of outdoor winter clothing. As a result he invented and patented quilted down linings for outdoor jackets and pants. His invention has probably saved more lives since then than all the St. Bernard rescue dogs to ever live, although I will say a good jar of brandy on a cold evening is hard to beat. Nowadays petroleum based synthetics have replaced good old goose and duck down but the idea is still the same, use a layer of air in a fluffy fabric to create a separation which prevents the loss of body heat and the penetration of cold outside air. We motorcycle riders owe a great deal to the snowmobile riders for our modern cold weather textile jackets and pants. Those brave and hearty boys and a few girls (now this really does get back to the old saying of girls are smarter than boys) who wait in breathless anticipation for the snow to fall by the foot and the thermometer to plummet into single digits so they can hop on board their snowmobiles and whisk across the frozen tundra at speeds that create wind chills in double digit degrees below zero, and I say to each his own! But the fact is that when companies started producing ultra cold weather gear for the snowmobilers we motorcyclists began to think that if we donned this type of outer wear we might be able to ride our machines in something other than t-shirt weather.
So, now that we have driven my original point into the ground lets get cracking on my list of absolute essential garments and then work our way towards accessories that can be added to the motorcycle itself. First of all the helmet, now I know that this will drive the Harley riders crazy but for winter riding there is nothing better than the full coverage helmet, end of story. That same full coverage helmet that can boil your brain during the summer can also help to keep your head warm in the winter. Next is a very inexpensive accessory to the helmet called the Balaclava which is named for a homebrewed British version which was sent to the British troops during the 1854 Crimean War to protect them from the bitter cold of the winters. This seemingly insignificant piece of under helmet wear will make the difference between an invigorating winter jaunt and OMG I can't feel my chin anymore!
Next we have the all important jacket. On this front all I can say is don't pick one for color, or graphics, or name brand, pick the one that everyone says works. Personally I wear a Field Shier Jacket which is the most incredible piece of cold weather clothing that I have ever owned. At 65 MPH in 48 degree weather it is like being wrapped up in your favorite blanket at home, the wind simply does not penetrate this garment. That's the great part, the bad part is Medieval suits of armor weighed much less than this jacket, I'm not kidding, so help me if this thing weighed any more I would need a young squire to help me on with it. The list of great textile jackets and matching pants is nearly endless and varies greatly in price and features, so do your research, watch the reviews and then make your decision.
If a jacket doesn't suit your needs then maybe what you want is a one piece suit, without a doubt this is the warmest alternative, after all it started out life being called a snowmobile suit, so that ought to tell you something. I myself am the proud owner of one of the original Refrigiware one piece snow suits that dates back around 40 years and I am not kidding you when I say that I wore it just today while using my snow blower to open up my lane in our record breaking 35 inch snowfall that hit the Mid-Atlantic this week. They by the way are still in business and are still the benchmark for survival one piece suits. The advantage of a one piece is that it blocks out almost all outside air while trapping your bodies warmth inside it, the disadvantages are it's hard to put on and take off, massive in size, and will roast you if you have to stop for any reason or encounter traffic.
Gloves are my next item of apparel to be considered, and again the number of choices are mind bogleing and some careful choices have to be made as far as balancing frostbite vs safety. When it comes to warmth insulated waterproof textile gauntlet style gloves are unbeatable for keeping you in possession of all your fingers and thumbs, but they afford nowhere near the protection that leather does from accidental encounters with the road. Textile deteriorates quickly when sliding along asphalt or concrete surfaces and has even been know to heat up enough due to contact friction to partially melt and burn a riders hand. Good old venerable leather on the other hand is renowned for its ability to withstand road rash during a fall and if proper insulation is used in the gloves construction it will provide reasonable warmth down to say 55 degrees, below that it is purely up to the individual to decide how much they value their fingers and thumbs. So which do I use? Both, I go with the leather when I can and the textile when I begin to lay eggs, grow feathers, and start pecking at the ground. The last and perhaps the most important consideration for gloves is usually the one we don't think of until we go to use the motorcycle and that is, can I properly control the levers and throttle with the gloves I have chosen. It does no good to protect your hands from the cold if you crash out due to lack of control when riding.
It's time now to consider our feet. At least here we don't have to agonize over the old question of which is better, textile or leather? Leather wins hands down! Now all we have to do is choose between ugly cumbersome dedicated riding boots such as Alpinestars or some other style like cowboy, engineer, work, and hiking boots. The Sportbike or so called racing boots provide the most protection from injury that can be had, and in recent years they have also become more bearable to wear and might even do for walking as long as it's not too far, but very few of these style boots provide any winter time protection and will turn feet into ice cubes within a few miles of beginning a ride. The other group including the work and hiking boots on the other hand can be found in the insulated version and will help to keep you feet from turning blue. Best solution I have come up with is a bit expensive but does the job for me and that is to have two pairs of boots, one for summer and one for winter with the only difference being their size. The winter pair are exactly one size large than the summer ones which allows me to wear up to two pair of insulated socks when riding in sub 55 degree temperatures. This solution might not be for everyone but it works for me and a lot of my fellow riders.
The last thing I will mention is the actual motorcycle and its cold weather armor. In cold weather nothing and I repeat nothing can substitute for a well designed fairing coupled with grip and seat heater options (note that these electrics are installed by the factory and therefore designed not to set your motorcycle on fire). Nearly all the cruiser style motorcycles produced today have some sort of heat options available to the buyer which can make cold weather riding quite enjoyable, but if you are a sportbike lover, naked bike fan, or have just inherited a fortune these road warriors will probably not be appearing in your garage. There are several accessories that you might consider, the first is an accessory windscreen or windscreen extension offered by your motorcycles manufacturer. Like the droll old sex cliche, size does matter, especially when it comes to windscreen height and here like in the cliche a few inches longer can make all the difference. Accessory handguards can also be found ranging in size and cost with the cheapies costing around twenty dollars and the elite models price in the hundreds of dollars. I consider this one of the most effective accessories that you can buy. They aren't that noticeable, can come off for the warmer weather, and most importantly allow you to go with a more moderately insulated glove that will give you greater control of the levers and throttle.
Well, since I know I have bored you to tears by now I feel that I should go before you start throwing vegetables and eggs in my direction so ride safe and stay warm.
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