Below freezing riding

[900gc]

Left work in the dark at 6 am and 24 deg. f. Proceeded to turn right out of the plant onto the main street, giving it only light throttle while leaned over the back end started coming around pretty far and quickly, had to counter steer a lot and caught it before it flicked me off. Guess all the years of racing and dirt riding paid off! Gen. III traction control would have been nice. Funny what one thinks about during an 'oh crap' moment. I thought to myself "this could be expensive to fix" in that brief moment instead of my own safety! doh!

I've made that turn the same way a thousand times without incident, except all were above the freezing mark. Already knowing that traction drops with the temp., I ride more cautiously BUT I rarely ride below freezing. A little moisture in the air overnight, below freezing temps., darkness....not ideal riding conditions. Self preservation is telling me that riding at night when below freezing is probably not the best idea.

Ride safe my cold weather friends.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Self preservation is telling me that riding at night when below freezing is probably not the best idea.

Uhhh...yeah.

 

[SacramentoMike]

Funny what one thinks about during an 'oh crap' moment. I thought to myself "this could be expensive to fix" in that brief moment instead of my own safety! doh!

Makes sense. Broken bones and stuff can be pretty expensive too.

 

[dcarver]

Interesting timing on your post. 2 weekends ago I purposely took KrZy8 out onto the heavily frosted roads to play and learn. One uphill section I wasn't able to maintain any forward progress and had to back down about 30' which was interesting. Lessons learned? You can actually go a long way in a straight line before losing desired trajectory. Just have a light touch and watch the balance centerline. Also learned I can go really fast backwards and not fall down. I guess backing it out of the trailer every day and trying to go as far backward as I can helped.

 

[wfooshee]

Below freezing....... below freezing.......

You mean OUTSIDE??!??!!??!?!

 

[bluesdog]

A few years ago, (OK, quite a few!), I rode my Norton around a couple of blocks in the snow after a rare winter snowfall in Victoria BC. The 850 weighed in at @ 430 lbs, iirc, so it wasn't too difficult to stay upright, but there was very little traction, and I was happy to park her back in the garage following my little experiment.

That's the only time have I deliberately ridden on a slick road in below freezing conditions. I hit some ice a few times with my XS-11, and managed to avoid disaster.

Now I just cage it during the bleak mid-winter. With all the crap the grit trucks spew, plus the a$$holes who think their 4X4 duallys render them able to drive in excess of the posted speed, I just avoid driving as much as possible this time of year.

 

[mcatrophy]

Nearest I got was on my semi-regular bread run (any excuse to ride), a few years ago on my '06. Got halfway to the baker's, it started to sleet.

Without too much concern (it wasn't settling, right?) I opened the throttle, and without asking if I wanted to dance, the rear wheel shot sideways. Did the nearest impression I could get to Rossi, kept hold of the bars, and with some inelegant footwork managed to avoid going down. Changed my underwear after very, very gently completing my mission.

Two other occasions I've ridden in falling snow, once in Spain, reached our hotel after following a convenient gritter lorry for a few tens of miles, took this pic in the hotel's underground car park.
Click on image for larger view


Second time was when I did my Chicken Run.


I suppose I'm slightly off topic because on none of those occasions was it actually below freezing except possibly in Spain (didn't look at the gauge, too concentrated on the bike and lorry in front to wipe the snow off the instruments) but hopefully relevant because of the conditions.

 

[BugCollector]

One morning I rode my R1150RT to work at 19 degrees (that's COLD for central Texas). Stopped at the convenience store for something and the clerk says "you're on a MOTORCYCLE!!?) I loved that.

Nothing eventful happened but I couldn't help thinking about what if someone had thrown the remains of a soft drink or coffee out the window at that temp.

 

[RaYzerman19]

I used to participate in an annual cold ride contest, but my record low was 15F. Never rode if there was snow or ice. Frost, yes, gotta watch it. BTW, the winner of that contest would wait until February, ride (escorted by his wife in an SUV), pulled off a -25 or so a couple of times. Rule was you had to ride 10 miles minimum then back, take a picture of your bike and a thermometer. I'm over it now.

 

[Snudge]

If you really must ride a motorcycle in snow and ice, the finest set up ever devised is the sidecar. Many haircuts ago, my first bike was a 600cc BSA outfit, in those far back days the law in this country said that as a learner rider, you could not ride anything above 250cc., unless it had a sidecar attached, in which case a 1000cc machine was allowed. Obviously, the clowns that made these rules up had no experience of riding motorcycles. Trust me when I tell you, a sidecar in untututored hands is probably the most lethal weapon on the road. However, you soon get the hang of it and it gets to be fun. In those halcyon days, insurance actually got you a 50% discount if you had a sidecar attached, and a lot of guys used to fit a chair to their road machine for the winter, lots of fun and a discount on insurance, sort of a Christmas bonus! And now, the fun part, you can really put the fear of God into car drivers, revenge for a summer of being carved up by them.

On snow and ice covered roads, the sidecar will outperform any car,they are creeping along at 5 to10mph, meanwhile the sidecar, whose natural inclination is to travel in a straight line, will happily trundle along at 50 or 60 mph, because we drive on the left, the chair is fitted on the left, reverse the following instructions for a right handed chair on American roads, as you approach a right hander that you want to negotiate, don't attempt to slow down, just as you reach the right hander at 50mph, throw the steering onto full right lock and stamp on the rear brake, the outfit will immediately turn 90 degrees, foot off rear brake and proceed merrily on your way. Meanwhile, the car driver who was coming towards you has either crapped himself or didn't even see you in the first place. Do not try this on dry roads or on left handlers, although left handlers might be OK if you have a brake fitted on the sidecar wheel, a luxury that I never had.

These days,our winters tend to be fairly mild and when we do get snow, it doesn't stay around all that long, but faced with a North American winter my vehicle of choice would be the sidecar, worth it just for the fun factor.

 

[08FJR4ME]

I have been riding in below freezing temps since I got the bike. I try to ride all winter if possible. Now, when there is an over abundant sign of moisture common sense kicks in and I leave the bike home. I have been caught with my pants down a few times and riding a dirt bike sure does come in handy at these moments. I believe it was 14 degrees when I rode to work on Monday. It was in the high 20's when I rode to work yesterday. It will be in the 20's when I ride the bike to work tomorrow. It may get me one day though.

Dave

 

[Cyclepath]

Ok fellas, here's a slight tangent, but related because 2 wheels are involved.

https://www.pdramx.com/

Happens this year on Feb 20th, so still time for some of you far away FJR pilots to come join us here, about 5 hours drive north of Montana.

Cheers!

 

[escapefjrtist]

We'll go on cold weather rides on the PNW but only after it has dried out and NO freezing fog. In the winter the sun is so low many of my back roads never see the sun so one needs to expect frost anywhere, anytime!

Earlier this week, it was a slip, sliding drive to work in the cage...

Nice day on this one!

End of the road here.

--G

 

[Niehart]

Yes they were George, yes they were.