Cold Weather Riding on the FJR
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DezzertRider
Well-known member
I have the answer for 30 degree temps: a car!
wheatonFJR
...
55 yo me vs 21 yo me.
escapefjrtist
Searching for Dry Roads
...don't be pissed off Mark. How bad can it be if you leave the bike in the garage what, one ...maybe two days a year?
--G
kballowe
Well-known member
Cav47
Adventure Seeker
My co-workers used to give me a bad time about riding in to work when it was around freezing (North Dakota) - only about five miles. So one day I rode in when it was 3 degrees. They really gave me a bad time when I had to roll the bike into the backshop to thaw the ice out of the ignition switch. I also once rode over Lolo Pass in a blizzard in late September - 1983 when I was young, fearless and stupid. I had a bad case of decision remorse that day...
Wife and I were out Sunday for 375 miles. Started out at 26 degrees (where we live at 5,400 feet of elevation) but warmed to almost 70 in adjacent valleys. We were dressed right and comfortable, though heated grips were nice. This is an '05 with "the damned heat problem."
Wife and I were out Sunday for 375 miles. Started out at 26 degrees (where we live at 5,400 feet of elevation) but warmed to almost 70 in adjacent valleys. We were dressed right and comfortable, though heated grips were nice. This is an '05 with "the damned heat problem."
Could happen there. My previous lowest riding temp was 17 degrees in north Georgia. And I still remember that day in Daytona Beach in the late 80's where the day started out at freezing and temps continued to drop throughout the day.
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I have the foot guards on my 08. They work well in the cold and keep the rain off also. I leave them on always.
I have the mirror mount hand guards also and these work too.
I can move my hand up and down past the handlebar on the move and feel where the breeze kicks back in. My hands are out of the breeze.
Sorry for the hijack, but do you have that Russell on the high setting?
I'm thinking of one but that is too high for little old me!
I have the mirror mount hand guards also and these work too.
I can move my hand up and down past the handlebar on the move and feel where the breeze kicks back in. My hands are out of the breeze.
Sorry for the hijack, but do you have that Russell on the high setting?
I'm thinking of one but that is too high for little old me!
HotRodZilla
GOD BLESS AMERICA
Hey Harald, I donno if you know, but the FJR's temp readout bottoms out at 17 degrees, so it coulda been colder.
El Toro Joe
FYYFF
HotRodZilla
GOD BLESS AMERICA
Haha...Dammit.
RadioHowie
I Miss Beemerdons!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Day late and a degree short.
Typical.
Day late and a degree short.
Typical.
kballowe
Well-known member
I don't know how this '13 is going to be, but my '12 still put out enough heat to keep my legs relatively warm (with long underwear and over leather)
Ditto on the heated gear. I only have a sleeveless vest and with the stock 2012 FJR windscreen all the way up and the grips on medium I was snug as a bug in a rug in the mid 30's a couple of weeks ago in Vermont. Windproof gear and some added heat go a long way. I never thought much of heated clothing until I tried it. Now if it's under 60, instead of adding layers, I just add the vest and plug it into the Powerlet socket I mounted on the right side panel, clip the power controller on my pants pocket and roll on down the road. When I didn't have the heater, I would have to get off the bike from time to time to try to warm up. Now when I get off to stretch, I can't wait to get back on to warm up.
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Spud
Well-known member
One thing I've found potentially dangerous about riding in the cold: For me, if I get really chilled, then suddenly get warmed up, it makes me VERY VERY DROWSY. For example, I've been riding way up high somewhere, gotten pretty chilled, then drop down and have it warm up quickly (like going from 45 to 70 degrees in less than an hour or something). Or, fire up the heated jacket after getting really cold.
When that warmth sets in, man I have struggled to not drowse off a few times. Had to pull over once and take a quick nap, normally wouldn't have been tired at all.
Anyone else ever experience this?
When that warmth sets in, man I have struggled to not drowse off a few times. Had to pull over once and take a quick nap, normally wouldn't have been tired at all.
Anyone else ever experience this?
Yes, absolutely.
Happened to us in Wyoming this summer when we rode up into the Bighorn Mountains. Although it wasn't painfully cold, more like nicely cool. Then dropping down to the high plains on the west side the temps were much higher, maybe into the low 90's. That drowsy feeling is very uncomfortable to me. That's about the time I'm looking for a quick cup'a Joe.
But on winter days when the temps really are low, I usually don't get too drowsy even using the heated liner and gloves, at least not 'till I get back home in front of the fire with a little glass of hooch. Then it's lights out in a hurry.
Happened to us in Wyoming this summer when we rode up into the Bighorn Mountains. Although it wasn't painfully cold, more like nicely cool. Then dropping down to the high plains on the west side the temps were much higher, maybe into the low 90's. That drowsy feeling is very uncomfortable to me. That's about the time I'm looking for a quick cup'a Joe.
But on winter days when the temps really are low, I usually don't get too drowsy even using the heated liner and gloves, at least not 'till I get back home in front of the fire with a little glass of hooch. Then it's lights out in a hurry.
Steve in Phx
Well-known member
A couple years ago I was riding back from out of state and was too impatient (lazy?) to plug in my heated jacket because I really wanted to just get home after being away for 5 days.
When I finally got home I was not feeling well. I took my temperature and it was 93.5 degrees. Took a couple hours to get back to normal temperature again. I felt sick for several days after that. Now I know that was a dumb, dangerous decision.
When I finally got home I was not feeling well. I took my temperature and it was 93.5 degrees. Took a couple hours to get back to normal temperature again. I felt sick for several days after that. Now I know that was a dumb, dangerous decision.
CA G-Man
Well-known member
As a good Canuck I was slow to adopt heated gear, thinking I could just use the same method for riding that I do for all of my winter activities - layer up and strip down as required to stay comfortable. What I didn't think about was the inconvenience of stopping every quarter hour (or whatever) to adjust what I was wearing.
Now if the air temp. is anywhere from freezing up to about 20C I wear a t-shirt, my Warm&Safe heated liner and my Klim jacket with all the vents open. I stay comfortable throughout that whole temperature range with just the turn of a dial. It's not so much that I can ride in colder weather with the heated liner than without (I could stay warm at -40 with enough layers on without the liner) but I stay comfortable at all cool to moderate temperatures. I used to tolerate being either a little warm or a little cool most of the time, waiting for a convenient time to stop and change layers. Now that I finally picked up some gloves with enough wiggle room to accommodate them I'm enjoying my heated glove liners too. Add long johns to the mix under my riding pants and I'm set for anything we're likely to see around here before the snow flies (and no, with the salt and gravel treatments we get around here there's really no riding from November through March).
FWIW and in my opinion the Gen III heated grips are a nice complement to the glove liners but I found that without the liners it was tough to keep the tips of the thumbs and index fingers, in particular, warm, even with the grips on "high". YMMV.
Now if the air temp. is anywhere from freezing up to about 20C I wear a t-shirt, my Warm&Safe heated liner and my Klim jacket with all the vents open. I stay comfortable throughout that whole temperature range with just the turn of a dial. It's not so much that I can ride in colder weather with the heated liner than without (I could stay warm at -40 with enough layers on without the liner) but I stay comfortable at all cool to moderate temperatures. I used to tolerate being either a little warm or a little cool most of the time, waiting for a convenient time to stop and change layers. Now that I finally picked up some gloves with enough wiggle room to accommodate them I'm enjoying my heated glove liners too. Add long johns to the mix under my riding pants and I'm set for anything we're likely to see around here before the snow flies (and no, with the salt and gravel treatments we get around here there's really no riding from November through March).
FWIW and in my opinion the Gen III heated grips are a nice complement to the glove liners but I found that without the liners it was tough to keep the tips of the thumbs and index fingers, in particular, warm, even with the grips on "high". YMMV.
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