Riding in the winter

It is Febuary, and I live in the Midwest. This means that on a good day, we hit the high 20s. Teens are frequent, and the only good news for this year and motorcycling is the lack of snow. So far, anyway.

I got my full dress touring bike back a few months ago. Prior to that I had been riding a BMW K100, a nice bike, but it needs tires. It is, however, much lighter, so even when I got my full dress bike back I kept riding it.

Lately, however, it has been the full dress bike all the time. I missed the XS11s, they are smooth, powerful, and the full dress bike cuts the amount of cold wind to a minium. I am sure people are looking at me like I am nuts, but that is life, sometimes - I am nuts.

Now, to ride in the winter, you have to dress warm, but the reall key is to reduce windchill. So at least, you have to be completely covered from head to toe with something that will eliminate the wind. To just be warm, I use Underarmor Cold Gear, under jeans and a fleece top. I have various warm socks, and when it is really cold or I have far to go, I wear silky dress socks under them. Like the Underarmor, this keep moisture away from my skin, which helps a lot.

For Motorcycle gear, I have First Gear, um, gear. A Kilimanjaro and HT overpants. I have waterproof winter EMS boots, which I only use in the winter, since they are not to comfy for walking. For my hands I have snowmobile gloves, which I can either use the included liner, or another, light pair of gloves under. My head gets a fleece balacava and a full face Shoei Helmet. You can use a flip helmet, if you want, but you should always have a helmet on. Perhaps more so in the winter, where the roads are less than ideal.

Since the Yamaha is air cooled, I give the bike a lot longer to warm up, and have winter weight oil in it, to reduce engine wear. After it is idling nice, I jump on, and on on my way.