Originally written by Mark in Idaho on 10/24/2006 7:39 PM
I forgot to mention that I run 10/30 oil year round. I hadn't noticed any problem with it in the cold. The battery is another story. The motorcycle battery won't turn the engine over when the tempriture drops to about 10 degrees F. I built a battery box in one of my saddle bags for a larger battery. I havn't purchased the battery yet. I was thinking of trying one of those lawn mower batterys to save a little weght. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.
I tried one of those in an XS1100 Yamaha and had starting problems in cold weather. It didn't seem to have the necessary reserve. It would crank fine, but if the bike didn't fire right up it would lose juice a lot faster than an M/C battery. I've been really fortunate, my Valk is still running the original 1998 battery, though last winter if it sat more than a couple weeks without riding I would have to charge it. If I rode it once every eight or ten days it would be fine. The last three years I've said "I'll need a new battery before next winter", but so far it's still doing it's job.
It's always interesting, if not illuminating to see what other people wear in the cold.
For an extended ride, here's my typical coldest weather gear for my own personal limits of between 0 and 32F here in the mid-atlantic region:
- Heavy leather mittens with glomits or cotton glove liners; or heavy leather gloves with cotton liners inside Hippo Hands (*when* they are installed on the handlebars)
- Balacava and an Apple Warmer
- Coldwave Snowmobile suit that lets cold air in at the zippers 🙁
- Old/cheapo insulated vest, sweater, long sleeve cotton shirt and/or thermal undershirt, Tee shirt. Either the sweater or the long sleeve shirt would be a turned up turtleneck.
- Jeans, thermals, 2 pair socks, leather boots that cover the ankles.
I don't do electrics 😉
You know it's cold when:
- You don't see another bike the entire ride
- You scrape the frozen breath off of the *inside* of your faceshield.
- You spend the better part of an hour assembling and putting on your road gear.
- You stop for a rest, take off half of your gear and still have on more than twice what anyone else around you is wearing...while they just shake their heads.
As for cold weather driving habits - mine are no different than in any other weather. Russian bikes like the cold and mine run better in the dead of winter than in the heat of summer. Maintenance is as meticulous in winter as it is in any other season.
I guess we have a hearty crowd around here. When I was riding the Interstate to Eau Claire every day I would always meet 3 or 4 other bikes, though none of them had sidecars. One older gent would always be coming toward me on a 70's vintage Harley, Usually shortly after I'd see a kid on a bright blue sport bike. There would always be a KLR, a couple Goldwings, and an old CB750 in the parking lot at the Menard's Corporate offices. There's also a guy who rides another Valkyrie from Hudson to Hutchinson Technologies in Eau Claire (about 60 miles) every morning. He's the real diehard, shows up in a suit and tie with a pelican case as his briefcase. And then, of course, there's Gust Jensen. You'll see his Virago/Motorvation rig come at you on any given day. I swear I've seen him out riding at 30 below in a driving blizzard.
My only fear, weather related, is lightning. I once saw a tree literally explode after being hit by a lightning bolt. I was about 75 yards from it on my Goldwing. Before the strike, it felt like my hair stood up on end under the helmet. I pulled over and watched what was left of the tree burn in the rain. I could smell the oddest odor. Almost like if you've try to weld or cut something that had been galvanized. That was scary. When my hair starts to stand up, I pull over.
