Riding clothing for the cold weather

5293 Views 38 Replies 16 Participants Last post by Q4GLiDe, 6 mo ago

Telnetcarlos

Discussion Starter · 7 mo ago

For those on a budget, what do you wear to stay warm in the cold riding in highways? I ride on highways at an average 70-80mph with 35-45 degrees in cold.

Obviously I bought a insulated motorcycle jacket, it does help.
Heated motorcycle gloves, sometimes helps.
Insulated pants with Jeans over it, it helps.

Not the best, but I can still feel after 20 minutes riding and I have 20 minutes left more to ride.

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scott7d

· #4 · 7 mo ago

Wind chill is exponential. Meaning that without active heat, the cold is going to win at some point regardless of layers. Especially at the temps and speeds you're talking about unless you take frequent breaks. I know you mentioned a budget, but the old saying "buy once, cry once" comes to mind.

I have heated base layers from Warm n' Safe. Socks, pants, shirt, and gloves. Over these I wear insulated polyester mid-layers, then windproof top-layers. All this combined with a full-face helmet and some neck protection allows me to ride down into the teens at the speeds you mentioned. I've done multiple Iron Butt rides where several hours were down in the 20's at 85mph+. I was as comfortable as I am now sitting here typing this.

As far as something budget that will handle the outer and mid-layers at the same time, check out the Bilt Storm 2 pants and jacket. I only have the pants but suspect the jacket performs just as well. The pants are worth their weight in gold. Tens of thousands of miles on them and along with heated liners, there is absolutely no temperature threshold, at least that I've encountered. A two-hour ride on the interstate at 15 degrees was honestly fine with my current setup.

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scott7d

· #7 · 7 mo ago

sardonicus87 said:
I also agree with "buy once, cry once". Just bite the bullet and get heated gear, even if you have to buy it one piece per year, it's worth it.

Now with heated gear (I have First Gear heated gear, same gear as Warm-n-Safe, actually is made by them, even says so on the tag licensed to First Gear from Warm n Safe), it's way better. For one, all those thick layers makes moving around a pita and then if you stop in some place, you're boiling inside until you get back out riding. And then you're still cold at those temps (just less cold than without all the layers). With the heated gear, you have a lot more freedom of movement and comfort and you're actually warm rather than just "less cold". To be honest, I can't even stand to wear my heated gear if the ambient temperature is over about 55°F as it's too hot even on it's lowest setting, that's how warm the heated gear is.

I would add in though, get a sports balaclava to wear under your helmet and get a fleeced neck gaiter. You'll want both of those even with heated gear (or at least the balaclava).

Couldn't have said it better myself. It's nice to be warm and not lose all your motor skills from wearing so many layers. Then as you mentioned, you're not sweating profusely when you unplug and get off the bike. Heated gear has been my single most favorite purchase when it comes to motorcycle riding. And again, like you said, you can piece it together over time. I bought the heated shirt and gloves first and those extended the season even without the pants and socks. I just made sure to buy a heat controller compatible with all four garments up front and got the pants/socks later.

In the winter when it's 20 degrees but otherwise a nice day, I love to go out and ride. I'm sure people look at me like I'm a fool. Little do they know I'm warm and having a blast. The only thing that stops me now is ice and/or salt.

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scott7d

· #19 · 7 mo ago (Edited)

IndyTRX said:
This is what riders have been doing since motorcycles were invented. Thin layers that create a bubble of air around your body so it stays warm but can also breathe. The notion "cold will eventually win" isn't true. Natives in Alaska don't wear electrically heated clothing and the cold doesn't "eventually win". It's knowing what to wear and how to wear it.

That is incorrect. Those natives in Alaska aren't getting the exponential windchill on an open moving vehicle. It's more of a "static" cold for lack of a better phrase.

I used to ride with 4-5 layers a lot when it was below freezing. After several hours on the interstate, the cold in fact "did win". Even with wearing the proper garments in the correct manner. I've since removed 3 of those layers with only adding the heated base layers. Now I am as warm finishing the ride as I am when I first started. If someone doesn't ride up to a certain speed or distance, then no. Cold may not penetrate. But I'm talking all day riding at 80mph+.

Ken Phenix is a good resource I always direct people to. He's a cold weather riding guru with probably more miles on gravel than any of us have on the highway. An educated, unbiased fellow who knows all the reasoning behind it.

Edit: Here's a post from Ken I found. The context is a question about heated gloves but he provides some good in depth information.

Let's examine the problems. At the onset of hypothermia, the body reacts by restricting blood flow to extremities to protect brain and other vital organs thus exacerbating the cold we feel on hands and feet. Applying warmth to hands alone treats the symptom rather than the cause. A vest or jacket liner prevents this. But even with a warm core the digits are out there in the wind and don't have enough circulation to stave off windchill. Heated gloves provide warmth to fingertips and backs of hands that heated grips cannot. Another advantage to a jacket liner is it keeps the wiring for gloves nice and tidy.

I learned the hard way that windchill charts are useless. Windchill is actually exponential.

TEMP X SPEED X DURATION

30 minutes at 30mph in 30 degrees is easy. But ride several hours sub-freezing at highway speed and sooner or later your layers will assume the outside temperature. Short term relatively stationary activities require less wattage to offset windchill. Battery powered gloves are fine for sitting in bleachers, shoveling snow or a few minutes on a ski slope but are found lacking long term at highway speeds.

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scott7d

· #22 · 6 mo ago

IndyTRX said:
I guess on the rare occasion they don't have wind in Alaska you would be correct.
View attachment 819381
I ride an hour to and from work in the winter. I average about 65 mph. Many times I don't wear heated gear because I simply don't need it. I can easily stay out of the wind on my Ultra and the same would be true with a similarly configured Street Glide or other bike with a fairing up front. I live just south of Lake Michigan and have most of my life. We know what cold is around here. I see Harley riders out with socking caps and scarfs wrapped around their face in the 30's and 40's. I choose to wear a helmet in the winter even though I really don't need it to keep the cold off me. The only time I don't ride is if there is snow or ice on the roads. I know guys that still ride in those conditions, but at my age I would rather not take unnecessary risks.

I wonder how many riders up here in the great white north used heated gear from 1901 through the 90's?

I don't go on cross country trips in the dead of winter, so I think perhaps we have a bit of a misunderstanding. I am talking about things like commuting to work or running to the store.

Again, I know from experience what is necessary and what isn't. Heated gear is far from necessary. It's an absolute wonder if you use it, I agree. It's nice. Required though, it is not. The day I die from exposure I'll have my wife post "you were right, he's dead."

I think the conditions in which we are riding is probably where the disconnect is. As mentioned, I'm talking 500-1000 mile days subfreezing where irrefutably unequivocally, the cold will win. I'm talking 200-220 miles in a single stretch. Otherwise, yeah you're right. In the conditions you're talking about, the cold isn't getting a chance to do it's thing. Hence the part Ken Phenix mentioned about short stretches being fine. Your initial comment was just incorrect when you take into account all various types of riding. Same thing as saying "oh if you ride in stop and go traffic for an hour at 120 degrees you won't get hot". You most certainly will get hot. It's really not even an argument. We are just talking about temps on the other end of the spectrum.

I know of cold riding as well in some of it's most extreme conditions (duration, speed, and temperature). But if we end up agreeing to disagree, no problem. I think we both have good intentions.

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scott7d

· #24 · 6 mo ago

IndyTRX said:
I don't really do cross country trips even in the summer. We might run down to a southern county in the fall (we did this year) or rarely hit a neighboring state. I use my bikes for commuting and for summer fun. I don't take my Breakout out in the cold, that's nuts. I ride my Ultra or PAS in the winter. If it's in the 40's or above I'll ride the PAS. If it's colder I'll ride the Ultra because it keeps me and my feet out of the wind whereas the PAS doesn't. At most I'll be out on the road 2.5 to 3 hours.

Yeah, I'm not arguing for the sake of arguing. We're just thinking about two different things. Also, those of us who spend 1/2 of the year in the cold tend to be acclimated to it. Example: I would often wind up in San Francisco for work years ago. It would be 50 degrees outside and a bit of wind and the locals would be wearing huge coats and wrapped head to toe like it was 10 below zero in Chicago (where I worked for 20 years). Conversely, I wear shorts in the high 40's if I'm out and about sometimes. I've even been known to shovel snow in shorts, but my wife would deny this because she thinks I'm being a red neck. LOL I see young women wearing skirts in the 30's in Chicago. We are used to the cold because half of the year we live in it.

Gotcha, no problem. I'd still ride with ya

If you're just south of Lake Michigan we're not too far apart. We're in Bloomington Indiana. We need to head up and check out the Dunes.

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scott7d

· #30 · 6 mo ago

Grumpy Gyrene said:
I started riding early 1970s. I ride all year. Never could keep my legs, feet, toes & hands warm, ever. I rode & lived with it in Kansas and Idaho. A year and a half ago I accidentally stumbled onto this amazing website. The name of this company is REFRIGIWEAR. Been in business since 1956. They make cold climate gear for the big freezers ( -20 degrees and lower). They advertise gear that gives one a comfort level of -60 degrees F. Yeah, you read that right. I followed this company for the last year and a half. It checked out good, so I bought several items. This gear works. The first time my legs, feet, toes and hands have been warm and toasty, ever. I do not use battery powered heat and their gear kept me warm and snug as a bug in a rug. Their website does, also, sell to men and women who work outdoors. I have rode from Chubbuck, Idaho to Idaho Falls, Idaho (46 miles) several times, to the H-D dealer, early morning on I-15 at 80 MPH with a wind chill of -14/-16 degrees F. Toasty warm. I have never found any other items that could keep me warm until now. They have comfort levels of -60, -50, -30, -20, -10, -0 and higher degrees. I will be riding to Helena, Montana in January, 2023. 323 miles one way. Best way to test this gear. Leaving early AM, dropping off Santa's Sleigh Bells with a little BS and heading right back to the barn. Next year I am riding from Idaho through Wyoming & points east to arrive at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina on the 10th of November to celebrate our 248th United States Marine Corps birthday. Semper Fideles.

I've had a set of Refrigawear gloves for about 5 years. They are rated down to -10. Although they are rated that low, they do not work well at all when it starts getting below 40 degrees at interstate speeds for an extended period of time. Maybe standing in one spot stocking a freezer they are ok down to -10. But for a riding application, they are no where close to that. They are my mild weather riding gloves.

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scott7d

· #34 · 6 mo ago

IndyTRX said:
Took the Dirt Glide out today for the commute to the office. Every day I stop for gas on the way home to fuel up for the next mornings ride. Some have said the heated grips don't work on their PAS's. Mine get warm but no where near as warm as they do on my Ultra Limited. The PAS has 3 settings and the Ultra has 6. No electronic heated gear... Just wind, road and a beautiful scene through the country. I live to ride!

My wife got me the same jacket you have, the HD Killian, about three weeks ago. That thing is worth its weight in gold. I sold my Klim jacket (over twice the price of the Killian) after she gave it to me. HD nailed it with that one.

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scott7d

· #36 · 6 mo ago

IndyTRX said:
I love this jacket. I bought it a size larger so I could fit a vest under there for a bit of added warmth. This thing is a beast, and full featured. Definitely one of the best cold weather riding jackets on the market.

The last Iron Butt ride I did (November 25th) I grabbed the wrong heat controller. I grabbed an old one with a frayed wire that's supposed to heat the shirt and gloves but didn't. My hands got cold but my top was fine with just a long sleeve shirt under the Killian jacket at 23 degrees/87mph.

Maybe a "tad cool" but far from torturous. Definitely the best jacket I've ever had.

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