Triumphrat

Hairball · 10-25-2005

I know I will be hammered for this question,.. mostly because I live in Florida, and the northern version of cold is much more brisk than we have here.

But I am stuck between - high fuel prices, 40 degrees F.( usually with rain) a two hour trip to visit a very sick Mother as much as possible.

I did the trip yesterday, hit rain that was leading a cold front, and froze my arse for the last 40 minutes of the trip.

Being from Florida, I never saw snow until I was 36, it gets cold occasionally and it actually did snow in 1977.

So as you can see, I am ignorant to cold weather riding gear, I am an expert at wearing protective hot weather gear.

But even 50 degrees F. at 80 mph. for 2 hours is F-ing COLD!

So any helpful ideas on gear would be greatly appreciated

kuhlka · 10-25-2005

Hein Gericke Timbuktu Air Jacket

Hein Gericke Cargo Pants

Those are what I just bought and am awaiting in the mail. If they're as good as the Urban Hein Gericke jacket I've got, then I'll be a very warm and happy rider this winter. Their jackets are great on quality and the liner they use is totally waterproof and very warm. Match those two up with your choice of gore-tex boots and helmet and you should be set. Balaclava is optional of course but highly recommended. I'd get a plain black cotton one for the colder rides and just keep it in a pocket or your tail. I rode all winter last year and the balaclava made a huge difference for my face and neck. It also significantly reduced wind noise in my Shoei RF1000 somehow.

Other than that, I went out and bought some UnderArmour Cold Gear tights and undershirt and I'm only marginally impressed. Definitely not warm enough to be the only layer uder some jeans but they'll probably work well in combination with my new jacket and pants when they arrive.

crashmasterd · 10-25-2005

I love my Gerbing electric jacket liner, and consider it one of my smartest accessory purchases. The heated neck is simply a joy, and I find that I appreciate the full length warmth of the arms. This makes vest-only electric heat seem stupid by comparison.

Gerbing Electric Motorcycle accessories

They used to offer a 1 piece all weather suit, but their web site doesn't list it any more. I'm seriously considering buying the Union Ridge jacket and pants for the nasty weather we usually get around here. They are supposed to be highly waterproof and have the same electricals that their liners have (lifetime guarantee on electricals no less.)

All of their stuff can be custom tailored for you for the same price! What other company can say that?

[ This message was edited by: crashmasterd on 2005-10-25 20:17 ]

speedytriple · 10-25-2005

well i rode into work this past week here in cleveland. it was 48 and rain. i do a 30 mile ride each way. and my first gear trekker jacket and ht over pants held out the water and kept me warm. i also wear the cold gear from under armor. and with the pants and liner it has kept me warm down to 28 deg on my ride to work. boots i have the alpinestar roam boots they are waterproof and warm. i also have a polar fleece pull over for my neck and face i wear under my helmet. and a pair of gloves i got from an outfitting store that have 150 grams of thinsalate. and a fleece liner inside that so far i have not had them leak and have not used the fleece liners yet. they are fine for the 30 miles in 35 deg weather.

mike

AlaskaS3 · 10-26-2005

www.carhartt.com

Of course you'd probably only fit in up here.

FelixLeiter · 10-26-2005

I have a friend in Nova Scotia who's been known to wear his survival suit for long cold rides (Halifax to Sydney).

ATKpilot · 10-28-2005

Hairball,
gotta second those Hein Gericke cargo pants. I have had
mine for about a year and they are great. I also wear
thermal underwear called "Hot Chilly's" These things work, period. My brother is a biker CHP rider and he turned me on to the Hot Chillys, try 'em you will like them.

http://www.hotchillys.com/

add this around your neck and you could spontaneously combust :-D

http://www.schampa.com/

Ricochet_Rabbit · 10-29-2005

An Aerostitch suit is expensive, but tough to beat. Put it on over some warm clothes and you'll be ready for almost anything. As a bonus, it's one of the few textile suits that is accepted at track events.

I commute to work with mine - put it on over my somewhat dressy work clothes, slip a pair of loafers in my tank bag - within a minute of arriving at work nobody knows I'm a low-life hooligan biker.

kuhlka · 10-29-2005

Well, it was around freezing this morning when I rode out to the university to watch my fiance run a marathon. I took her 05 Sprint ST since it hasn't been ridden in a while due to her physical therapy doc saying she'd reinjure her neck from the car accident in August.

I bought 2 pairs of UnderArmour ColdGear tights (shirt/legs) and only had those on under my cargos and timbuktu jacket and was plenty warm except on my thighs. I could use another layer on my legs, maybe some fleece longjohns or something similar. My chest and arms were fine but my fingers in my Firstgear rain gloves got a bit frozen after about 20 minutes. Heated grips would definitely be nice to add to that bike sometime.

My new Arai XD helmet did a great job of deflecting wind and was suprisingly lightweight and not all that noisy considering it has that visor sticking off the front. I found a fleece windbreaker balaclava at Dick's last night and that did an awesome job keeping my face and neck warm. I was nice and cozy for the ride there and back. However, in the early morning when it was in the 30s my face shield was fogging up like a SOB so I'm going to thoroughly coat it with Zooke and I'm ordering that Respro Foggy mask for all-weather use since I sometimes have issues in the rain too.

Overall, the kit is great and will keep me going through the winter. Now if I can just get my tail chop project done and looking prettier so I don't have people staring at my bike thinking I somehow managed to keep the rest of the bike clean whilst ripping the entire tail section clean off after the seat, lol.

skeepee · 10-31-2005

Quote:

On 2005-10-25 20:13, crashmasterd wrote:
I love my Gerbing electric jacket liner, and consider it one of my smartest accessory purchases.

I'll second the Gerbing. There's nothing like being toasty warm on a 45 degree, rainy ride. Makes me feel like I'm getting away with something :-D

I will say you should wear a long sleeved something underneath it. I wore just a T-shirt the first time out and had it pretty cranked on the ride to work. I had grill marks like a sirloin steak all up and down my arms.