Winter riding: Prepping the birdy
 

Winter is coming fast, it's getting down into the 50's at night here, soon to be getting colder and it's gotten me thinking about my bike and getting to work every day. I've got a commute of about 3 miles to and from work which I plan on making every day that it's not snowing. I did a search and found info on winterizing the bike for storage, but what about for riding? Anything special I should do? Lighter weight oil, different coolant, etc? Also, how is she as far as starting when it's numbingly cold out? :P

I've got a Joe Rocket Meteor jacket with the waterproof fleece liner thing, and Alpinestars SP2 gloves which I think might be ok for just the short distances I'll be going, but my riding pants are mesh. I've got some carhartt bib overalls that I could probably wear, do you guys think they'd be sufficient? or I suppose I could go buy some winter pants but I'm moving back to Southern CA for pharmacy school this spring so they'd kinda be a waste there. Any suggestions?

come ride in minnesota in january and then we can talk about riding in the cold. LOL

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That wouldn't that be anything like here in Sweden wouldn't it?!
Btw I see the black stuff... So that counts as spring... not winter...:)

january 28th! LOL

Yeah i'm just borderline, not completely insane :eek:

Although I will be earning my badge, nothing says You're a man like ice on the helmet. :D

Well in january I had atleast a foot of white stuff on top of the black stuff (and yes that's on the road, don't get me started on the amount beside the road...) I'm moving south, Yeah that's it... In most cases the grip of the 2CT's are insane... but in those conditions I kept to my own two feet... (mostly)...

Altough trough a fluke in the weather I did take a ride on Christmas morning... Woke up, 10 degrees C out, sunny, dry tarmac...:) I just couldn't help myself...:)

Oh Btw I can wouch for the fact that temps below -10C makes 2CT's extremely hard and slippery...:) (The patches of ice might also be a factor thoo)

lol thankfully missouri winters are a bit more mild than what you see in sweden :shock:

I think there was ice and crap on the roads last winter for maybe 3-4 weeks out of the whole winter.

Well I only do quick little runs on good day's in the winter too keep the mood swings to a minimum...:) (and I prefer it when the temps go above freezing...)

how hard is she to start at or slightly below freezing? when I get off work it's usually 1 to -6 C.

you might need a block heater. The cool thing about the cold is that the bike seems to gain HP. I rode in january last year up to 20 degrees F

yep gotta love carbs for loving the cold :D

a block heater eh? I wonder if anyone on the board has one on their bike. I work in the main offices for an automotive parts distributor and our block heater book doesnt have application listings for bikes so i'd need to go by dimensions =\

actually... i dunno.. I dont think I can get 110v power out to the parking lot. i'll have to look around the building and see

I did a quick reply before, let me try to do this again...

You might need a block heater:bs2::bsflag::gay::laughing2::laughing2::cau ght::caught::caught::caught:

So what's this thing called ice and snow you guys are talking about?? Last January it rained a few days but the rest of the month was sunny and dry.... Also whats this "freezing" you mentioned?? Today it was 79 and the low is going to be 55. Got to love the bay area....

:wtf1: :bitchslap: :spank:

lol, yes, I got that part. but as I said above, I need some dimensions on the block heater since thats the only way I can find them over here. You are talking about the frost plug or screw in type right? Unless you're talking about the blanket or dipstick type.

meh, either way I don't have access to 110v in the parking lot. :(

gay bay is a nice place to visit, but I like the non-rainy southern california better. there's no place like home. :cool:

I never had any problems starting her up, -10C and she just sputters a bit before going full tilt... Haven't been a heater close to her even once...:)

Though usually she's in an garage (unheated) where it stays at around freezing even if outside temps drop well below...

The only thing to note is to use the correct oil-weight and a correct mix of anti-freeze in the coolant...

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I can pull mine into the shop at work. i teach HS autos and I can just pull it in when I get to work. No hard starts for me :)

awesome! but do you have any measurements on this block heater you keep telling me to get so that I can pick one up from work? :p also what type is it that you're reccomending...freeze plug, blanket, dipstick?

OKay, okay. If I was going to do a heater, seeing that the hawk doesn't have much in the way of a freeze plug or coolant plug (in relation to a car) I would get a blanket. This is the one I have for my Blazer:

http://www.engineheaters.com/cgibin/...=Engineheaters

this would work for the hawk:
http://www.engineheaters.com/cgibin/...=Engineheaters


Hope you can find an extension cord :evillaugh:

That would be feasable. hmm.. and hell I didnt know what you were running lol, they make heaters you hook up inline with your coolant hoses too. Just wanted an idea what to look for in this catalog, thanks I appreciate it.

"come ride in minnesota in january...".

Did that for four years. Brrrr! Used to have to heat the oilpan with a Bernzomatic propane torch before I could start the bike. I'm gettin' cold just thinking about it.

oh my god... :eek:

No, just no... I'm from California. I'm probably going to die in this Missouri winter, let alone Minnesota.

midijunky;

Missouri isn't that bad. If you want to ride through the winter get yourself a snowmobile suit, some warm gloves and something to protect your neck.

After twenty minutes or so of a brisk ride you can go home, turn the thermostat up to 85 and put on some old Beach Boys music. You'll be fine.