CrankenFine

I don't intend to ride a lot in cold weather, but it would be nice to go out for an occasional blast in the fall and winter on dry days. Or commute to work once a week. Not wanting to tie up $400 or more in cold weather riding gear, I was thinking about some insulated work overalls in heavy duck fabric from Carhartt, Walls or Dickies.

Anybody else ever try these? I've seen some for less than a $100.

Wolverine

Check craigslist for some dedicated motorcycle gear. You won't regret it.

scottiemann

Well I can say carhartt one piece suits are warm... I worked construction for years and in the winter being outside for more than 5 minutes without it in sub freezing and negative degree weather wasn't happening...

I can also say that they are thick and bulky and I've never ridden in them... in my opinion they are good to have and not too expensive so give it a shot

ssing

Spend $180 and get Knox Cold Killers top and bottoms. That way you can wear either or both depending on how cold it is. They breath so well they work in many temperatures with out sweating. Work well under track leathers also. I have had mine 5 years and no problems with the quality so it is a good investment.

CrankenFine

I should add I owned a windproof one piece motorcycle suit in the early 80's that worked fine. So I know what works if you want to spend that much.

My question is has anyone else used essentially insulated work overalls for the occasional motorcycle ride 25 minutes or less in say 45 degree weather at expressway speeds?

I had not considered the craigslist thing so I'll look there too, but on ebay the prices were basically what I'd expect to pay in the store plus shipping for anything decent.

Thanks

Jack Flash

Hey Crank, if you are intrested, I have a few heated vests still in stock.
It's a plug'n'play with an on/off switch, and low/med/high settings. Takes less then an amp in power off the batteriy, so your not going to worry about draining the battery...it's made for this.

Living north of the border, it's frig'n cold up here in the morning, so I need the extra warmth even if my commute to work is only 20-25min. Just to know, it was 6°(42°) this morning, and driving that 8-10 min strectch on the highway at 130-140km, it get's cold !

Anyway, I have a few sizes left in stock, so if interested, PM me, and I send you pics and price with shipping to your place.
This goes for anyone else who wants a vest.

smokinjoe73

You are better off with a 2 peice setup. I have ridden year round for years and use a tourmaster aquatour (like an aerostitch). It has a zip out liner and even in the teens you dont feel the cold at all.

I also have some sportsmans guide snowmobile pants when its single digits. Dont get a full suit cuz really your legs are very protected from the wind so you rarely need the leg part.

baba57

I thinks they breath so well they work in many temperatures with out sweating. I have had 5 years and no problems with the quality so it is a good investment.

CrankenFine

Yeah the Tourmaster and Olympia stuff looks well made, just not sure I'll ride often enough in the cold to be worth investing what those cost new. I may take a look at my local dealer this weekend though. Maybe I'll just get some camo coveralls and I can use them in deer season too...

nath981

I ride my xr all winter when I can get away with it (shinko 705s), but rarely my SH for reason of road-crap/sportbike tire interface issues. All you do is slide around on road debris(where I ride anyway) and it's no fun. Last year, i rode six time between christmas and the first week of jan. and pretty much a couple times a week from that point on. The mildest winter I can recall for riding.

That said, if your present riding apparel has good knee/shoulder padding and air water proof, then the only problems might be your neck, feet and hands. A turtle neck or balaclava for neck, and you can use the hunter's hand warmers in your boots and backs of gloves. ATV mits help too. The other issue is your helmet shield which may fog quickly requiring you to open it. Need anti fog insert and nose guard to be able to keep shield closed.

With limited financial resources, i would buy good apparel you can use all year along for protection and use some of the above aids to get you through a few winter rides.

smokinjoe73

You can get a tourmaster jacket for like $170. The carhart stuff I dont think addresses the windblast on a bike (nor was it built to). Even decent ski gear over your protective jacket works well as it was designed for cold windblasts. (local goodwill/salvation army for $10)

Of course the hardest part to keep warm is your hands, so hand guards do alot. ($25 in handguards save you $100 in expensive gloves.) Or you could make them out of plastic.

CrankenFine

If not already obvious, I was really trying to do this on the cheap. But seeing as how no one recommends overalls, I decided to take another tact. I have a couple decent Joe Rocket jackets good to about 50 degrees F, and really good pair of Bates cold weather gloves.

So I went down to the local Cycle Gear store and got a few items from their Freeze-Out line of clothes. A windproof liner for my jackets, a windproof neck gaiter, some windproof glove liners, and a cheap pair of water proof riding boots. Pretty much everything was on sale half price. Cheap Chinese crap...I know, I know...

I'll post some pics and report about how well any of this worked at the next opportunity for a ride.

Erik S.

Cracked, I've never tried overalls. I understand your endeavor. I wear under armor under a heavy long sleeve shirt and my leather with liner. Then a heavy bandana for the chin and neck.

I HIGHLY recommended the Foggy. I got mine through Aerostich.com. It velcros on the inside of the chin bar, then makes a seal against the bridge of your nose and cheeks. Prevents your shield from fogging up and cold air from coming into your eyes.

http://www.aerostich.com/respro-foggy-breathguard.html

I rode this way, about 17 miles in mid 30s. Tolerable is the only way to describe it.

smokinjoe73

Hey I suggested the ski gear over the jacket method. That crazy cheap. I have a foggy thing for racing but on the street (and track I guess) a fog city shield doesnt interfere with your face and simply wont fog.