Who rides in winter

[Sugarcubes]

Its that time of year again. -2 this morning in Glasgow which isn't probably that cold compared to some of the places you lot will be living

I try and keep my bike on the road as many days of the year as I can in order to keep everything running as it should.

I always felt that if you let an older bike sit for too long, they don't like it and tend to develop "issues" when you finally get it running again for the spring.

Riding into work in the morning and back again in the evening in pitch black always feels kind of weird but the roads seem less busy and you do feel pretty fresh by the time you arrive! Anyone else riding through winter?

[JakeF]

Had to google the conversion, lol. -2 Celsius is about 28 degrees F, so yes it does get MUCH colder here in winter. It's been a few years since I had a bike on the road, but as long as there's not snow or ice on the roads I wouldn't hesitate to take the bike to work in the winter. I remember one time I'd ridden from Kansas City to Lincoln, Nebraska on a service call and got caught in a snow storm on the way home. The 4 hour ride home turned into 7 hours, but I made it!

[Sugarcubes]

7 hour snow storm ride sounds pretty bleak! I don't envy you that one ha! What were you riding?

[JakeF]

That ride was on a Suzuki Intruder 1400. I kinda miss that bike.... many thousands of miles all over the country and never a single issue.

[hillcat]

We get a thing called ice so it's 4-wheelers, sleds, skies and boards here.
Although when we were young we would stud dirt bike tires also.

[DoomBuggy]

When I wore a younger man's clothes the bike was my only transportation winter or summer. Rode in enough freezing crap to never want to do that again.

It has been a few years now, but I used to try to have a bike up and running for the Toys-For-Tots run each year. Other than that once the white stuff starts to fly it is time to start fixing and modding for next year.

This winter's list, get the heads sealed up, figure out the transmission leak, new bars/switches/internal wiring, and maybe repaint the gas and oil tanks.

[DoomBuggy]

...Although when we were young we would stud dirt bike tires also.

I did that a few times, freaking BIG TIME fun.

[Sugarcubes]

I got caught in snow last year and my hands got so damn cold I had to pull over and put my gloves on the hot cylinder heads for a few minutes to heat them up and bring my hands back to life!

[AlbertaFarmer]

Can't do much after October up in my part of Canada. The road outside my window has a good inch of ice on it this morning. Might get a few nice days yet, but it's hardly worthwhile riding. The roads will be covered in traction gravel for the next six months.

I'm not sure what your worried about with them sitting? Mine usually sit a solid four to five months at a time and they have always fired right up every spring. That's stored in sea cans and sheds that have no heat, and we routinely see -35 Celsius (-31 F).

[Mwatson]

I do, so long as the road conditions allow. I'm not big on trying to ride in snow, but the cold temps are fine. It gets pretty cold in Oregon.

[DoomBuggy]

..... and we routinely see -35 Celsius (-31 F).

Not no, but HELL NO! Exactly what do you farm up there, icicles?

[Hoghead]

Someone found a way-hardcore!



I'll ride all year round, but don't commute Nov-Feb anymore.

[Mwatson]

Someone found a way-hardcore!



I'll ride all year round, but don't commute Nov-Feb anymore.

God damn!! I remember as a kid growing up in PA, it was not uncommon to see some of the MC guys riding in some shitty ass weather during the winter. Deffo hardcore.

[Tattooo]

I've always loved riding in the fall and winter............. That's my favorite time of year to ride..............

[Skjoll]

It only rarely gets to single digits around here in Louisville, usually ~20°F for lows and roads are well plowed so winters are definitely doable. When I lived in New England I had a CB360 with studded dirt tires just for bad winter weather... it was a blast in deep snow.

[AlbertaFarmer]

Not no, but HELL NO! Exactly what do you farm up there, icicles?

It's prime wheat, barley and canola country. Icicle crop is looking pretty promising this year as well.

Aint' so bad down where I'm at (a couple hours north of Montana). We get Chinook winds coming over the Rockies a few times a year. It will swing wildly and you wake up after a cold night to a warm morning. Those poor bastards North and East of here aren't so lucky. Long stretches of -40 are not at all uncommon. I did a year in Edmonton and it was unbelievable. Get down to minus forty and stay that way for weeks. Warmest it got was maybe -20C all winter. Way more snow than I've ever seen, and that happened to be one of the warmest, least snowfall years on record.

As much as I complain about our winters here, I wouldn't trade them for the heat you guys put up with down South. If it gets much over 90F here, it's a big deal.

[Dougtheinternetannoyance123]

I live up in the foothills near Mt Hood here in Oregon. (Near Portland) Great roads both on pavement and off,, And we often get a nice crisp clear fall or winter day thats awesome to ride in. Just have to be careful of the hazards.
We have a stretch of nice sun right now, but in the shade the road might be wet, or even icy, plus lots of leaves falling and they can get slick.
One big hazard where I live up in the hills is wildlife. We actually have an Elk Herd nearby and can often see them grazing. Not something you wish to tangle with. Another is sex crazed drunken deer.

*Let me explain. This time of year lots of fruit is falling off trees, pears and apples mostly so it rots on the ground and ferments. The deer eat it and sometimes get drunk from the fermentation. You know when you had a few shots of tequila and think you can fight everyone?.
Secondly is Rut. Sex cycle of male bucks,, as they said in Top gun,, "Your ego is writing checks your ass cant cash" Well not uncommon at all to see Bucks trying to take other deer on and sometimes, cars and motorcycles. My wife had one last year. She didnt hit the deer, It hit her. Standing in the road saying "Bring it BITCH!" and attacked her car,, mangled her passenger fender and all down the side of the car. But all year long we get Deer vs Motorcycle incidents and many friends who have stories. In some cases you never see it coming. Deer is running at full tilt and bash into you or try to jump over you and knock your ass right off. Seen it a few times and a number of friends had it happen.

When the snow hits,, we like to play,, ATV and dirt bikes,, loads of fun, many of our neighbors do too.

We have a cabin down south and same deal there,, great roads, great scenery and lots of nature to explore. (McKenzie River area). So planning on doing a lot of off roading soon. There is an epic OHV area with 9,500 acres, and 34 miles of trails just over the ridge from our cabin. Some friends go all the time and planning on it as well. In late summer its shut down to motorized vehicles due to fire danger so we tried mt bikes.. was fun,, but its wide open now.

https://www.riderplanet-usa.com/atv/.../ride_16f9.htm

I have some friends up in Alaska (most near Palmer) and many of them bunker up and build bikes in the winter,, but some still get out and ride. Here is a pix from last year a buddy sent me. Cool little Triumph cub.



**Edit,, he said he took the pix last year, dont know WHY it says 2007 on the tme stamp, maybe the clock settings on the camera or its an older pix, Doesnt change anything,, still cool

[metalheart28]

Its that time of year again. -2 this morning in Glasgow which isn't probably that cold compared to some of the places you lot will be living

I try and keep my bike on the road as many days of the year as I can in order to keep everything running as it should.

I always felt that if you let an older bike sit for too long, they don't like it and tend to develop "issues" when you finally get it running again for the spring.

Riding into work in the morning and back again in the evening in pitch black always feels kind of weird but the roads seem less busy and you do feel pretty fresh by the time you arrive! Anyone else riding through winter?

I dont ride when it's cold anymore, it's just not really enjoyable for me and I dont want to have to bundle up like I'm going for a ride on a snow machine. I always drain the tank and carb and remove the battery and put it on a tender in the warm house and I've never had a problem with my stuff starting in the spring.

[Taverner]

I keep one bike insured year round... if it's over 5*C I'll ride.... assuming it isn't too wet... I prefer riding the dirt bike in the cooler weather... less chance of starting a forest fire.

[seaking]

Yeah that's gonna be a no for me dog. Early fall, 34F, all my carharrts, still cold. Riding like a dick because I'm so fucking cold. Oh and add that onto working on an industrial drive with a lot of dust/a foot of water/bullshit in the road and it gets awful slippery. My coworker slipped on aggregate and he had to be drug tested, what an insult to injury.
I know that's a lot of excuses but I'm just happy to park my ass in a chair and have heat on blast on the five minute drive in to work.