Winter/Cold Weather Riding Questions

Hi
took the xj650 out today in 25 Degree weather and now I have a few questions.
1. Visor froze up, any reccomendations?

2. Hands a little cold, not horrible as I was wearing goretex gloves but any reccomendations for actual cold weather gloves?

3. Noticed that the bike backfired a few times when shifting up from high rpms when on the way home this afternoon. Could this be because of this mornings cold ride? Any other ideas why and how to fix?

Thanks
Steve

 

Cold air is more dense than warm air - leading to a lean condition. Strangely enough, lean leads to back firing which still seems counter intuitive to me.

Visor - Some products help with the anti-fog. IF you plan on riding in this weather alot consider a double thickness visor designed for snowmobiles. They have a different crash cert I think, but it's best to be able to see. The helmets themselves are identicle, it's just that some of the visors are made out of a different material... you'd have to check what was available.

Some helmets have breath deflectors - I've had mixed results with these, but certainly a helmet with is better than without.

I switched to Yamaha snow gloves... works well for keeping the heat in and the wind out.

My other suggestion - heated vest. Go to walmart when the heated seats come on sale (should be soon) - you can get them for ~$10. 12v 34w IIRC. Carefully cut the middle so that you can see in - cut the excess material back until you can get your head through. Wear it as a vest under your jacket... cut off the cigarette lighter adapter and replace it with a 2 prong trailer connector (remember to cover the powered side). Bring the tail down to the battery - voila heated seat. Put in a toggle on/off switch and a voltometer to ensure many trouble free toasty miles. Just keep the revs up if you don't already.

Enjoy fall/winter riding - it's some of the best...

Woot.

 

You guys are sure tougher than me!!!!

Even sunny in AZ winter is park the bike time for me, except on really warm sunny days!!

I guess that's why I dont live up north!!

Personally when the visor fogs up that means it's too cold for riding.
and when the fingers confirm this I just sort of park the ol gal.

That way I just keep on enjoying the ride. (thank God I dont have to rely only on a bike)

They dont call this the White Mountains for nothing, it gets down below 0 like -20 or so at times and when it's really hot in the summer it gets up to 105. (but it's a dry heat)
(some consolation haw?)

 

I have a Scorpion helment, and there's nothing I can do to fog the visor. My glasses might get a touch of fog, but it clears pretty quick.

 

This might seem odd but it works. Shaving cream. Don't ask me why or how it works, but it does. I learned of this from an article at the AMAs website. Just put some on your visor and wipe it off and it's good to go for at least a month. FYI, it also works nicely on bathroom mirrors.


Greg

 

Widder makes electric gloves, handle grips, vests, chaps... the whole enchelada. www.widderca.com . I've used snowmobile gloves for years, work just fine out here (nothing below 45 degrees, sorry).

 

Thanks everyone, for you ideas. I am going to try the shaving cream tomorrow. Keep the ideas coming if you have them. Also, I am still looking for a nice WARM set of gloves so if you have tried any and have opinions your help would be very appreciated.
Steve

 

Well, if you like your current gloves, sometimes just blocking the wind will go a long ways towards keeping them comfy.

These overgloves are on my shopping list for when the weather goes cold:

http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/US/Aer ... 16447.html

PS you can be XJ Spock for halloween! 8O

 

I believe the shaving cream Idea works because of the Isoprophyl alchohol..(did I spell that right)? It apparently displaces+ evaporates moisture with the invisible film it leaves behind. I use a good pair of thinsulate thermal gloves with rubberized palms and finger pads for good grip on the clutch, break and throttle. They do a great job of insulating my hands and fingers when the temps get down there in the 20s and 30s. Woot is exactly right when it comes to cold air affecting your fuel/air mixture. You adjust your pilot screws and jetting, but come spring time you be readjusting them again. I would leave them alone and just make sure bike is warmed up properly. Alittle dry gas in the tank wont hurt either. Once the bike is warmed up good, find a nice road you can open her up on. Your bike is air cooled so the bike should feel a little livlier once warmed up. Another thing you can do is to keep your bike on half choke for about a mile or so when you take off in the morning, then make sure you of course close the choke and you should see a difference. I know I'll be riding till I see Ice/snow in the road. Wish I could ride year round in arizona!

 

Well, we do have a Winslow AZ. but I don't think you'd like it to live there. Even if the song does make it sound good! It's not!

 

Ive heard of it but never have been.Whats so bad about it Hvnbnd? Winslow Maine is actually a small french derived town, sitting right on the edge of the mighty kennebec river. Great folks, one Mcdonalds, and great breakfast pizza!

 

Winslow Az is in the flattest piece of desolation and abomination I have ever had the pleasure of going thru. It's cold as heck in the winter and windyer than anywhere else in the world (I think)
There is very little natural growth there except grasses which are almost always yellow.
The ground is so much clay that you would have to have have 2 green thumbs and 4 green toes to make things grow there.

Can you tell I don't think much of the place?! and all that standin on the corner cra_, well he was only standing there thinking what the HELL am I doing HERE?

FACT: By the way the Eagles had never been to Winslow Az when they 1st started singing that song!!!

Now really the whole high plains desert thing is really pretty nice to someone out there. I suppose someone from the big city would like it for a while.
Did I mention that the wind sometimes blows in excess of 100 mph here in the spring? and if you dont have lots of trees that means the wind is on the ground, that causes great dust storms.

Now to the credit of all those people who live there.... theres no place like home... thank God!!

 

Winslow Az is in the flattest piece of desolation and abomination I have ever had the pleasure of going thru. It's cold as heck in the winter and windyer than anywhere else in the world (I think)
There is very little natural growth there except grasses which are almost always yellow.
The ground is so much clay that you would have to have have 2 green thumbs and 4 green toes to make things grow there.

Can you tell I don't think much of the place?! and all that standin on the corner cra_, well he was only standing there thinking what the HELL am I doing HERE?

FACT: By the way the Eagles had never been to Winslow Az when they 1st started singing that song!!!

Now really the whole high plains desert thing is really pretty nice to someone out there. I suppose someone from the big city would like it for a while.
Did I mention that the wind sometimes blows in excess of 100 mph here in the spring? and if you dont have lots of trees that means the wind is on the ground, that causes great dust storms.

Now to the credit of all those people who live there.... theres no place like home... thank God!!

 

I've never had any desire to see Winslow, AZ, due to that song. If they were that shocked to see just one female in the town, it doesn't sound like a really happening place...

 

Not sure if any of this works on the visor .... but SCUBA divers either spit in their mask, rub it around, and rinse to keep them from fogging, or they use a few drops of dishwashing soap mixed in a cup of water, rub that around, and rinse. They only have to prevent fog for 45 minutes to an hour though, as their tanks run out of air.

The shaving cream I'd try on an old visor or something - some creams could contain chemicals that would permanently fog the visor from a chemical reaction - remember the old days when you put shaving cream on a car to ruin the paint job?

My visor fogs on my full face helmet, but I open it just a crack, and that prevents it without freezing my entire face. Wonder what would happen if you drilled two small holes, one on either side, down low, out of vision range? Maybe that would let air in to clear fog without freezing your face.

 

I had occasion to have some ride time last night (28 deg f).
You folks are right!!! My bike had so much better performance!!

Trust me my bike like many others on this site idles without a hand on the throttle at a stop sign.
I can also start my bike without a need for a choke (even stone cold), I've never had to use the choke.

I guess I might have to start figuring out some of those anti fog ideas, my 3/4 helmet with face shild was might cold at 65 mph + 20Deg F

JazzMoose, please dont get me wrong I like the song and the Eagles, it's just that there are some places I'd never want to live (or enjoy visiting)
but then never say never, Ya know what I mean.

I am sure I would like to visit Winslow, was it Maine?
Seems like such a cool state, lobster and all.

 

plenty of "lobstah" up here hvnbound! I'll save one for ya

 

I think you guys just need to go out and buy a big can of "Toughen UP"

:lol:

Reminds me, I must go out and buy a new bike jacket with some air vents in it. Starting to cook in my 3mm leather jacket lately. :twisted:

28 f ...........Coincidentaly it was nearly 28 Celcuis here yesterday.


I know, I'm evil rubbing it in and I know I shouldn't................ So I think I better just go for a ride before I get in trouble.

 

He he he, HG, I don't think it is Toughen Up so much as it is Motrin for the aches and pains!

 

I told you I'm a woos (not to be confused with a woot) when it comes to riding in the cold!

Older age has brought on my better sense

 

OK - I got to ride this AM - it was 32 here in NC - I have leather gloves, but they obviously aren't much good below 40, as my hands got so cold and hurt so bad by the time I had rode 18 miles that I thought I was going to lose them! And I'm not exactly a woos - I grew up in cold windy snowy winters in eastern PA snowmobiling my ass off as a kid. So I definitely have to get thicker insulated gloves. The rest of me was fine with leather jacket, chaps, and small triangular leather neck collar.

Haven't tried drilling the holes in the face shield yet - maybe get to that this weekend. This morning I think it was just too cold to fog up any lol.

 

I just started a new job -- I have to be there at 5am, and it's 30 miles away. I bought a full face "bank robber" mask this afternoon. I'm going to wear some rubber gloves over my leather gloves for now, but need to get some cold weather ones.

Heated grips are on list for the first paycheck.

This might suck enough that I'll look for a closer job w/ better hours once I have some $$$ in the bank.

 

Ok, left the house at just after 4am Friday, with latex gloves over the leather.

It didn't help a bit. My hands got so cold that I still had red patchs on the back of my hands until this morning. I checked the shops around here, but no decent gloves in stock.

I've found some insulated general purpose cold-weather gloves that fit over my crash gloves. Going to try that in the morning. If that doesn't help, I think I might have to look for a job with better hours. :?

 

Widder makes nice gloves that are electrically heated. I also use snowmobile gloves with great sucess. Sure hope you don't have to go looking for employment, it's not a very open market, at least not right now or right here.

 

I've used the yellow Rubber dishwashing gloves with some success. Over insulated work gloves.

 

This is my first winter riding. It's not that cold here yet (somewhere in the 50s this morning, or around 12 this morning for you centipede types ); so far the jacket and gloves work great. But no one told me that the riding position on a motorcycle funnels the wind right into your crotch. Man, the boys were cold!!!

 

I'll be anxious to hear about any gloves that work well in the cold and rain. I have been using lined isotoner leather gloves (insert OJ joke here). I have a 25 mile ride at highway speeds in a variety of pleasant weather. Just this week we had low 20's a couple days, and about 1.5 inches of rain today. They keep my hands functional, but can't say they stay toastie.

I haven't had much luck with anti-foggers either. In my 25 mile ride, there are two areas that are considerably colder than everywhere else. When I leave those areas, the temperature difference is enough that even my mirrors fog at 60mph! I've just had to suffer by taking some rain to the face just so I could see. I might have to look into the snowmobile helmet idea.

Sorry 'bout your "boys" jazzmoose! I can also relate to that as I have found that my jacket also funnels water to the crotch area. Lucky for me, my "waterproof" pants also allow some water to seep in at the crotch. It's really rewarding to shown up to work looking like I wet my pants!

I think I will also try the "robber mask" idea. I found that my chin gets rediculously cold when it's below freezing even with my shield down and vents closed. Have people tried those fleece neck gaiter things for riding? They seem like they would work well,.

I guess I'm done rambling......on the computer anyway.

 

Well, I've solved the cold hands from the morning ride problem. I quit that job!

Now to find something closer to home. :?

 

a drop of dishwahsing soap on a damp paper towel, rub it in real good and let it dry
thank the paintball guys for that one

 

Ya know, I'm no expert here but what about RainX.

I've used it in my goggles at work and it does help.

just my .02

 

Personally, when it gets real bone-chillin' cold ... I park the bike and take the Buick. I'm too damn old to be hard-core; anymore.

But, the kid from down the street had the whole nine-yards of riding gear to go along with his plastic-wrapped bike. He rides when the conditions are adverse or suicidal. (Like soon after a windy and rainy morning that greases the roads with a coating of wet leaves.)

He showed me his "Anti-faceshield-fog" invention. Silly-looking, but ... undoubetedly effective!

He's got a shortened-down, rubber, snorkle and a bandana in his jacket pocket.

When he takes-off in the morning ... he breathes through the snorkle he bandana'a around his neck, sticking-out from beneath the rear of his helmet. I told him to make one that clips on the helmet and get a Patent.

"I just might do that" he said!

 

I'm with you Rick. Age HAS slowed me down in the cold weather.

This evening, the wife and I went out to dinner on the bike........ COLD!!!!

I'm sticking to sunny days for a while if I just have to ride!
Such was the case at dinner tonight.

 

Do not get the one that has real or fake sheepskin on the innerside, or the ones that seem to have a nice soft lining. I've tried both, and they itch and tickle so badly that it drives you insane! I now have a leather outer/satin lined one and although it doesn't look as cozy as the others, it functions much better without the constant itching and tickling.

 

If you want good cold winter riding gloves, look for a thinsulate insulated glove that is 40grams or more of insulation. Ive ridden in 20 degree weather with these and my hands were fine. Just make sure they dont get wet cuz that'll change the results immediatly. As far as the fogging issue, Rain-x does make an anti fogging solution which works great in cars, but have yet to try on my helmet. When I exhale when riding in the cold, I usually point my breath downwards towards the vent and lower chinbar and that works pretty good for me. I still plan on riding thru November on my bike or even longer if the roads stay bare. As soon as they start to salt, I'm putting it away!

 

I do use rain-x products on my helmet (anti-fog inside, rain-x outside). It does work failrly well, but I do have to apply it more often than I would like. It seems like if conditions are such that either is necessary (heavy rain or really humid cold), I have to re-apply every couple days. I guess it's a pretty small price to pay for being able to see, but would be nice to have something last for a while.

I did try dish soap as an anti-fogger, but found that it was hard to get it wiped enough to be clear without distortion. I also found that the soap allowed larger beads to form ; so instead of a thin foggy film, I had sections that collected larger droplets which was almost more distracting since it refracted light differently, and was not uniform. I have not tried the shaving cream idea, but do worry that it might harm the plastic.

I do recommend rain-x on the exterior. It really does help bead and shed the water better than without it. As I'm riding, I just turn my head each direction for a few seconds, and the wind is enough to clear most of the water.

 

For a fogging visor, I just crack it a hair like someone else suggested and it stays right clear. Also, breathing through your nose (air travels down) as opposed to your mouth (air travels into visor) seems to help a bit as well.

I saw a suggestion about drilling the visor - sounds like a bad idea. I'm sure it would compromise the structural integrity of the helmet (I know, sounds like Star Trek).

Rob

 

Well, my visor on my full face helmet broke at the swivel - so I had to get a new one - I'm going to tape the old one, drill some 1/8 inch holes in the nose area, and see what happens when you try to drill the plastic.

How would drilling the plastic shield compromise the helmet? I thought it's only intenmtion was to prtect from wind, rain, bugs, and maybe small rocks/sand etc.

 

Fog City makes a fog shiled that goes on the inside of your visor, that works. I put one on mine about 2 yrs ago, and havent had it fog yet, thru rain or these chilly (ok cold) november mornings. I may have to scrape the frost off my seat, but my visor doesnt fog up. Think it was about 20 bucks at dennis kirk or somewhere like that.

 

I'm fairly certain that the shields are meant to be shatter proof in the event you land on your face. If you drill holes you are creating weak points that could cause the visor to break and create a shard that could end up in your face or eyes.

I wouldn't underestimate the safety considerations placed on the visor but that's just my 2 cents.

Rob

 

Actually, there is another way to stop the fogging on your visor. There are already helmet with built-in anti-fog visor that is distributed word wide. But if you can't afford it, there are also anti-fog visor insert in the market. Mine, I used WeePro anti-fog visor insert. So far, it proven itself very effective against fogging. Even if I breath on it, it never fog at all.

 

Hvnbnd, I'm no xj expert, but starting a petrol (ok gas) engine without extra fuel would indicate a rich idle mix?
No big deal on its own, but over time might add to bore and ring wear?

 

Maine "can't get there from here" first time I heard someone say that I busted a gut.
ask someone from maine ,Lived in maine all your life? reply Not yet

cold air is denser makes for better motor running.
you need to adjust your idle for the weather you ride in you should not have to hold throttle on at a stop sign.

fogging get a thin ski mask not a knit type just over the tip of your nose no fog.

I Ride in the White Mountains of NH never see much over 95 degrees in summer and that is rare, winter time -10 -20 is the norm