BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Here's a riders' group I discovered this morning. Seem like some like-minded folks:

http://www.yearroundriders.com/

Well, I rode to work today. It was 36 degrees when I left the house. That makes me a "half-rounder" by this group's scale.

I told another rider at work that it was ALMOST cold enough to put the liner back in my jacket and wear the overpants (w/o liner) to cover my jeans.

But then, It's only an 18 mile commute. And I did put the grip heater on high.

By their definition, I'm a full rounder. Coldest I've ridden in was 17 deg. F for two hours, and the hottest was 102 deg. F for five. I'm too lazy to prep my bikes to store for the winter, so I ride instead

Honestly, what determines whether I ride in cold weather is precip. I've carefully ridden home with a half inch of snow on the ground. It wasn't anything I'd call fun, and I was glad to make it without incident. It was the begining of a surprise snow shower that wound up putting an inch of snow on the ground. From mid-November to late March, I usually ride during warmer, sunnier days usually somewhere in the 30s or low 40s.

Fuel injection definitely helps for cold weather performance. My Suzuki with its carburetor doesn't run very well below 20 deg. I usually have to have the choke engaged a little. The Roadster and Harley with FI run fine, but shifter balks a bit until the transmission has had a chance to warm up.

Interesting to note that organizations like this consist mainly of BMW riders. It's not unusual for me to ride in the winter months and not see a single bike on the road other than me for hours. People look at me like I'm nuts when I'm gassing up or parked somewhere to eat. I get a smug feeling thinking "Yup, that's what you buy a BMW for - riding, not posing."

Until I retired a couple of years ago, I rode to work every day, rain or shine, in DC traffic for 30 years! The only time I didn't take the bike was when there was ice or snow. Even so, I have gotten caught in some doozy unexpected snow storms. The temperature is not really the limiting factor if you have the proper gear. Traction is.

I only have a 5 mile commute to work so I did the 26 degree's on Monday and the 35 degree's on Tuesday. I don't have my handguards yet so I rode the Honda on Monday. It takes a little while for those heated grips to work effectively on the R....usually about half way to work for me. I have decent gloves, Power Trip Dakota's, but without wind protection, it's only a matter of time before the fingers go numb heated grips or not. I really don't think it's safe riding at that point...obviously. You guys that have a 10+ mile commute to work at temps below 40, DANG!, I admire your zeal for the motorcycling experience The thing that gives me fits is adjusting for the warmer temps on the ride home.

Allan, thanks for the link! I was curious to see the tips they had on cold weather gear riding in the sub-freezing temps.