The snowflakes are falling, temperatures are dropping, and your motorcycle is off to the garage to hibernate until spring. Or is it? Just because winter’s here doesn’t mean you and your baby have to stay off the roads for good.
An experienced motorcyclist’s best advice when riding in the winter is “Don’t do it!”. Winter and motorcycles don’t mix well. But for those who either brave mother nature’s white fury or to those who absolutely have to ride in the freezing cold, here are some tips on riding your motorcycle in the winter.
Clothing for the winter
These first tips will give you some advice regarding clothing on your motorcycle during the winter.
Tip 1: Get Proper Winter Motorcycle Clothing
They say there’s no such thing as bad weather, there is just bad clothing! Obviously, riders should wear winter-specific clothing but it doesn’t necessarily have to be motorcycle-specific winter clothing. Not only are motorcycle winter gear expensive, but they’re usually also not enough to keep all of the cold out. Even regular sweatshirts and jackets will have a huge effect on comfort.
Several thin layers will always work better than one thick one. Two to three layers of winter clothing under your regular motorcycle jacket will already work great against the cold. Keeping your core warm is the most important part. That way, your body can pump more warm blood to your arms, legs, and face.
For an outer layer on top of your motorcycle jacket, a waterproof and windproof jacket with a hoodie could work great as the hoodie over your head could prevent snow or water from running down your back.
Tip 2: Use Heated Gear
Heated motorcycle clothing could be a great option but there can be a few drawbacks. Winterized motorcycle gear has to do two things; protect the rider, and keep him/her warm, and riders may have difficulty finding the gear that’s great at doing both. Motorcycle gear that’s both excellent at keeping the rider warm as well as protecting them from impact tends to be on the more expensive side of things.
Your hands are your primary means of control on the bike. Making sure they stay warm and comfortable throughout your ride is your most important concern. Heated gloves are a great run-to option for most, but again, finding a pair that are good at keeping you warm and protected might mean you’d have to spend a little bit more.
Heated vests are a better investment as they keep your torso warm. The torso doesn’t get too much damage in motorcycle incidents so this layer of clothing is only focused primarily on keeping your temperature up.
For the feet, a pair of heated insoles could be a cheaper alternative for expensive heated boots. Heated insoles can turn any pair of motorcycle boots into winter boots in a snap. Your feet are the second most important means of control so making sure they don’t get numb is paramount.
For our fellow riders who don’t mind the step down in impact protection and still want good insulation, the snowmobile gloves market is much cheaper than the motorcycle winter gloves market, but they do have significantly less armoring and impact protection.
Heated gear is incredibly useful during winter rides but some riders are wary of wearing gear that contains wires and electronics. These riders would rather ride with heated handlebar grips and heated seats. Heated grips and seats still do a great job of warming up a rider, and this way, riders can keep using the gear they already have.
Heated grips and seats are also designed with a universal application so they can install to any bike easily. Some heated seats don’t even require you to change out your seats and simply sit on top of your regular seat.
Other riders would even combine all of these (heated gloves, heated vest, heated insoles, heated motorcycle grips, and a heated seat) for an extremely toasty ride.
Tip 3: Cover Your Head and Face
The head and face are also paramount when riding. It’s the most important part of your body that should be kept warm over almost anything else. If your face and body are comfortable, you’ll be more focused during the ride and when riding a motorcycle in the winter, focus is everything.
Keeping your visor clean and fog-free is the best you can do for your vision. Your helmet comes with an anti-fog coating brand new, but after several seasons, it becomes a fog magnet. There are a lot of anti-fog coatings you can buy but a cheap alternative that a lot of riders use on their visors in RainX. A layer of RainX causes water droplets to form into beads, making them slide off your shield easier.
If you don’t have RainX handy and you absolutely need to ride during winter, get some shaving foam or dandruff shampoo! Shaving foam and dandruff shampoo also work great in keeping your helmet fog-free. And yes, it has to be dandruff shampoo because of the cooling properties.
Simply put some shaving foam or dandruff shampoo on a clean visor and spread it evenly. After letting it sit for 5-10 minutes, buff it out with a clean cloth. It’s important that you don’t rinse it with water as the anti-fog properties can wash away. Applying these to both sides of your visor can lead to even better anti-fogging.
Another cheap and reliable tool that thousands of riders utilize against fogging is a pin-lock visor. A yellow pin-lock visor, in particular, can even help with visibility as it increases contrast in the wintery flat light. Almost all helmets nowadays come ready with pin-lock inserts so it’ll be easy finding a winter helmet for you.
Another tip with fog in your helmet is keeping your vents open. Opening the vents on a helmet while riding in the freezing cold may sound counterintuitive, but this will further help your helmet remain fog-free by allowing positive airflow to pass through by letting cool air in and pushing the warm, steamy, fog-inducing air, out.
Prepare your motorcycle
Dressing for the winter isn’t all. You’ll also have to prepare your motorcycle for these conditions. Here are some winter tips for your motorcycle.
Tip 4: Handguards
Preparing for the winter ride doesn’t just start with you, the rider. Other than heated mods on your bike, there are also some mods you can add to your bike to make it more appropriate for riding in the cold.
If your bike is compatible with handguards, install them! This will protect your hands from the cold air and keep them warm longer. Not all bikes are compatible with handguards but if yours is, don’t miss out on this incredibly cheap and useful mod.
If your bike can’t install handguards, you may opt for a windshield. If your bike already has one, get a bigger windshield. This has the same effect as the handguards as it will redirect the cold air away and over the rider. Handguards and windshield may not warm you up, but they’ll help with not getting colder.
Tip 5: Tire pressure
Riding in the winter means your tires will have significantly less traction. This also means that the air inside your tire will change in pressure as the ambient temperature drops. It’s a good idea to check and keep track of your tire’s air pressure before and during your winter ride. The difference in temperature and pressure could have a significant effect on the bike’s handling capabilities as well as its ability to stay planted on the road.
On the road
So you’ve done your homework and you think you’re ready to ride in the ice and snow. You’ve got all your heated gear and your bike’s been modded out to take on the harshest windchills. But before you head out, there are still a few things you should take note of before popping your bike into first gear and heading off.
Tip 6: Don’t ride at temperatures near freezing
Ice forms at temperatures at or near the freezing point. Check your thermometer. If it’s at or near zero, stay at home. Ice sheets could have formed across the road. Even car drivers avoid driving in these temperatures.
Even if the temperature isn’t at zero or if it’s 10°C above freezing, you should still consider not riding. Ice could have formed overnight and may still be on the road, especially in shaded areas.
Tip 7: Slow and steady wins the game
The goal is getting to where you’re going safely and in one piece. Speeding up won’t get you to where you’re going faster. It’ll only increase the chances of accidents. If you’re rushing to get to where you’re going so you can warm-up, then you haven’t prepared your clothing well enough.
If it starts snowing, don’t try to prove anything to yourself. Find the shortest route home with the least amount of traffic. Not only are ice and snow hazards, but cars too!
Tip 8: Short shift
It’s no use getting the revs up to change gears. Short shifting the bike not only saves a bit of fuel but it may add more stability to your ride as it gives you a “tall” gearing feel. The tall gear feel means that your acceleration will be slower but smoother.
Tip 9: Reduce lean angles
Reducing your lean angles mean that more of the tire is gripping the road. More grip means more stability, and more stability means more control. Riders would obviously benefit from more grip, especially in a low grip high-hazard situation as this.
Other tips when riding in the snow
Tip 10: Warm bag
You might not consider your hydration bladder when planning to ride out during winter but this can actually help you keep warm. Fill up your hydration bladder with warm water and keep it inside your jacket near your belly or keep it in your backpack. This will further help to keep your core warmer.
Tip 11: Wash the salt off
Icy roads are usually sprayed with salt to lessen ice sheets but salt is extremely corrosive. If you plan on riding a lot during winter time in salted roads, consider giving your bike a quick rinse after each ride. Alternatively, you can use any protectant to spray over your metal and engine bits, just for a little extra added anti-corrosion.
Tip 12: Numb hands
Temperatures too low for your winter gloves? Find a nice spot to stop and use your bike’s exhaust to warm up! The same can apply for cold legs and feet. If you can reach your engine, give your legs a bit of a stretch and warm them up.
Tip 13: Don’t push yourself to prove anything
The goal is to get to where you want to go and to get back home safely. Always ride at your own pace. A lot of motorcycle accidents happen because a rider was riding outside his/her comfort zone. If you’re riding in a group and your buddies are riding better than you, don’t get intimidated.
It’s your bike and your life. You should choose however way you want to ride. It doesn’t matter if you’re the slowest or if you took the longest to reach your destination. What matters is you reached it safely.
Tip 14: Riding in deep snow
Some of our fellow riders are actually insane enough to want to experience winter in the fullest and take their motorcycles to the snow, either that or they accidentally got into it and are just trying to not get stuck. Regardless of the reason why you’re riding in the snow, here are a few tips.
- Keep the throttle stable – A jumpy throttle will cause the bike to behave irradically and would cause the motorcycle to dig into the snow. Keep your throttle at a constant pace and consider thinking that your bike more of a plough that will get stuck if it stops.
- Don’t touch front brakes, use the clutch and the engine brake – Riding in snow is pretty similar to riding in sand. Pulling the brakes on snow would cause either or both of the tires to dig in and get stuck. If you need to slow down, use the clutch and the engine brake, never the front or rear brakes.
- Straighten up – Keep the bike straight as much as possible. There’s no use leaning in snow. Keeping the bike straight will give you the most control, the best grip, and the most stability.
- Steer with the rear – Use your knees to shift the bike’s weight. Use the rear wheel’s spin to control the bike’s direction of travel. The front bike can easily wash out on deep snow.