Brrrr... It's cool out here

[Anonymous]

Hello all you fellow GSers;
Since most of the Northeast is experiencing its first real big chill these days, i thought it would be a good time to ask this question;

What was the coldest (deg F or Cel) you ever road your bike ??

I'll start this off,
It was 28F on my way to work. I had already made the commitment , when I walked outside, mounted my 850, and thought...D@mn it's cold out here.
I lost most feeling in my fingers about halfway to work, but I dredged onward. The fairing saved me somewhat, but I don't even wanna know what the "wind-chill factor" might have been.

What is your story? We'd like to know.

Regards...Sebby

[robinjo]

The coldest ride I ever did was a few winters ago at 3 AM, temp was around 14 degrees fahrenheit. During the 55 mile trip I had to stop several times because my visor was icing up on the inside. But atleast it was dry...unlike another ride back to home again in the middle of the night when there was about 4 to 5 inches of snow when I left and it didn't stop snowing during the whole trip wich took 2 hours to travel 15 miles. Good thing I rode a 350 back then that I could keep upright by keeping my feet on the ground when it started to slide.

[saaz]

On short trips I have ridden in temps down to -10c, no snow just cold. Longer trips (900km)around the 0c mark, but I did have a full sports style fairing and heated handlebar grips! Before that I nearly froze....

[earlfor]

I made a 1000 mile run in nonstop rain once with the temps 30-32F. My jacket and clothes were frozen rigid like a suit of armor. :-) It wasnt by choice, I didnt own a car at that point in my life. heh

Earl

[Dink]

I used to ride to work at -7C all winter I started at 5:30am 8O , nowadays we are feeling the chill when temps go below 20
Dink

[Anonymous]

When I lived in Chicaco((27 years old)), I rode all year round. I was able to keep my bike in a heated garage which made getting going a lot easier. I never hesitated to take my weekend rides out of town in Zero degreeF weather. Engineer boots. Denims over denim pants. Insulated somethings under my Marlon Brando Jacket and heavy gauntlet gloves. Of course the Beemer jug location helped and a poper pillion never hurt.

[Anonymous]

Yea Folks. We were a lot bolder in our youth :?
Filled with fire, P!ss and vinegar.
Nowadays... 8O YIKES !! " the needle is pointing where ???"
It's usually the extremeties (hands,thumbs especially, and feet) that get affected first and worst.
Also, getting to your bike, after a long day workin, and just not havin enough juice to crank it 'cause its been sittin in the cold :x :twisted:

Any home made remedies to keep the extremeties cumfy?? :P
Electric grips, vests and boots not withstanding.

[Mastiff]

I'm with Scotty on this one. When I first got to Chicago my only transportation was a motorcycle (an old Honda, which I then upgraded to a BMW R69S. I would ride in any weater except ice storms. I think zero degrees Farenheit is about right. I am now surprised that I didn't freeze to death, since I pretty much wore the same thing as Scotty. That was from 1970 till around 1977, when I got married and got a cage.

[Anonymous]

I know it's not a GS but my first bike was a Yam XS400. I lived in NY City and rode year round from the Lower East Side to Greenpoint, Brooklyn nearly every day.

The coldest ride was from Nassau County, NY, to Kutstown, PA, in 25F weather. Not having 'riding gear' I wore thermal underwear, jeans, overalls, two pairs of socks, scarf, two sweatshirts, scarf, and two layers of gloves.

'Drafting' tractor trailers worked. That coupled with wrapping my legs around the engine while trying to avoid getting shocked from the plug wires.

I still ride year round but Florida is a lot more rider friendly...

[mdole]

For me it's a toss up between riding back from Milwaukee to North Chicago when I was stationed in Great Lakes or when I moved to Colorado in December of 1968.

I was riding an old 1966 Yamaha 250 Big Bear with a friend on a Kawasaki Mach III. We got caught in a storm an held up for a day in Raton, New Mexico and then an ice storm in Pueblo. I don't remember the temperatures but I can remember the loss of feeling in my hands and legs and stopping to warm up in every rest area we saw.

Mike

[Anonymous]

ALFRED E. DOLE

WHAT ME WORRY ABOUT THE COLD?????

[mdole]

ALFRED E. DOLE

WHAT ME WORRY ABOUT THE COLD?????

If you don't know how cold it is you don't need to worry.

Mike

[Anonymous]

25 years ago, when I was in university, I rode all year. It gets cold here in Toronto, & I never had (or could afford) proper riding gear. Ski jackets, work boots, jeans; nothing actually waterproof. I was studying at the library one evening, I came out and there was 6" of snow on the ground & it was comin' down hard, well below freezing, but I had to get home to the suburbs. Well, I made it all the way to my parents' neighbourhood. As soon as I pulled off the main streeet, BAM, my bike slid out from under me & I was on my ass on the ground, with the bike still sliding, on its side, along the ice-covered road. I ended up chasing it hoping a car wasn't coming in the opposite direction. I pushed it home the remaining mile or so, & haven't ridden in the winter since. That black ice scares me nad I have a kid, so I take no chances!

[Hoomgar]

I too used to ride year round as my bike was my only means of transportation. In the second winter I rode without enough protection on a rainy day to and from work and came down with the grip. Never heard of it before but once you have it you never forget it. It is comparible in pain to menengitis but only for the intestines. the doctor said it can be fatal if not taken care of and treated. I got better. But if I let cold air hit my lower back now I instantly have problems.

Always bundle up right! It is worth the time.

[Anonymous]

Paying the dues.....

Me also.....as my sole transportation, fortunately I lived a scant two miles or so to work. Around 1992 or so the temp dropped to the high teens for a week straight.
So I bundled up in a one-piece cold weather suit & wrapped a scarf to cover up the whole neck area.......down the road a while and the scarf opened up a small patch of straight air.......BURN.!!!! make a beeline for the side of the road to realigne my scarf & off I went.(79 unfaired GS1000)
Rick.......