How cold is too cold to ride?

T_C said:

Yep.. works darn good for non-fogging, and when getting into single digits, below the freezing point inside the helmet, stops the icing too.

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on the pinlock keeping the fog and ice from building up on the visor, But don't use the sun shade or take care about wearing glasses since those aren't included in the pinlock protection
Been at my coldest ride with pinlock and no fogging or icing. But I also still use a snorkel to keep my glasses and sun shade clear. If I didn't have to wear glasses I'd be fine at any temp with the pinlock.

mcthorogood said:

I'm wondering if a visor pinlock system would alleviate fogging in cold conditions?

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I have a full-face helment with a Pinlock shield, and it works very well to prevent fogging. But, if I am riding in quite cold weather (near, at, or below freezing), I use a 3/4 helmet with a face shield, not the full face helmet with the Pinlock. This is because I don't like the condensation that builds up elsewhere within the full face helmet when riding in very cold conditions.

Michael

My Dad had this mask like a jet pilot's oxygen mask that he had to wear out in the sub-zero weather. It had a tube that went down into his coveralls and I never did understand how he could breathe through the thing, but maybe something like that would work for the fogging and icing up issues some have with enclosed helmets. I have a Nolan 104 and the pinlock works great. Colder than 10*F and I still get condensation on the lower center part. If I open the visor just a crack the condensation doesn't get bad and I don't get frozen out. It is all in how comfortable you are and what is acceptable. I'm afraid I have more than my fair share of natural and self induced insulation. I don't get cold easily.:

snorkels and masks with tubes work best if you inhale through the nose, getting air from in behind the visor and drawing fresh air in to help defog, then exhale through the mouth/tube/snorkel so no hot moist air goes into the visor area to cause it to fog. Used my snorkel this morning to keep my glasses clear. Visor pinlock works fine for keeping the visor clear. I do notice in much lower temps (teens*F or less) that I have a spot in the top center of the visor that does start to fog just a little. On inspection I found the seal around the pinlock insert has a very small flaw in it that allows a bit of moisture to penetrate there. Not sure yet what I'll do to fix that but it is fixable. The seal is the important part of the pinlock system. May have to adjust the pins to make the insert fit tighter, or replace the insert. But it's not bad enough to worry about yet and since I do use my snorkel for my glasses it also keep that spot under control as well.

rjs987 said:

May have to adjust the pins to make the insert fit tighter, or replace the insert.

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Earlier this fall when it was actually getting cold... I was finding a bit of moisture right in the center bottom under the pinlock. Same thing as you, close inspection revelead a slight gap under the seal at that point. Shifetd the insert up/down a bit to make sure it was sitting as flat as possible and a very slight tweak to the cams and she is doing good now.

Seems that just a little bit of vertical movement on the pinlock in relation to the faceshield can make a bit of gap appear.

If you are serious about riding in the cold, above or below the freezing point, look into a snowmobile helmet. You get two big benefits- a heated shield to keep frost and fog off, and a breath deflector to keep your breath off the shield. A third bonus is that they usually seem to be sealed better than MC helmets and don't have as many cold drafts.

nhdiesel said:

If you are serious about riding in the cold, above or below the freezing point, look into a snowmobile helmet. You get two big benefits- a heated shield to keep frost and fog off, and a breath deflector to keep your breath off the shield. A third bonus is that they usually seem to be sealed better than MC helmets and don't have as many cold drafts.

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Thanks, never knew there was such a thing. How is the shield heated? Any recommendations?

paulcb said:

Thanks, never knew there was such a thing. How is the shield heated? Any recommendations?

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Lots of good options. I would say to hit a snowmobile shop, but I'm guessing there aren't many near you lol. The shield usually has elements near the top and bottom, and plugs in by a coiled power cord. They use an RCA connector just like a stereo. You can get waterproof ones online or for a basic one go to Radio Shack and look for a panel mount one. I use the same jacks to power low power accessories like sat radio, GPS, etc. Much smaller to mount than a full size power outlet for each device.

I found this thread, and although it is some years old, it hasn’t closed so I thought I throw in my two cents.

I live just outside of Chicago and the weather here can vary greatly in what is supposed to be Spring or Summer some colder than usual days and we’ve even had 70 degree days in January. So you never know want could happen once you go "kickstand up".

For the record, the coldest I’ve ever ridden was a 200 mile stretch in the low 40’s due to an unexpected temperature drop. My normal minimum cold is about 54F degrees. Now it’s not the cold itself that limits me, I have heated clothing, etc. but rather the likelihood of being run over.

In the Chicagoland area, awareness of motorcyclist only extends from about late March/early April until about late September. Motorist expect and anticipant that there may be motorcycles and bicycles on the road and take due care not to collide with us during this timeframe. However, after September, there is a general misconception that it is too cold for anyone in their right mind to be out riding in/on anything with less than four wheels and they therefore fail to exercise due care. To be honest, I haven’t researched any specific statistics on this, but just from my personal observations, I have seen more vehicle/motorcycle accidents between September and January, than I normally see during the peak riding season. Noting this phenomenon, I make sure to not be riding my motorcycle after Labor Day.

Sssnake said:

Now it’s not the cold itself that limits me, I have heated clothing, etc. but rather the likelihood of being run over.

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A very good point Sir. We ride at all temps because the riding season is short enough here, but 32F is not unlikely. We need to ride like we are invisible in most places around here, not only because the motorcycle is not expected, but because we are in the running for the worst drivers per capita in Canada. What a claim to fame that is...

I would have been in the below zero club here at -1 a couple years ago, if someone hadn't thrown a hissy fit about someone cheating in the cold ride contest and gotten the whole thread closed down.

But that's not my lowest. -9F has been my lowest, on Jan 10, 1982 (wind chill -37). My brother and I rode maybe 30 miles. Very cold (that was pre heated gear or even very good gear, but we did have full face helmets, Vetter fairings and hippo hands) I can tell you it is hard to breath at that temp.

We rarely get below zero in Cinti so with modern gear, heated jacket liner, heated grips, handlebar muffs, I can ride down as low as it gets here, as long as there isn't ice or accumulating snow on the road.

Check out the Warm N Safe thread we have a 40% of sale on colored waterproof liners and a new line of heated base layer.

I used to ride at work all through the winter and unless there was lying snow we would ride. It wasn't fun. It's amazing the places you can find to put your gloves to warm them up.
Now I'm a 60 plus guy, after all it should be pleasure.
Upt'North.

I road to work today and it was 3c when I left and -0c when I arrived. Thank goodness its only 1/2 hr to work. I'm hopping I'll get another couple of weeks out of this nice Oct. weather. As soon as the region puts the liquid brine on the road that's when I call it quits for me.
Cheers and ride on
L

My concern would be tires. I have read post about tires hitting potholes and cracking. Not covered under warranty because the tire was not warmed up and I have found with t30's and other tires when its cold the tires have less traction and grip. Cold riding when your on a trip is sometimes unavoidable but to go out just to do it isn't a gamble I want to take.

A couple weeks ago. Mornings are cool up in Canada this time of year.

I did a 300 mile ride in the 40's. My grandfather was hospitalized, I couldn't hop a military flight so I did it on my 1970 CB750. No windshield, no heated gear.
My coldest rides have been too and from work, 17 F or so with no ice. This was on my 1978 GL1000's. We've had colder weather but the bikes would not start at 10 f or under. Starters cranked and fuel pumps pumped but no life in the ignition at those temps.
Had my ST1100 for two years now. No teens, no snow accumulation or ice in the Fort Worth area since.

Oldbikefixr said:

We've had colder weather but the bikes would not start at 10 f or under.

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Hmm.. wonder if that is why Honda is happy with temperature readout that only goes down to 14°F???

About the time the coldest ride thread got killed, I rode my ST1100 27 miles to work one morning at 12°F, with a heated liner and gloves. Although I started it in my garage, which was probably ~30°F. I think the lowest I've started it is around 20°F.

ReSTored said:

As the person in Sask. demonstrates you can ride in brutally cold weather, but is it enjoyable or an ordeal. I ride my ST for pleasure, not pain. I also run winter tires on both car and van because at low temps all season rubber looses grip, snow and ice capability aside. I'd assume a bike tire responds the same way. Coldest I've done so far was a 7 hour 450km run on dry back roads April 2012 at about 2 or 3C using heated gloves, jacket and socks. Was warm as toast with a dual Troller.

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Boy, this is an old thread. My previous posts stands as the coldest & longest I rode in cold weather. Earlier today I did about 3 hours with heated jacket and gloves at about 12 -14c. I expect another 3 or 4 weeks this season and I'll shut it down as weather approaches zero and/or gets lousy.