Cold Weather Riding in Toronto!

Joined
Nov 14, 2014
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2003 ST1300
Not sure how many of you guys are in the GTA area, but this Winter has been the BEST so far in years!! I was dreading not getting to ride the new ST1300 that I just put in my garage a few weeks ago but it was sunny, and we didn't have any snow on the ground so I went for a nice long ride at -2c !! I really love this bike with the heated handwarmers and tall windscreen. The only thing I have to figure out is this weird "ooooooooooo" sound I get when I am coming to a stop, I think my gas cap may be creating a vacuum and making a funny noise when come to a stop... Other then that it rode like a dream...

2014-12-07.jpg

2003-Honda-ST1300---10.jpg

2003-Honda-ST1300---3.jpg
 
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Wish I had decent weather like that.....are you sure you have a Canadian model? That ooooooo sound should be eheheheh on the Candian ones......:D
 
OP
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Ricochet
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Toronto
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Nice bike. Sounded like a nice day to ride.
You should head on over to the Coldest Ride thread in the Games forum. Your photos indicate you would still place within the top ten today... as long as that photo was taken at least 10 miles (16.1 Km) from start of the ride :)
I have no way to prove it since I didn't need to go fill up gas and get a gas receipt, but 73km in total back to my house for sure! After that ride, I can't believe someone would go riding much colder but I don't have any heated gear... Don't people worry about how their tires work in that temperature? They become hard!
 

T_C

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Don't people worry about how their tires work in that temperature? They become hard!
Sure... so you put on a TPMS that measures the temperature. Within 2 miles my tires come up about 10, a few more miles and they are at operating temperature. For me that is 40 over ambient on the rear, 20~30 over for the front.

Yep, so when it is below freezing don't run the corners quite as hard as when it's warm. But even then they have more then enough traction for safe prudent riding. Same thought process as riding the rain, adjust and continue on.
 

rjs987

Robert
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I have no way to prove it since I didn't need to go fill up gas and get a gas receipt, but 73km in total back to my house for sure! After that ride, I can't believe someone would go riding much colder but I don't have any heated gear... Don't people worry about how their tires work in that temperature? They become hard!
As T_C said on the tire rubbers. Even at well below zero?F the tires do warm up some after a few miles running. Else why is anyone still riding their cages at well below that? (and I know cage tires are a bit more capable to handle the cold, but still...) Just ride more carefully and be safe about it.

We don't need a gas receipt for miles traveled or gallons consumed for the Game. Just your story about how or why you got to where you took the temp reading. Your miles would definitely qualify. Like most games on the forum... it uses the honor system for most of it. We assume you don't just pull the bike out of the garage for the photo but that you actually did what your story tells us and went some distance in the cold breeze and survived to take a photo or two :grin:
Not really a hard thing if you prep for it. Some don't have the gear for it to be doable so I don't recommend anyone riding in cold unless they do have or get the gear. Being prepared for any ride is the most important thing in any weather. Cold, hot, rainy, even snowy. Any ride (smooth road, rough road, Rocky Road) requires the rider to be prepared.
 
OP
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Ricochet
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Toronto
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As T_C said on the tire rubbers. Even at well below zero?F the tires do warm up some after a few miles running. Else why is anyone still riding their cages at well below that? (and I know cage tires are a bit more capable to handle the cold, but still...) Just ride more carefully and be safe about it.

We don't need a gas receipt for miles traveled or gallons consumed for the Game. Just your story about how or why you got to where you took the temp reading. Your miles would definitely qualify. Like most games on the forum... it uses the honor system for most of it. We assume you don't just pull the bike out of the garage for the photo but that you actually did what your story tells us and went some distance in the cold breeze and survived to take a photo or two :grin:
Not really a hard thing if you prep for it. Some don't have the gear for it to be doable so I don't recommend anyone riding in cold unless they do have or get the gear. Being prepared for any ride is the most important thing in any weather. Cold, hot, rainy, even snowy. Any ride (smooth road, rough road, Rocky Road) requires the rider to be prepared.
Alright! I'll apply for the cold riding weather game! :D
BTW where I live, we deal with the cold weather by putting on winter tires on our cars... anything else and your asking for trouble, summer tires or even all seasons just don't handle snow/slush/ice at all... definitely helps to have winter tires. Ask me how I know... lol. A few years ago I got a car with regular tires and I was just doing a mild 30kph and went around the most mildest of turns, the car kept going straight, even though my tires werent... that was a bad day.
 
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There are, of course, many good reasons to move from Trawna to Vancouver Island. I didn't know it so many years ago, long before I started riding, but one of those very good reasons is: YOU CAN RIDE A MOTORCYCLE ON DECEMBER 7 AT 10 CELCIUS - just like I did yesterday! By sheer good fortune, I was insured to Dec. 7 and we got a lucky weather day - warm(ish) and dry.
 

rjs987

Robert
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I'm sorry, I didn't mean to twist your arm :) I was just answering to comments about riding in cold.

I do know a little about having the right tires for the road conditions on my cage. It's one reason I refuse to ride the bike when the pavement is not clear and bare. One of my personal requirements is that the pavement must be clear and dry anytime temps come close to freezing. I consult many weather web sites during this season to check on pavement temps as well as air temps in addition to the forecast. The forecast is often taken with a grain of salt (leaving plenty to put on the road :) ) since we all know just how accurate weather forecasting is. Even a few degrees above freezing can result in ice on the road if the pavement temp is at or below freezing. Just another of those things to be aware of when riding in cold. We are fortunate that the local DOT has sensors in the pavement and bridge decks on major roadways here that provide that information. And the area agriculture web sites provide soil temps over recent days also.
 
OP
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Ricochet
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There are, of course, many good reasons to move from Trawna to Vancouver Island. I didn't know it so many years ago, long before I started riding, but one of those very good reasons is: YOU CAN RIDE A MOTORCYCLE ON DECEMBER 7 AT 10 CELCIUS - just like I did yesterday! By sheer good fortune, I was insured to Dec. 7 and we got a lucky weather day - warm(ish) and dry.

I was actually talking with my wife just this weekend talking about moving to BC... but we have a lot of concerns regarding where we can work / live .. we have a lot of research to do, but I can definitely see living in BC being a lot nicer then in Ontario for sure for a few reasons.. Maybe you can answer some questions for me sometime! :bow1:
 
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As T_C said on the tire rubbers. Even at well below zero?F the tires do warm up some after a few miles running. Else why is anyone still riding their cages at well below that? (and I know cage tires are a bit more capable to handle the cold, but still...) Just ride more carefully and be safe about it.
Just watch out when you get to the extremely cold stuff. This photo was taken of my front tire a few days after I got my -14f reading, having left home at -19f. It was a very rough road though. Funny...that tire was still holding air, and in fact the evening before I took that photo I took a ride at a spirited pace. I felt kind of sick knowing that once I saw the condition of the tire!

 

CYYJ

Michael
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There are, of course, many good reasons to move from Trawna to Vancouver Island.
Yeah, it is true that it is milder there, but it rains all the time in the winter. Riding in 10?C weather (50?F) is fine on a sunny day, but not when it's raining. Not to mention that you are stuck on an island, and there's really only one road that runs north/south on that island to ride if you want to get out of town.

I just moved (back) to Toronto after 6 years in Sidney, BC, which is a little village near Victoria airport. It was a pleasant enough place to live, but for sure the whole island is a retirement community. There were no car dealers in my village, but there were 3 different electric scooter (mobility scooter) dealerships on the main street. Ironically, I retired and then moved out, to Toronto.

Michael
 
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There are, of course, many good reasons to move from Trawna to Vancouver Island. I didn't know it so many years ago, long before I started riding, but one of those very good reasons is: YOU CAN RIDE A MOTORCYCLE ON DECEMBER 7 AT 10 CELCIUS - just like I did yesterday! By sheer good fortune, I was insured to Dec. 7 and we got a lucky weather day - warm(ish) and dry.
:) :yes:
 

rjs987

Robert
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Just watch out when you get to the extremely cold stuff. This photo was taken of my front tire a few days after I got my -14f reading, having left home at -19f. It was a very rough road though. Funny...that tire was still holding air, and in fact the evening before I took that photo I took a ride at a spirited pace. I felt kind of sick knowing that once I saw the condition of the tire!
I would suspect a lot more than just cold air for that! Looks like maybe an impact spot in the middle. What brand/model tires are those?
I had Avons for a while, until they split open on me in the early fall one year (was still warm too). But those were known for that issue. Now those are on my black list. I inspect my tires regularly, as we all should. Never had anything close to that show up in the last 10 years of riding in near zero*F and below zero*F temps.
 

T_C

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I can't see the pictures... but Jim was running the BT-045 rear on the front of his bike (if that is the tire from last year that was cracking and Bridgestone ignored him).
 
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Ricochet, I moved from Toronto to Vancouver in Dec. 2012. love it here. Rode last Sunday at 50F under sunny sky. Yes there is a lot of rain, there is also a lot of nice day. One big different compared to Toronto riding is that there are a lot of hills and mountains here. Really test ones riding skill. Think Forks of Credit every time out.
Kenny
 

ReSTored

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I've done about 450km on back roads over 7 hours in heated gear at about 2 - 3 C. Warm as toast, but at those temps you really don't want to be taking corners aggressively IMHO.

Similar ride a season or so ago got caught in a minor snow squall on Highway 11/400 south coming back to Toronto from cottage county. Wasn't sticking to the road (the snow...) so I kept going. I'm sure the people in the other vehicles thought I was crazy. Again, warm as toast in heated gear.

I stop riding when the salt and brine gets spread on the roads.
 

CYYJ

Michael
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Maybe no riding in Toronto today. (Front fender is missing because the studded tires won't clear the fender... :) )

 
OP
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Ricochet
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Definitely no riding in Toronto today! It took 2 hours to commute 16km to my office! BLLLLAARGGHHH
 
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