What temperature do you put the bike away for the winter?

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hondaror
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What temperature do you put the bike away for the winter?

#1 Post by hondaror » Tue Oct 03, 2017 11:18 pm

I just rode my RZ from my garage near downtown Calgary to my girlfriends house 20 minutes away, about 15 miles. The temp outside was 2 centigrade, about 39 1/2 degrees faranheit. In the great white north, you need warm riding gear for the winter. Oxford gloves and my trusty Teknic jacket kept me warm without the aid of heated gear. Heated gear is for Pansy's.
My van blew a heater core hose so I will ride into work the next couple of days. Waiting for parts from afar.
The big challenges are braking distances as they have grown dramatically with the cold weather, the tires don't work well at all. Don't hit the ice patches on all the bridges, tons of them. It is fun, and holy $h!t the thing flies with the cold air.
Last edited by hondaror on Wed Oct 04, 2017 10:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What temperature do you put the bike away for the winter

#2 Post by Zedixe13 » Wed Oct 04, 2017 4:13 am

I used to watch the weather forecast , waiting for the first snow fall before storing my bike . Now I have to admit , my bikes don't see a lot of action past October .

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Re: What temperature do you put the bike away for the winter

#3 Post by T.RexRacing » Wed Oct 04, 2017 8:28 am

When there's enough snow I can't get up from the garage. It's not about temperature for me. Basically when the ice on the road stays frozen for days. The RZ no longer sees winter duty but the Harley and Tuono do. I wear an Aerostich Darien with heated accessories. I find riding in cold weather exhilarating. I've ridden over the Chesapeake bay bridge when the Chesapeake Bay was frozen over. 1977...maybe 1978 cannot remember. It was 14* Fahrenheit. No heated gear then it was snowmobile suits. Motorcycles were my only transport for many years. You end up with a network of people to catch rides with when it's too cold/icy/snowing to ride. I lived in a city then so it was easier.
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Re: What temperature do you put the bike away for the winter

#4 Post by 2smoke » Wed Oct 04, 2017 10:55 am

Been riding the LC into work this week. Heading home at 11PM its been chilly. Around 12 degrees C. A big part of the ride home is on the highway and the LC has no wind protection(fairing).
10 degrees C is my cutoff. I just don't enjoy riding in the cold. Crying eyes, running nose, stiff hands. Forget it. Lol.
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Re: What temperature do you put the bike away for the winter

#5 Post by two-stroke-brit » Wed Oct 04, 2017 1:54 pm

I think i read that the wind chill effect works out to 3 degrees per 10 mph . so at about 45mph at an ambient temp of 45F it chills down to around 32 (freezing point) .
55 degrees F is my cut off.
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Re: What temperature do you put the bike away for the winter

#6 Post by MK » Wed Oct 04, 2017 4:01 pm

When I was younger and prettier than today I rode 365 days a year.
Incl. ice rain, lotsa snow or -20 deg C (that was the winter 1986/87)

Meanwhile I got slightly older which still involves riding the whole year, just only when it's dry and half way sunny. The last couple of winters that meant some -4 to 5 deg C, but after a few weeks of abstinence even half an hour on the bike is a relief.
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Nice story when doing the mapping for my EFI RD: On a rather cold day I deliberately put the bike in front of the garage to let it cool out throughly. Started on first or second kick at -8 deg C but didn't feel the need for a ride though :-)
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Re: What temperature do you put the bike away for the winter

#7 Post by RuZty » Wed Oct 04, 2017 8:51 pm

I generally stop riding once they have put salt on the roads, and don't start again until after a couple of good rainfalls in the spring to wash it all away. Temp wise I used to ride down to low single digits but now I can go for all day rides whenever I want I generally don't bother if it's much into single digits (deg. C) unless it will warm up for the rest of the ride. Agreed, it sure does run good with the heavy air, although starting much below zero gets hard and that's all the hint I need.

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Re: What temperature do you put the bike away for the winter

#8 Post by hondaror » Thu Oct 05, 2017 12:54 am

I didn't realize there were so many die hards out there. In the 80s I rode year round in Toronto for two complete winters. I was a student at the time. Missed riding about 6 days in that 2 1/2 years, snow dumps/blizzards. Crashed once on black ice. It sucks to watch your bike spinning and sparking at 50 mph, while you roll off the highway to avoid being hit by the car behind you. Ruined my wiring harness with all the salt. I then rewired the bike on my own. Lost amazing amount of weight eliminating the useless wires.
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Re: What temperature do you put the bike away for the winter

#9 Post by T.RexRacing » Thu Oct 05, 2017 8:38 am

Well I don't have to endure Canoodian winters either. 'Tis a bit milder around here. The frozen bay incident is a once or twice a century occurrence. Like I said when the ice stays for more than a day or two I'll leave 'em in the garage. Forgot to add I have to ride ear round on other people's bikes all the time. Try being in the dyno room with two 7000 CFM fans venting from outside on a nice January morning.

And I do cheat with technology these days. it's not hardcore when you're all toasty warm from the electric gear now is it? Hard part is keeping the glasses from fogging up.

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Re: What temperature do you put the bike away for the winter

#10 Post by hondaror » Thu Oct 05, 2017 11:44 pm

Try washing your glasses with dish soap and rinsing with hot water. Really helps.
Rory
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Re: What temperature do you put the bike away for the winter

#11 Post by T.RexRacing » Fri Oct 06, 2017 8:28 am

Thanks but the Scott's Cloth is surprisingly effective. Discovered it when I lived in Utah and skied a lot.
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Re: What temperature do you put the bike away for the winter

#12 Post by MK » Fri Oct 06, 2017 11:46 am

I first read Scott Clough and wondered what he had to do with it :-)
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Re: What temperature do you put the bike away for the winter

#13 Post by RuZty » Fri Oct 06, 2017 7:06 pm

T.RexRacing wrote:Thanks but the Scott's Cloth is surprisingly effective. Discovered it when I lived in Utah and skied a lot.
Ditto, always use them once the temp drops.

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Re: What temperature do you put the bike away for the winter

#14 Post by T.RexRacing » Fri Oct 06, 2017 10:42 pm

I've not had the pleasure of Scott Clough work. It could happen ya never know.
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Re: What temperature do you put the bike away for the winter

#15 Post by OldTZracer » Sat Oct 07, 2017 10:56 pm

My bikes don't care, but my old knees don't work very well much below 10 degrees C...
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