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Ghosty Tracer 900


ghostrider1127

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On 10/27/2019 at 12:30 AM, Wintersdark said:

...I spend a lot of time riding at -10c to -20c, and random slushy bits...

Man... not gonna ask why, 'cause you must have your reasons... but how? Anything is doable with the right prep and attitude I suppose, but at -20C... yikes. Windchill aside... road conditions (and woody rubber) have to suck. Kudos to you.

We don't experience Calgary winters in the GTA, but the temps do dive to -20C for about a week or so in February (-10C is pretty routine). Conditions just feel wrong for motorcycle riding. Good time to wrench and plan rides. 😋

Don't want to hijack the thread... maybe a new one is in order to talk cold weather riding.

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1 hour ago, piotrek said:

Man... not gonna ask why, 'cause you must have your reasons... but how? Anything is doable with the right prep and attitude I suppose, but at -20C... yikes. Windchill aside... road conditions (and woody rubber) have to suck. Kudos to you.

We don't experience Calgary winters in the GTA, but the temps do dive to -20C for about a week or so in February (-10C is pretty routine). Conditions just feel wrong for motorcycle riding. Good time to wrench and plan rides. 😋

Don't want to hijack the thread... maybe a new one is in order to talk cold weather riding.

Heh heated helmet, jacket liner, riding pants.  Heated grips, of course.  One of those stretchy neck cover things, too, to prevent tiny bits of exposed neck.  With heated gear and no exposed skin, you're warm and toasty.

I've previously always run good rain tires, because part of their design is decent low temp grip.  Pilot Road's are definitely decent.  Still, when your tires are <0c, grip is not good.  You need to keep that in mind until they warm up, but they will.  Even at -20c, they'll end up nice and warm in a few km's.  I've just ordered a pair of the Anlas Winter Grip Plus tires noted in the OP(actually winter rated tires!), so I'll put together a winter review for them once I've got a good amount of use on them. 

So, decent enough grip, warm and toasty without bulk.  Keep the bike as upright as possible (easy on the corners), do some brake tests at different temps to get a feel for how much less traction you have when cold (I'll just brake hard coming up to a nice stop sign when safe to see where ABS kicks in), and you're good.

Been doing it throughout western Canada for decades.   

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8 minutes ago, Wintersdark said:

Heh heated helmet, jacket liner, riding pants.

Never heard of a heated helmet... please elaborate.

***2015 Candy Red FJ-09***

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3 hours ago, betoney said:

Never heard of a heated helmet... please elaborate.

also known as "snowmobile" helmets...mainly due to the heated face shield... Some are battery operated or use a wired power source...

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10 hours ago, betoney said:

Never heard of a heated helmet... please elaborate.

"Technically" a snowmobile helmet, but in my case it's a GMax MD01S.  This is *exactly* the same helmet as the GMax MD01 motorcycle helmet (part for part identical, including ECE rating), the only difference is that it comes with extra (removable) breath guards and a heated, dual pane faceshield.  Has a multipart wire and connects to the bike just like other heated gear.  Search for "electric face shield" on fortune/revzilla, and you'll find you can get these for a great many helmets - though typically "snowmobile" helmets are cheaper than their otherwise identical motorcycle helmet versions despite having more stuff.  Buying an electric face shield on its own is typically around $100.

A heated face shield will never fog or ice up, and even in *very* cold weather will keep your face nice and warm too.  That's where the cold gets in (helmet foam is an excellent insulator), so heat there keeps your whole head warm.  

In the summer, I just disconnect the wires (simple RCA plugs) and leave them in my bags. 

 

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