Sport Touring Corner By Norm Kern, MSTA Editor / ReasonsToRide.com Contributor
“Should I buy heated grips or heated
Beat the Cold With Heated Clothing Advances As I am writing this column in mid January, it's cloudy and cold with high temperatures in the mid 30s. Parked Motorcycle Syndrome (PMS) has officially arrived. April's better riding weather is about three months away. Is there any hope for riding opportunities before then? Yes.
are a waste of time- your arms need heat as much as your torso!) It is made from moisture wicking fabric with stretch side and back panels to keep it tight against your body for better heat transfer while minimizing bulk. It has seven heat panels including a heated collar that I love and draws 106 watts.
There are always breaks in the weather during wintertemperatures will not be in the 70s but there will be days when you can enjoy a ride if you and your bike are prepared. Bike modifications Most sport touring bikes already have integrated fairings and windshields, but there's always room for improvement. An obvious option is a taller windshield. In October I install the Yamaha Touring windscreen on my FJR, which is four inches taller than stock. The electric control gives a range of up and down motion so I can lower and see over it if it's fogged, and raise it above the top of my helmet when I want to reduce cold air on my face and upper torso. I added hand shields to directly cover the heated handlebar grips, making them doubly effective. The stock fairing lowers do a good job of shielding my legs and feet from the cold air blast. My 650 V Strom has hand shields, heated grips and a taller Madstad windshield for cold weather riding. Dressing for the ride Priority number one- keep your head warm. It loses heat more rapidly than any other part of your body. Wearing a full face helmet, always a good idea for safety, provides essential wind chill protection and insulation that helps conserve body heat. A Pinlock face shield insert is a musthave for avoiding fogging. It enables the face shield to be worn fully closed without fogging up as long as I am moving, a huge advantage for staying warm. Another tip: If you have good distance vision, put your eyeglasses away to get rid of two more surfaces that can fog up. For cold weather riding gear, I start with my all year round LD Comfort long sleeve shirt and tights as a base layer. An electric heated jacket liner comes next. For this Fall and Winter, I bought a new WarmNSafe Generation 3 long sleeve jacket liner. (vests 22
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If the temperature is above 40 degrees, all I need over the heated liner is my Klim Badlands Pro jacket, which has triple layer Gore-Tex and heavy textile shell but no insulated layer whatsoever. The LD Comfort, WarmNSafe, Klim combination is light, comfortable and cozy, making a Winter ride almost as comfortable as Spring or Summer. For colder temperatures, I have an old FirstGear insulated jacket liner to add as a midlayer between the heated liner and the jacket that extends comfort to below freezing. Most riders have trouble keeping their hands warm, and the jacket liner has plugs on the sleeves for heated gloves. Because of the bikes' handshields and heated grips, I can ride with my unlined Lee Parks Sumo gloves which are good down to about 38 degrees where I switch to heavier lined gloves.
My legs and feet are fine down to low 50 degree temperatures, as I wear Revit Factor 4 riding pants over the LD Comfort tights base layer year round. For colder days I got a WarmNSafe Generation THUNDERROADSOHIO.COM
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