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Message started by ThumperPaul on 12/07/24 at 06:03:21

Title: Winter Riding
Post by ThumperPaul on 12/07/24 at 06:03:21

How cold is too cold to ride?

Me - Below 55°. Really it’s below 60°. Glad I only ride for fun and don’t need to ride for actual commuting.

Ride day this week is Monday.

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by MMRanch on 12/07/24 at 07:52:59

Good morning Paul :)

I'm getting ready for a ride now to the next town South of me for a CMAUSA meeting.

Dressed for it includes :

Long sleeve "T-Shirt"
Long Johns
Tall Socks
Heavy button-up shirt
Ski pants
Heated Vest
Coat with the liner in it
Barclay tucked into the neck of the coat and pulled up to my nose
Full Face Helmet
Heated Gloves.

When it gets up to 45 degrees I'll have to turn the heated gear to "OFF" ! ;D
It was 16 degrees F this morning and it's taking a while to warm up out side.

Those folks ridding Snowmobiles are the "Tuff" ones ! ;)

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by ThumperPaul on 12/07/24 at 09:17:14

Hey MM! 8-)

You are definitely a Diehard!! I need to get some heated gloves. I think I could bundle up to handle 45 degrees for a little while with heated gloves.

Here's a little video from 12/23/22. It was in the 40s on this day. Underneath the Santa suit are several layers including a heated vest. Hands got too cold!

My daughter added the Texas ZZ Top music and published it on TicTok. (she didn't get rich)

Rode around and put a smile on a bunch of kids faces (and a few adults too)! Fun short ride.

https://youtube.com/shorts/WJ9vrXy_nNg?feature=share

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by oldNslow on 12/07/24 at 09:29:57

40 degrees is about it for me. Below that it just isn't much fun. I still see a few bikes out on the road around here when the temperature is down into the 30s.

What ends the season here in Western NY is the first snowfall when the salt trucks come out. I don't know what it's like in other places but around here it's almost like a competition between the town highway departments to see how many inches of rock salt they can pile up on top of 1/4'' of snow. :o They even pre-treat roads if there is snow in the forecast even if the roads are bare. It's insane IMO Once that sh*t hits the roads the motorcycles get put up until we get two or three days of steady rain around the middle of April to wash it off.

I even hate driving my car on the roads around here during the winter, and I don't even like my car. >:(

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by ThumperPaul on 12/07/24 at 10:33:57

I hear ya! Salt is awful. I was born in MN, and dad kept us moving south with each job change. Finally hunkered down in TX. When my dad passed away, we found out he had bought like 5 acres of land in Mexico. He wasn't done moving further south.

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by MMRanch on 12/07/24 at 13:14:59

In USA size I wear a XL , in Asian size I wear a XXXL ,

I just ordered one of these to replace my 5 year old vest that is loosing its zipper.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/375753776029?var=644647277705

.................

Their heated gloves are the same way . I order the biggest ones they have even though my USA size is XL.

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by ThumperPaul on 12/07/24 at 14:25:10

I think I have that same vest or very similar.

The sizing for shoes is interesting too. A US-9 is a 43 in China.

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by JOG on 12/07/24 at 16:08:36

The value of the ride has to be more than the hassle of getting dressed for it.
I've ridden with snow on the road, so cold the heat from a car a 100 feet in front of me was appreciated. I've got some pretty good clothes gathered up, and I expect to ride on some pretty Ugglee days. What bugs me is how little They look for us on pretty days.
YaKnow They aren't looking for yon days only a madman would be on a bike.

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by ThumperPaul on 12/08/24 at 05:43:23

7C495A42595E5A495F3B0 wrote:

As you’ve experienced, they don’t look for you on good days either. And with today’s car stereos and ear buds, you can’t count on ‘loud pipes save lives’ either. Stay safe out there!

Riding around in the Santa suit did let me know that some people do still have their eyes open for bikes on the road.

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by blod on 12/08/24 at 12:48:05

It's not worth even thinking about riding in winter in Sask. It's been down to -18 already and that is nothing unusual. I have seen it as low as -42 C

I rolled the Savage out to take some pics just yesterday. It's the newest 20 year old bike I have ever seen. I can't get over how small it is, it's a real diddy bike. I love it

http://https://i.imgur.com/QcOFYcbh.jpg

http://https://i.imgur.com/cNh4VFxh.jpg

http://https://i.imgur.com/KpgXCyih.jpg

The days will soon be getting longer, the winter Solstice is almost here :)

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by blod on 12/08/24 at 13:00:00

Bringing them home. There are two Suzuki's in there.

http://https://i.imgur.com/Arm1iXDh.jpg

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by JOG on 12/08/24 at 13:39:37

The two piece seat is much more comfortable than the one piece that was on the 2005 model.
The Buckhorn bars really made riding a lot easier on me.
There Is a too cold. It's considerably warmer than it was fifteen years ago. The destination has to be so inviting and take a long enough time to get there to justify the hassle of getting dressed for it. Riding through snow Was fun.

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by blod on 12/08/24 at 13:59:52

The only time I would consider riding a bike in the snow and ice was if it had a sidecar.

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by JOG on 12/08/24 at 15:24:54

The snow fell on dry roads,or I wouldn't have dared.

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by ThumperPaul on 12/09/24 at 07:06:13

3937343F5B0 wrote:

It's not worth even thinking about riding in winter in Sask. It's been down to -18 already and that is nothing unusual. I have seen it as low as -42 C

I rolled the Savage out to take some pics just yesterday. It's the newest 20 year old bike I have ever seen. I can't get over how small it is, it's a real diddy bike. I love it.

The days will soon be getting longer, the winter Solstice is almost here :)

Very nice specimen! Yes, that’s definitely too cold!

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by ThumperPaul on 12/09/24 at 07:18:57

My first Savage was a purple ‘04! My Purple People Eater!

It was in really good condition when I sold it. The guy that owns it now has been kinda rough on it, but he’s added over 10,000 miles and he’s only done a couple oil changes, air filter, and new tires. We’re about to get together to replace the front brakes.

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by blod on 12/09/24 at 09:46:21

6F534E564B5E496B5A4E573B0 wrote:

That looks like a Harley Dyna muffler you had on your purple Savage.

I have various parts coming from various places, including a pair of Dyna mufflers.
Did you need to do anything to the carb to get it to run right ?

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by ThumperPaul on 12/09/24 at 18:14:26

Yup, that’s the good ole HD Dyna muffler. If I recall correctly, I had a #50 pilot jet, #152.5 main jet, and I replaced the white spacer on the needle with 2 #4 washers.

That’s a good ballpark for jetting. I’m in Houston at sea level. A 50 pilot jet and 150 or 152.5 main jet is a good starting point for jetting with a stock air box and OEM style flat panel air filter. The Dyna doesn’t require a big jetting change. Stock jetting is only slightly lean.

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by ohiomoto on 12/12/24 at 06:18:21

Mostly commuting for me. If it's going to be over 55 in the afternoon, I'll ride to work if I can handle the morning temps. I've learned that I can handle just about anything for about 20 minutes. After that it's a race to the office on cold mornings.

But my morning limit has changed over the years. Several years ago I was willing to ride if it was mid 30s. A few years ago it was mid 40s. These days it's been closer to the mid 50s. lol

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by blod on 12/12/24 at 07:14:08

526E736B7663745667736A060 wrote:

I'm at 2000 feet so hopefully I will not have to mess with the jets.

I'm going to do away with the vacuum tube as I have a new petcock coming. ( what's the best way to block that ?)

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by ThumperPaul on 12/12/24 at 08:02:27

3A3D3C3A383A213A550 wrote:

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by ThumperPaul on 12/12/24 at 08:17:40

You’re probably okay with stock jetting at that altitude. You may still want to do the “white spacer mod” on the needle if you get excessive backfire (‘after-fire’ technically) on deceleration.

For a professional finish, use a vacuum plug (see photo). I don’t have a stock carb anymore and can’t remember if a 1/4” or 5/16” fit better. You can get an assortment at the auto parts store for cheap.

For a hack job plug (redneck engineering), you can cut the vacuum hose off about 1” above the nipple on the carb and shove a bolt or golf tee or something into the end of the hose to plug it up.

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by blod on 12/12/24 at 08:51:09

6C504D55485D4A68594D54380 wrote:

Thanks . :)

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by MMRanch on 12/12/24 at 09:03:00

Hello Blod

Hay when I put a fuel shut off on my S-40 , I found it easier to leave the vacuum hose on and just plug it. Yes , lube up the inside of the hose with silicone and slide a plug into it then wait for the silicone to dry. After cutting it to length. I'm lazy so I normally look for the easy way . ::)

There is a 1.5 gallon E-Bay spun aluminum fuel tank in the rear trunk "T"-ed into the fuel line with a inline shut-off.

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by ThumperPaul on 12/12/24 at 09:15:28

617361737E6D626F642C0 wrote:

Hello Blod

Hay when I put a fuel shut off on my S-40 , I found it easier to leave the vacuum hose on and just plug it. Yes , lube up the inside of the hose with silicone and slide a plug into it then wait for the silicone to dry. I'm lazy so I normally look for the easy way . ::)

There is a 1.5 gallon E-Bay aluminum fuel tank in the rear trunk "T"-ed into the fuel line with a inline shut-off.

Nice saddle bags, MM! Cool idea with the auxillary fuel tank!

But the lazy easy way for me is to go to the auto parts store and buy some vacuum caps. Too much work to silicon a plug into the hose and wait (I need immediate gratification too!) LOL.

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by MMRanch on 12/12/24 at 09:24:07

But the lazy easy way for me is to go to the auto parts store and buy some vacuum caps.

:o

You can buy plugs already made ! I looked all over my shop and never found any ! ;D

I'm glad you found an easy way ! 8-)
............

The original tank is lower than the extra tank , so you have to wait for the original tank to run low before opening the extra fuel valve.
I got the largest one that would fit inside the Trunk. ??

Title: Re: Winter Riding
Post by ThumperPaul on 12/12/24 at 09:41:02

The original tank is lower than the extra tank , so you have to wait for the original tank to run low before opening the extra fuel valve.
I got the largest one that would fit inside the Trunk. ??

That's the way it should work. A reserve of the reserve! Yes, Trunk is the right word! 8-)