I currently have cotton thermals, as most people probably do, but I have been considering getting some cheap(-er or -est) merino thermals since I used to love wearing that old wool coat I have. As many have said, wool is like some sort of miracle fabric. It works for many weather conditions despite being warm  , is flame-resistant, and even gets warm when wet . It just works ... period. I have noticed that it takes a lot of thermals to keep the legs warm simply because of the wind. Should I worry more about wool thermals (expensive), or chaps (costs about as much ). I do know the old saying that cotton kills.

Fat chance I'll be caught drenched in a cold spell, especially with my tendency to ride like the postal service. "Neither rain nor snow nor sleet nor hail...." Well, I'm not sure about doing those last three for a while . Can't drive my parents totally insane . My cousin just jumped all over me for riding on a wet, foggy night . But then, maybe she's biased... After all, I was determined to visit my cousin that Christmas day, even if I arrived half a day late... think being awakened from sleep at midnight by your nutty cousin on a motorbike ... on a night like that... in the backwoods, too. A couple days later, I got a talkin' to! .

I had spent most of the day visiting family members, and my pants were drenched worse than I have ever done before from riding. My boots were slopped with water. It was a mess! I didn't wear thermals either, except for a sweater I brought with me just in case. I sure ended up using it, eventually. It was during this warm Christmas thing. I didn't get very far from my house before realizing that I probably should have put on the long johns.

Anyway... What will I do with cotton? Freeze to death ?


Will wool do the legs any better than cotton, or do I just need chaps?

Yes, believe it or not, a good pair of rain gear will help keep you warmer as it keeps the wind at bay.
When it drops below 45, I start wearing long johns under my gear, when it gets below 38 ish... I put on a "wind breaker" like rain gear or some of the textile stuff I have that is "rain resistant".
I'm a fan of the "layers" is better. I'll wear a tank top, a long sleave thermal (or long sleeve t-shirt), a regular longsleeve shirt. then maybe a lightweight hoody, then my motorcycle jacket. Then if I need to, I wear the rain gear jacket.
For my lowers, I wear a thick pair of socks, thermals, then a thin pair of socks, then my jeans. And if I need more, the raingear bottoms.
I have a pair of cold weather guantlets, but sometimes I wear those thin brown gloves inside them.

old_rider wrote on 12/29/15 at 15:32:32:


I'm desparately needing a new pair of riding gloves for the winter. What do you wear? Like 'em? Pros/cons?

When it's really cold out I wear a pair of flannel pajama bottoms under my jeans. Helps 1000%.

This is the one, I believe. http://www.jafrum.com/motorcycle-gloves/GL2091

I am very pleased for the price.

Here is something I stumbled across that is interesting-- heated glove liners, and the price is not outrageous http://www.jafrum.com/motorcycle-gloves/mens-motorcycle-gloves/heated-gloves-...

The US Army used woolen clothing (long underwear, wool field pants & overcoats) for cold weather until the advent of synthetic materiald, a.k.a., "poly-pro." Wool & silk retain much of their insulating properties when wet since they absorb less water than cotton. Synthetic insulation, such as Dacron batting, has similar properties, making it more practical for garments and sleeping bags that goose/duck down.

Electrically-heated clothing is a viable alternative alternative IF the motorcycle's generator produces sufficient charging power for the 'cycles operation (ignition system + lighting) plus charging the battery. Automotive charging systems can be more robust since the generator/alternator is not incorporated directly into the engine. For example, if you've ever jump-started a car with a dead battery, that car's charging system can re-charge the battery at idle.

In most motorcycles, however, the charging system is directly incorporated into the powerplant, thereby limiting its size and generating capacity; in fact, most 'cycle charging systems don't begin to recharge the battery until about 1500-2000 rpm. (I found this out with my first "big bike," a BMW 800cc. Riding it to work & around town,, the battery would slowly lose its charge, since repeated starting used up more battery power than was generated to replace it (a so-called "energy debt").

So, bottom line, if the energy used (lights, starting, ignition system...plus added loads of driving lights, stereos, GPS, heated clothing) is greater than the amount generated, the battery will eventually discharge to the point that the power available is insufficient to power the electronic ignition or re-start the motorcycle.  Also, the repeated depletion of the battery can cause premature battery failure (at least in the traditional, flooded-cell lead/acid batteries).

My "2˘"...perhaps others here who have more in-depth knowledge of the Savage/S40's  charging system than I could provide hard data on the system's output....until then (alas!), I'll refrain from plugging in my electric vest.

Rodger wrote on 12/30/15 at 06:01:57:

the savage is capable of running to 55/60 headlights if you're running it at a good speed for at least a half hour.
but I'd recommend you use a battery monitor as that hasn't been empirically determined.

all leather goods insulate much better if they are treated to seal the pores.
I do mine at the beginning of winter and it's good for the rest of the year... of course winter here is only 4 weeks.  

I had a logging business for years and we worked I all kinds of weather. We got plenty wet too and cold. We would shut down on days when the mercury was in the negative 20 range because it was hard on hydraulic systems. Wool was the rule of the day on all but the hottest of days. When it is wet wool simply stands on its own as the ONLY fabric that will keep you comfortable. When its cold and you get sweated up from working it will dissipate the moisture like nothing else and without stinking. There are other fabrics that will disssipate moisture but the trade off is the residual smell.
You can hang wool outside and it will freshen from the cool night air and the next day put it on and it smells fresh again. Try that with any other material. I have 6 Pendelton will shirts, I don't wear one everyday but quite often, and they get dry cleaned once per year and my wife is really finicky about cleanliness.

You will, however, need to have something to break the wind unless you use boiled wool. Boiled wool is waterproof and wind proof and EXTREMELY expensive. Years ago boiled wool is what they used to break the wind before synthetics.

When I was riding late into the fall this year I was riding with layers starting with a long sleeved cotton T, a merino wool sweater, a wool vest and a bicycling wind breaker. I was good down to about 40. Below that and it was gloves and a pair of carpenter knee pads to keep the wind off. Below 30 I'm  done riding. Gets to frosty in these parts.

You can't beat wool with a wind breaker of some sort.

Sorry for the length��

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 12/31/15 at 08:38:47:


I spent a winter in Antarctica for the National Science Foundation; but that is another story for another thread maybe. Siberia . . .gets cold there too I hear.