old - Fazer Owners Club - old
General => General => Topic started by: flesh on 10 December 2012, 10:45:19 pm
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As I wheeled the bike out of the garage for the first time in a week (due to the street being iced over) and looked at the -1 on the thermometer I wondered how cold is too cold.
Fair enough about snow, as riding a bike in those conditions is just daft, but how cold would you go?
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I judge by the condition of the road as I walk up to the garage, which is about 30m away from the house. If the road between is icy (frosty I don't mind) I'll do an about turn and get the car warmed up.
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Cold isn't an issue with me, but snow or ice is. A nice cold but dry day is fine
I have risen in some appalling weather and temps including a 400 mile ride one Xmas eve that resulted in a 2 ltr bottle of coke being a solid block of ice. Was freezing fog to, bloody nasty ride that was
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Snow is fine as long as you plan WAY ahead, as long as I can get the back from the garden to the road I'll give it a shot.
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I had a go in the snow last week. I did about 100 yards up the road (of my 60 mile commute) and gave up. It was like riding a speedway bike, but in a straight line :crazy Cold isn't a problem, but I don't think I'll try snow again :D
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if its slippery underfoot then i'll leave it at home. trying to get onto a main road in icey conditions is a disaster waiting to happen.
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If there's a risk of icy roads then I won't ride but anything else (except for high winds and rain combined!) is ok.
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I learnt to ride in the winter of '63 - '64. A good training ground. Not so sure I would chance snow now. It can be fun though. :D
David.
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I've done snow / ice, albeit with smaller and less powerful bikes than the Fazer. Worst bit was brain dead cagers who insist on the usual stupidity, and blissfully unaware of the care needed on a bike in icy weather.
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I ride motorcycle for fun - hobby. So it's no use riding when roads are wet and cold. Then I have to take it slow, easy. On those days I just ride bicycle.
If I really had no transport alternative, I could ride motorcycle down to -10 celsius and warmer. Below that - only bicycle. Pedaling creates enough heat so I don't get cold riding in the snow.
I ride bicycle with studded winter tyres for snow and ice. Motorcycle for snouw could be old 125cc naked Suzuki GN. Anything heavier I wouldn't be able to handle in case it slipped.
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I wont ride out if theres any ice about atall ... its not if the bike can handle it ... its wether the rider can handle the bike to handle it that is the question .... im on big ass varedao 1000 now but wont even take that out :eek
Wouldnt have taken ye olde fazer out either :(
Be sensible ... dont bother .... i know for half the people here its tricky being sens... sen... sens...i you know what i mean ( inc me ) but be catefull :D
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I ride all year round. have done so for the last 5 years. i rode my little 125 to work and back in 3inches of snow (very scary, but so much fun at the same time).
i have ridden my FZS600 in the snow too. i dont have a car to its my transport so i ride in all weathers all year round. if i can get the bike out of the garage and off the drive i will give it a go.
i think it all comes down to judgement, if the weather is really cold i make allowances, i leave bigger gaps take conering more sedatly and avoid using the brakes.
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The ally that our garage opens onto doesn't get gritted and neither does my street so I usually have to stop before the worst of it.
Worst part is I don't own a cage so have to borrow or get lifts, I hate it.
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Saw a bike this morning, I kid you not he was wearing jogging suit bottoms and trainers. i looked at the outside temp guage in my nice warm van and it was -2.
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As with the majority, I won't do snow or ice. I use my bike mainly for commuting, because the cage is thirsty and costs 5 times as much to run.
This morning was very frosty and I had a bit of a slide on the side road, but after that it was fine, no different to the last few weeks of crap weather.
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Saw a bike this morning, I kid you not he was wearing jogging suit bottoms and trainers. i looked at the outside temp guage in my nice warm van and it was -2.
I went out a couple of weeks back (just down the road, about 2 miles in 30 limits) in jeans with bike jacket/boots/gloves but no thermals underneath and I was bloody freezing!
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I call myself a hardcore biker, bit this morning I left the Fz1 at home and stole the wife's car :D. It's too easy to het a tyre washout on a patch of ice and destroy your pride and joy. Sometimes it just ain't worth it.
I've ridden in -7, but it was dry and ice free at the time. That was cold enough for me!
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Back in about 86 I was a courier and rode in all weathers but one of the worst scenarios was when I took a parcel to Bristol. On the way home I got to Yeovil and the snow started to get heavy. I stopped at a set of lights and promptly fell off when the front slid out from me. The biggest problem was trying to pick the bike (Honda VT500)back up, as I pulled up at the bars the tyres just slid away on the ice. After 10 minutes of slowly pushing the bike away from me and being totally knackered. Eventually a card river stopped and helped me get it back upright so I could finish my journey home. A ride that took another 10 hours. I nearly gave up riding after that.
Mickey
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look left and guess where that came from.
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Condition of the road is the defining factor not temperature. If its dry even freezing temps can be OK. Last evening it was wet and this morning -3C and my local road which doesn't get gritted was a sheet of ice. So the Fazer stays in the garage. Last winter I was caught out riding to work by a localised snow storm - fine when I left home - snowing like hell before I got to work 19 miles away. Don't want to experience underfoot conditions like that again!
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It's not the cold that bothers me as I've done -5 on my commute in previous years but it stays parked up if it's snowy or icy.
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10 Degrees is too cold but i'll add I have to ride in all wethers. It was -1 when I got my bike out the garage this morning and to me that's cold. As mentioned road condition is a deciding factor and it has to be unridable before I'll choose other modes of transport. And even then I'll try the bike first.
Snow and ice... best advice... think twice. I have riden on the pavement before (soory that should read: walked my bike on the pavement) when the road became a sheet of ice.
I feel the cold a lot more now than in my younger years. I rode to a rally in Wales once... in the snow, from London. The snow was so deep when I got to the rally site that I was able to leave the bike on two wheels without falling over.
:lol
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The cold doesnt bother me, the conditions do though ;)
If you love your bike, theres no enjoyment to be had while riding on ice or snow, take the car or catch the bus, its just not worth smashing the bike up for..
Cars can drive much faster than bikes in adverse conditions, and for me thats where most of the problem lies, i dont fancy having a slide then getting nailed off some knacker in his car who is running late for work.
No grip, No joy :)
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i used to enjoy the snow on my old honda tl 125 trials, bu no way on the fazer, so take the transit van with two boys to push me when i get stuck. it keeps them warm/ :lol
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Just got in from work, I have ice patches forming on my jacket and my feet have got to the point where they don't feel cold any more :crazy My hands were toasty warm the whole way home though :D
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-5 this morning and I have just had new tyres fitted to the FZ1.....funnily enough took the car :tape
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I had to remove ice off saddle before I rode home tonight
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As long as the grit on the road hasn't frozen,,,,,,
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I was glad it wasn't a workday for me today, but it's -3º and foggy out there tonight so tomorrow's commute will be by car. A degree or so below freezing isn't too bad if you've got suitable gear, but as others have said, if there's a risk of ice the tin box with a wheel at each corner is a much more sensible choice.
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I ride for fun, don't mind if it's cold, prefer the road to be dry, dry in places can be worse than all wet. I have ridden in snow to get to work before I had a car, that wasn't much fun,at least it's pretty flat round here, went to Whitby the other week, wouldn't fancy going up or down Blue Bank or Saltergate if it snowed or was icy.
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At least -5 this morning, visor kept icing up in the fog and when I got to work my front was covered in frost :\
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Yep it was a wee bit cool this morning but once under way and the grips heated up it was fine, actually felt colder once I stopped and took off the lid and gloves...
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I remember winter of 98 riding my super dream to work in snow ( a grand distance of 6 miles) by the time i got to work I was looking like a snowman! had to wait for someone to unlock the office as I'd set off early.
lucky my boss was next in and made me a tea with a good slug of irish in !!
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Decent gear makes a huge difference. Six months after I got my first proper bike in 1985 I had to help rig an outside broadcast near Cardiff for an early morning shoot. It was a week before Christmas and I got thoroughly chilled overnight with all the hanging around in sub-zero temperatures. After that was a three hour motorway and country lane trip home, though it was probably a degree above freezing by then.
My gear at the time consisted of a couple of sweaters under a waxed cotton jacket plus two pairs of jeans, I didn't really appreciate how cold I'd got until I tried to dismount. I struggled out my clothing with limbs that didn't seem to be mine anymore and into a hot shower... after 15 minutes I'd warmed up enough to start shivering. Wish I'd taken my temperature... must have been well into the zone of hypothermia. It was stupidly dangerous riding a bike in that state.
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On mine 5degC or where I cant trust microclimates
On yours when hell has frozen over
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I was out yesterday evening and when I got to the bike to come home around 10:30pm there was frost on the seat!
However with a combination of Wolf Racing textile jacket with inner liner, Wolf Racing textile trousers with jeans underneath, Anti-Freeze windproof under jacket and shirt underneath, neck tube, Heat Holders socks and Gerbing heated Gloves I was perfectly comfortable, even when doing 80 along the motorway with an outside temperature around freezing :)
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its the risk of crashing which bothers me most , rather than the cold. Plus the effect of all that salt on the bike...I have done the riding in snow etc many many times, and have had my share of spills because of it. That was in the 70s when bikes crashed quite well, easily straightened up and off you go. These days a spill could be a thousand quid or more ...so its stupid to risk it.
My worst experience was in switzerland in 2011...we had to ride to our next stop in austria...over the passes which were snowbound ! Luckily the ploughs had been out and it was navigable...but 0 degrees and driving blizzards do not make biking weather..plus dense fog. Alps can be very scary in bad weather.wet, cold,foggy, slushy ...and thats in july ! :eek
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My worst experience was in switzerland in 2011...we had to ride to our next stop in austria...over the passes which were snowbound ! Luckily the ploughs had been out and it was navigable...but 0 degrees and driving blizzards do not make biking weather..plus dense fog. Alps can be very scary in bad weather.wet, cold,foggy, slushy ...and thats in july ! :eek
Be honest with yourself Pitternator, I bet you loved the challenge really. :eek
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Crashing/salt bothers me more than cold.
FULLY FAIRED FAZER
Dropping it on the side at slow speed would involve about £1500 at least I reckon.
The miles I dont do in the winter are made up when warmer.
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My first bike was a Honda XL 250s and i was 17 (1981) We had heavy snow but i still had to ride to work. The roads were so poor i ended up riding on the grass verge, the semi knobblies coped brilliantly and i was never late. I had some odd looks as i undertook all the cars.
Mickey