21-11-13, 05:33 PM
Yeah rode all through last winter. But TBH, down here in London almost all the roads stayed clear, was only one day when my side street had 3" of snow that I decided not to ride.
The others have covered most of the important stuff - staying warm.
Base layers, thick or two pairs of socks, thick fleece neck tube, lightweight fleece under jacket too.
Heated gloves are what you really need. But muffs, heated grips etc can also see you through.
Other stuff you really need:-
ACF50 your bike, now. Right now! Go order some off ebay, and cover your bike before you stick salt on the roads.
Pinlock visor. It'll solve all your misting up problems (unless you wear glasses) and you'll wonder why you never got one before.
Make sure you battery is decent. The winter is not the time to be riding about with a battery on the way out.
Stick some WD40 under your seat. Came back to my bike once after work, covered in ice and spent 20 mins faffing about freeing up ignition to turn key and start it!
Stick a torch under seat, there's feck all daylight and you never know when you need to check something out on the bike.
Pop some spare bulbs under seat too.
Get a mini bottle of visor cleaner, in this shit weather you'll need it most days. Better still, get some water repellent stuff for your visor too.
Go over all your kit with some conditioner and waterproofing stuff. NikWax do a good Gloveproof to waterproof you gloves.
The juries still out on effectiveness, but a hi-vis is worth considering now the nights are drawing in. Personally, even if it just prevents a smidsy once in a blue moon, it's still worth the money. Plus it's an extra layer from the elements.
As for rider style:
Slow and steady, no jerky movement, speed changes. Drop a gear and use engine braking more. In the wet 50/50 front and back brakes, on the ice, almost entirely back brake.
When cornering, rather than leaning the bike, lean your body off the bike whilst keeping bike more upright. This will still shift centre of gravity, but help prevent you exceeding grip limit of tyres.
Loosen your elbows, get your weight off the bars to lighten up the steering and in turn help maintain better grip on the front.
But ultimately, read the road further ahead and anticipate upcoming stuff and give yourself plenty of time to slow down.
The others have covered most of the important stuff - staying warm.
Base layers, thick or two pairs of socks, thick fleece neck tube, lightweight fleece under jacket too.
Heated gloves are what you really need. But muffs, heated grips etc can also see you through.
Other stuff you really need:-
ACF50 your bike, now. Right now! Go order some off ebay, and cover your bike before you stick salt on the roads.
Pinlock visor. It'll solve all your misting up problems (unless you wear glasses) and you'll wonder why you never got one before.
Make sure you battery is decent. The winter is not the time to be riding about with a battery on the way out.
Stick some WD40 under your seat. Came back to my bike once after work, covered in ice and spent 20 mins faffing about freeing up ignition to turn key and start it!
Stick a torch under seat, there's feck all daylight and you never know when you need to check something out on the bike.
Pop some spare bulbs under seat too.
Get a mini bottle of visor cleaner, in this shit weather you'll need it most days. Better still, get some water repellent stuff for your visor too.
Go over all your kit with some conditioner and waterproofing stuff. NikWax do a good Gloveproof to waterproof you gloves.
The juries still out on effectiveness, but a hi-vis is worth considering now the nights are drawing in. Personally, even if it just prevents a smidsy once in a blue moon, it's still worth the money. Plus it's an extra layer from the elements.
As for rider style:
Slow and steady, no jerky movement, speed changes. Drop a gear and use engine braking more. In the wet 50/50 front and back brakes, on the ice, almost entirely back brake.
When cornering, rather than leaning the bike, lean your body off the bike whilst keeping bike more upright. This will still shift centre of gravity, but help prevent you exceeding grip limit of tyres.
Loosen your elbows, get your weight off the bars to lighten up the steering and in turn help maintain better grip on the front.
But ultimately, read the road further ahead and anticipate upcoming stuff and give yourself plenty of time to slow down.