Motorcycle Winter Wonderland Pt. 1

Have you ever gone for a long distance ride during the winter months? If you have, I’m sure you have noticed a few things about your ride that could have been better. In the next couple of blogs we will discuss winter gear that could extend your riding season. You may or may not have already considered winter gear but if we can help a new rider learn something new regarding this subject we will have accomplished our goal.

When driving at highway speeds for an extended period of time during the colder months the first thing that you notice is how cold your hands get, in particular your fingers. Slowly but surely your fingers begin to feel numb, this can be an issue if you start to lose your grip because you can no longer feel the amount of pressure you’re applying. Assuming that we’re all using gloves when riding, the cold air can and will still creep in if you’re riding for extended period of time. Some of us may even feel this on shorter drives if the weather is cold enough. Sure, we can try getting bulkier gloves with more padding and insulation but those usually only tend to get in the way of comfort and can make moving your fingers harder instead of keeping your hands warm. On the other hand, heated gloves can be another way you can keep yourself if you ride in extreme weather. While we’re at it, let’s consider heated pants, jacket liners, and heated grips as well.

Heated grips are one of the many things you can do in order to keep yourself warmer during the winter months. One of their perks is that on some you can control the amount of heat generated depending on the grips you end up choosing for your bike. For example, some carry a variable heat controller which allow you to change temperature while you ride and avoid having you to stop. The perfect thing about having the heat controller is that you can adjust them to your own personal comfort. Please note, not every manufacturer provides an adjustable dial, and almost all will provide it at an additional cost. Like anything heated, most products will have an “on & off” button. My body normally runs hot so I don’t always need much to stay warm but there are others that normally run colder body temperatures which in turn will want to have their heated grips at a higher temperature. Do your own research and see what fits your bikes the best. If you ride through the winter, one thing is for sure, once you use the heated grips, you won’t want to ride without them ever again.

In our next blog, we will continue to discuss this topic some more so please come back. Remember that riding season does not have to end just because it’s a little cold.