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[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Following up on the threads about windshields, handguard muffs, and aprons, I thought I'd gather or link any techniques and mods into one thread for winter/wet riding in general. I live in the US Pacific Northwest, so it's pretty much wet for 5 months per year and I'm stubborn about not buying a car (though my girlfriend keeps one).


My current mods to keep the rain and cold off are:

• Tucano Urbano handlebar muffs keeps my hands really warm and dry, better than heated grips and handguards.
• OEM MRA commuter screen keeps the rain and wind off my chest and allows me to tuck under in bad weather.
• Hard OEM luggage set (Givi) keeps the rain off my cargo, and the rain and mud off of the seat and the back of my jacket.

Otherwise, I wear FirstGear TPG Gore-Tex jacket and pants, and weatherproofed boots and gloves. Notably, the muffs keep the gloves dry. I do have boot covers in case the rain gets apocalyptic but I rarely think to use them.


I am looking into providing some rain splash protection for the innards of the bike, but haven't decided on a strategy yet.


Any others care to mention other options or elaborate on how everything comes together? I assume that most riders mostly give up on bad winter days, and just keep the bike on the charger. Thankfully that is at least better than winterizing an ICE bike.

[NoiseBoy]

I have recently fitted some Oxford heated grips which makes a huge difference but I have experienced two issues. The first is that the grips are too long to fit bar ends so I need to seal the ends some other way. Secondly they have a power saving mode that shuts the grips off when they think the ignition is off but it works by detecting electrical ignition noise on the supply. Of course there is none on the Zero so they keep turning on and off.

Nothing else except good quality clothing and the oem screen that came with my limited edition S. I have run my Sidi Vertigo boots into the ground so wonder what you guys are wearing? They need to be year round boots so nothing too warm, it only drops below freezing a few times a year here. I have my choice now as due to not changing gear any more I can wear boots with a larger toe box.

[Richard230]

I think a heated jacket liner and heated gloves are a good idea for winter riding.  There are several brands of heated clothing for 12V motorcycle use.  However, battery powered jackets and gloves, powered by lithium batteries attached to the clothing article are coming on to the market also, if you don't want to draw 100 watts, or so, from your battery pack.  Check out this review of heated gloves:

http://www.webbikeworld.com/heated-motorcycle-clothing/volt-titan-heated-gloves-review/

P.S.  Webbikeworld is the best place that I have found to see reviews of all sorts of motorcycle clothing and accessories.  Based upon my experience with some of the articles that they have reviewed, I believe they are right on the button with their evaluation comments.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

To NoiseBoy, I wear some office-compatible Sidi boots made of Lorica which seem pretty waterproof. That is an interesting experience with heated grips - it seems like the assumptions of ICE bikes often turn up subtly!

To Richard, I do keep a pair of electric-heated gloves, but they require 12V input and I generally only used them regularly when I make long-distance runs between Seattle and Portland in the rainy season. This used to be a pretty regular occurrence, and my hands would have gone cold and lost circulation within 40 minutes without them. I feel like handlebar muffs have been easier to deal with overall; come to think of it, I may test my V-Strom with muffs over the handguards just to see whether it works as well.

[LiveandLetDrive]

Granted I'm commuting in the SF Bay Area but heated grips, hand protectors to block the wind, and waterproof gear have been plenty for me.  I am a four-season rider and have ridden in ice (Alps) and commuted in snow(NC) before I came to the land of two seasons (summer and fall).

It's pretty ridiculous but I happened to have a nice sailing dry-suit and decided to try it out on the bike once.  I haven't used anything else since.  No other gear has ever kept me totally 100% dry.  Torrential downpour at 75mph?  No problem.  It has neoprene seals at the wrists and neck and integral booties so even sopping wet boots don't matter.  Just make sure your sweater doesn't stick out from under the seals or you get wicking!  It doesn't have any impact protection but you could wear separate armor underneath if you want.  Even the nice one-piece suit I had in the UK didn't keep my 100% dry like this, the wrists, ankles, and neck always let in enough to wick into my clothes.  With the drysuit I simply unzip the chest zipper and pop out in full work clothes, straightening my tie James Bond style.  (I don't actually wear a tie to work...  thanks Silicon Valley.)  In the ocean if you don't bleed the air out you bob like a cork; it is really, really waterproof, as long as you don't move the seal around too much while fully submerged.

[mehve]

Thanks for this!!

It has gotten colder in the area lately, colder than I remember last year... and I'm not quite ready to give up a single day of dry weather even if it's frigid out. We're looking for either the self-powered heated gloves or the muffs (maybe both.)

+m

[Crawling Finn]

Great to learn from other rider's experiences in cold climates. I ride in Rukka Arma-s suit,  TCX Infinity boots and Richa winter gloves. They have kept me dry so far for many years. Only problem is cold hands regardless of Oxford heated grips - must be my old man circulation Muffs sound like a good idea.
Best update in my experience has been to fit Michelin Pilot Street Radial tyres on the bike. As modern silica tyres they seem to provide much more grip on slimy wet roads than the originals.
Big problem on winter commuting here in the UK is the road grime on your visor making it difficult to see. My other bike, the GS, has large screen and that helps, so perhaps screen on my S might work as well. Zero seems to be unable to supply the dual-sport screen that I ordered the bike with so have to start looking into other options.

[aaronzeromoto]

Hi Crawling Finn,

Not sure why you've had issues getting the screen for your motorcycle.  I just sent you a PM with details on whom to contact in Alkmaar to get this fixed.  They have these screens in stock.

By the way, you may want to consider the Commuter Screen instead of the Dual Sport screen for your purposes.  It's larger and more practical for commuters.

Regards,
aaronzeromoto

[Crawling Finn]

Aaronzeromoto,

 I have contacted my Zero dealer and he has now got back in touch with Alkmaar.
Many thanks for your help and assistance.

Crawling Finn

[Larry295]

   

• OEM MRA commuter screen keeps the rain and wind off my chest and allows me to tuck under in bad weather.

   


Any others care to mention other options or elaborate on how everything comes together? I assume that most riders mostly give up on bad winter days, and just keep the bike on the charger. Thankfully that is at least better than winterizing an ICE bike.

Brian, how well is the MRA screen protecting you from wind? How tall are you. I got a standard screen on my 2012, and it doesn't do much. Is the MRA any better???

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

   

• OEM MRA commuter screen keeps the rain and wind off my chest and allows me to tuck under in bad weather.

Any others care to mention other options or elaborate on how everything comes together? I assume that most riders mostly give up on bad winter days, and just keep the bike on the charger. Thankfully that is at least better than winterizing an ICE bike.

Brian, how well is the MRA screen protecting you from wind? How tall are you. I got a standard screen on my 2012, and it doesn't do much. Is the MRA any better???

I feel like the MRA screen does a good job for a bike its size. My height is 5'9" with a 32" inseam. The laminar airflow seems to hit the upper part of my helmet, but it's smooth. If I shift to the back of the saddle area, I can tuck in pretty easily or just crouch slightly for weather protection.

I do ride with the screen moved forward (one inch of the mounting rod length left) and tilted up as much as possible to get that effect, though.

I have tried different screen angles, and the only other angle that seemed comfortable pushed the laminar boundary layer to my neck.

Right now I'm riding around in freezing but dry weather, and pretty comfortable overall except when I have to take my gloves off at the end of the ride.

My comparison bike is the V-Strom which also has the same MRA screen shape but with a spoiler, and the MRA screen has worked well for me there, but the V-Strom has a larger cockpit area.

[Le Z Turbo]

So as requested I've done some pictures of all the winter related mods I've done. It will take several replies to put the pictures, sorry for the length !!!
First the heated grips: I took the "Sport" ones from Oxford reduced to ther minimum length and the trick is to find nice covering bar ends. I used some old MTB ODI ones. The 2013 model can be set so it detected the running of a ICE engine: switch that option off or it will switch off automaticaly on the Zero (thanks for this forum Zero driver who dicovered that!!!)

[Le Z Turbo]

and then the windscreen: I had the Zero dual sport one, very nice during summer to protect from insects and also wind on the chest. But for winter it was too small. So I took the same maker than the Zero one (mra.de) and take a variable big one, the Vario Screen for naked bike with standard 22mm handlebar mounting. And it make a huge difference, the helmet can be protected and the cold wind is no more on my shoulders.
As I said on another thread it's economaical too:
with this windscreen, I have less aerodynamical drag, I'm setting the eco mode to 0% regen coasting and 100% regen braking. I'm really able to "coast" with no throttle more often now, and I use a small input of front brake to enable the regen braking without hydraulic braking when approching a red light, a turn, etc... Request smooth riding, not a thing I'm use to usually, but now that the road are extremely slippery it's the good way of driving...

[Le Z Turbo]

Here is a picture with the vario screen at its higher position. I'm 6" or 182cm (with my hair !!!!)
You can also see the protection of the Gaucho Tucano Urbano on my legs

[Le Z Turbo]

So for the leg protection I took a Gaucho Urbano Tucano, the R118 one but I think the bigger R119 will fit better. I'm at the end of the adjutable straps below the bike. The leg protection is really there.