Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge What do you wear?

Here in the Great State of Texas we enjoy what some consider to be a year round riding season, if you dress appropriately that is. We don't have to deal with much snow and ice, but it does get cold. The average temp this week has been around 30 degrees in the a.m. and around 50 degrees in the evening. Weather like this will come and go until early March. When going to work I wear a pair of insulated overalls over my BDUs (fatigues for all you older folks) with a Gortex field jacket over those, gloves and a full face helmet. In the evening I usually bungi the overalls to the luggage rack. Off duty riding is usually in leather jacket & chaps, neopreme face mask and a knit cap or half helmet, and of course gloves. Just thought I'd take roll on what everyone else that was fortunate to still be riding was wearing.

Also curious as to how cold it has to be before the bike stays in the garage? With me temp has almost no bearing as long as it's not going to rain and I don't have errands that require the dually.

Tucson , Az.. here. I ride everyday to work and back totaling about 41 miles. Typically I wear this time of year jeans and chaps, uppper body layered with t-shirt long sleeve shirt , two sweaters with a thinsulate lined leather jacket over that, a heavy full head belaclava over a doo-rag with a good pair of goggles finishing with a velcro heavy duty half belaclava once again over the lower face and nose and heavy gloves.

I stay toasty that way for the most part. Usually dont need all the layers for the evening ride home.

I went on a camping ride a few years back in the Smokies & it dropped down to 18, with ice on the road. I had EVERYTHING I'd packed on.... and was considering cutting arm & leg holes in my sleeping bag !!!!

Seems everyone that answered this post up until this point has been what we northern folk consider 'warm climate types'. You three are discussing what you wear in the cold - Hmmm. those are what we call 'warm'. Up this way, we generally consider keeping the bike in the garage when there's ice on the road. Its really not a 'cold' thing - Its a slippy thing. If you guys keep bundling up like that at those temperatures, you'll soon loose all your natural immunity. I suggest you quit eating so much jelly bread, eat some meat and vegtables, and take a walk outside in the REAL cold from time to time and build up some resistance. You southern guys are softer than warm butter.

Layer of capilene, one or two layers of fleece and/or thisulate and leather on top. Ski pants until I get new riding pants. Still non-insulated boots, I have warm feet. Thinsulate leather gloves and full face helmet.

Top half in layers under my Triumph jacket. Used to wear long-johns under my jeans. Lately switched to flannel pajama pants under my jeans. Just as warm if not warmer, and they don't itch like long-johns. Full face flip up Nolan helmet that I otherwise despise, but it has that extra snap in chin wind blocker. HJC CL-14 helmet when its not bitterly cold.

In San Antonio it was jacket, jeans, and boots. Since moving to NoVA the routine (daily commute) is a Triumph retro paddock, Ness riding pants, Sidi boots. Lately (in the 20's) added Gerbing jacket liner and gloves. The Gerbing pants liner and socks aren't plugged in yet, it's not quite cold enough.

Kevin, my gear is similar to yours but instead of two sweaters I wear one thin thermal shirt. Plenty warm and not as bulky.

The chaps make a huge difference, especially under 50 degrees.

I usually start my bike up around every 3 weeks in the coldest weather. If there is no ice no matter the temperature I will ride a few blocks. Maybe down by the gas station & toot the horn at the guys working there and call them whoosies for not being out for a nice ride on a beautiful day like this. Then back to the garage and try to thaw out. Some guys will do anything just to jerk their friends. Some friends will go so far as to email an old bald guy with a pot belly singing a stupid song in the shower. But I won't mention any names here pipedr.

jerry

We're in the middle of some torrential rain and strong winds. Have had them for about a week, but it seems it hasn't stopped since I got the new one. I'm still riding around...
I love my (Aussie) Draggin Jean combats, and wear them with a pair of thermals underneath when it gets really cold, like in the 20's. I recently invested in a new winter jacket, that's really warm, and has space to fit a jumper or two under.
My favourite buy is my new gloves. They are heated... on the 15 mile ride back from the shop... well they impressed me. Just due to the really sh!t weather I haven't been any really long distance - I hate riding in the rain - so I haven't really used them. But when it gets really cold I'll be wearing them on the mile ride home from work.

Cod piece, fedora, tasles, all kevlar. Safety first!

In the 1970s I rode from Keene, NH to Portsmouth, VA leaving Keene on 2 Jan when the temperature was 24ºF. I stayed overnight in NYC and when I left the following morning it was 33ºF. Cold and very, very windy but had clear, dry roads, and a sunny sky the entire trip.

Here in the Norfolk, VA area it can get below freezing, but is normally in the high 30s and low 40s for the cold part of winter.

My trip to work is only 13 miles but I leave home at 05:30 so its still night-time weather. Normal winter wear is jeans with chaps, flannel shirt with LL Bean jacket, full face hat, and good gloves. Feet protected by my year-round Red Wing boots, catalog number 2270.

Essentially I can ride year-round so rotate every other week between my Red TBA and my Silver&Black HD Ultra. A couple of times a month I'll ride my girlfriend's Blue Suzuki Burgmann 400 scooter just to keep its fluids and battery up to snuff. She don't do cold.

Stay well, warm, and happy!

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Cod piece, fedora, tasles, all kevlar. Safety first!

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Now that's funny.. and odd...
I hardly ever wear my tassles while riding..

Definatly Not This...


Thermals, Jeans and a sweatshirt.

Woodstove on the luggage rack. Interesting concept. I'll have to consider that. Only one thing. My 05 america is so powerful that I can barely keep the front wheel down now.

jerry

Wow! That's even more ridiculous than what I wear!

Actually, I wear my joe rocket leather jacket over a windproof jacket a long shirt and under armor. Jeans over bicycling pants all under an old pair of snow pants (dorky, but they block the wind). I just bought a pair of Olympia gloves, leather and gortex. Today I put hand warmers in them (it was 22 degrees Fahrenheit. If your used to using metric that translates to F-ing cold!). Oh, and my room mate is a mountain climber. I've got his old balaclava under my full face.

Pain in the but getting suited up, but by the time I'm done, the bike's usually warm and she runs so good in the cold!

JIM