Lessons Learned

[Bama Red]

Took a hundred mile jaunt yesterday in the cold and rain and learned a few things about my cold weather/rain gear.

My $65 no-name rainsuit works great! I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't get any rain infiltrating up the pants legs, sleeves or collar.

It is time to put the liner in my leather riding jacket. started getting pretty chilly coming home last night (38*).

Gotta get a new pair of gloves. My expensive gloves did not do a thing to keep my fingers warm and some water also infiltrated thru the seams. I was afraid they would snap off, they were so cold by the time I got home. Glove advice/recommendations gladly accepted.

My $90 HJC closeout helmet fogs up like a teenage couple's car at the drive-in! Gotta try some no-fog wipes for the visor. Other than that, it worked fine - no rain past the visor or up the neck and kept the old melon warm to boot.

My Red Wing boots did a great job - waterproof and kept my toes toasty!

BTW, the Valk handled like a champ in the rain. So far, I'm pleased with the Dunlop E3's the previous owner installed.

[..]

Kleer Vu works 100%. I use it on the windshield of the school bus and it keeps perfectly clear. Even with 64 kids on board.

http://www.amazon.com/Kleer-Vu-Anti-fog-Spray/dp/B001JR4CHA

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

Three words come to mind when riding in cold weather....Gerbing Heated Clothes...It's the best money you will ever spend....Start out with the gloves and jacket liner.

[ILcruiser]

Three words come to mind when riding in cold weather....Gerbing Heated Clothes...It's the best money you will ever spend....Start out with the gloves and jacket liner.

+1 on the Gerbing's.  I wanted to test the waters by buying gloves first, and had read many reviews saying they were very bulky.  So, I bought the glove liners, then bought a set of XXXL unlined leather gloves in which to put the liners.  Tried the setup last weekend, and all I can say is that I just added two months to my riding season.  I was wearing Gore-tex long underwear, plus an unheated but lined jacket, and was completely comfortable in mid-30s temps at highway speeds.  I'm going to add the jacket liner, but for me, if my hands are frozen, the ride becomes a chore, not to mention dangerous.

[Bama Red]

OK, heated gloves, first. I gotta say, my cold fingers were the worst part of the ride last night.

 ILcruiser, were your unlined gloves waterproof? It would seem that without the outer gloves being water/wind proof, it becomes very hard for the heated liners to do their job.

Joe, looks like maybe a trip to Dixie Custom Cycles on Clinton Hwy. next time I'm in Knoxville for some gloves.

[Brad]

Heated gloves are great and for the not as cold, cold days snowmobile gloves are great too.

[alph]

i did the same thing last year, drove 90 miles in the rain, at night, temp was 41 degrees when i left.  i'm a little peeved with redwing boots.  they're made in china now.  but that's a different argument.  the coldest part of me were my hands also.  probably would have been better off slipping a couple bread bags over 'em to at least keep them dry.  one other thing i had learned is, once you stop, that's when you feel the coldest.  once i got home and realized how cold my hands and feet were, i don't think you could have forced me at gun point to get back on that cycle!!

[valkmc]

May sound strange and it is a little bit of a pain but Mittens work better than gloves on cold hands!!! I don't use them now, (live in Florida) but when I was working in Oswego NY on a nuke and rode back and forth to work until the snow flew I kept a pair of mittens in my saddle bags.

[ILcruiser]

Bama Red - The liners are not waterproof.  I use waterproof glove liners that came with another set of gloves.  Also, I'm a big fan of mink oil, and rub it into just about anything leather on the bike, including gloves.  It's a great water repellent.