David Hurst – expert PHP/MySQL developer

As the weather has taken a turn for the worse, I have found myself having to adapt my riding to suit the new conditions. I think I’ve found solutions to the majority of problems facing motorcyclists in bad weather, so I thought I’d list them here. Let’s start with dealing with the cold.

Staying Warm

When your body is cold, your reaction times are increased and your concentration levels are decreased. This is not a good combination for a motorcyclist! This can be particularly problematic as far as your hands are concerned. Cold hands are not only painful, they’re also slow, numb and clumsy, all of which could contribute to your failing to be able to make quick adjustments to the controls to avoid dangerous situations. The best solution to this problem is:

Heated Grips
Heated grips not only keep your hands warm, they also warm the blood that is circulating through your hands, which in turn helps keep your upper body warm. Whilst original manufacturer heated grips are quite pricey, other manufacturers such as Oxford sell grips suitable for all bikes from about £50. That’s less than you’d pay for a good set of winter gloves! The difference heated grips make to winter riding is phenomenal. You can ride for longer, and in comfort, despite very low temperatures.

Regardless of whether or not you choose to install heated grips, it’s essential to have good:

Gloves
Invest in a good quality pair of leather winter gloves, and you will be rewarded. Winter gloves, unlike their more flimsy summer counterparts, should be airtight. This ensures that your hands stay warm for as long as possible (which in cold weather, still won’t be very long). Make sure the gloves are waterproof as wet gloves will make your hands colder much more quickly. Gloves needn’t be expensive. I bought a very good pair made by Lewis for just £30.

To extend the warm time, consider some:

Inner Gloves
These are thin gloves that you wear under your main motorcycling gloves. You need to make sure that they don’t restrict your movement of course, but wearing an inner pair of gloves will keep your hands warmer for longer. Again, they needn’t be expensive. A simple knitted pair cost me just £3 and are barely noticeable under my main gloves.

Just as your hands need to stay warm, so do your feet. It’s important that you have good:

Boots and Thermal Socks
Feet tend to stay warmer for longer anyway when motorcycling. Partly due to the proximity of the engine, and partly due to the fairing (if you have one). You can keep them much warmer by buying a good pair of thermal socks. You don’t necessarily have to buy motorcycle socks, which tend to be expensive, consider offerings for hikers, mountaineers, snowboarders etc. Often, you can find good quality thermal socks at bargain basement prices from outdoor pursuits outlet stores.

When choosing your boots, buy the best you can afford, but don’t necessarily assume the best is the most expensive. I have some £30 ProBiker boots that are both warmer and dryer than my £100 TCX pair. The only annoyance is the laces on the cheaper pair, but an extra minute putting them on is worth it for the extra weather proofing.

Now, it’s important to keep your legs warm too. Don’t be scared, buy some:

Long Thermal Underwear
“Long Johns” or full-length thermal underwear may make you feel like a bit of a prat at the sales counter of the store you buy them from, but this is soon forgotten when you are enjoying a ride in cold weather without having cold legs and knees. I got a pair made from Merino Wool from Marks & Spencer for £17. There are cheaper versions made from synthetic fibres, but these will never be as comfortable and warm as natural fibres. I wear mine over my normal underwear so that they don’t need washing every day. Worth every penny!

If you have a good pair of textile motorcycling jeans with a thermal lining, the combination of thermal underwear, lining and waterproof outer is more than enough to keep you comfortably warm even in very cold weather.

Moving up the body, don’t forget some:

Thermal Vests or T-Shirts
Again, these can be quite pricey, but you needn’t spend a fortune. All the supermarkets sell vests, and cheap outdoor pursuits stores will have full sleeve thermal t-shirts for reasonable prices. Keeping your upper body warm in cold weather motorcycling is hugely important. Once your core body gets cold, you will have no choice but to stop and warm up somewhere.

Bizarrely, big thick jumpers are not the ticket here. Think layers. Lots of layers. Vest or thermal t-shirt, plus a t-shirt, plus a thin pullover or sweatshirt worn under a good jacket with thermal lining will keep the cold at bay for ages. Remember, it’s easy to remove a layer if you get too warm, but it’s not so easy to find an extra layer whilst on the move if you get too cold.

Here’s another top tip: if you’re out riding and you find that you haven’t layered up properly and the cold is getting in, go buy a newspaper and stuff this under your jacket. The 40p thermal top!

And don’t forget your neck and head! Consider purchasing a:

Balaclava
I buy Spada Chill Factor balaclavas which are made for motorcyclists and have an extra long front to make sure your neck stays covered. A cold neck and chin can be very uncomfortable. You can find these balaclavas on eBay (brand new) for under a tenner. Worth every penny. Just remember that if your helmet is a very tight fit, wear a balaclava might be difficult. For me, it’s a comfortable addition which makes a huge difference. My ears and neck stay warm, and with the balaclava covering my nose, it helps my visor stay fog free for longer.

Staying Dry

Cold is a problem that is easily dealt with. Staying dry can be much more difficult and will exacerbate the cold, so let’s look at what we can do to stay dry. Let’s start again with:

Gloves
Good winter gloves should be waterproof. My £30 pair of Lewis gloves keep my hands bone dry even in torrential rain. Look carefully at the label of the gloves you are buying, and try to find gloves that won’t get soaked themselves. Even though your hands may be dry, if the outer glove is soaked it will catch more wind and you will be colder as a result. Leather does soak up water over time, but textiles offer less protection. You have to find the balance between the two. Again, inner gloves can help, particularly if they are waterproof too, as some motorcycling specific inner gloves are.

Remember: when it’s raining, make sure your glove cuffs are inside the sleeve of your jacket, not outside. If you put your gloves on over your jacket sleeve the water will run down your arms and straight into your gloves, which rather defeats the object!

At the other end of the body, let’s look again at:

Boots
Not all boots are waterproof. Some will survive a light shower, but sustained riding at speed in heavy rain is a different matter entirely. Fabric parts on the top of the boot may make movement easier, but these tend to be weak areas for letting in water. My cheaper textile boots are much more waterproof than my more expensive leather ones, but again they offer less protection.

The cheapest way to waterproof any pair of boots is the humble plastic bag. Pop your feet inside a bag before putting your boots on and you should stay dry no matter what the weather does! Don’t forget also to make sure your trousers go over the top of your boots, otherwise the water will run straight down your legs into the boots!

What you really need is a:

Good Textile Suit
Leather is no good in the rain, you need to wear textiles or a waterproof oversuit. In fact, even if your riding gear is waterproof, a one piece oversuit will ensure you stay dry no matter what, and they’re cheap too!

If you wear a two piece textile combination, remember that as you are sat on the bike, the wind will force the water into your lap, where it will pool and blow up inside your jacket. Ever had the big wet patch on your stomach? That’s the reason. A waterproof oversuit will solve this, but if you don’t have one, take regular opportunities to stand and shake the water clear. Again, the humble plastic bag can come to your rescue: stuff one in the top of your trousers and over your stomach…

Vision

Finally, the other major problem (and I do mean major) is that of visibility. Your helmet does not have a wiper blade, obviously, and constant wiping with gloves will make them wet and make your hands cold. Some gloves have a rubber strip built into the forefinger of the glove to help you wipe clear, but as the visor will be covered with rain again in mere seconds, these are of limited use. Consider some treatment spray for your visor. Once applied, these waxy substances encourage the water to dissipate, and the wind force will be able to push the droplets to the side of the visor.

When it’s wet, the problem of internal fogging becomes much worse. Pinlock inserts, if your helmet supports them, can help hugely here, but otherwise you need to regularly treat the inside of your visor with an anti-fog solution. You can also consider a helmet insert that re-directs your breath away from the visor. All of these things can be purchased in stores like Hein Gericke.

There’s nothing worse than riding at night in the rain with a rapidly fogging visor and rain covering the outside of the visor, deflecting all the light from oncoming traffic. Visibility can be significantly reduced, so ride more slowly. Don’t take risks! Try and follow (at a safe distance) a car, as the red tail lights will help you to see where you are going. If it gets too bad, stop!

Remember too that winter brings lower light conditions and reduced visibility for ALL motorists. Wear a high-visibility vest with reflective material to ensure that they can see you, and obviously make sure you always ride with your lights on.

Winter riding is nothing to be scared of, provided you are properly prepared for it. Don’t expect to be able to ride the way you do in summer, but don’t be too scared of the conditions. Modern tyres grip well even in wet conditions, and a well-maintained bike can be ridden safely and in comfort throughout winter by the well-prepared motorcyclist.

Safe riding folks!