Winter motorcycle riding: 10 useful tips for traveling in cold weather
11/12/2023
Lisa Cavalli
Some people will tell you you’re crazy, but they don’t know what they’re missing. Traveling by motorcycle in winter is possible and gives you some crazy thrills. However, there are cautions to follow, and we’ll try to give you some useful tips to fully enjoy the miles in the saddle even when it’s cold.
Every season wants appropriate clothing, even on a motorcycle. In scorching summers we wear breathable mesh jackets to stay cool, and in winter better to opt for multi-layered suits designed for the season.
Why is this important? Simple: you ride better! Cold chills, for example, will strain muscles creating less fluidity in riding. In cold temperatures, the fingers on our hands may lose feeling on the levers and grips. In addition, we would only be thinking about how to get warm instead of enjoying the road.
Here are some useful tips:
– Wear a breathable technical underwear suit that is in contact with the skin. This will keep your body dry while preventing light perspiration from cooling you down;
– remember to put on pants and a jacket of winter-specific technical material to protect you from the icy air;
– water-resistant boots, preferably with a Gore-Tex membrane, are also essential;
– gloves must be winter and therefore padded or warming (if you do not have mittens that have this function);
– the neck should be protected by a windproof neck warmer that can also protect part of the face. Balaclava is perfect when the cold weather sets in since any draft could cause distraction;
– if all this is not enough, wear rain gear over the jacket but specifically for motorcycles.
Winter road surfaces can present themselves in multiple situations: wet, cold, icy, covered with slimy leaves, with salt or gravel.
It is normal to worry about the grip of our tires, and at these times, it can happen that our gaze gets closer and closer to the bike until we find we are looking down instead of picking up all the available information. The trick is to do exactly what you would do in summer
The correct way is to use the so-called “cinema view”(widescreen view). We keep our gaze as wide as possible, without aiming at anything, as if we were watching a movie in the cinema, breathing calmly and letting things flow.
We must see everything that passes by, without looking at it (i.e., aiming at it) unless we want to.
A novice motorcyclist will tend to position herself center of the lane while a more practiced one will ride so that she has a better view of the curves.
But in winter an experienced motorcyclist will compromise the view to find the best available traction and adjust her speed accordingly.
On a wet and slippery winter road one should look for the best stretches of asphalt, that is, not ruined by cars, or any dry stretches. Shaded areas where there might be persistent ice, even during the day, should be avoided.
It is a constant balancing act between being in the best position for the view, looking for grip and adjusting speed accordingly. It is tricky at first, but when this technique becomes intuitive you can drive more confidently and smoothly on cold and wet roads.
As mentioned in point 1, getting too cold on a motorcycle is a bad idea for a variety of reasons. There are dozens of studies that show how your brain’s processing speed slows down when your internal body temperature drops even slightly.
That’s exactly when you start making bad decisions. Not only that, but your body tenses up and the consequence is difficult bike control. Moreover, if your hands get cold, your ability to brake and control the throttle is seriously impaired.
Every motorcyclist’s sensitivity to cold is different, but the symptoms to watch out for are the same:
Cold hands and feet: this means your body is moving blood to major organs.
Chills: these are your body’s attempt to warm up and mean you are getting cold in a major way.
Shallow or slow breathing: you are well on your way to hypothermia.
Loss of coordination, poor throttle control, confusion. This is a very dangerous situation.
In all of these four situations you need to stop immediately and warm up your body. Drink something warm and stay under cover until these symptoms have passed.
How important tire pressure is we’ve talked about in depth here.
What is most important to keep in mind is that if you are at -10°C, the tire pressure will drop 2-3 psi*, which doesn’t sound like much, but if they are deflated already at the start this could have consequences such as:
– heavy steering
– brake instability.
It is a good routine to check the pressure often, especially in cold weather.
*The maximum pressure the tire can take is written in small letters on the sidewall and defined in KPA or PSI (100 kpa = 1 bar and 14.50 PSI = 1 bar).
When it is winter, the sun is particularly low and you may encounter two difficulties:
– if the sun is behind you and if the road is wet and reflective, oncoming traffic will have a hard time seeing you;
– if the sun is in front of you, you yourself will struggle to see the road and traffic well.
Be careful and look in your mirrors often. Modify your trajectory so that you can be seen. Last but not least, use a sun visor if your helmet has one.
Minimizing the angle of lean is critical in winter. Also consider “squaring the curves” tighter by taking a straighter line, slowing down more than usual. This will reduce the time you spend in the turn by decreasing the danger.
If you have doubts about how to corner at low speeds read here.
Most motorcyclists are too cautious in the wet. On a good dry road the coefficient of friction (COF) will be about 0.7: this is a ratio of the lateral force required to move a block to its weight.
If the road is wet, the COF is about 0.5. If there was ice you would get about 0.1. The drop from 0.7 to 0.5 is just under 30 percent, but the reduction in speed that many people often adopt is greater. You don’t have to slow down that much unless the bottom is frozen.
Everything you learned in the summer will fade quickly if you don’t ride in the winter. Use difficult conditions as opportunities to hone skills that will make you safer; when the good weather returns you will see the difference, especially during summer downpours.
This attention to the forecast could be very helpful to you if you are heading into a hilly or mountainous spot. Don’t forget to also have a plan B in case the weather gets worse.
Other useful tips:
Be smooth
In winter you don’t have to drive smoothly, but you do have to be fluid. The throttle, brakes and steering should be controlled smoothly.
Make sure your visor is clean and scratch-free, and always carry a visor cleaner with you. Pinlock inserts are a must.
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