Ducati Monster Forum

Did my 40 mile country road commute at 29 degrees on my S2R this morning. That was my coldest attempt yet but was toasty warm with my 2 pairs of thermals, snowmobile suit, snowmobile bibs, Dainese textile coat and Gerbing G3 electric gloves. Bummer was getting to the gas station and realizing my wallet was in my pants pocket. Off came my backpack, coat and pealed down both suits right at the pump to get at my wallet! It's tough trying to get at least a 7 month riding season in Michigan.  Bill

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im right there with you. Scorpion XDR top and bottom, Gerbing G3 Microwire Heated gloves and a scarf.

Mine was cold too (32F) but short. I'm only 6 miles away. Just the basic cold weather gear, not too much layering because it's only 15 minutes. The high today in Spartanburg, SC is 69F so I'll take the long way home. Rest of the week reads similar... mid 30s in the morning, low 70s in the afternoon.

Yep, 37 this morning but I only have 7 miles... 65 this afternoon!

Once upon a time I would ride to work every morning...but since moving to a place 1 block from the train, and getting a job without parking nearby, there's sense in freezing!  ALthough it definitely wakes you up!

29F, not too bad, 40miles is a nice long ride though.

I've got heated grips (Polly) (cheaper than the Gerbings or equiv) and really helps, can stay comfy at / around 32F. Limit is around 20F. I'll wear my textile two piece with Frogg Toggs over top, the body easily
stays warm. Wind is your enemy.

My commute is 25mi, ~40mins as I get into lousy stinking traffic about half way.
Pretty convinced that handguards would extend my range to 20F and below.

Please report on your comfort (esp with that long of a commute) at lower temps!

Cold?!?!?!?!?

(34F) Rode to class this morning at 8 wearing my light summer perf jacket, jeans and no gloves...

In hind sight this was a terrible decision. My hands were completely numb for an hour after.

My season is pretty much over here.  :'(

I'll be entering hibernation until April.

No gloves is always a bad decision.  ;)

Haha... Just wait, in December I'll be going for a polar bear ride wearing a t-shirt..

29 was around the coldest I ever rode. Basic leather jacket, overpants and warm gloves for about 10 miles. Was freezing my ass off and I will never ride under 40 degrees again.

+1 On the Scorpion XDR [thumbsup] Got mine in high-vis neon in the hope it would make me more visible to the idiots around here.... well at least it does keep me very warm.

Been riding with UnderArmour tights under my padded jeans until now, but I'll switch to tech pants soon.

What's the consensus on heated grips vs. heated gloves? Grips are cheaper, but are they worth it? Would they work better with handguards? Been thinking about those too. ;)

I think that with heated gloves (or grips + hand guards) I'll be able to keep riding into December and possible start riding as soon as March.... Maybe I should just sell one of my Monsters and get a Sport Touring bike instead ;) Hmm... Norge :D

I still commute in Seattle when it got down to 30.  I wear a fleece jacket under my FirstGear 3season texile and overpants.  Big winter riding gloves.  I am pretty comfy except my nose gets cold.  I wouldn't ride below 30 in fear of ice and frost.

I prefer grips because they are always with you.

However, gloves are warmer when it gets really cold. I'd say grips alone are good to about the low 40s, probably the mid 30s with hand guards. Below that gloves are going to be better.

This assumes a 20+ mile trip. For commuting grips are usually sufficient unless you have a long commute.

My commute is about 17 miles each way, but the final 7 go through a Parkway and that's when the cold really hits. :'(

But that's also the part I enjoy the most ;)

Any one have experience with the Tourmaster Heated Gloves (http://www.newenough.com/street/electric_heated_gear/gloves_socks_misc_/tour_master/synergy_electrically_heated_leather_motorcycle_gloves.html)?

I was going to ride today but we had snow and sleet up in CT. The roads where a slushy mess :(

My setup into the high 20s is thermals, rev'it jacket, jeans, HT overpants and I just got G3 gloves.

I really want the liner too because it would be cool to wear less layers and at the same time be warmer. Seems like something you could use for ever and will let me get more days on the bike.

I will ride till the roads are like a beach with sand. But if you like riding in the cold you get a lot more days in the late winter / early spring because it's cold but there is more light in early March than right now.

I just like to ride.  ;D

Besides the alternatives are the cage >:( or the metro :-\ So I'll ride as long as I can.

Perhaps one of the bikes in the pic are in my future ;)
(http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q269/MMNORTH80/PortageGl.jpg)
Multistrada - Quota - Norge

My dad has a R1200RT, now that is the right machine for commuting in weather colder than freezing. But it is too big to be fun in the twisties or around town.

I had the Tourmaster gloves, and they worked great, although I'd recommend the Gerbings, if only because Gerbings makes a nice jacket/glove combo.  The heat controller plugs into the jacket, and the sleeves have wires that can plug into the gloves.  Very simply and not much wire to mess with.  With a dual controller, you can set different temps for the jacket and gloves, making for a comfortable ride in below-freezing weather (well, assuming you've got riding pants over jeans to keep your legs warm, and good boots).

Velocipede, did you go from Tourmaster to Gerbings? I've read/seen much about the Gerbings, great stuff but more than I need, I think...

Last year I would wear snowboarding pants on my commute, pretty warm but not much protection in case of an 'ooops'... I'll be getting proper pants soon. [thumbsup]

   My record so far is one day last winter when it was 4 degrees. I ride to work year round unless there is ice on the road, 20 miles each way. It's a lot easier on the BMW with heated seats,heated grips and windshield. I think the coldest I made it on the Monster was lower teens. A set of Frogg Toggs over cold weather gear makes a huge difference. When it's that cold out you don't have to worry about passin any Harleys  ;D

Cold weather riding just flat out sucks.  Jack Frost always finds that one opening in your gear that you forgot to cover.   Below 50*, I'll take the car and be toasty.

Yeah, what I thought was a problem with the gloves turned out to be problem with the wiring in the jacket I had the Tourmasters plugged into, so I bought Gerbings.  Before I could return the Gerbings (Since the Tourmasters actually would have still been just fine), my garage was broken into and the T'masters stolen, so I'm just keeping the Gerbings.  Either one is fine, temperature-wise, but I like the setup with the Gerbings jacket/gloves/controller, and that they guarantee their electrical components for life.  Plus, I think the Gerbings are more water-resistant.
Also, can't remember if anyone mentioned this, but a windshield, or at least a tank bag, to cut down wind resistance really helps, as will hand guards.  I installed guards on my MTS 620, and with the Gerbings and some good pants/boots, it's been quite comfortable so far, down to 29 degrees.

I'm planning on getting a Gerbing jacket /controller combo to go with my gloves but I need to work on better pants so I can loose the snowmobile suit with snowmobile bibs over. Plenty warm now but combo is extremely bulky. Also use my Frogg Toggs as an over for the in between temps. Any recomendations for pants for really cold temps?  Thanks

Well, I made up my mind and went with the TourMaster Synergy Gloves. Now I have to keep myself from getting lazy and post on the Gear forum.



Now this will probably sound like a silly question, but how do those of you who have windshields deal with rain (especially at lower speeds)? ???

The helmet is not an issue for me, if I'm going fast enough the wind just blows it away, if it's slow I wipe it with my gloves and don't mind much anyway.

I would assume it's much of the same at speed with the windshield, but what do you do at low speeds? I think especially if you have a full windshield like on an RT, or the Norge, but maybe even the Multi, I would be very nervous.  :-[

Wipe it away with the squeegie built into the glove at low speeds. At speed just turn your head sideways and it'll blow away. Also, just get used to looking thru it.

Yesterday was a new experience for me. It was 30F and I was riding through heavy fog.
Never done fog at 30F before. Couldn't for the life of me figure out why the mist wasn't blowing off the
face shield. I then realized I looked like a giant icicle. I was covered in ice! :P

As I said, the helmet is not an issue for me, I'm concerned about the windshield. :-\

Oops...I gotta read better!  ;D

I just look thru the water on the windshield. My old GS had the biggest windshield of any bike I owned though. I rode my old Multi a lot in the rain and the windscreen was never an issue...same with the current SMT.

Not a problem, I heard it only happens to the best [cheeky]

Thanks for the info!

Gerbing is the shit!  [thumbsup]

12F @ 70 mph, wc = -35F

Toasty Warm w/ jacket & pant liners, glove liners.

gerbings jacket liner and g3 gloves have worked wonderfully for the past 3 yrs or so i have had them. i had to get the gloves fixed a few times, but they are decent down to about 15 degrees if i have glove liners on too.

i highly recommend getting the heated gear if you want to ride during the winter. i used to ride with many layers on and big thick gloves. one day when i left work it was 15 degrees. when i got to my destination it was 5 degrees (yes farenheight) 3 hrs later when my feet thawed out i decided that i would get the heated ger the next day. i did and it was the best thing i have bought aside from the bike itself.

to help in winter i added a small windsheild and big ugly handguards to the monster. i also have big insulated handlebar covers (brand name is polar hands i think) that are great as well. they also keep the sold air fronm going up your sleeve if you have gorilla arms and a normal length sleeve like me.

and for bragging rights. around 200 miles out to state college in Feb. daytime temps on the way out were around 40 when i left here and closer to 20 when i got there. going home it was snowing.  ;D

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Ive done that. My body is more than warm, but I wouldnt say im toasty warm in the hands though. the gloves are just barely working at that temp.

I just can't pull the trigger on heated gear.    I commuted last winter with temps consistantly in the low 20's F with my leather jacket, fleece pullover, Astar baclava, snowmobile gloves, and jeans/kaki's.  It was cold as shit, but manageable.  I seem to be pretty tolerant of the cold and don't want to lose it.  I also am too cheap to fork out the cash.  This might sound wierd, but I would rather ride in the cold of winter, then the heat of summer.  I can't stand sweating in my helmet and jacket. 

I have been riding with my new gerbing gloves and I have to say they are amazing! Yeah it is big $$$ for gloves given you need a controller but totally worth it. Once I get my liner I will be able to easily ride into the low 30s and not feel like Randy from the christmas story. Being comfortable and warm in the winter is worth the money at least to me.

Are you wearing a Gerbing heated glove or a liner with another glove?

I am wearing the glove liner under an Alpinestar WR-V, and my hands are usually the warmest part - often too hot.

Had a chilly ride yesterday (low 40s Fahrenheit, so nothing to brag about), but on the fast section swapped bikes with my friend, my ST2 for his 2008 Kawi Concours 1400. Very first time I've ever used heated grips, and I'm now seriously in lust - with the whole bike, but particularly with the grips, and the power windscreen was very nice in the cold.

It doesn't help a bit that all through high school me & my mountaineering buddies somehow thought girls would be impressed with frostbite stories (they weren't) and that one of us had read somewhere that Yvon Choinard "preferred to climb without gloves." Teenage idiots, the lot of us, and my fingers go white now anytime the temperature gets toward 40. Heated grips or gloves just went to the top of my list for accessorizing the ST.

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