too cold, too warm.. etc layering winter

All,

So last week I was out on the MV towards the coast... and about froze out. Wearing my summer mesh jacket with liner, heavy shirt, t-shirt, jeans, boots and long boot socks, and leather gauntlets. Today, same gear: too warm. Main difference in temperature: sun out more today, and maybe a few degrees difference.

I find it difficult to select the right gear, especially if out for longer rides (100 miles plus). My Aerostich leathers are incredibly warm, but also heavy and bulky so I hesitate to wear them until temps below 50 or so.

Guess I need to figure out a way to add or delete layers? Tis a puzzle.

Lucydad said:

Guess I need to figure out a way to add or delete layers? Tis a puzzle.

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Good news is the puzzle is pretty simple. I left home this morning 38 deg. textile jacket with liner with dress shirt on the bottom jeans and mesh over pants with liner, gauntlet gloves. When I got home it was 68 deg. I had removed the liner from the jacket and changed the gauntlet gloves for non-gauntlet. You can stuff liners and light fleece layers in a tank bag or tail bag pretty easy. Backpacks also work as these layers are light.

I fight with this all the time. Don't really have any solutions I just carry an empty backpack in the morning and it's full of insulated gear on my way home. Maybe heated gear will work but not sure when it starts getting above 60 which could be any day.

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bwdmax said:

Good news is the puzzle is pretty simple. I left home this morning 38 deg. textile jacket with liner with dress shirt on the bottom jeans and mesh over pants with liner, gauntlet gloves. When I got home it was 68 deg. I had removed the liner from the jacket and changed the gauntlet gloves for non-gauntlet. You can stuff liners and light fleece layers in a tank bag or tail bag pretty easy. Backpacks also work as these layers are light.

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Sure doesn't sound like enough upper body warmth for this old man.

I wear the same thing I would wear for a day outside in the given weather, then my crash gear over that and the liner or rain gear over that. Cutting the wind and neck warmth is the key for me. It also depends on the bike. If everything is out in the wind like on the X Challenge, then more wind protection. On the RT I can ride in jeans down into the 40s pretty easily.

woodsguy said:

Sure doesn't sound like enough upper body warmth for this old man.

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Yeah it was cold for the first 20 miles, but I knew the sun was coming so I sucked it up.

When it's hot I just use my Motoport mesh kevlar jacket and pants (with a tshirt and bicycling shorts) with Rev'it Sand 3 gloves. Boots are Alpinestar with ventilation or heavier motocross boots (no ventilation)

As it gets colder I add the pant and jacket liners, which also serve as rain gear. The jacket liner is a heated Gerbing one, and I leave it unplugged. I switch gloves to Gerbing heated gloves, unplugged. If my feet get cold I put plastic bags around my feet and an extra pair of socks when wearing the ventilated boots. If rain is heavy I add thin Frogg Toggs over the liners and under the jacket. They take little space and work well.

When it gets really cold I turn the heat on the jacket liner and the gloves and I am usually comfortable down to the high 30's. I may add a thin balaclava to protect my face. Perforated boots are a problem at these temperatures, so if I know I am going to be going through really low temps I take the non-ventilated boots even though they are not as comfortable when the temps rise.

It's not perfect but it works for me.

Mesh jacket with liner in still lacks enough insulating properties. The liner is blocking the wind but the conduction of heat is right off the outer surface of the liner. Adding a rain jacket over the mesh jacket converts all that mesh air flow space into an additional layer of insulation space.

I have rode more in the last two months then I have in recent memory. I layer up also. I have several jackets and use another liner from a Frank Thomas jacket and sometimes a rain jacket over the top if it gets really bad on the way in, plus my work shirt and long sleeve seat shirt. I have battery powered Gerbing heated gloves which work for about 50 miles or so. One goes dead on the trip home but it is normally warmer then anyhow. I carry another and glove inserts if it is warmer on the return ride. I have Cycle Gear freeze out long johns or regular ones those are good to 50 or so. Under 50 I add the Bilt rain pants over the top of my blue jeans or riding pants. That combo I have rode in as low as 28 degrees and was comfortable. And thick camping socks in motorcycle boots have worked so far. My commute is about 70 miles round trip. Been nicer/warmer on the way back so I adjust layering to meet my threshold of cold tolerance.

Lucydad said:

..Guess I need to figure out a way to add or delete layers? Tis a puzzle.

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Alternating between too hot and too cold on the same day sure sounds like menopause to me. They sell meds to help with that. LOL

_

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Silver Bullet,

Lol yes they do, guess I can root around Ms. Lucydad's medicine cabinet? Naw, bad choice.

I need to suck it up and break out the leathers I guess. Humidity may make a difference. Maybe even the bike: Guzzi has a nice fly screen and I don't ride as fast as on the Italian Terror, aka Betttina the MV Agusta Brutale...with a tiny fly screen.

Thanks for comments.

The solution for me is heated gear... a WnS jacket liner and Gerbing T5 gloves. I wear the exact same gear from 60°F on down, my lowest being ~10° a couple years ago. I just adjust the temps for the gloves and liner. The liner is not very well insulated so when it's turned off, it doesn't add much. Unless there's a big upswing in temps, I don't have to change out. If I do, it's to just pull off my jacket liner when it hits about 65°, if it's sunny.

Nobody ever wishes they hadn't gotten electric gear, they just wonder why they didn't get it sooner.

The bike you ride makes a really big difference.

On my Goldwing, there's so much wind protection and heated seats and grips so a textile jacket with a long sleeve wicking t-shirt is good to about 50. Between 40 and 50, add the jacket liner. Additionally.... with saddlebags and a big trunk, I can carry neck gators, other layers, other gloves or whatever so it's really easy to stay comfortable by just adjusting a bit at a stop. Below 40, I go with electric and with electric, I've ridden in the high 20's on that bike.

In contrast, on my KTM Super Duke, it's a way different story. I typically just go electric right away. Put the electric liner in and wear the electric gloves with a t-shirt and the textile jacket and I'm good to the 40's and up to the 60's where I'll ditch the electric liner and gloves to a backpack or the saddlebags if I've got them on. I won't ride the KTM below 40 as even with electric gear, it's just too much cold wind to really stay warm.

Bottom line...I think the bike you ride can make it seem like 15-20 degrees different temperature. You need at least 1 to 2 more layers or you need electric much faster on a bike with a small windscreen and little wind protection than you do with a touring bike.

paulcb said:

Nobody ever wishes they hadn't gotten electric gear, they just wonder why they didn't get it sooner.

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This.

I have my gear combinations well established.
70F+ = Mesh gear
60F-70F = Mesh gear with liners
50F-F60F = Non Mesh gear and heated liners not plugged in
<50F = Non Mesh gear and heated liners plugged in.

Heated liners are great especially when you have large variables in temperature. I did an early October trip to Colorado and saw temps from 33F to 93F. I was anywhere from heated liners removed and all vents open to vents closed and liners turned up. Going from the top of Pikes Peak where there was snow on the ground I had everything off and out by the time I reached the base of the mountain. It gives you a lot of coverage without compromising a lot of storage space and without you looking like and feeling like the michelin man.

"G-xxer" and 2 Wheel:

Wow you give me insights. I think my bike choice is a lot of the cause of highly variable body experience. Guzzi is relatively warm compared to MV Agusta. Yes, that is part of it.

I tend to be lazy breaking out the Aerostich leathers-- they are heavy and bulky, but excellent at temps below about 60, more like 50F. They have nice vents though that help.

Last time I rode the Million Dollar highway on a rental bike, July of 2017, I was baked, comfortable, rained on, pelted by sleet, blown about and then baked all within one day. Welcome to the San Juan mountains and home though...

Heck, when I was in high school, in Durango, CO, I would wear my Ski-Doo one piece suit to ride my Honda Scrambler 175 almost year round. Those were the days.

Yea, it was 33F when I pulled out of Ouray headed South with the liners crancked up to broil. I had to remind myself that because I was warm and toasty, my tires and the road were decidedly NOT warm, and as fun as those curves were, the penalty for pushing cold tires on that particular early frozen road was one I'd rather not pay. But the suit did lull me into thinking it was warmer than it was.

I've found that my mesh Fieldsheer jacket with a liner, and smart layering underneath will allow my to ride down to the upper 40's on my FJR.

Athletic Underarmor type undershirts are great because they're warm but fairly thin and breathable. I add and remove when things get cooler or warmer.

Of course...the other things that are definitely a factor is your age and your % body fat.

I'm a big boy. 250 pounds and not as lean as I used to be. As a result, I've got a built in layer of natural insulation. My buddy that is about 12 years older than me 60 pounds less at the same height wears a lot more layers than I do as he gets cold faster.

Age is also a factor. Our metabolism slows as we age. Metabolism is the internal fire that's burning calories and producing heat in our bodies. As we age, that fire doesn't burn as hot.

I don't think this is news to anyone except that there's a reason why you can handle cold days when you are 20 that you wouldn't want to even attempt to do when you are 50.

Never too cold, lol!

I agree on the age and metabolism affecting the ability to ride in cold weather. In my younger days, I rode in freezing weather with nothing more than a jacket, mid layer, and a t-shirt. Now that I’m older and hopefully wiser, I ride in my aerostich most of the time, unless it’s really warm, like above 70F which I will switch to my summer mesh gear. I find that with the vents open on the stich, I could generally stay comfortable in weather up to 80F unless I’m stuck in traffic in stop n go traffic. In really cold weather, I would add layers under my Stich, which is usually thermos and heated liner that I use for keeping my arms warm.

I have been caught unprepared once while on a multi-day ride in June. I wore my mesh gear and had nothing but shorts and t shirts. The forecast of 80F degrees took a turn suddenly when a cold front of 65F rolled in the evening and I had to ride into the evening hours to make up time. I had not pack any rain gear because the lack of rain forecast, I had to just bear the cold and ride on

I rolled into my parents house pretty late that evening and had to hear it from my dad, who use to ride in his younger days before he could afford a car. He kept a rain suit in his saddlebag not just for rain but also good for sudden change of weather. Now I keep my rain suit permanently in my saddlebags.

A relate funny story. My wife, who seldom rides pillion with me but has many very fashionable riding jackets. She complained to me about one of her jacket not doing much keeping her warm when she wore it. It turned out she grabbed her mesh riding jacket without the wind proof fleece liner. I guess the armor pads didn’t do much to keep her warm

I would just be happy to have some time to ride with even a mediocre day. Been rainy and cold here in Sugar Land. Also been absorbed in death of my mother and handling her estate. Maybe next week. But may rent a snowmobile in Durango while there in couple weeks. It is snowing big time in the San Juans.

Seems like it, and frost this morning. Need to ride.