winter wont stop me!

[gnrmax]

hi all, not sure if this is the right place to post this thread.
i'll be riding my ntv 600 throughout the winter and was woundering if anyone has any tips or advise they can share to make my winter riding a bit more easier for me!

its a pretty bike, the only add-ons are all round givi top boxes and side panniers and it has an aftermarket fairing giving me great wind protection.

i was woundering if there is anything good out there for riding in this season as this is my first time winter riding, i.e. tyres/ protection etc...

many thanks all!
kind regards, Sean.

[gothitjulie]

Little things:

A drop of oil in each of the locks to stop them freezing or becoming seized up from salt ingress.

Handlebar muffs or hand guards, keep the icy blast off your hands.

Fork protectors.

Grease or vaseline on the battery terminals (and any exposed electrical contacts). Also a bit of grease over the ends of the spark plug caps to prevent water ingress.

Grease the clutch cable, throttle cable & choke cable.

Grease around the wheel bearings, it helps keep some of the salt water off them.

Any extra reflective stips you can fit on the bike, being seen when it's dark & throwing it down with icy rain is an advantage.

Tyre pressures, not too high in winter, a little more tyre deformation can help with grip.

Antifreeze in the coolant, make certain you have plenty in there.

Correct oil levels in the engine & shaft drive box.


Bigger things:

HID headlight, my MOT tester was appalled at how bright they were. Passes MOT no prob as long as they're adjusted properly. Gives a very clear beam pattern on an original NTV headlamp shell.

Make sure your tyres have plenty of tread in them, they start slipping more & more as they go through the 3mm tread mark, replace them early if you're riding in winter a lot.


Extras

Hose it down come March & it will be fine, unlike those bikes that have drive chains ;D

[gothitjulie]

Things for you in winter

Heated gloves, heated jacket etc., (and a couple of plastic bags for use over gloves in snowstorms)

Visor insert to stop fogging.

Neck cosy, I use thin ones for summer, thick wool ones for autumn, then both types together & a scarf in full winter.

Waterproof textiles. Dayglo ones if you want (I ride in a dayglo textile jacket these days, looks horrible but so does my Revere). Leathers are only useful underneath textiles when it's down below -5C, keep the leathers for summer.

Boots that don't leak all the time (oh ya, I need to order a new pair).

[gills]

That's a very comprehensive guide from Julie - I'd only add a few things:

• ACF50 (www.acf-50.co.uk/motorcycle.htm) is worth considering for spraying on the bike. It's become increasingly popular in the last few years and a lot of people swear by it. One word of caution though: keep it off your disks - it's a pig to clean off!
  
• I swear by heated grips - others use heated gloves/handlebar muffs, but I find the convenience of heated grips hard to beat
  
• Make sure you keep warm - your concentration and reactions deteriorate fast once you start getting seriously cold
  
• Take it steady. I remember once reading that grip on a cold, wet road can be as little as 10% of what you get on a warm, dry summer's day. Ride to the conditions and you should make it through in one piece
  

Some days you'll question your sanity riding through the winter, but then you'll get a beautiful morning and it will make it all worth it. The other bonus is it will make you a better rider having to deal with the changing conditions.

Good luck and enjoy!

[striderider]

Well, It's all subjective - depends how 'hard-core' you & your bike is. (blue text is hyperlinks to sites)

Regarding the bike:

The NTV will survive winters with no worries at all; just make sure you are doing regular maintainance, ie:

- Keep your cables lubed

This tool is very handy: Universal cable lubricator

- Keep the bike clean of salt & grime, replace a couple of maintanance bolts & fixtures with stainless steel items (some of which will be already).

- If not already, you could fit a fly-screen to deflect some of the cold air off your chest & neck area

- Be anal about your tyre pressures (keep them at the recommended/handbook settings), there has been no proof at all regarding reducing down a couple of PSI when it's cold

- When it's in the -C^o's (less than 32^oF Put some fuel additives in. This prevents carb-icing (I've had this with other bikes, but not the NTV)

Fuel additive: Sikolene FST

- Think about some extra lights, I remeber reading about a "triangulation effect" by having three running lights to create a triangle of light. This helps other road-users judge distance of speed.

You & your kit:

- Decent 'windstopper' gloves &/or silk/thermal undergloves Example undergloves

- Sealskin waterproof socks

- Buff's A must have!!

- Some people recommend Rain X to put on your visor, I've never used it, so can't say much about it

- All-in-one waterproof oversuit All-in-one waterproof oversuit this packs up small & handy to keep in your bags in case of a sudden downpoor.

- Keep your visablility up with a floresent/reflective waitcoat

In General:

- Allow extra time to reach your destination

- Be smooth on the throttle & on the brakes

- When road is wet/greasy adjust your braking to be 50/50 front/rear or even upto 20/80 front/rear

- NEVER (unless exceptional circumstances dictate otherwise) brake in or on corners

Misc:

- What an RAF pilot can teach us about being safe on the road


- Attend extra riding instruction like "Ride-to-arrive" or join the "IAM"

When I think of some more stuff, I'll add it here

[norfolknchance]

if you can avoid going out in snow............then dont
as a mad winter rider .........i dont do anything to the bike......but then again it is a rat

when i do go out .......i have a small shovel that i take............if the bike goes down its a pig to pick up when you & the bike is trying to slide............
if you do ride in snow..
remember ............avoid brakes...... wear as many layers as you can

[pikey]

When I was a courier I rode through ANYTHING, still do if the mood takes me! Hahahaha. All the above advice for warmth and safety, keeping the bike serviced etc is good but I`m afraid I don`t do dayglo, alternative sort me.

[gnrmax]

thanks very much for all the advise and pics! been a great deal of help and tomorow i shall squaring away all the bits and peices that need doing. mainly just a little bit of maint on the bike and buy a few more layers!
cheers everyone =D

[oddjob1]

i put carrier bags in boots and disposable plastic gloves underneath leather 1s and sometimes when i out on bike lol

[jchittenden1]

This will be my first winter too and the Revere is my first big bike to take me through it. All the above tips have been dully noted by me, thanks too all. A couple of things I will say, I bought some 'SealSkins' socks about a month ago and I think they were the BEST £30 I've ever spent!!! my boots are pretty good but like most boots they will only take so much and when they finally let SOME water in my feet were still dry and warm! I am very interested in fitting HID lights (Any suggestions/websites would be great). The one thing that's getting me, because I've come from a super light 125cc bike, my Revere is very heavy and in the current weather I don't really know how much I can lean the bike down. I've been going slow round round-a-bouts and sharp corners in case of ice... Am I being over-cautious and will this cause worse consequences?

[gothitjulie]

You can't really rely on being able to lean the bike at all on rutted roundabouts where ice lurks in the ruts & when there's no ice there's water & diesel instead.

Riding today I noticed the smell of diesel & then saw it was all over the road. Assume you're on ice, don't go out of your way to lean & keep it slow in the corners.

Better chicken strips than road rash. Save the high lean angles for when the roads are warm & dry.