Winter riding?

[macgawd]

Hello everyone!

I was curious if anyone rides their scooters in the winter, or if the Buddy is just a warm-weather joyride? I realize many of you likely live in places where it gets way too cold to ride in the winter, but I live in southeast Tennessee, and the winters here tend to be rather mild, averaging in the low 40's most of the winter. Are the buddys tuned for handling the colder weather of winter riding, or is this something that needs to be done at the shop?

Or, is winter riding of scooters even suggested?

Michael

[Scootin_in_MS]

I've only had my Buddy for less than a week now, so I can't answer about riding it in winter. But I did have a Honda Metro, and I rode it all winter. I just wore more layers, and bought a face mask to wear under my helmet (to keep my chin warm). Other than slightly worse gas mileage (only 85 mpg), I didn't notice any other problems. The coldest I rode it was about 28 degrees - it doesn't get any colder here...

Jody

[ellen]

I have a hard enough time digging the car and the dog out!

So between the snow and the sand I usually put my scooter in hibernation for the winter.
Hook up the battery tender, put Stabil in the gas tank, cover with a sheet and then

[Beamie]

Winter riding in the cold climes is ok for youngsters, but not so much fun once you have 20 years of experience under your belt.

We used to ride all winter by studding the tires......riding snow covered roads to the areas where the snomobiles make tracks and finally onto the frozen lake at the Boys Scouts camp. The lake was the riot.

Riding in the winter requires the committment to do a few flat track maneuvers when you go down on the slippery stuff.
And then there's the frozen extremities and the frosted uo face shield.

[peabody99]

bundled up, what are the experts guesses on how cold a temp you can ride in? I have a very short commute. I am ashamed to say it is about a mile, but I have to carry a lap top and other work stuff so too far to walk, plus I would pass thru an area not safe to walk in the dark. I would also possibly have close by appointments to drive too. all could be managed in 30 mph range. I would not drive on snow or ice, just wondering about the cold tolerence for a person and Buddy (who actually has a heated garage to winter in). thoughts?

[Beamie]

A mile is a piece of cake in sub freezing temps as long as you cover all exposed skin, including your face.

[macgawd]

Winter riding in the cold climes is ok for youngsters, but not so much fun once you have 20 years of experience under your belt.

We used to ride all winter by studding the tires......riding snow covered roads to the areas where the snomobiles make tracks and finally onto the frozen lake at the Boys Scouts camp. The lake was the riot.

Riding in the winter requires the committment to do a few flat track maneuvers when you go down on the slippery stuff.
And then there's the frozen extremities and the frosted uo face shield.

Where I live, it rarely snows, and if it does, the city shuts down, meaning no work to ride to, anyway. In winter, I would only ride if I was certain the roads were dry and clear--the cold doesn't bother me.

Michael

[OkieBuddy]

Living in Oklahoma, the winters seems milder each year. I have a Corallo mens jacket I plan to wear this winter with layers.

I will probably have to get something to cover my chin up with this winter also. I have ridden in the rain and it felt like Stinging Daggers to me at 50 mph, not unbearable, but reminded you to get a rain coat of some type for next time.

The maintenance staff were impressed as I pulled in wet on my scooter and the HD riders did not want to get their bikes wet. They had a rough day living it down.

I will keep you posted as it gets cooler, right now it is over 100 degrees at 7 pm.

[mlstephens]

Living in Oklahoma, the winters seems milder each year. I have a Corallo mens jacket I plan to wear this winter with layers.

Did you mean Corazzo?

[mlee10018]

does anyone have any experience riding in the New York winters? I am planning on riding as much as possible, but I come from a scooter country where there is no snow.
Does the salt on the streets do anything to the scooters?
megen

[Scootin_in_MS]

This is a blog of a guy who rode a Baron scooter in the winter in Minnesota. I think he just made sure to spray some protective stuff (no clue what, but it says in the blog) on all the exposed metal, and rinsed the whole scoot off every now and then.

http://www.ridetowork.org/baroninwinter/

Good Luck,
Jody

[ellen]

does anyone have any experience riding in the New York winters? I am planning on riding as much as possible, but I come from a scooter country where there is no snow.
Does the salt on the streets do anything to the scooters?
megen

People in the city usually ride all year round. The Department of Sanitation is phenomenal at snow removal. Just have to watch out for the sand which can be as bad as hitting a patch of ice and its all over. Worse by curbs and corners.
Like a car, the salt will eat away at your scooters metal, plastic and rubber. So you have to make sure you hose it down every week or so (especially the underside).

[Beamie]

Does the salt on the streets do anything to the scooters?
megen

Unless you consider it a disposible vehicle, I wouldn't do it.
It's easy to say "wash it down". It's a whole other thing actually accomplishing that when it's below freezing out there.
Besides, I seriously doubt that you'll get the stuff out of every little nook and crany. Deicer will take it's toll sooner or later.

Ride it all year but plan on total depreciation if you do.

[punkelf]

Macgawd,
SE Tennessee, eh?
With all due respect, to the scooter riding community across this great nation, ride all dang year! I rode my scoot all year when I lived in Little Rock, AR and I ride it all year in Olympia, WA. Ok Ok, I take less than a week on average off for snow and ice. I'm betting your weather is similar. If you know what your doing on wet roads (and you should learn, 'cause you never know when the sudden summer storm might hit dampen your "warm-weather joyride") and you have the proper gear, riding in the cold and wet is not that bad. It's a little more important to pay attention to your scooter (tire condition and air pressure in particular) and to the cagers around you. But it can be done.
Some other tips, remember if it's 40 degrees out and your moving at 30 mph, then you're dealing with a perceived temp of 10 degrees (minus one degree for each mph.) So even in your kind of winter, which is actually a lot like a W. Washington winter, you will almost assuredly want a windshield, and I personally would recommend one that extends far enough out the sides to offer some hand protection. Hands seem to get the coldest quickest, and it's easy to not notice how truly cold they are, until you dismount. Even really heavy winter gloves won't seem like enough, even in a moderate Southern winter. There are other options, hand guards like dirt bikes use, or handlebar muffs like snow mobiles use, or even electric gloves.
If you want to try it, plan ahead, be prepared, and DO IT.
If you don't want to, well nobody will fault you that.

[seth xyl]

I'm with punkelf. Last year (riding a mint stella) I had a forty mile commute and I did it in anything but snow covered roads, which this last year in Cincinnati was only once or twice. But it was cold! I would stop at a Generic Coffee, or huddle next to my exhaust pipe to warm my hands, and if my hands weren't cold the next extremity (like feet) feels like ice.

Realistically the climate you're describing would be great. I wish it was that warm up here in winter... and if budget allows there's some great kit to keep you warm and cozy.

[cmiles3]

I ride a Yamaha Venture, full fairing, touring bike all winter. I usually switch to 4 wheels if there's precip forecast, or it's below freezing all day (too many wet patches on the road). I have a 20 mile commute one way. Typical winter day in Tulsa is 30's or 40's, with a lot of 50's, some 60's and the standard week or so of 70's.

Amy's Buddy has been out of the garage a few times this winter, on weekends. Usually when it's 40's or 50's. We took a long ride last weekend; 25 miles to the starting place, 32 miles on a scenic ride, lunch, then 25 miles back home. Left at 10:00 (35 degrees) and returned at 3:00 (50 degrees). I added a windshield for this ride; she noticed a much warmer ride than New Year's weekend (same weather).

My winter jacket is a leather bomber, with a thinsulate liner. Behind my fairing, I don't get cold. This winter I added insulated gloves with gauntlets; this keeps my hands warmer (still frosty on 30 degree mornings). I also wear a full face helmet with vents. No problems with fogging (but I don't ride in the fog).

[Elm Creek Smith]

Just thought I'd share a few pictures of our latest example of mild Oklahoma winter.


I call this Cruiser on ice.


This is the back yard and the creek. The white stuff is not snow, it's ice.

Needless to say, I'm not riding for a while.

ECS

[paige]

Are the police at your house for a reason?

[Elm Creek Smith]

He lives next door. If you'll look closer, you'll see there's more ice on his car than on mine!

ECS

[Catalyst]

Ya know? I went to the Buddy Website (I've only had mine for a little over a month now) to see what I could learn about winter riding, and saw two links, one for this place.

I come, and what do I find? A thread about winter riding!

My hubby bought me a Buddy 50 (I have no need for more power at this point, but may upgrade later in life. ) so that I could get around out on town without having to kill myself on the bike. We've been utilitarian cyclists for over a decade now, only having a "token" vehicle for most of that time.

Personally, I LOVE IT!

Especially when snow is gently falling, and hasn't started sticking to the road yet.

My problem is tires, the tires that come on the buddy are most definitely not for the slick stuff. We're in the area of Colorado that's been recently hit by one snow storm a week for the past month now. The first time the road was clear, our drive wasn't completely clear. I hit the packed snow and ice and went down before even leaving the driveway. I since walk it through ice patches.

But....

Ice is still a no go in my mind, for obvious reasons, but I've been kinda hunting down an all terrain tire that will maybe help in spots of packed snow, etc.

Thus far, I just shovel out my parking, and a path into our parking lot (I live on base) before my neighbors pack it into ice, and by the time the roads clear for me to get out and about, my path is clear enough for me to actually get out and about.

I do salt, but by the time I drive on salted areas, snow and ice have melted and washed it away pretty good, and I don't take the bike out more than once between snows, salting.

Basically, I'm just looking to get out a little more often than once a week during the winter.

Plus, I would like a little better traction on wet roads as well. I have seen some all terrain scooter tires online, but I don't have enough experience with scooters to know what works best.

I DO know about bicycles and traction though, I keep a good cross training tire on my bicycle at all times for the above reasons. Whines like gangbusters at 15+ miles per hour, but beats going down at that speed. (I have done that, at 13mph, and I still have the chunk missing out of my knee.)

Dang, I'm new, and look how long winded I am! Sorry about that.

[JuliaGrace]

I've been riding all winter thus far. Of course that doesn't sound like much of a feat here in S.F. compared to other parts of the country.

However, it's been in the low 30'sF in the mornings here lately and I've been able to suck it up and ride anyway.

The only thing that's gotten me onto the bus is extremely heavy rain - primarily because I park a good 10 minute walk from my office.

My only issue really is my that hands get so darned cold, so I'm in the market for some inexpensive glove liners. I just bought a new jacket (Frank Thomas Kera Aqua jacket) to replace an ill-fitting one my ex bought me which keeps me nice and warm, and my FirstGear HT Overpants do the same for my lower half.

On a side note, I have family in Chattanooga, and I wouldn't have a problem with riding my scoot there in the winter. But I'm crazy like that

Cheers,
Julie

[ivyall]

I'm in Maryland where we used to have winter but it seems that we only get it for a few days now Anyway, I won't ride in any precip but I have a 7 mile trip to work and have done it when the temp is in the mid 30s. I wear long underwear and a full body ski suit. Then I put on my winter motorcycle gloves, a windbreaker and neck muffler. I put my coffee in a thermos and off I go. It is definitely refreshing! The way home is usually a bit warmer!
Be careful out there!

[BoneGirl]

I live in Cincinnati and as long as the roads are clear of ice and snow my husband and I continue to ride. We ride 12.5 miles to work and then ride for fun as long as the roads are good. It pays to have warm clothing and layers.

[jperkins]

Well I was able to dig my Buddy out from the snow and ice for a few hours today. It was nice to start it up and put a few miles on it before the next snow storm hits Oklahmoa in a few Hours. (Spring Can't come soon enough!!!!)