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Been a good summer, but sadly winter is on its way. Forecast for toworrow morning round here is 6 C. So its time for winterpreparations - putting the linings back in the riding ghear, muffs back on the bars, out with the ACF50. Maybe try and find the heated waistcoat that I have somewhere.

Have you prepared yet? Any tips / things you have found useful in the past? My best recommendation would be the muffs. Makes even BMW heated grips feel warm and riding all winter in summer gloves is fabulous!

I've made my preparations. I'm in the South of France, 20kms from the Med. Temps were in the mid-20s today, and wall to wall blue sky. Tonight temps are supposed to plummet to around 19C...

I find that my merino base layer in conjunction with the liners in my Goretex suit are all that I need for my body. However, hands and feet are the limiting factor in that order. I've SORN'd my K12 which has heated grips, so I'm now wondering whether to fit heated grips and muffs to my XT which is now my winter bike or to go for heated gloves. Your experience with muffs is helpful as I do like the heated grips but I still end up with frozen little fingers for some reason. So, I'd also be interested to hear about any heated glove recommendations.

I fitted some new heated grips .... but probably will not be so different to the old ones - just they are a bit more grippy and the controls less cumbersome.

The goretex clothing I bought last year is ace .... when it gets cold I'd better put the linings back in.

My winter preparations are sort the car out and by a ton of hardwood logs !
Seriously, I hate riding in freezing conditions and avoid at all costs, Ive met black ice on a couple of occasions... not on my list of things to repeat.
Loads of untreated roads round here, I'll happily 'fess up' to being a complete pussy and use the car

fatboy wrote:My winter preparations are sort the car out and by a ton of hardwood logs !
Seriously, I hate riding in freezing conditions and avoid at all costs, Ive met black ice on a couple of occasions... not on my list of things to repeat.
Loads of untreated roads round here, I'll happily 'fess up' to being a complete pussy and use the car

I'm with you, brother. Done it when I was younger and skint, don't feel the need to repeat it...

i checked the fuse on the heated seats in the car

Struggled with muffs last year. Couldn't get happy with clearance to the brake and clutch levers. These are the Oxford wrap around sort

Jacket liner to go back in, already in my textile and waterproof gloves, maybe a clean and spray with some fs365 shortly, but that's about it

I spray WD40 on everything except the discs, plug in the smart battery charger, and lock the garage securely!

Like previous posters, I used to ride all year round when I was a student and had no other transport. Thankfully, I don't need to do that now but the reason I bought a second bike was to keep my main bike away from road salt but still be able to make the most of those occasional ,gorgeous, clear winter days when an hour's ride in the middle of the day blows those cobwebs away. I certainly wouldn't venture out when there's snow lying but it can be quite challenging and satisfying to head for the hills when it's cold and crispy. Provided you keep warm and get back before the sun goes down, it's great fun.

Dusty wrote:I find that my merino base layer in conjunction with the liners in my Goretex suit are all that I need for my body. However, hands and feet are the limiting factor in that order. I've SORN'd my K12 which has heated grips, so I'm now wondering whether to fit heated grips and muffs to my XT which is now my winter bike or to go for heated gloves. Your experience with muffs is helpful as I do like the heated grips but I still end up with frozen little fingers for some reason. So, I'd also be interested to hear about any heated glove recommendations.

As far as I'm concerned , muffs are the dogs. The heated grips on my BM dont work hot enough to get through the insulation of thicker winter gloves and in any case dont keep the brake and clutch fingers warm. In contrast with the muffs on and summer gloves, I have to turn the heated grips down.

I have a heated waistcoat which certainly works well when it gets down to2C but the cable is a PITA and for that reason alone I wouldnt go for heated gloves. In any even have you ever had gloves that remained waterproof for long? Thats the other advantage of muffs.

mangocrazy wrote: I'm with you, brother. Done it when I was younger and skint, don't feel the need to repeat it...

I dont ride through winter out of any " hard man" tendencies - that the last thing I would describe myself as. Its more about self preservation because the big time for bike accidents is march / april when the weekend warriors get their bikes out of hibernation. Unfamiliarity is the issue. So I use the bike for maybe 1000 miles between november and march. Keep up such skills as I have.

Not managed it this year, but I'm thinking driving lessons then a nice little car.

lazarus wrote:

mangocrazy wrote: I'm with you, brother. Done it when I was younger and skint, don't feel the need to repeat it...

I dont ride through winter out of any " hard man" tendencies - that the last thing I would describe myself as. Its more about self preservation because the big time for bike accidents is march / april when the weekend warriors get their bikes out of hibernation. Unfamiliarity is the issue. So I use the bike for maybe 1000 miles between november and march. Keep up such skills as I have.

Exactly !

.... and there are plenty of days during the winter months that are pleasant enough for riding.

I've the car for days I don't feel like riding and the bike for days I do. More days than not, I do.

It's this blanket "wrap it up and put it away at a certain date" that is anathema to me. These are bikes, not the Blue Peter Tortoise !

Nothing really, i'm still riding around in jeans and a hoody. Commute is only 3 miles at < 40mph.

Getting wet is a minor pain, but the tumble drier sorts that out quickly!