We’ve covered how to ride in the rain but what about the dreaded cold. I wanted to share my tips on how to keep warm and comfortable when the rude chill of winter sets in. Early mornings taking off for the work commute or heading out at the crack of dawn for a weekend ride can be 10 degrees colder than the lovely sunny hours of lunch o’clock. It’s not all about finding the perfect Michelin man, mega warm suit; it’s about finding layers that work with the gear you already have, pieces you can peel on and off as the day progresses.
So let’s begin! Layer life – Like player life but less sexy.
The best material for base layer layers to keep you warm is wool or synthetic. Stay away from cotton, cotton will actually make you much colder if it gets wet from sweat or rain. I always prefer zip necks upper body layers as turtle necks can sometimes feel like a noose, ripping at your ears off upon removal. Maybe my turtle necks are just too tight. It also helps to have a zipper for riding off-road. Things can get a bit steamy and require ventilation when you’re hanging off your Africa Twin doing a mono over a water crossing.
READ MORE: Why bike adventures are so much fun!
Heated vest
A vest is essential. Why wear a vest? By insulating and warming the core, blood flow to the extremities remains steady, which helps keep them warmer and reduces the risk of muscle strain, cramps, and heat exhaustion. It’s worn over clothing, trapping air between the vest and the layers of clothes. It also allows your arms to flail free and fit under your motorcycle jacket. You can’t really fit a jacket under a jacket – well you can, it’s just a tad tight.
Here’s a great example: The Heated Vest. Besides motorcycling, you can wear these vests anywhere – kids sport, camping, fishing, even on a construction site. Heck, I might just wear it at home instead of my expensive central heating. It uses carbon fibre heat pads which provide infra-red heat to zones in the clothing. They are powered by a USB lithium rechargeable battery. Starting at $139 unisex, including one battery pack and charger, these are way cheaper than most of the garments at your standard adventure gear store. You obviously need to charge the batteries, but even without them, it’s still a decent vest. Plus, it’s washable and comes with a two year warranty – boom! Need I say more?
Heated pants
For my next under garment: heated long johns. If it’s cold, you are definitely wearing leggings under your pants. Whether it’s your adventure gear or your standard moto denim, you will need some kind of extra layer otherwise your knees will start to feel like they are falling off. It does help that your legs are near a hot engine which is sometimes a saviour but not always depending on the style and shape of the bike.
Solve this problem with these hot legs – Bluetooth motorcycle heated liner pants that you can control on your phone or on a built-in controller. With three heat settings, the pants feature two micro-alloy fibre flexible heating panels located on the front, placed from the thighs to shins, where you are blasted with cold air while riding. The front of the pants is also made from a stretchable softshell fabric for wind protection. The rear has a synthetic poly-spandex compression material to suck moisture away and is lined with comfy fleece.
Priced at $249 they will be the perfect accompaniment when you decide a trip to the snow on two wheels is a good idea. I’ve not yet had that light bulb moment.
Heated gloves
Cold legs, you can deal with. Cold upper body, not great but you can think warm thoughts. Frozen fingers are unbearable. Not only does the cold temperature sear them like a burning cattle prod but once your fingers go past that stage, you stop feeling them all together which can be a major issue when braking, searching for a clutch or hanging onto handlebars. Other options to combat this frost are heated grips, a delicious luxury, or Barkbusters that act as wind protectors for your hand grips. Unless you’re riding a Fireblade or a Panigale and are not allowed barkbusters simply because it is not the done thing. The wind is generally the issue, if it starts raining not even heated grips will save you. You’ll have to suck it up, Sally.
So what’s on the market for heated gloves? There are two versions you can choose from: hard wired versus battery powered. They either use a self-contained lithium battery or connect directly to your motorcycle.
As the hard wired option involves the cables required to plug in, they are generally good for long days on the bike where you aren’t having to disconnect regularly.
The battery powered ones are easy to remove, especially if you’re hopping on and off the bike continuously. However, as is the nature of batteries, they die.
Besides warmth, you still need protection. You need your fingers so take care of them, they are such delicate necessary things. Ideally, the gloves will include some armour located in the crash points like the knuckles and protective fabric like kevlar.
Meet the FIVE HG-1 Pro-Heated glove. These are top of the line battery powered bangers and the price is set accordingly at around $399. If you use these regularly they’ll be worth every penny. Or perhaps you’d prefer to add heated grips to your motorcycle, same price! Depending on your brand of bike. You won’t need both gloves and heated grip in Australia generally. The FIVE’s come with a control knob of three heat levels, ClearVision pad to wipe off the helmet’s visor, a Thinsulate 40g thermal lining for heat insulation, a one-piece shell to protect the topside of your hand and a TPR shell on the palm. They also feature a Touch Screen system for handling device screens and reflective elements for night riding, and are fairly lightweight. Expect about three and a half hours of battery life on the low setting and two hours on max.
From the Netherlands, Macna Ion Hard-Wired Gloves are an electric and battery option. These are priced at $279 and have an easy use four level heat controller located on the outside of the glove. You can either plug them into your motorcycle or they can be operated by two small lithium batteries inside the glove. Fully armoured, full length, totally waterproof. They are made of goat leather and Soft Flex with a Raintex waterproof breathable membrane and Bemberg comfort liner. Why goat leather you ask? It has a high level of lanolin which means a high level of waterproofing. Who’d have thunk it. The glove also runs a ‘water exhaust’ so water can escape if it gets in. On low power these gloves will keep you warm for six and half hours. On high, two and half hours. They take two hours to charge. Or just plug them into your moto!
Otherwise, for those on a smell-of-oily rag budget, whack some ‘Hothands’ warming pouches in your gloves, internal jacket pockets, boots and knickers. Sometimes they can get a little too hot so just be sure you try it before you take off and the one in your bra or boot causes an accident.
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