[pauljo]

I had arranged to ride this morning with a guy I met recently who also owns a yellow V-Strom. It was 34 degrees F when I opened my garage door at 9am. As I was putting on my electrically heated jacket liner, I looked longingly at my scooter with its more protective bodywork and larger windscreen. Nope. It was going to be a yellow V-Strom ride this morning. Looked out at my car in the driveway covered with frost. Ugh!

Well, the ride was invigorating, I'll say that. The electric gear kept me reasonably warm enough, but with the shorty windscreen and legs hanging out in the wind I knew darn well that it was cold outside. Got home about 1.5 hours later and stayed in the house for awhile.

Got stir crazy. It was 1 pm - should be warmer by now. Time for a scooter ride. 54 degrees and overcast - still not beach weather by any means. Put on my medium weight gloves, and did not plug in my electrics. Brrr... Not the right choice. Returned home after a relatively short, and once again, invigorating ride.

In about a month, I'll be wishing for a day as nice as today to ride. But I'll be better acclimated to cold weather riding by then. Meanwhile, we get a reprieve tomorrow. Temps back up into the mid-seventies. But old man Winter just fired his first warning shot. He'll be back.

 

[pauljo]

Yeah, I hate it when it gets cold here & I have to wear a sweater.

"Cold" being defined as anything below 60 degrees F ?. :wink:

I lived in California for about 18 months. Pacific Grove - near Monterey. Went shopping for a Christmas tree wearing shorts and a T-Shirt. For a native "Northlander", that just didn't seem right. :shock:

 

[pauljo]

Took the car down to Eureka Springs, Arkansas last week to give my wife a mini vacation. There were still a lot of motorcycles being ridden there, Harleys and Goldwings being in the majority. I did see several smallish scooters being ridden also.

Stopped in at Sonya's Leather again. They had a beautiful leather riding jacket for $99 that really caught my eye. Unfortunately, the neck was too small in the size that otherwise fit me. While I was trying it on, a guy and his gal were nearby - the guy was trying on leather chaps. The gal was explaining to him that he should buy them because they looked cool on him. I'll quote her. "You have to realize that motorcycles are all about style. I know you like to ride your bike too - but it's really all about style." Harley Riders? :roll: She wasn't all bad though. She pulled out her checkbook to pay for his new chaps...

Back home - not so many on the road. I guess a lot of folks pack it in when the temperature hits 50 degrees F. That would be 60 degrees for most of the cruiser posers.

I did make some concessions to the cooler temps though. Mounted my taller windscreens on both the Burgman and the V-Strom and zipped the liner into my fabric riding jacket. With my electrically heated riding gear, I'm good to go for another two months IF the snow will stay away.

 

[pauljo]

Best thing about cool weather riding - No bugs! :wink:

 

[pauljo]

It was 36 degrees F when I left home on the 650 this morning. I was cozy warm in my Gerbing electric jacket liner and gloves. This time of year, I think that gear is worth every penny it cost. I rolled past the 12000 mile point on my odometer just before returning home. Bright sunny morning - beautiful ride.

For whoever asked previously, I think it was Lycheed, the Pirelli radial tires are doing quite well in the cooler temps. They still are much more compliant than the Bridgestones were, giving a much improved ride, and grip the road just fine. I've got 6700 miles on the rear tire now and it is still in good shape (I replaced the rear Bridgestone at 5300 miles).