I need some help buying gear for riding this winter in Michigan. I rode today and my fingers nearly froze. I want to take a longer ride (several days) so I need help buying the appropriate gear so that I will be warm enough on the highway (going 75mph) in 20 or 30 degree weather. Specifically, I need suggestions for the following:


Gloves (Do I need heated gloves? If not heated, what kind?)
Jacket (Leather or Polyester or what? Layers?)
Pants (I wore fleece long johns and jeans today but it wasn't enough)
Any Other Suggestions?


Thanks for your help!

 

I'd look at Rukka and Aerostitch fabric riding suits and also at Gerbing heated gloves and jacket liners.

 

I commute year round down here in NC and heated gloves are mandatory for me. I layer the jacket with sweatshirts and such underneath. (I even wear leg warmers over my knee caps under the chaps when its really cold.) But if the ride is over an hour or so I'd get the whole heated jacket / pants combo too. Though you don't feel it initially, you're losing body heat on longer rides without it if you're going to ride all day long.

 

If your not using heated gear, gloves or vest, or shoe inserts, then layering up is the only way. You need to cover any and every bit of exposed skin. A head covering and either a 3/4 or full faced helmet. I wear long johns with flannel lined jeans, and weather proof insulated shoes. And A couple of shirts. As far as the bike is concerned, I have hard lowers on my Road king from my old Ultra classic, if thats not possible they sell snap on black vinyl covers that snap around the crash bars. They really break the wind. Some guys use plastic wind guards, almost like what they have on dirt bikes ,to keep cold air off your hands. The're pricey but the do the job. I have heated gloves and they are great, but they also sell heated grips which despite what some people say, warmed my whole hands while wearing heavy gloves. Once you get it figured out it's not that big a deal . I tell guys that ride with me, wear more then you think you'll need. If you start getting too warm you can always take stuff off. But once your cold , your done for.,,

 

I ride all year all the way down into the teens as long as there is no ice or snow accumulations on the roads. Been doing it for decades and follow my advice and you'll be good. I'm not talking about 30 minutes rides but long distance riding.
1. Anything that involves non-heated gear doesn't work past a certain temp/time in the saddle no matter how tough you are or how good the gear is. You have to keep/ maintain your core body temp and keep your hands warm at the very minimum. After that, it varies based on rider preference.
2. One co-ax connectors wired directly to your battery with an inline fuse is all you really need plus the gear. A variable thermostat is great to vary the heat setting but you can get away with just the on/off switch that is included with most heated gear.
3. For hands, I use the Harley heated gloves, very lightweight and flexible and will keep the back of your hands warm as well as the palms.
4. For the core, I used just the heated vest under my heavy duty leather jacket. I only wear 2 thin layers under the vest, a lightweight thermal undershirt and any warm turtleneck shirt/sweater.
3. For the neck, face, head (I only ride with a half helmet), start with a neck gaiter tucked inside the collar of the jacket, I can pull the top edge up to be a face mask as well or keep it rucked up below my chin depending on how cold it is. For my head, a fleece skull cap pulled over my ears under the helmet. If the temp is really bitter (25 or below), I will put on a face mask as well and pull on the gaiter over it as well. Don't like the one piece skullcap/facemask combos.
4. For the legs and feet, regular thermal long johns with thermal wool/synthetic socks work fine for me. In bitter temps, I insert a couple of hothand adhesive toe warmers inside my boots.
That's it for me, a friend of mine who rides with me uses heated pantliners and heated socks as well as the vest and gloves and swears by it. Harley gear is good, Gerbing is good, they are basically interchangeable in terms of connections and functionality. If you are not attached to your leather jacket like I am, you can actually skip the liner and get a Gerbing winter jacket that has a heated liner builtin.

 

Welcome to the forum!

If you are prone to getting cold hands but your core is usually fine, then heated gloves will probably be your best bet. Try the heated gloves before purchasing a heated vest or jacket liner...the gloves may solve your problem.

Gerbing is probably one of the most well known of the heated gear retailers. But don't be surprised at finding low stocks on the most popular styles and sizes.

Most commercial fleece is a plastic material. While it does well at reflecting heat when you're not moving, air flow tends to cause the material to chill thus robbing the wearer of body heat. You'll need something over it for a wind break. You might try rain gear or even ski pants for your legs.

Make sure you neck stays warm. You might be surprised at how quickly you will chill without neck protection. There are lots of neck guards/turtle necks that work well.

With all that said, I ride in central Maine and did so until last week (we got several inches of snow and that's always followed by lots of salt). I ride a touring bike so I have a windscreen. I use heated gloves, a wool neck guard, a pair of snow pants, and a good textile winter jacket (only the gloves are heated). That's about all I need and can ride in temps down into the upper 20's without much trouble.

Good luck!

 

Agree. Klim has some nice stuff also.

In cold temps I use a Gerbing heated jacket liner which heats the arms and neck as well, then a Windstop pullover over the liner and a one piece Roadcrafter suit. Gloves with liners. Baclava liner under a full face helmet. This combo w/o heated pants or heated gloves works well for me down to 30 degrees or so because the Roadcrafter's heavy knee pads along with boots prevent my legs getting cold. If you don't have hand guards or wide windshield along with heated grips you better count on heated gloves as well.

 

Some of what you will wear will depend on the bike you are riding in my opinion, the guys who ride full fairing bikes with lowers etc have more chance of fighting the elements than the guys out in the wind on sportsters and dynas with out shields lowers etc.


I have noticed the guys on the fairing bikes will often just have a heated jacket liner under their leather, where as others need some heated gear and layers, I have found the cold wind is hard to beat specially at speed, outer jacket, heated inner sweat shirt long sleeve t shirt and if hitting the highway for hours i'll through on a mid weight down jacket between the outer and the heated gear to insulate the heat and keep the wind from getting through.


I also use heated pant liner if hitting the highway, the knee caps get frozen and then I hobble around for a day or so after wards other wise.
You may find a windshield with heated inner is all you need though.

 

very good info here, thanks

 

Keis heated gear is very good stuff. If you run the long sleeve jacket and gloves, then the jacket has the wiring pre-fitted for the gloves, and when not in use, all the wires have zippered pockets in the jacket to hide them away so they don't dangle or get damaged. The gloves have independent controllers, the jacket controller sticks out just below the jacket too, so it's all adjustable on the move without loads of wires everywhere, just one wire to plug into the bike.
Jacket and gloves together draw 9 amps.