Some of these tips are mainly common sense and can be found in a
variety of sources. Any tip should only be used by an individual if it
is safe for them to do so. Anything which involves riding technique or
adjustment of the motorcycle, is done so at the individuals own risk.
Ensure the motorcycle is regularly serviced and keep a weekly check on
tyres, brakes and chains.
In extreme conditions of snow and ice reduce tyre pressures for extra
grip but limit speed to 10-20 mph if conditions improve until you can
re-inflate them to the correct pressure. On a motorway consider riding
on the hard shoulder in untouched snow to avoid ruts, slush and
compacted snow and faster moving vehicles.
Keep feet on the footrests for better balance, protection if you fall
off, retain use of the rear brake and avoid snagging feet on road
surface.
Allow yourself more time for your journey and preparation in winter
months as journeys will always be slower due to a variety of reasons.
Have breakfast before a morning commute/journey to supply the body with
readily available fuel to burn.
Carry a fully charged mobile phone with credit (if pay and go), credit
card and ensure you have personal membership cover for RAC or AA
breakdown (This will cover all vehicles you use even motorbikes).
Should you now suffer a puncture (most likely cause of breakdown as
your bike is properly serviced) you should not be left stranded too
long. Pushing a motorcycle with a flat tyre, even a light weight MZ is
no fun on a dark cold winter’s night.
Dry out damp clothing as soon as possible as redressing in cold damp
clothes is no fun. Most manufacturers will suggest avoiding direct heat
to dry clothes i.e. no gloves on radiators or boots in front of open
fires. If you have to remember to, remember to clean and nourish
leather items especially with a waterproof cream/wax on a regular basis.
Clean and protect leather and other clothing with suitable wax/creams.
Plastics can be re-proofed with wash in waterproofer.
Layer clothing for warmth. In winter months with temperatures around
freezing I would often have a T-shirt or thermal vest, long sleeve
cotton shirt (for work), jumper/fleece, thin casual jacket, scarf,
yachting jacket. Result was not dissimilar to the Michelin man. With
the legs then covered in thermal long johns and warm trousers (not
jeans), the body core is kept warm which helps keep blood flow to
fingers and toes. Remember, do not use tight clothing. You will need to
be able to get on your motorcycle first of all as well as steer and
make hand signals if necessary. Frequent cleaning of your visor/goggles
is also likely. Use of bib and brace trousers will avoid draughts
around the waste and kidneys.
When buying clothing try looking at different specialist retailers for
new high performance materials for fleeces and underwear e.g camping,
sailing, climbing, walking stores etc. But don’t forget some value
bargains can be had a large supermarkets or retailers like Asda and
M&S both currently (2006) selling pull on fleeces for under
£10.00
Fit either heated grips or the cheaper handle bar heaters (although I
haven’t seen an advert for them lately).
Fit a full fairing or a screen. Keeps wind and weather off, keeping you
warmer and drier longer and so making it easier to control your
motorbike. They also put less strain on your body so you can ride
longer. People often question the impact of cross winds and truck
turbulence on the fairing. Well yes there is some movement due to these
conditions but being in a comfortable riding position you are well able
to deal with these situations which you will be anticipating. Trucks
don’t appear out of nowhere you know and you can tell where the wind is
blowing by its effect on the surroundings. The hardest place in fact to
tell the effect of wind is in large built up areas where it is more
unpredictable due to various shapes and sizes of buildings and gaps
between them. Quite often the wind could be blowing from your left over
the tops of say shops. Rather than hitting you on your left the force
is felt on your right and you are pushed to wards the kerb. This is
because the wind has curled down and back against itself. These
conditions affect naked motorcycles as well and having the choice of
riding past a truck in the rain being subject to a high pressure wash
on a naked bike and tucking in behind a fairing or screen, I will take
a fairing every time.
Ways to warm up.
Problems with the cold can start even with the temperature near 10o C.
It is not a good idea to let body parts to go numb (fingers/toes) for
long periods of time. Firstly, because you will have less control of
the motorcycle and slower reaction times. Secondly you can get frost
bite which if you are really unlucky could lead to lose of digits. You
can even suffer the effects of hyperthermia if your main body parts
suffer continued exposure to the cold. The hardest thing to overcome is
your mentality. You know your journey home is only 50 minutes. Why
should you stop and warm up when you only have 10 minutes to go? Well,
your life and health is worth it and those who love and depend on you.
Warming up on the move.
This is a technique I developed and used for commuting down the
motorway where traffic in general keeps at a nice steady pace and you
can keep a good distance from other vehicles. So ideally used for long
straight stretches where little rider input is required to maintain
control of the motorcycle.
This is based on a simple principle. Muscle (body) movement produces
three by-products, water, carbon dioxide and HEAT. Now you can hardly
do running on the spot or squat thrusts while sitting on a motorbike,
but you can do the following.
SO these are simpler but effective exercises. Move fingers and toes up
and down. You can do this by resting you palms on the grips and
lifting/moving your fingers. They will still be able to cover the front
brake and clutch in need. Also really squeeze the grips and crunch your
toes up until your tendons start to ache. Tension muscle groups. In no
particular order, there are your arms, stomach, thighs, chest, and
shoulders. Simply tension each of them in turn for about 5 seconds for
between 5 and 10 repetitions. You will not notice an immediate change
but after about 2 minutes of determined muscles tensing you will start
to feel the effects. One of the best I have found is using you legs to
take your body weight instead of the seat. This uses two of your
largest muscle groups. Your thighs and bum. The bigger the muscles the
more heat, which is then carried round by your blood.
Warming up off the bike.
If you cannot warm up on your motorbike, you will have to get off it
when it is safe to do so, ideally in a lay by or at a service station.
Instant relief is often gained for fingers by grasping the tail end
(cooler part) of the exhaust pipe when wearing leather gloves. This
doesn’t always do the gloves any favours and should never be done with
plastic based materials. Ideally resort to the old muscle action. Walk
up and down. Run on the spot. Push the bike along. Obviously if you
have access to a warm building, go in and take some of your layers off
to allow the heat in. Warm hands up in warm water, not hot, to avoid
pains. I have known it to be so cold often due to freezing fog
conditions where I have had to stop every 10 to 15 minutes, but I’m
alive to day.
Know your road
On a regular commuter run, get to know the road surface. During summer
there is little to upset your riding. You can casually cross manhole
covers, over banding, white lines and many over items on the road
surface without the slightest twitch. Come the first sign of Autumn,
and the damp and rain sets in and all the previous items and man more
turn against you. There are only two materials which you want your
tyres to be in contact with, tarmac and concrete. Tar alone as in over
banding is not sufficient. When damp your tyres will tend to slide
across it. I know from experience having got caught between two strips
running the length of the road I was on. They were sealing what had
been a trench in the road and the result was a clean underwear
requirement. So learn a route which avoids all possible hazards while
you can still see them. If using country roads you will also have the
hazards of mud, leaves, shaded roads (after a frost, shaded parts of
the road can remain icy late into the morning despite sunshine for
several hours). The sun can even create hazards being lower in the sky
for longer, and sunlight reflecting off a wet road can really hurt and
completely obscure your vision.
Next you will need to slow down and set off earlier. Braking distances
become longer, corners have to be taken slower and more up right.
Darker nights mean other drivers will have less chance of seeing you so
no darting in to tight spots at the last minute. The motto here is
better late than never. Avoid risky manoeuvres. Leave lane splitting
(passing between lanes of traffic) until all the traffic is stationary.
Even then check front wheels and doors for movement. This is because
the occupants’ bodies and heads often do not reflect their
actions. E.g. Passenger looks at driver to say farewell whilst
simultaneously opening the passenger door into your path. Or driver
having looked right checks to the left whilst simultaneously pulling
forward and turning right.
Use both brakes, simultaneously about 50/50 and stop braking before you
turn. Remember you may need twice or more the distance to stop than in
the dry as both brakes and tyres will be less efficient and your
reaction times longer. Ideally use engine braking (closing the throttle
off) to slow the bike down although this effect varies between bikes.
Some MZs have also been known to lurch slightly when doing this but the
newer machines were less afflicted.
The good news.
Surprisingly the British weather is not as wet as you would think. Yes
it rains more in the winter but rarely rains 24 hours a day. Even with
an hour commute there’s only a 1 in 24 chance of being rained on.
Temperatures are usually over 5oC. The coldest months I’ve found are
January and February with an increased chance of snow. So with a little
preparation and expenditure you can carry on motorcycling throughout
the year.
If you have your own hints, tips and recommendations, let me know and I
will add them to the site.