Snow/winter riding information

I'm a bit late, but have a new set of 606's in the mail, should be here on thursday. I'm just going to get a local shop to stud them for me, I figure on just getting normal automotive studs. 13mm seems to be what most here are using, I'll run to the shop on monday and see what they have.

I saw here somewhere that I should drill the length of the stud? Shouldn't I stop a bit short, maybe 1/8" or so, to leave some stick out?

Next is another oil question- What do you guys do for chain lube? They use salt here on the roads, I imagine the chain is going to need lubed daily. ATF? Used motor oil? I typically just use regular chain lube, but I can see that getting expensive quick.

Bike is a KLR650.

Thanks.

Exactly the length of the entire stud should give you the perfect seating depth.

Lube the chain frequently, then spray it off with warm water and re-lube when it's above freezing.

Pondering helmets again...

I did a couple 90 mile trips this week in the teens and 20s F. Electric boot insoles and electric grips with bar muffs kept me in a decent comfort zone, but the freezing airflow across my eyes seems like the most fatiguing element. I looked real hard at the Ski-Doo BV2S last year, but just can't afford $400 for a 3 month a year helmet. So i'm thinking about an electric face shields as it would only be $60 to add to the IS-Max I'm using.

Beyond keeping snow and fog off the shield (my pinlock/breathmask combo are doing fine at that), does a heated shield do much to keep the air around your face any warmer? I would assume so but since these helmets are designed to have slight airflow even with the vents closed i'm wondering if air circulates too quick for the heat from the shield to affect it...?

The answer is no, it will not contribute any measurable warmth inside the helmet. That being said, to keep your face warm you must minimize air flow inside the helmet as much as possible(read good sealing in the neck area). Unfortunately, now that you've stopped the air flow and your face is warm, your shield will start to fog. This is why you need a heated shield.

Just noticed you are using a breath mask. These things are a must, and work unbelievebly well. Thought I needed some new ones so I went to nofogusa.com and low and behold, they have a heated version now: www.nofogusa.com/Optional Heat.htm Cool!

Thanks.

All typos and misspellings blamed on my phone.

I bought a set of Tusk handle bar muffs (like hippo hands) but haven't used them because I think they would drag the front brake with the wind pushing against (I can hear the brake light switch activate) them since I have yet to get brush gaurds.

Do they and is there a fix before I get the gaurds?


Pete

Sounds like you would need some sort of support then. If they are that close I would think it would be difficult to grab the front brake also, considering that you'll probably have heavy gloves on.

Maybe build a barkbuster type support? It wouldn't have to be real heavy, just enough to hold the mitt away from the bars a bit. I'm picturing a piece of flat stock or tube that bolts to the master cylinder area and extends out in front of the lever.

All typos and misspellings blamed on my phone.

If you're going with some cheapo muffs, you just have to kludge up something that will stick out further than the levers.

If you pay extra to go with someone who makes them for motorcycles like Hippo Hands, they should be able to give you an easy and reliable solution...

You can try adjusting your lever downward to some degree, that way the wind pressure will not be applying force in the identical direction as the lever actuation. Of course, make sure it still does the job you need it to do in that position... (the lawyers made me say that).

Seems to me you'd still have to fight wind pressure just to get your fingers between the muffs and the levers, likely to bring some butt puckering moments if not worse...

How fast are you going?

I'm sure every configuration varies, but I've never had any problem with the skidoo muff mitts on my 800gs. They rest against the brake lever at speed, but don't actuate the switch due to the angle. Hands get to the levers no problem.

Go out at night for a quick spin, you'll be able to see whether the brake lamp is lit while you're riding.

I tried them for about 50miles yesterday of an 80mile ride varying speeds, hands were warm but they definetly were pushing the levers and didn't want to stay in one place. I might try them again when I get some brush guards.

Well, the HJC IS-Max with pinlock, breath mask, and chin curtain all in place actually do take care of all of this. Problem is the chin curtain folds up on the breath mask, which is how i've been using it. I thought there were other vents letting in air, but after your comment tried unfolding the curtain to fully cover the bottom and it seemed to stop the airflow entirely. Unfortuantely it takes a while to futz with the curtain every time the chin bar is lowered and it frequently pops out requiring the entire helmet to be removed for replacement.

With everything in place though, the only thing that fogs is the internal sun-shield occasionally...

Just thinking of Pete going fast enough to actuate the levers...

At 55mph it was turning on the brake light, at 80mph the brake drag was noticable. The wind keep pushing the muffs down and I had to keep readjusting the left one which was a PITA and the reason for taking them off. Was nice to wear summer gloves though. but in the end my winter gloves did just fine.

Sounds like comprehensive testing.

I liked them enough to keep them and I would like to try them again with some hot hands in them, for the really really cold stuff

I went for my first ride in the snow tonight on my XT225. I had my feet scraping the ground like outriggers in case I started to slide. I was on a road with 2-4 inches of snow. I did put my feet on the pegs some but was worried about getting them down if I started to slide. I was only going about 10 mph in first gear. I'll have to read the thread but am also looking for current tips.

ya, keep yer feet on the pegs, be one with the bike

And don't crash!






Find a big empty parking lot and just ride around, Less worry about getting run over from behind, just like if you were learning to ride for the first time, practice accelerating, braking and turning and feel for the tires slipping