Good gear for winter riding?

[InlineSkate]

Hey everybody being my first year owning a scooter and it being my only vehicle I wanted your opinion on gear for winter riding.

Is a jacket and gloves fine or should I go full blown with multiple layers?

[cheap bastard]

You're in Michigan, snowmobile jackets and pants should be easy to get. I use an old Yamaha snow jacket that even has armor. A pair of well articulating snow-mo gloves will work, too. If your scooter's charging system is up to it, heated grips would be nice.

[GeeGusKahn]

Originally Posted by InlineSkate

Hey everybody being my first year owning a scooter and it being my only vehicle I wanted your opinion on gear for winter riding.

Is a jacket and gloves fine or should I go full blown with multiple layers?

.
InlineSkate
More info.
What type of scooter?
How far do you ride each way?
How far to groceries or similar?
I found 5 mile ride different than 15 mile ride on what to wear.
.

[InlineSkate]

Originally Posted by GeeGusKahn

.
InlineSkate
More info.
What type of scooter?
How far do you ride each way?
How far to groceries or similar?
I found 5 mile ride different than 15 mile ride on what to wear.
.

PCX 150

My typical ride is under 3 miles.

Groceries is about a half a mile. I actually have a cart I push back and forth for groceries.

I do make the occasional long trip which is anywhere from 30 - 100 miles, but I can probably avoid these completely in the winter or steal a cage.

[cbolling]

Do you have snow in the ground for long?

In Michigan you will be cold but short trips are definitely survivable.

[NHADV]

Battery powered heated vest. They make the rechargeable ones so that you don't have to use the scooters charging system. I think they get around two hours of warm. You will be snug as a bug.

[InlineSkate]

Snow typically isn't on the ground for long salt clears that up real quick.

I will probably try out the snowmobile gear as the first responder said and depending on how that works out i'll look into heated equipment.

I'm hoping that I can have my own vehicle before winter ends after I finish my first round of schooling and step up career wise, but i'm very skeptical of buying cheap used vehicles.

Just from seeing how often they broke down as a kid and how much I hear about others having issues with them.

[Canuman]

The cheap and effective solution: Carhartts or similar insulated coveralls (Bern is also a good brand, and cheaper,) a pair of snowmobile gloves, a helmet liner, and a decent jacket liner. You are not going far enough so that "chill down" is going to be a problem, As it is a scooter, you can even wear pac boots and not have to worry about the controls. My brother has ridden my Scarabeo a couple hundred miles in near-zero temps in the same get-up and come back smiling. The whole get-up strips off pretty easily. If you were doing longer runs, I'd certainly recommend heated gear and layers. As it it stands, the added complexity isn't worth it. If you're only going three miles, you don't want gearing up to take a half-hour.

Besides, this will be Bay City chic.

The salt is gonna eat your scoot up, by the way. Just ask the Brits.

[Dharuma]

Sorry, couldn't resist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgeyexOAOIg

[klaviator]

Personally I prefer to wear gear designed for riding motorcycles/scooters. It will keep you warm AND give you some protection if you go down. You don't have to spend a fortune. If there is a Cycle Gear near you, go check out their stuff. Their stuff is on the cheap side but offers much better protection than a snowmobile suit. You can also find stuff online for really good prices but I prefer to try stuff on.


Since your trips are short, you really don't need an electric vest. For trips over about 30 mins, electric gear does make a big difference.

You might want to check out this thread on scooter riding gear: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=653311

[Bronco638]

Based on experience, I would be sure to have a nice pair of waterproof, armored, (warm) winter gloves. Even though your ride is short, your hands will be out in the air stream. That, and the fact that your grips will be cold (unless you install heated grips).

My commute is about 8 miles each way. I've determined that I can ride in morning temperatures of about 20º F as long as it's dry (I'm not going to attempt snow). My fingers and toes are the limiting factor. My bike's electrical system will not support grip heaters and I'm OK with putting the bike away for winter (I realize you don't have that choice right now).

Having a fairing and bodywork will help keep you warm by being out of the air flow. Since your feet have some relief, by being behind the bodywork, make sure your hands are well protected and you should be in good shape.

[cdwise]

Might consider Hippo Hands or one of the other handlebar muffs. I know folks who ride in sub freezing temps with handlebar muffs and regular armored gloves for longer distances than you are going without problems.

[Bronco638]

Originally Posted by cdwise

Might consider Hippo Hands or one of the other handlebar muffs. I know folks who ride in sub freezing temps with handlebar muffs and regular armored gloves for longer distances than you are going without problems.

Great idea if there's space around the grips for those things. I have a set of the Tusk Hand Mitts but they don't work very well on my Reflex. They're worth looking into though.

[conchscooter]

http://www.peakscooter.com/foulweather.html

[vader1701]

If I may, I ride in good part of Michigan's winter weather also, until it gets to the point where the ice that I can't see comes. I did exactly that bought a snowmobile outfit and also a neck dicky (neck wrap hood) and some real good gloves and this works pretty good. I ride a Yamaha Majesty and commute about 25 miles total trip to work and back and this helps greatly.

I make my runs when I want to but unfortunately in the mitten state winter usually wins and I have to put it away till spring comes.

ride safe and good luck. if your interested we have a small group that ride as much as possible to various places in Michigan and we would like to invite you and anyone else interested in getting together for some neat Michigan rides. See the following Yahoo group;

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/...Maxi_Scooters/

Posts and comments and getting together are highly recommended for fun rides.