The Cold Rider's Almanace

The Cold Rider's Almanace

Gear That’s Borrowed, Gear That’s New, Gear That’s Old, So You Won’t Turn Blue

Last year, we had science. Three volunteers of varying tolerances wrapped up in selections of coldweather gear, collected watches and thermometers and trooped into a controlled environment, a frozen food warehouse. Along with runny noses, they got some useful baseline data about clothing and cold and measuring how the former works with the latter.

Not good enough. Soon as we went from artificial cold to the real thing, we realized the controlled situation was pretty much like the EPA’s miles-per-gallon estimates; perhaps useful for comparing one brand with another, but not at all like the real world.

So early last winter we began recording the real world. All the guys here ride all year round. And although the home office is located where it’s easy to get wet but seldom frozen, the more dedicated riders on staff ride across the country, literally, and have been as cold as a motorcyclist can be. Which is pretty cold. When the season began, we rounded up all the cold-weather gear on staff, and bought and borrowed more, the better to evaluate the stuff in time for this year.

Some of the riding wear shown here is personal choice, which is to say one man may like his personal outfit and the others snicker behind his back. This isn’t the usual sort of buyer’s guide, in that most of the selections are actually used, rather than borrowed for photo sessions. Jackets and suits that look battered, are battered.

And several outfits are new, in service for only a few weeks and thus not completely tested at this writing. In those cases, the new gear is identified.

Finally, the testers bear a chilly resemblance to the rider in the illustration. The three most dedicated all-year riders are built like a bundle of sticks. They are all subject to cold.

If the gear shown here will keep them warm—and it does, most of it—then it will work for anybody.

Vetter Hippo Hands

Fairings aren’t all Vetter does. The hand warmers obviously came about when Craig rode through weather no gloves could handle, and figured that there had to be a way to keep off the wind and still operate the controls.

Flippo Hands look like carrying cases for a pair of boomerangs, that is, odd. They’re naugahyde with imitation fleece lining, with a slot and snaps to fit over and around the mirror stalks, and they go on and off quickly. For the first few miles it’s strange to be working controls you can’t see, and to have your hands enclosed, but the covers don't hamper operation at all and you soon get used to them.

They’re waterproof and nearly watertight. When it’s too cold for the best gloves. Hippo Hands will still keep you out on the road, in comfort.

From Vetter dealers, $42.60

Bombardier Cold Weather Suit

Snowmobile suits have been popular with cold weather motorcyclists for several years now, so it’s no big surprise that Bombardier, which makes Can-Am motorcycles and Ski-Doo snowmobiles, is selling a version of snowmobile suit to motorcyclists.

Both mens’ (Blizzard) and womens’ (Fashion) suits are available from Bombardier, the difference between them being the style and color. The men’s suit has black pants and an orange coat while the women’s suit is all orange. (A white jacket is also available but because of such problems as chain lube spray and general highway dirt, it’s best left for the snowmobilers.)

Having arrived recently, the Bombardier suit hasn’t been used as extensively as most of the other garments mentioned. Bombardier claims the suit is water repellent but not waterproof. The design would sug-

gest the suit is intended more for warmth than dryness, what with the large kni collar which can wick water into the suit.

Insulation is provided by a six-ounce polyfill, the same material used in Bombardier snowmobile suits. Understandably, the suits are warm. Too warm for allaround use where temperatures exceed 60 degrees or so.

Overall comfort is fine. The suits are cut trim but not tight. Getting into the suits is quite easy but requires boot removal. The high bib-style pants have suspenders to keep them up and snap-on stirrups to keep them down. Four small pockets on the jackets are closed with tiny nylon zippers which have a habit of eating the zipper overflaps.

Can-Am division of Bombardier, P.O. Box 6106, Duluth. Minn. 55806 will sell vou a ladies suit for $114.95 or a man’s suit for $106.90.

Down Sweater and Pants

When it’s cold, nothing beats downfilled clothing for retaining body heat and keeping a rider warm. Down jackets are fairly common, but few riders are familiar with down-filled expedition pants. When the ambient temperature is hovering at 14 degrees F. and you’re clocking 65 mph into a headwind, warm legs count for a lot.

The jacket shown is called a down sweater—as opposed to an arctic-condition parka—because it is medium weight with four to five ounces of down, (depending upon size), and because the seams are sewn through. For use with other clothing, a wool shirt underneath and a snowsuit parka over a down sweater is ideal. Using the layer system allows a rider to adjust to the temperature changes, shedding layers as it warms up, or vice versa.

The rip-stop nylon outer and inner shells have held up to four years of heavy seasonal use. The only time down escaped was after a post-crash slide which wore through a snowmobile suit and the outer layer of the down sweater. A piece of duct tape kept the down in until the owner could apply a patch of self-stick rip-stop repair tape. Reinforcing the patch with thread ended the leak.

The sweater shown came from Alpine Designs and cost about $40. But Alpine Designs is out of business now, and the best substitute we’ve found is the Back Country Cumberland Sweater, with four

to six ounces of down filling (depending upon size), rip-stop material, lock-stitch construction, snappy styling with a shirtstyle collar, and a $60 price tag.

Many different companies make downfilled sweaters, and most are perfectly serviceable. But buyers should make certain that the sweater they buy is filled with down, not feathers or a combination of feathers and down, which doesn’t insulate as well as down.

Full-length zippers up the outside of each leg make the Trailwise goose-down expedition pants easy to put on over boots. The pants sell for about $62 and come in assorted sizes. In four years of use, the only problem we’ve had with the toasty-warm pants is that the zipper pulls fell off, making it harder to work the zippers. Outside zippers are better than inside zippers because you don’t have to sit on them when riding. However, making a restroom run does become more complicated with the pants on because there isn’t any fly.

Both the pants and the sweater work best when worn under some sort of windbreaking garment, a snowmobile suit in extreme conditions or a pair of wind pants and jacket on less severe days. Look for expedition pants and down sweaters at backpacking supply stores, or order direct from Back Country Mountain Sports, 8272 Orangethorpe Ave., Buena Park, Calif. 90621, (714) 523-4852.

Lockhart Apple Warmer

Another great idea. This one appeared two or three years ago, when a man who worked for Lockhart, the oil cooler people, came up with something really new, a padded collar to insulate between helmet and jacket. Not in Lockhart’s line, but because they’re also riders and appreciate good ideas, they went into production. (The idea has been copied, we’re sorry to say, which brings to mind the line about imitation and flattery.)

You stick four Velcro tabs on your helmet, and line up the tabs with Velcro patches on the collar. All you do from there is pull on the helmet and arrange the warmer. Works down to any temperature the rest of your outfit is good for.

Minus points? The Warmer isn’t as neat with an open helmet as with a full coverage one, the Velcro tabs are permanent and look funny if you care about that (our man does) and because the Warmer seals so well, the face shield can fog at stoplights unless you’ve got a treated shield.

Most motorcycle shops, $13.95.

Kawasaki Cold Weather Suit

Like Harley-Davidson. Kawasaki offers a line of cold-weather gear that doesn’t require brand loyalty, i.e. the outside carries no emblems.

The Kawasaki suit comes in dark blue and white, which looks good and increases visibility at night. The trousers are more like overalls, as they’re chest high, with adjustable suspenders. Each side has a full length zipper and the legs have both an inner wind shield, with Velcro, and an outer cuff. The cuffs with boot between them make an effective barrier.

Jackets come in two styles, long and short. We have the short, figuring it fitted better and looked better and that the extra length wouldn’t do much good because when it’s cold you can wear the pants. The jacket has two hand-warmer pockets, large enough for gloves, with zippers, but no breast pocket and no trouser pockets. The old hands at this, i.e. Belstaff, are more aware of riders’ needs than are the designers just getting into the motorcycle business.

Major minus for the Kawasaki outfit, though, is that although the suit is lovely and warm, and resists rain, it doesn’t have as much wind sealing as we’d like. There’s a chill coming up the knitted cuffs unless you’re using gauntlet gloves, and without a fairing the wind comes through the zipper front. This is a new suit and we’ve just begun using it in cold weather. It may prove to be excellent under winter conditions, but for now it seems better for short rides or a fairinged bike than for crosscountry with icy blasts.

From Kawasaki dealers, $59.95 for the short jacket, $60.95 for the longjacket, and $57.95 for the pants.

Calafia Magnum II Riding Suit

Calafia’s suit, at least the two-piece version, is probably the most versatile in our stock.

It’s also the most complicated. The pants have two belts, three zippers and four Velcro straps. The jacket has its own belt, a front zipper with Velcro-sealed wind flap, Velcro-closed cuffs and collar, straps below the rib cage so you can cinch the jacket closed at the waist and a ventilation panel in back, for when it gets warm.

This is a bulky outfit. It’s versatile because it will fit over street clothes or even touring leathers. Because you can adjust all the various openings, you have a wide range of temperature control. The thick lining and ability to wear the Calafia over other insulating layers makes this the key item for our warmest systems. At the other end. our man uses his Calafia as a hotweather system; soak jeans and T-shirt in water, climb into the Calafia with vents open and you become your own evaporative cooler. Looks strange, but it works. And having two pieces means you can start with both pieces and remove the pants as the sun comes up.

Drawbacks: the Calafia isn’t waterproof and it’s too bulky to allow the Dry Rider outside, as you can do with the Harley suit. Perhaps worst, the Calafia suit has only one outside pocket, on the left trouser leg, which means we still don’t know what to do with gloves and such.

From retail shops or the major mailorder houses, suggested retail $159.95.

Belstaff Trailmaster XL 500 Riding Suit.

Never mind about style. Goodwill could provide a more stylish suit. But nobody can make a more durable utilitarian all-around riding suit than Belstaff. No longer are all Be-staff suits made of waxed cotton. New models, like the Trailmaster XL500. are made of polyurethane coated nylon outer shells, nylon lining with insulation in between.

The coated nylon is totally waterproof. And the design of the suit helps keep the body inside warm and dry. Snaps hold the wrist openings closed; a buckle cinches up the mandarin-style neck and zippers close the cuffs. The jacket is closed with a zipper and snapping overflap. All zippers and snaps are heavy brass, which holds up nicely to Yukon mud.

Overpants are made of the same material as the coat, with an elastic waist and zipper access to normal pant pockets. The cuffs are too small for the overpants to be put on over large boots.

The only other complaint about the Belstaff is the difficulty of cleaning it. It is not supposed to be dry cleaned or machine washed. It must be sponged off with cold water. Cold water doesn’t remove much of the dirt a Belstaff suit can accumulate.

There’s plenty of room under the suit for more than the normal amount of clothing. By itself the Belstaff can keep a rider comfortable down to about 40 degrees. With enough layers underneath a rider can remain comfortable when the temperature drops below freezing.

Unlike many modern riding suits, the Belstaff still provides plenty of pocket space. The four pockets on the coat can carry an enormous quantity of food/laundry/tools etc. And the pockets are waterproof, too.

List prices are $69.95 for the coat and $49.95 for the pants. Available through your dealer.

Thurlow Gloves and Mittens

Although gloves aren’t difficult to find, one of our cold-weather crew will wear nothing except Thurlows.

It’s a small firm and is best known for its custom work. You ask for an order form, and they send you a catalog and a blank sheet of paper. You outline your hand, and they build a pair of gloves to fit only you.

The mittens come in stock sizes and pull over the gloves when it’s really cold. Gloves and mittens are real leather, fully lined, and will last nearly a lifetime. Given an occasional rubdown with mink oil, they’re good for an hour of rain before they leak.

Thurlow gloves don’t have a minus, but they are expensive; $49 for the black custom gloves, $42 for the mittens, more for other colors and less for other styles.

Mail order only, from Thurlow Leather World, 4807 Mercury Street East, San Diego, Calif. 92111.

Yamaha Touring Gloves

It’s tough to keep hands warm when the temperture dips. Down around freezing, no glove can do the job unless it’s an electric glove or it resides inside a handlebar cover such as Vetter’s Hippo Hands. But for medium cool temperatures, say around 50 degrees, the Yamaha Touring Gloves work very well.

The leather is soft enough for good control, reinforced in palm and thumb and has a stretching, pleated knuckle area. Gauntlets are longer than normal and large enough to fit over the largest jacket cuffs. Velcro-closing wrist straps can seal out cold air and are easy to adjust. Foam padding and a nylon lining provide adequate warmth for moderate temperatures and dry out quickly.

Yamaha gloves come in sizes small to large, black and brown. Best of all, they’re available at your friendly, neighborhood Yamaha dealer for $22.95. >

Neese Dry Rider Rain Suit

Terrific equipment. Our man bought one at the outbreak of California’s wettest winter in a century. Wore it every day for an hour of downpour each day. And stayed dry the whole time.

Dry Rider comes in one or two pieces, red or yellow, nylon or heavy vinyl. Ours is red, nylon and two piece, plus the mittens and booties, all of which stuff into a nifty storage bag, small enough to carry in a fairing pocket or tank bag.

Whoever designed this rig has ridden in the rain. The pants and jacket are roomy enough to go over a riding suit, the legs and arms close with Velcro and the front of the jacket has a zipper and a Velcro flap. Waterproof all the way. Contrary to the picture, the booties go inside the trouser legs, where the drawstrings snug them against road boots. The legs have straps to keep them down and straps to keep them tight and water plain doesn’t get in. The gloves are clumsy to pull on and fasten, but because the wind works to blow rain past the seam, they’ll keep your hands dry.

Only drawback so far is that the booties are strong but thin. If you must walk in them, they’ll wear. And if you are as dippy as one of our crew, who wore booties on a cross-country jaunt on a dual-purpose Single with cleated steel pegs, wearing through won’t take long.

Note: Our suit is nylon. One of the staff has used the vinyl Dry Rider and says that although that material is good value because it’s cheaper, in a cold rain the vinyl becomes stiff and slick. Gloves slide inside the mittens and the mittens slide on the grips, he says, and he didn’t like the vinyl mittens. Neese Industries agrees and recommends that the vinyl suits not be used in cold climates.

At most motorcycle shops, $23.05 for vinyl two-piece, $42.12 for nylon twopiece, $45.63 for nylon one-piece.

Widder Lectric-Vest, LectricChaps and Lectric-Gloves

The ultimate in cold weather gear (short of an airline ticket to Hawaii) has to be electrically heated clothing. Conventional cold weather gear just keeps a rider’s body heat insulated. Elecfric garments, such as these Widder LectricChaps or the Widder Lectric-Vest and gloves actually provide additional heat.

Of course there has to be a power source for the electric clothes and that’s where your motorcycle comes in. Vest, chaps and gloves all plug in to standard 12-volt motorcycles. Total power consumption for all three items is 84 watts. Not bad for a standard street bike. A thermostat which controls current through the clothing is available from Widder as well.

So how does it all work? Very nicely, thank you. The Widder garments certainly do keep a motorcyclist warm, warm enough to make the thermostat a worthwhile addition. In use, the big advantage is that a motorcyclist can be comfortable without the excessive bulk and weight common to the usual multi-layer approach. As far as temperature range is concerned, a motorcycle will freeze before a motorcylist in the Widder clothes.

There are some inconveniences, though. First, there’s the necessity of plugging and unplugging yourself from a motorcycle when mounting and unmounting the bike. Not the sort of thing for a short distance commuter. Then there's the power draw, which can cause problems on some motorcycles when the weather is cold. A rider relying only on the electric clothes could be in trouble if he had bike trouble on a long, cold trip.

Overall, the Widder clothes are worthwhile for the rider who wants to challenge the coldest weather. Prices are $73.92 for the Lectric-Vest with thermostat, $59.95 for the chaps and $44 for the gloves. Available from Widder Enterprises, 2340 Kingsbridge Lane, Oxnard, Calif. 93030.

Harley-Davidson Silver Streak Cold Weather Suit

On the plus side, this is the most convenient riding suit in the house. One piece, with zippers for legs, arms and front, and one adjustable belt. It goes on over boots, regular clothes and sweater (when worn) and it zips on and off in a few seconds. It’s cut trimly and we've had many favorable comments about how nice it looks. There are two trouser pockets and one jacket pocket and you can unzip the left side from the top, the better to reach the ignition keys you forgot to get out of your pants before you put on the suit.

The Harley suit can be washed or drycleaned, although even the latter process doesn’t completely remove the chain lube you’re bound to collect. The silver color aids visibility and the lack of company name can be either a plus or a minus, depending on whether you ride a Harley or something else.

The suit rates as medium warm, good as is to between 55 and 50 degrees F on a bare bike, and 20 degress less with a touring fairing.

On the minus side, the outer material is water resistant but not waterproof. A good hard rain will get through in half an hour or so, quicker where the material is pulled taut, for instance the knees. The trim lines that work standing up become stretched on the bike, and our man, 5T0", says the medium size is too short in the legs for him. and pulls up to his boot tops. ES