When do you not ride?

[nert]

Been riding since 69' mostly British, and some Japanese. 10 in the barn. I love my Trophy. I have more than doubled my annual bike mileage with the TT SE. I am in the western part of NJ on top of the Sourland Mountain reserve. I travel 32 miles each way to work, 22 of is country roads, 10 on an interstate. With the TT SE, wind protection is great, smooth speeds and comfort are outstanding. And its fun. If its warm and raining, I am still riding. If its 40 degrees at the house in the AM, I am riding. When it gets to 32 degrees in the morning, it could be as low as 22 degrees riding through the Montgomery cleavage, for about 10 miles.  I wear a Tourmaster heated vest, a Tourmaster coat, leather chaps, heated gloves, a face sock, and 3/4 helmet with shield. Of course heated seat and hand grips. I feel comfortable, certainly not hot.  I have cool parts, and a few isolated cold spots. Not too layered.  I can easily twist my head to look both ways. When I get too work and take my gear off, I feel cold for a while. WHEN is it, too cold and one should call it quits and climb in the cage?

[w8d4it]

Well when I lived I. Upstate New York I rode year round.  So I  certainly continue to do so now that I live in Texas.  So the answer from me is "never"

[Scubadvr]

If you have heated gear, it's really a personal limit.  My bike doesn't have the wind protection of the Trophy, and my coldest ride to date was a commute to work at -2 F (-19 C).  Rode with two others to lunch, when the temps had reached a balmy 7 F.  The problem is more with traction at those temps than personal comfort.  The tires are stiff, and don't warm up when the pavement is so cold.

I'll usually ride as long as there is not any ice or accumulating snow on the roads.

And, I usually won't ride to work if it's pouring down rain, only because there's no place to hang my rain gear.  If the morning is OK, but calling for rain later in the day, I'll ride.

[nert]

I bow to you, sir.

[Verdun95]

I do not ride to work, even more so now that I'm pre-retired... Like most of us I prefer to ride when weather is warm and sunny, of course mileage has a tendency to shrink during winter, only "no-no" is same as for Scubadvr: snow or ice covering the road! 

[DonTom]

IMO, the TTSE is a great cold weather bike. Cold is not too much of an excuse for me, unless there is a lot of snow on the ground or other safety issues.

In my old age, I find that extreme cold is easier to deal with than extreme heat. We can get more and better clothes for cold, but there isn't all that much you can do when it's 120F to make yourself comfy.

I have ridden through Death Valley in July and August a few times. But that was when I was young, dumb and tough, when in my 20's or younger. I don't think I could survive the heat I used to ride  in now that I am 64.

But there is always something we can do to improve cold, with better clothing, and heated grips, seat, jacket, etc.

I have a loose thick leather jacket that I use another thinner jacket under for the very cold weather. I also use the cold weather face mask or whatever it's called under my helmet when it's below freezing, but then I cannot get my sunglasses on and if it's sunny and cold, ridding into the sun, I hate having to make that choice.

So too much ice, snow, heavy rain and ridiculous wind will stop me from starting a ride, but if far from home, I do whatever seems safest and most logical. Perhaps a motel for a while. But lately, I have only been doing day rides anyway. I now use the RV for very long drives, like the one I took two months ago across the country and to Toronto. I guess that proves I am getting old.

-Don-  Reno, NV

[KenSmith]

I ride the bike unless there is ice on the roads. Many of the driveways in Kentucky run downhill to the road. Water runs down the driveways and fans out across the road. This makes for some large patches of ice in the mornings. Sometimes I drive the car to work because I expect ice and then I don't see any ice. That makes me mad and I am tempted to go back and get the bike. I really don't like to drive a car.

When I lived in Connecticut I had covered parking at work. I rode all the way down to 4 degrees Fahrenheit on my ST1100 with no issues. The roads up there were plowed and sanded quickly after every snow. My biggest problem with snow in Kentucky is my own driveway. Our roads get salted, so I have to wash under the bike frequently.

The Trophy is very good in the cold weather. It has better wind protection for my legs than any other bike I've ever ridden. I wish the power outlet was in a more convenient location, but this is the first bike I've had that didn't require additional wiring for heated gear.

[Roger]

I rode to work once on my RT in the snow it was a light covering and where the cars had been the snow had disappeared so I rode in the tracks the cars had made, sadly I don't need to ride the bike often but I do ride it with any excuse, still riding to go to play squash in t he evenings it was at 4 degrees the other night, but I do stick to the A roads where I can.

Roger