The right bike for a winter day ride?

[bajakirch]

I'm in the Upper Midwest and and planning a short New Year's Day ride with friends. I'm trying to decide which of my 2 bikes would be my best choice.

Here's some pertinent info:

• Weather -- Due to above-average temps for the last week or so, we no longer have any snow on the ground. Temperature for the ride is expected to be no lower than low- to mid-30s. No expectation of precipitation (rain, snow, or otherwise) before the ride.
• Roads Conditions -- Roads are currently clear of snow/ice, with some salt/sand residue. There could possibly be some early-morning frost on the roads, but likely cleared up by the time I'll depart (mid-morning).
• Ride Plan -- Breakfast meet-up mid-morning, then a short ride, probably under 2 hours/100 miles. All pavement.

My bike choices:

2012 Suzuki V-Strom 650

• 80/20 Shinko tires
• No power mode selection
• No ABS or traction control
• Heated grips
• Tipover/crash bars
• Taller seat (can tiptoe on both sides)
• Givi Airflow windscreen directs most air up over my head
• Been riding this bike for 5 years

2019 BMW F750GS

• Michelin road tires
• Available mode selection ('Rain' most likely)
• ABS/Traction control
• Heated grips
• No crash protection
• Lower seat (can flatfoot both sides)
• Current windscreen (unknown brand, possibly aftermarket) directs airflow directly onto the front of my helmet
• Been riding this bike for less than 5 months

Regardless of bike choice, I'll also have Hippo Hands, a heated vest, a balacklava and heated socks to manage the cold.

Kind of a 'Sophie's Choice' situation -- I can think of good reasons for either bike. Figured I'd solicit the wisdom of the masses to help with my decision.

 

[PGlaves]

Put the windshield from the Suzuki on the BMW and enjoy the ride.

 

[61996]

Heads

Joe

 

[omega man]

If you have heated gear, and only one bike has connectors for the heated gear, I'd take that bike...... Just in case.
OM

 

[mjfink420]

If you have heated gear, and only one bike has connectors for the heated gear, I'd take that bike...... Just in case.
OM

LOL, read my mind. Whichever bike has a connector for 12V heated gear is the right answer. I'd ride a naked with heated gear before I'd ride a K without it in cold weather. Of course, best of all would be a fully faired/touring bike that ALSO has a port for heated gear, but if I have choose one or the other, I'm taking the heated gear on a dirt bike before a K without heated gear if it's really cold!

 

[motorhead1977]

Whichever one you choose, remember that due to the outdoors temperature your tires are unlikely to get fully warmed and can "suffer" from reduced traction ability. Otherwise, enjoy your day.

 

[skibum69]

I ride any of my bikes in the winter, I don't worry what tires I'm on. Obviously watching for ice and sand on the roads is very important. Make sure you wash your bike when you get home to clean off the calcium chloride they use in road salt. Half the bolt heads on my 1100 S are rusty now from winter riding and the swingarm on my R65 has a bit of surface rust from same.

 

[akbeemer]

Annie and I have a tradition of riding to and in Yellowstone National Park in mid-April. In the past 10 years we've done it 8 times. When we did it on two wheels we would enter the park at the north entrance at Gardiner and then make our way to the west entrance at West Yellowstone. We were leery of roaming off the major park roads for fear of ice. Then we made the trip on our Urals. On the rigs we felt confident enough to ride up to 7,000+ feet at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. There was plenty of snow and ice up there. April is a good time to be in the park; few people, nearly full access after the 15th (although very few services are open) and some wildlife to see.

 

[bajakirch]

Thanks for all the great advice and thoughts.

I decided to go with the BMW, because I figured ABS/traction control and more stable footing trumped the crash protection.

Unfortunately Mother Nature chose to be uncooperative, and I woke up to a bit of snow on the roads. Cold I'll do. Snow, ice, and fresh salt are a no-go for me. We postponed the winter ride for better weather conditions.

 

[Scott9999]

Thanks for all the great advice and thoughts.

I decided to go with the BMW, because I figured ABS/traction control and more stable footing trumped the crash protection.

Unfortunately Mother Nature chose to be uncooperative, and I woke up to a bit of snow on the roads. Cold I'll do. Snow, ice, and fresh salt are a no-go for me. We postponed the winter ride for better weather conditions.

Yeah, I don't even bother trying in winter (i.e. Northern Idaho). I feel like a "wannabe" rider, doing so. However, having gone down once in my life due to road debris and not particularly enjoying the experience (i.e. went down the day before my dad had an expensive salt water fishing trip scheduled, so I went with road rash and all, and wow, does salt water ever hurt when it gets in those fresh wounds ), I'm leery of anything that can disturb tire traction. That includes not just ice and snow, but the sand and embers applied by the road crews for traction, as well as more naturally occurring things like pine needles and decaying leaves. I've slipped and corrected many times, but I just can't bring myself to sign up for extra risks. It's tough enough for me to remain up on two wheels as is.

However, I highly admire, even envy the winter riders among us, who do enjoy these rides. Hope ya get out on another day, soon.

 

[bajakirch]

Yeah, I don't even bother trying in winter (i.e. Northern Idaho). I feel like a "wannabe" rider, doing so. However, having gone down once in my life due to road debris and not particularly enjoying the experience (i.e. went down the day before my dad had an expensive salt water fishing trip scheduled, so I went with road rash and all, and wow, does salt water ever hurt when it gets in those fresh wounds ), I'm leery of anything that can disturb tire traction. That includes not just ice and snow, but the sand and embers applied by the road crews for traction, as well as more naturally occurring things like pine needles and decaying leaves. I've slipped and corrected many times, but I just can't bring myself to sign up for extra risks. It's tough enough for me to remain up on two wheels as is.

However, I highly admire, even envy the winter riders among us, who do enjoy these rides. Hope ya get out on another day, soon.

I agree -- mad respect for those that choose to ride in True Winter. I enjoyed reading tales of Aerostich founder Andy Goldfine's winter commuting experiences. Up in Dulith, MN, those Lake Superior shoreline winters are the real deal.

As mentioned, I don't mind a cold-weather ride so much (maybe less so as I age), but ice and snow are just tempting fate in my mind.

 

[mjfink420]

I agree -- mad respect for those that choose to ride in True Winter. I enjoyed reading tales of Aerostich founder Andy Goldfine's winter commuting experiences. Up in Dulith, MN, those Lake Superior shoreline winters are the real deal.

As mentioned, I don't mind a cold-weather ride so much (maybe less so as I age), but ice and snow are just tempting fate in my mind.

Riding in snow is crazy, I can't imagine anyone doing that for fun. I've had to do it once, it was not fun at all.

Cold is fine, you have less traction, but you can still have a really fun ride (I just had a few this week up in the mountains of NC, temps between mid 20's and 50's).

 

[pauls1150]

When I lived in the northeast part of the country, I had to drive 12 miles each way for two of my jobs.
I did better than most of the cars! While I went down a few times, it wasn't serious (bent levers, turn sigs, etc.), and it was Great Fun to use the berms to make my turns! The worst part was my frozen hands at the end of the day.

 

[Scott9999]

Riding in snow is crazy, I can't imagine anyone doing that for fun. I've had to do it once, it was not fun at all.

Cold is fine, you have less traction, but you can still have a really fun ride (I just had a few this week up in the mountains of NC, temps between mid 20's and 50's).

.... all that said, I'd ride in cold even snow before I ride the 100F+ temps in the Southern California desert regions. I love the Beemers, but the Beemer motorcycle air conditioning leaves much to be desired. I can layer up for cold, but all you can do in heat is hydrate.

 

[pauls1150]

You can also soak the inside of your helmet and any clothing with water; this does work well, but only for about half an hour or maybe a bit more, depending on what your layers are. Also useful in Arizona and Utah!