I am planning to ride a motorcycle from DC to Florida in early January. I live in Florida and I am going to DC in December, and I will buy a motorcycle there. I want to ride it all the way back on January 10. I assume it is going to be freezing cold. Has any of you tried this? Is it feasible? I just don’t want to pay hundreds of dollars for shipping the motorcycle.
Please help.
Thank you.
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Have You Ever Tried Riding A Motorcycle During Winter? How Bad Is It? Can I Do It? For 800 Miles Straight?No comments yet to Have You Ever Tried Riding A Motorcycle During Winter? How Bad Is It? Can I Do It? For 800 Miles Straight? |
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I used to ride from Missouri to Florida every year in late winter. The coldest was when I left Missouri on January 31 @ 25F. The first 4 miles was packed snow but the rest of the riding was on dry roads. I put on 500 miles the first day and was suffering from hypothermia even with a full dress bike and wearing snowmobile gloves, electric vest, 2 pairs of jeans, insulated underwear top and bottom, sweater, hooded sweatshirt, heavy duck insulated coveralls, leather jacket over that, insulated rubber work boots and a balacave over my face. Oh, and a helmet. I looked like the Michelin man. The highest temp was 39F but it was the long term exposure to the cold without physical activity that got me cold. By that evening, my hands were so cold that when clutching, it was either on or off because I couldn’t modulate the lever. My thinking processes were slightly impared, but not excessively. I got a motel and had to soak in a tub of warm water for a half hour to stop shivering.
If you’re going to do it, you must have a good windshield if you plan on riding any distance at all and wait (or hope) for a warm spell. Layers of clothing is the secret, electric clothing helps immensely and leather breaks the wind without trapping body moisture inside like plastic does. Stop often to eat hot foods and drink warm fluids. Forget coffee because that’ll make you have to pee and take my word for it, digging through five layers of clothing for the puckered up little guy is taxing to say the least. If the bike has no fairing or only a little sport type fairing, forget the idea of making any kind of miles.
As mentioned, look at shipping the bike, buying closer to home or if oyu know anyone in the DC area, see if you could hire someone to take your bike with theirs when they go to bike week at Daytona. You could probably save money and the person would be able to cover some of their gas bill on the way down.
Driving a motorcycle in winter weather can be very dangerous. I am assuming you have never done so. Aside from having to dress for the extreme weather, road conditions that are hazardous for cars are even more hazardous for motorcycles. Diving along in sleet, for example, you only have two tires to slide on, instead of 4. Most bikers here in the midwest put away their bikes after the first frost.
Grandpa
Why not rent a u-haul, get it as far south as Southern Kentucky or North Carolina where the risk of snow will be greatly reduced and the temp will be somewhat better then ride on from there? As far as the cold, that doesn’t frighten me off the road but the snow, wind and sleet you will get in DC might make riding quite difficult or even impossible
I doubt you will have any problem other them getting cold. And with the proper clothing you won’t have to worry about that http://www.gerbing.com/ The main thing is you mustn’t have any skin exposed. You won’t have to worry until you hit Virginia anyway as the weather in the south is rarely “cold” and rarely gets slow and ice.
I ride to school every morning in about 30 degree weather, and it is fine for about 30 minutes, then i freeze. I do ride a sportbike though and that doesn’t have a windscreen.
As long as you dress properly , I would say you would be fine when the road is dry.
You’re gonna have to pay hundreds of dollars for the right winter clothing anyway, so why not just ship the bike or buy one closer to home?
why not find one near you? With the amount for gas, food, stopping and find a hotel everytime it gets bad out its not worth it.
I’ve ridden when the temperature was in the 20′s, but never for that distance. It can be done, just wear the right gear.
dont do it