Winter Riding in the Midwest & Mods

[oldskool]

Thanks. If it keeps some 30 degree wind off my body, I’ll be thrilled. Maybe tonight I can give it a test run - I need to go to a store in the West Loop and dare not drive anything other than the CT over there because its annoyingly busy over there and the CT is small / nimble enough to dart between the dummies in their SUV’s

Interested to see what effect it has on top speed, win, lose or draw

 

[RideMyMonkey]

The package from Japan is in TN as of last night.

Its -5 F in Chicago right now so even if I had the bits, I'm not about to be freezing my ass off in my underground garage ( 50 degrees down there ) installing this stuff. The good news is that its going to be above freezing next week so I'll be back out riding the Scoot (hopefully with these items installed).

That's what Apartment Living Rooms are for...(been there, done that). lol

 

[Happy Campa]

Well, it pays to take a small break.

I loosened the bars and moved them around until I could get the windscreen bracket lined up. I then rotated the bars in the clamps until they were close as possible to the right position.

I’m happy with the results [while the bike is stationary]. We’ll see how it works when I take it for a spin.

View attachment 8409

It’s a bad pic but, such is life.

How does that leg windshield attach? Can you post pictures? It seems like a very cost effective mod.

 

[AZ7000']

I rode into work the other day, drizzled the evening before, about 25 and dark on my ride in at 6:45. Once I parked it I was freaked out by the amount of ice! I could barely walk on it!!! I would have been 100 times more freaked out if I knew how bad it was….

54 and sunny today, prepping for the “atmospheric river” bringing in a wet and cold weekend

 

[bradatlarge]

I’m going to get a chance to properly test it out tomorrow!

@BaldRider the only reason I’m even doing this all is because I decided to not ride my recently acquired, super-clean, BMW RT in the salt - I rode my last two BMW’s year round and while they are pretty great for cold weather riding, rusty bolts and the slop that collects in all the nooks / crannies was not my favorite.

This is the first year in 15 years that I’ve “put a motorcycle away for the winter” and frankly, I’m having PMS about it lately.



That photo was taken on October 29th when I tucked it away in a family members garage.

(PMS = Parked Motorcycle Syndrome)

 

[bradatlarge]

How does that leg windshield attach? Can you post pictures? It seems like a very cost effective mod.

Three attachment points: 1) the screw that holds the “tunnel” plastic on, right by the steering head and then there are two attachment points that look like those clips used to hold electrical conduit in home construction that attach the lowers to the stock “engine bars” (one on each side)

I don’t have the stock engine bars so instead of the conduit clip things, I used some zip ties to hold it onto the aftermarket crash bars I’ve got and It seems pretty good.

 

[bradatlarge]

The moment of truth has arrived. A REAL test of the winter setup.

I’m riding to a doctors appointment and a dentist appointment - 5 miles north and 2.5 miles back south & west. According to Tim Apple, its 43 degrees in Chicago with 10mph winds from the West.

I’m wearing my Spidi Winter riding jacket, jeans and boots.

 

[bradatlarge]

I rode on city streets with max speed of about 35 mph on my way to my first appointment this afternoon - 4 miles north of downtown Chicago in Lakewview. I don’t have the hand guards on so no hippo hands. I wore my Revit “winter” gloves and my fingers were really cold by the time I got to my destination. These gloves are designed for heated grips so, yeah…
I forgot to tighten the pivots on the windscreen all the way so I got to experience it in every position from fully upright to laying flat parallel to the ground. The hex key under the seat fit in the bolts, so I tightened it in the full upright position when I parked. The bottom edge is about 5mm away from the meter housing and as far as I can tell, when under way, its not bouncing around and hitting the housing.



On my way home, I hopped on the Kennedy for a bit and was able to achieve 55mph on a slight down hill section, which is consistent with performance prior to the installation of these items. The leg shields work really well at speeds above 35 mph. My knees are about 4 inches away from them and they do a great job of blocking that cold wind blast that would chill everything from your ankles to the family jewels.

The windscreen doesn’t really do much to keep the cold off of me at any speed but, I still weirdly like it - so it will stay until it gets quite a bit warmer. I may play around with the angle and see if it makes a difference.



You can see how the leg shields mount to the spot by the steering head. The black zip ties on the black leg shields aren’t easy to see… sorry.

 

[Happy Campa]

I rode on city streets with max speed of about 35 mph on my way to my first appointment this afternoon - 4 miles north of downtown Chicago in Lakewview. I don’t have the hand guards on so no hippo hands. I wore my Revit “winter” gloves and my fingers were really cold by the time I got to my destination. These gloves are designed for heated grips so, yeah…
I forgot to tighten the pivots on the windscreen all the way so I got to experience it in every position from fully upright to laying flat parallel to the ground. The hex key under the seat fit in the bolts, so I tightened it in the full upright position when I parked. The bottom edge is about 5mm away from the meter housing and as far as I can tell, when under way, its not bouncing around and hitting the housing.

View attachment 8449

On my way home, I hopped on the Kennedy for a bit and was able to achieve 55mph on a slight down hill section, which is consistent with performance prior to the installation of these items. The leg shields work really well at speeds above 35 mph. My knees are about 4 inches away from them and they do a great job of blocking that cold wind blast that would chill everything from your ankles to the family jewels.

The windscreen doesn’t really do much to keep the cold off of me at any speed but, I still weirdly like it - so it will stay until it gets quite a bit warmer. I may play around with the angle and see if it makes a difference.

View attachment 8450

You can see how the leg shields mount to the spot by the steering head. The black zip ties on the black leg shields aren’t easy to see… sorry.

Great post and info!