Riding in the cold

Had to go to a meeting today at 9 am, decided to take the bike although it was pretty chilly. There just seems to be more flavor to the experience in the cold.

The bike is trickier to start. You hear everything in the motor while that 20W50 creeps to the top end. Gotta feather the choke, it's cranky until it's been rode several miles. Even at that point, the oil is still heavy enough that it makes the clutch drag a bit, and the cold cogs with the syrupy oil are clunky...likes to false nuetral and jumps like a nervous cat when dropped into first from nuetral...motor has a throatier sound in the cold air, once warmed up the motor dotes on the dense, dry air. Hesitant and saggy at first, throttle response is sharp and acceleration is better than ever once we get off the choke.


Gotta warm up the tires...hard as rocks at first, come into compliance as I weave gently side to side to wake up the cold rubber...turn signal doesn't want to flash for the first few turns. Cranky old bike slowly gathers it's composure and works out the kinks, taking it's time to warm up and greet the day. I can relate completely.

And running down the highway in the 80 mph wind chill, I want to smile as I realize after the first few miles I'm so cold I can no longer feel it. But I don't, mostly because I'm afraid my face will shatter :smile:

haha I can totally relate... except for the bikes crankyness. If anything mine runs better in the cold. and the extra power is a BLAST!


My blazer broke down months ago in the nice warm summer months. I kinda just let it sit and used my bike for everything all summer and all Fall. Now I'm really starting to think that I should have fixed my blazer before it got so cold here.

riding to work in November weather of New york is no fun. Its in the low to mid thirties some mornings and i get so numb on my short 3 mile commute that I can barely turn my bike i'm so stiff haha.

Haha as a matter of fact I specifically put off everything this weekend just to set time aside to work on my blazer and I'm sitting here wasting daylight and warmth procrastinating on AF haha. WTF is wrong with me.

I Ride A 98 Zx11. Why Is It That It Rides So Much Better In The Cold? She Sounds Great.. Idles Steadily... And Rips When I Crack The Throttle.

I Ride A 98 Zx11. Why Is It That It Rides So Much Better In The Cold? She Sounds Great.. Idles Steadily... And Rips When I Crack The Throttle.

Cold dense air puts more fuel and oxygen into the engine. I think for around every 10 degree drop in air temp, it's a 1% HP increase.

Humidity in the air displaces oxygen and nitrogen, cold air is denser (more molecules in a given volume) and drier (cold air doesn't carry moisture as well as warm)...plus you probably get some expansion effect with the fuel when it comes to the motor colder...gasoline expands and contracts with temp wildly (ever top a tank or can on a cool morning, and find it running over in the afternoon?) so you probably deliver more fuel volume in a given charge too, like caddydaddy said...

If your idle is better in the cold, you are probably jetted a bit too rich...but I prefer a slightly rich mix on a bike, better for performance and won't harm anything, outside of sooting the plugs a bit. Too lean can cause damage.

wow i didnt know this. very interesting. i thought rich was bad.... and lean was better. what kind of damage we talking here?

wow i didnt know this. very interesting. i thought rich was bad.... and lean was better. what kind of damage we talking here?

Rich is bad, but lean is worse! Running lean will melt pistons very quickly. The rich he was talking about is just slightly rich. Most engines are set up to run a bit on the lean side for emissions reasons. Most engine tuning with computers will richen the mixture and gain power that way. On a carbureted engine, you'd just replace the factory jets with larger ones for more fuel and power. It works up to a point.

Yeah it's kinda hard to hurt anything with a rich mix. Rich gives more quench to valves and combustion chambers, beyond a certain point you get so rich you run into spontaneous afterburn in the exhaust when the hot unburned fuel meets the oxygen available in the exhaust and reignites...you don't want to be so rich you are fouling plugs evey time you start it, but I'm suspicious of a cycle motor that has zero soot in the tailpipes...fuel injection however can run it closer to stoich and still perform well, so with FI it's not as critical...

But lean mixes run very hot in the combustion chamber, and overheat exhaust valves, piston crowns and exhaust manifolds...

When looking at chrome pipes, a bit of mellow gold tint near the exhaust ports usually indicates a slightly rich mix like I like to see...it can also happen if run on the choke too long....but when you see them toasted and cooked varying hues of blue and purple, that motor is too lean...exhaust is torching the pipe at the bend with hot gases...

A lean mix will preignite and knock, and can cause intake backfire on sudden demand or under load....

And part of a spark plug's ability to fire has to do with ionization of the plug gap...at the pressures and temp in a running engine, it's harder for spark to jump the gap than in a static condition (outside of the cylinder)...ionization of the intake charge's gases creates an optimal path for spark to jump the gap...if the mix is too lean, ionization fails to occur and the cylinder experiences a lean misfire....

If your idle is better in the cold, you are probably jetted a bit too rich...but I prefer a slightly rich mix on a bike, better for performance and won't harm anything, outside of sooting the plugs a bit. Too lean can cause damage.


This is probably why my bike is alot smoother in the cool air. It runs way rich straight from the factory. Its actually a common thing with 919's I've heard. I always stink like fuel and exhaust even after short rides, and I've been told by friends that some smoke shoots out when I punch it. but since its gotten colder I haven't noticed the smell much

This is probably why my bike is alot smoother in the cool air. It runs way rich straight from the factory. Its actually a common thing with 919's I've heard. I always stink like fuel and exhaust even after short rides, and I've been told by friends that some smoke shoots out when I punch it. but since its gotten colder I haven't noticed the smell much

Most engines that are running to full potential will throw a little blast of soot when you drop on the throttle hard...

Ideally you want to use all the fuel that goes into it, but like I said a little rich is cheap insurance...keeps things cool and means there is always sufficient fuel available on demand. Unless your plugs come out of the motor looking like charcoal, it's all good...

Nono. FAr too cold and wet. I hate the cold. I hate RIDING in anything below 60* Even in the 60's pisses me off. Give me a 95* day in a helmet, leather jacket, gloves and heavy pants anyday. Plus it seems like the other people on the road drive worse when its cold.

Nono. FAr too cold and wet. I hate the cold. I hate RIDING in anything below 60* Even in the 60's pisses me off. Give me a 95* day in a helmet, leather jacket, gloves and heavy pants anyday. Plus it seems like the other people on the road drive worse when its cold.
You are MENTAL. The only reason why riding in the warmer weather is better is because the damn assholes in cages are expecting bikes to be out in warmer weather.

It's exhilarating to come in from a ride when it's cool. Granted, I don't have a bike right now, and our highs are barely in the 40s, but I have had to scrape frost off my seat before... that was more stupid than fun, but I'm rambling now and... yeah...

Nono. FAr too cold and wet. I hate the cold. I hate RIDING in anything below 60* Even in the 60's pisses me off. Give me a 95* day in a helmet, leather jacket, gloves and heavy pants anyday. Plus it seems like the other people on the road drive worse when its cold.

I don't think they drive worse so much as that they really don't expect to see a motorcycle out, so they aren't looking for you at all....I always excersize extra caution for that reason...

I won't even ride once the temp is over 90...it's miserable to me...:shakehead

Whoops...I see speediva already fielded this one...

No way i'll sweat in my helmet all day with a big stupid grin on my face. The heat from the motor roasting my legs in traffic, the radiator fan kickin on at 225* to add even more heat... sweat dripping down my face under my helmet, the leathers heating up my arms and back, and the wet spot on my butt from all the accumulated butt and ballsweat. Yeah, give me that over the cold any day, any way. Plus it's not even so bad once you get going, and a nice hot road = gooey sticky tires.

It was 30 degrees out today and I went for a 44 mile ride. I was a bit cold at the end, but it was very enjoyable! The cold air adds an extra power punch! I have a pair of heated gloves that I'll be using for when it gets real cold.

Once i rode my bike home in the pouring rain when it was ~70 out. Never been chilled to the bone worse than that day. I can't imagne riding on a 30* day.

OH wait, yes i can, I had to do it my junior year of highschool. I could barely work the controls my hands were so cod, my breath kept freezing to the inside of my visor, and i swore you could have shattered my legs with a 1 oz hammer by the end of the ride...in other words, it SUCKED!

Im looking forward to riding in AZ in August.

You got me thinking about the coldest I've ever been...and I remembered it, but a bike wasn't involved....

It was when I still drove big trucks OTR...I was headed up to Chicago and had to stop for my DOT nap in mid Illinois somewhere...there was incredible wind and sleet and I was actually glad to be getting off the road for a while...was getting pretty bad.

When I woke up and started going again, it was about 1:30 am, and the storm was really kicking...the wind was making the truck rock and weave all over, roads were glazing over with ice, really nasty.

It was then that another truck driver hollered at me on the CB that my trailer had no lights...I looked in my mirror and sure enough, I was dark back there...so I pulled over to the shoulder and began to get out to check my trailer electrical cord...

The step on the fuel tank was iced up, and I slipped and fell all the way to the ground...I tried to grab the door as I fell, but all I managed to do was push the lock down...and the wind slammed the door shut as I was getting off the icy ground. Fuck.

Now I'm locked out of the truck, wearing a t-shirt and jeans, no coat, and it's driving freezing rain, about 25 degrees and 30-40 mph winds...I didn't even have a belt on so I could break a window with the buckle...no rocks around, nothing.:banghead:

So I huddle between the cab and the trailer close to the exhaust stack, and step out when a car or truck passes by and try to flag them down...I was out there for about 30 minutes before another driver finally stopped to help...I have never been so glad to get into a vehicle in my life...my clothes were soaked and were freezing solid in places, I couldn't stop shaking, and couldn't even talk right...beginning to get hypothermia I think...

I stayed in his cab while he was able to get another driver on the CB who had a lockout tool in his truck...he opened my door, and I had to get moving again, now about an hour late on my trip plan...

Ended up getting double pnuemonia and almost died about two weeks later....3 day in the hospital...:eek:

Damn Larry, I had to go get another cup of coffee after reading that! BRRRRR!!

Me and my riding buddies used to take a trip to the Lousiville flat track race (from Michigan) that was held on the first weekend of June. We had gotten to the hotel early the day before and decided to ride over to Indy to see the speedway. As we left our hotel after unpacking our stuff, we started to head out. All the Harley guys ragged on me (I had my Honda Magna at the time) and my dad (he had a Harley but ain't no dummy either) because we packed our gloves, chaps and leather before we headed out (it was 75 and sunny when we left). After seeing the speedway, they decided to head to a gentlemans club (not my thing, but I took one for the team) and stayed quite some time. When we got ready to leave, a cold front had moved through and there was frost on our windshields. My dad and I just grinned as we donned our cold weather gear and told them we'd have the coffee ready when their frozen asses got back to Louisville. Most of them didn't even grab their leather jackets, and had to ride all the way from Indy to Lousiville in t-shirts and no gloves, HA HA HA HA!!!

The freezing rain and locked door remind me of one of my favorite "here's your sign" scenarios. How many people do we know (I know many and rag on all of them) that buy lock de-icer, then toss it in their glove box? What good does it do for them in there?