Modern Vespa

What do you wear?

I routinely just put my scooters away for the Season in October. I do not have heated seats/hand grips or electrically heated clothing. My riding group is having our last formal group ride this weekend. The day may warm to 60 degrees F - but the morning could be 30 degrees. Here is my make-shift
line up to stay warm:

1. Timberline Fleece Lined Snow Boots (In place of my normal riding boots)
2. I will wear special glove liners under my riding gloves.
3. Cotton Long-John Underwear - Winter lined Khaki Pants.
4. Heavier Durag under my Modular Helmet.
5. Cotton Long Sleeve Turtleneck, Columbia Long Sleeve Fleece Sweater,
additional Columbia Fleece Vest all under my Armor Riding Jacket.

As the day warms, I will shed under clothing as necessary. My Suzuki Burman 400 has installed Suzuki windshields for the hand grips.

Bob Copeland
Minnesota

A balaclava goes on for winter rides, to cover neck and upper chest.
50 yrs ago I rode my Honda bike to work in Mass. all winter, if roads clear.
Found a set of rubberized nylon jacket and pants at an ArmyNavy store - I could wear dress pants and a sweater for work under them.
Stopping 100% of wind penetration is my #1 goal for winter riding - then 7V heated glove liners under leather gauntlets.

I don't like screens and never ride behind one.


This morning...stopped to seat my ear plug better.


O.S.

Bob... but ... I see you put the symbol with my name on the Burgman's side!

OK... let me see.

Heated grips on Ural and BMW with the C650GT having a heated saddle for rider and separate pillion controls.

Skirts for the Vespa and BMW.

Icebreaker brand long johns and a few zip up merino wool tops as well as Icebreaker socks. I also have a few Khul tops, also great quality. Everything is Merino wool, love the stuff. Also a bunch of neck warmers and 2 balaclavas.

Heated glove liners and merino wool liners when it's not that bad out.

Heated vests.

Winter tires on Ural.

Barkbuster mitts on Ural.

2 pairs of Winter riding gloves including Dainese Gore-Tex Gloves for those wet days.

REV'IT! Sand 3 jacket with cold weather liner.

Pinlock inserts for 3 of my helmets. On really bad days a modular is also handy to flip up.

Probably a few more things but I think that is about it. Heated glove liners are an absolute must have and work better than heated gloves. Big benefit being you can swap out gloves. Also have power run to the bars on the Ural so the vest and glove liners can run off the bike and not separate batteries.

I'm really looking forward to the first snow so I can get out on the Ural. That is something I can not do on the BMW or Vespa.

Thanks for the reminder of why I don't ride in the winter 🥶

Attila.

I also have the Ferrari Emblem on my Honda car. Viva Italia!

Oldschoot,

Great looking scoot. I really need to get the heated gloves.
You must be a tough guy without a windshield.

Harbinger,

It appears you have this cold weather riding really figured out.
I will soon put my two scooters down for a long Winters Nap.
Most of us who grew up in Minnesota have frost bite are hands
and feet during our youth. You would think we would be stronger up here
in the North - but, my old body can not stand the cold.

Bob Copeland

Meh... it's not that bad TBH. The biggest issue is gearing up for it and it really doesn't take much longer than say fall riding. If properly geared up it's no different than walking in the cold with the benefit of it being much faster than walking. Like I said the ABSOLUTE key to it is warm hands. No glove I've found is warm enough without assisted heating and I've tried hardcore winter gloves. Keeping the wind off with bar mitts also helps a ton. With the heated liners I've ridden in close to -20C and been OK. Cold hands are dangerous on a bike, not only are you losing feeling for your throttle and braking/clutch hands it is very distracting and painful. Heated grips help but only so much especially in Urban riding where you are constantly using the brakes and clutch. It's even worse on a CVT as you need both hands to brake. Those levers get cold! With good heated liners it's absolutely no problem at all.

It really is all about the gear and good cold weather gear is NOT cheap. But if it means I can still so something I love and avoid public transport and Uber I feel it's well worth it. Now that I have a bike that can go out in snow there is a good chance I will ride close to 365 days a year.

Actually, i also have rheumatism and if i don't tease the bones, when spring comes back i can afford to start go again; another reason is that many motorcyclists and scooter riders in Italy, insure only for about six months a year. That is ... the insurance premium is paid for twelve months and then is suspended for the six months of the coldest and most rainy period; for example, i pay EUR 400 for 12 months and practically suspension costs me EUR 200 a year (6 months of use).

Attila,

Wow, why did I think insurance was much cheaper in Europe. You pay
as much as we do. We also have the ability to place the insured scooter
in a storage capacity. However, the insurance rates in the cold northern area
factor in not riding for 5-6 months.

Bob Copeland

Harbinger,

Do you routinely ride the Ural with Side car for stability? We get a measure
of snow/rain and quick freeze. Two wheels in those conditions scares me.

Due to conditions here we have some of the best snow removal equipment
anywhere. The Sun can then bake off the cleared roads and they are high and dry. However, in between storms even cars are sliding off the road. Even
dried by the Sun, there are many intersections and curves not cleared of ice.

This old dog is inside off the two wheeler and sipping brandy with a cigar.

Hats off to you for being able to ride in the Winter!

Bob Copeland
Chicken Scared in Frost Bite Falls

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmvMNMUy

Yes, a Ural does quite well in the snow. It is a Russian bike after all and was designed for the military.

I would have to give up winter riding if I didn't live in the sunny south. Snow, ice and crazy cold aren't my "cup of tea". One thing I find annoying when the temps go below freezing is all the condensation inside my modular helmet on the face shield. Especially with a chin curtain.

Bill

I rode almost 400 miles to Pensacola today.

The temperature was 59F when I left the house.

It dropped to 57F along the way and never got above 72F all day.

I was wearing a long sleeve t-shirt and a light sweatshirt under my unlined Alpinestar cloth jacket. Nylon pants.

I was freezing at times and cold all day.

I had a one piece rainsuit on board but I never put it on over everything because I thought it was about to get warm.

Bill

For us in the salty Northeast, realistically there are only a few riding weeks left. Once the temps regularly drop below freezing and the road crews start pouring salt and brine on the roads, that's it's. Time to put the 2 and 3 wheelers to bed for the winter.

For the current temps between 30 and 50 you don't have to go too crazy with clothing. Quilted liner in the jacket, heavy gloves, scarf, rain pants work to keep some of the cold wind off.

You Minnesota folks are hardy, Bob. When we lived in western South Dakota, I recall that "last ride" each year as winter approached. I subscribed to 4 or 5 motorcycle magazines "to keep my head in it" through the winter. Magazines... yeah, that was back before the internet was a thing.

Hope Mother Nature is kind to you this season.

When did you add the Burgman? What are your riding impressions between your two scoots?

Stay warm.

Captain Jim,

I rode motorcycles for a number of years when I was younger. Then family with kids and career - I had no free time. I really missed the two wheeled thrill. 15 years ago, I bought a Aprilia Scarabeo 150, then traded up to the Suzuki Burgman 400. I was riding with a Maxi-Scooter group +250cc and needed the
the longer legs of the Burgman.

I always loved the look of the classic Vespa and finally bought the GTS300.

I love both machines. The Burgman with feet/forward and lumbar support riding position is more comfortable for me on longer rides.

Here is the spread of machines:

Here with Burgman 400

Forget the cotton, microfiber base layers work so much better especially if they're it's a temperature swing. If you sweart even a tiny bit the moisture gets trapped and you sulk get cold.

If you don't like microfiber go for wool. I also highly recommend a microfiber or silk balaclava possibly with a neck gator over it and under my helmet.

I do a fair amount of cold weather riding and can have 30-45f temp swings throughout the day and I would never wear cotton. I also have muffs and a Thermoscud and scooter skirt.

Rode in this morning - gorgeous start, started at 45 degrees, ride home was high 50s. These are great days to end the season!

I did put some Sea Foam in the gas tank at the last fill up, though. Around here you know that any day could be the last ride!

I commute 365 on my bike so I've now got it pretty dialled for the UK's cold soggy winters.

Waterproof thermal bike boots.

Spada thermal lined waterproof jacket.

TucanoUrbano wrap around trousers (a bit like those leather things cowboys wear, but they fasten round the back).

RST thermal waterproof gloves.

Bell adventure helmet but with a snowmobile dual layer visor (shipped from Canada)

Acerbis vision handguards.

I don't use heated grips anymore, I found they make my hands sweat on the bottom while they freeze on the top and I get pins and needles. Hence the thermal gloves.

Usually arrive at work warm and dry.

Wow ... but how do you move with only 8 ° C? My limbs would go numb ...

In fact i also wish i could stretch my legs on longer journeys and i have a project to do this ...
I'm looking for an old Yamaha Majesty 250 DX ABS from 1998 because in Italy two-wheeled vehicles over twenty years old are considered to be of historical interest and by registering them in a special register you can get the insurance with a discounted price.

In the past, I've commute on my scooter most days through December unless it is pouring, snowing, or there is a rain followed by a flash freeze. I tend to put the scooter away for the season when the snow starts flying... It's just too salty and sandy, yet still slippery, for me to feel comfortable out there. Plus, with the white scooter, I'm sort of camouflaged in the snow... A driver half-paying attention while using their cell phone might not see me. I have life insurance, but I'm not keen on using it. Having said all that, I will take the scooter out if it "dries out" over the winter and the snow melts (this happened last February).

I don't go too crazy with winter gear, but the Vespa high windshield is a must. If it's cold (below 32 degrees F or 0 degrees C) and I'm driving a long distance (10+ miles), I'll use a few layers - glove liners/gloves, undershirt/wool sweater/waxed cotton Barbour jacket, insulated jeans/armored riding pants, wool socks/boots. If it's ridiculously cold, I'm probably not going to ride - the weather in Connecticut is rather variable, so there are a lot of freeze/thaw cycles and that leads to a lot of ice on the roads and I have a car, so I'm not going to suffer the extreme cold needlessly.

79º this morning at 7:15 when I went out for my morning walk...



Sending warm vibes your way.

The competition. BMW C650 GT with skirt accessory heated grips, seat(s) and BMW GPS. Actually both are good scoots but I went with BMW for a few of the extra features. The mechanically adjustable windscreen was a big one for me.

I agree on the heated grips but find they work well with something like an insulated riding glove. I find they do not help with finger tips which are very important to keep warm. For that I find heated glove liners work best as they make direct contact with the skin. Put those in Gore-Tex insulated gloves and I've been toasty warm in up to -20C. I use the same brand a lot of the Canadian police departments use and they are great.

http://powerinmotion.ca/Products/Heated-Wear/Heated-Glove-Liners

Today 24°C here.