Last ride of the season

I am getting ready to lay up the Swing for the winter. I have a 2000 ACE that I will keep into November and December if the weather allows. I have to put the Swing in my shed, and I prefer to do it soon rather than wait for the white stuff to fly.
It is a tight fit in there , but you could swing a 2x4x8 easily, so the Swing will fit. I am going to build a movable contraption with caster wheels and put it on there and manouver it in position. The ACE has a spot in my neighbor's garage, so I can wait on that one for a bit.
How late do you guys and gals ride ? I wish for year-round but it is not practical, and can become very expensive to get outfitted properly and still not have the weather for riding. Winter can be a challenge.

First snow here today; N.E. Ia. S-wing time getting short but will be back in the 50's this week end. Time for the skis . harley

cotetoi wrote:

How late do you guys and gals ride ?

Generally I don't winterize before Halloween. We've had a crappy cold and wet last 7 days, temps haven't cracked 4C. The weekend looks more promising, 8C and sunny. I'll wait until the bitter end of Fall. I already have fresh premium gas in the tank, all I need to do is change the oil and filter and pull the battery. My Swing sleeps in the attached double garage. It's unheated, but the lowest temp I've ever seen in there is -8C.

I spend the winters in Arizona so I am forced to keep my SWing ready-to-ride   It is a tough job but I feel obligated to soldier on while the rest of you can rest your machines. The things I do for you guys on here...

When I was in WA usually winterize toward the first part of November; I couldn't always ride that long but gave it the benefit of the doubt.

I will put my Silverwing up at the first sign of snow. I swear I will. In fact if I see any snow I won't even go outside. Heck I'll even go on a hunger strike until the snow is gone.  :rendeer:

Fortunately for me my riding season is just beginning. Except the last week down here. It has been very wet and gale force winds, with top temperatures on average 14 degrees. I pray for all my friends battling the New South Wales Bush Fires near Lithgow and New Castle, you will all be in my thoughts. With very high temperatures and gale force winds there today.

model28a wrote:

I will put my Silverwing up at the first sign of snow. I swear I will. In fact if I see any snow I won't even go outside. Heck I'll even go on a hunger strike until the snow is gone.  :rendeer:

You like to rub salt in our wounds, don't you Roger?
I still have a very vivid memory of working on your Swing in the garage that warm sunny January day.
I wish I were coming down to St. Pete again this winter.

model28a wrote:

I will put my Silverwing up at the first sign of snow. I swear I will. In fact if I see any snow I won't even go outside. Heck I'll even go on a hunger strike until the snow is gone.  :rendeer:

Snow? Wats dat?:lol!:

Woke up to an inch of snow in the grass today. Roads are clear, but wet, temp around 36F. The Swing is covered in the garage, but it will come back out in a moments notice if the conditions are right. I usually put some stabilizer in the tank, and keep the tender on the battery, but never plan for hibernation, just in case.

Weather is changing here. Low 30's in the morning all week. Rode to work Monday. Bob and I rode 210 miles this last weekend. He's working on his first 600 miles on his new GS. 60 more to go. He got it Oct. 12th. We should be able to do that this weekend. It should warm up to the low 50's.

Planning on riding in the the annual Toys for Tots Parade on Dec. 1st. Weather permitting. I will be joining the Scoot Jockeys Chicago group that day.

Learned about them from here when Scootergrl joined last week. Met up with some of them last weekend. Nice group of people.

We should still have some more nice days ahead of us. Just not this week.

Went for a 270 km run today with the guys. Saint John to Oromocto and back. Great weather, sunny but cool to cold. 10C. I had 4 layers on, comfortable but eventually the cold seeps in and you don't know it. Forecast calling for cooler temperatures for the next 2 weeks. Not looking too good. Will only go for short coffee runs. We go for coffee runs all the time: except the coffee shop could be in the next city or province. lolol.

You see, you sometimes are scathing about England but, we will be riding(well i will) all through winter. The only time we cannot, is if the snow is too deep to get to the main roads. Iam having a spot of trouble with the Silverwing just now ,so iam riding my Burgman 400. Apart from the persistant rain we are having it is still quite mild for the time of year, and we don't mind the rain,  that is normal for us even in summer. 

Our forecast is crap for the next 2 weeks. Temps barely reaching freezing during the day and lows around -5C. I fear I've already taken my last ride of the season. I'll likely do my winter lay-up this weekend and be done with it until next April. That's 5 long months. Sad.  

Cotetoi,
How far north are you in NB?  Oh ... noticed you are near St John. Flurries possible tonight near Edmundston. Keep the chains handy !!  What size is the shed you will store the S'Wing in for the winter.  I have a small shed which I think is too small but almost worth emptying to try the fit. The shed is plan "B" anyway. Plan "A" takes more effort with windshield & mirror removal.  Time to wax the skis !
Mike

My last ride this year will probably be in a couple of months. Then I can start on next year.      

"Hi Yo" I'm with you. I will ride my last ride of the year the day before I ride my first ride of next year.

    MIDNIGHT      

I was on holiday in California a few weeks ago and when we got to Mammoth Lakes it snowed overnight - and that was in the middle of September!!

Laurie

There isn't a "riding season" in my book, you either ride in winter because road conditions allow it, you have the right clothing and attitude, and you want to, or none of that applies and you don't.

I don't particularly enjoy winter riding and never have, even though I've attended some winter camping rallies. The biggest hassle for me is the inevitable long washing and cleaning session at home after riding on salted roads.

Hey, Mike. We probably get very similar weather. I generally keep the ride ready to go. This year I have a problem because I now have two. The ACE used to sleep in the neighbour's garage. He does have room for two, but he's not offering it yet, and I hesitate to impose on him. My shed is big enough for either, but the step is about 18 ins off the ground. So, it means a lot of grunting and cursing to get the bike in: either one.
The forecast is calling for lower than normal temps for 2 weeks; and 4 week deer season starts Monday. I have ridden into December, in 2010. My first season of riding, didn't want to stop !!!!

Another note: no riding if the snow stays on the ground for 2 or more days. Definitely no riding if the salt trucks go out.

In my younger days, I lived in England for 8 years: 3 in Northampton and 5 in NorthWest London: I am well acquainted with English weather. I remember traffic coming to a standstill in London in 1977 after a half-inch of snow. No snow tyres and at every roundabout the merging traffic lost traction if they stopped to give way...lolol fun ride, took me 4 hours to go from Park Royal to Watford, 40 minutes in rush-hour traffic. Old Limey, if you ride year-round in Lancashire you are doing really well.

As Meldrew says you either ride, or you don't. I get very edgey if i go more than three days without riding. No matter what the weather if i want to ride, i dress accordingly and go. If it is really cold(and nowhere near as cold, as you get in North America) i plug in my heated vest, insoles and gloves and always enjoy the ride.  

Old Limey wrote:

I get very edgey if i go more than three days without riding.  

I can't imagine how edgy you'd be after the approx 150 days that I can't ride.  

Well, what do you know. After my post this morning, I piled on 4 layers of clothing and safety gear and went to the US border in Calais, Maine to pick up the light connector that I ordered from Dennis B, and my mirror extenders and spotlights from EBay. It was cold, windy and sunny when I left home at 1100. Made it to Calais by 1210. I thought I had landed in Florida: warm, sunny, light breeze and quite nice. It took a coffee and sandwich to thaw me out. The ride back was way nicer. 170 km, 10 litres of gas. Not bad, considering I pushed 120 kmh at times.
I know what Old Limey means getting edgy when not riding..I had to work the edge off this morning.

The change of season is a difficult thing when you have to put equipment away --- and you are not ready to do so.  Suddenly the realization come to you , "yup ... it is time !"  I have a small speed boat which I hated to put away each year.... just hated the thought of looking at it and not being able to go for a run.  Cotetoi ... you know Bedford Basin ?  Great place for a speed boat on a sunny fall morning with no wind.  But each year my indicator that haul-out time has arrived was the day that I had to scrape the frost from the windshield to see where I was going.   It is funny how cold the water became when that decision was finally made !  LOL !  I'm too knew to the scooter world to appreciate the edgy feeling fully .... I'm sure this will happen with a summer's riding behind me !  It is 0°C here now .... brrrrrrr
Mike

I feel for you, Mike. It was not that cold here today, but there is a certain tipping point in the scale where your body tells you to bundle up or stay indoors. Every year, that tipping point stretches by a few degrees. Some cold days I want to surrender and hibernate, but it only lasts a few hours, then I find myself bundling up and going out, bones and joints creaking. Not ready for it just yet; I know it's coming soon enough.

There's still some good riding days here in S.E. Kansas. I rode the S'wing to pick my wife up from work last night, then we rode it to dinner at a restaurant on the other side of town and followed that up with a trip to an ice cream parlor. We stopped and did a little shopping on the way home. It was fully dark when we got home, but still not uncomfortably cold.

It's raining today. The next three days are supposed to be wet and dreary followed by three or four days of sunny days in the upper 60's. I call this yo-yo weather because of the way it goes up and down radically every few days. Soon, it will turn cold and stay cold. In the meantime, I will ride when I can.

How many miles did you put on your trike? Did you instal your Hercules tire on yet ? How much time to remove your trike kit for rear tire change?

I just rode mine 840 miles from D.C. to Daytona overnight! While it was cold it wasnt that bad! I have experienced worse riding snowmobiles in Canada

jamestanker wrote:

I have experienced worse riding snowmobiles in Canada  

I have frozen more riding on 2 wheels than I ever have on snowmobiles. The wind protection is far superior on a snowmobile than on any Silverwing or bike.

tinman wrote:

How many miles did you put on your trike? Did you instal your Hercules tire on yet ? How much time to remove your trike kit for rear tire change?

We've rode about 3,500 miles since purchasing the trike in April.

The tire questions are answered over in the Darkside forum.  
Not necessary to remove the kit - just one RH body panel on the kit.

Today was it.
Rode 30 km out on the highway to get the oil nice and hot and circulate the premium fuel with Sta-Bil added.
The air temp was 3C.
On return, I changed the oil and filter, pulled the battery, and now in hibernation.

Cold winters have been out of my life for 13 years now...  We ride daily here in Florida and enjoy it even more in the winter...LOL

I have a Voyager Trike kit on my Wing and had a new rear tire put on just before my 5 weeks of riding several states and over 4,000 miles and the kit was not removed.  If it is removed it takes about 5 minutes.

Magoo Triker

I have managed to put the ACE in the shed with the help of my son. I have a bike lift for it, so it is quite maneuverable inside. The Swing is on duty until the weather really turns. Some warmer days still left yet. It will go to my neighbor's garage. Today seems really fine for a ride.

My last ride for this year was to Oromocto. That was it; couldn't get out yesterday even though the weather was perfect. It is blowing a gale today, and I put the Swing in the neighbor's garage, out of the salt spray we get off the Bay of Fundy. Weather looks to be getting much colder and I am getting older, so no freezing rides this year. I'll pull the battery out and take the seat off and bring them in for the winter. I coat my vinyl in lots of vaseline and keep them in black plastic bags. It seems to help keep them supple.

trouble1100, except for the cool nights that looks like the forecast here too.

Well since this is the first year I had to put a scooter to bed for a long winter's nap, I wondered if it would be a sad time or not.  It is actually a bit sad but it is good to know she's to bed in a dry environment.  Yesterday was my "last ride" of the year and it was a short one too.  Cold with snow in the air, as Tim will agree.  It was off to the gas station for the winter fill and for a short ride in Bedford.  Passing the BBYC it was thought to be a good location for some pictures of the cold windy Bedford Basin.  If the boats are wrapped up - then maybe the scooter should be as well.  But soon we will be out on the ski hills !!!








brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr,

All the best to you all !

Mike

Here, I ride every day to school and back on the Swing. My riding coat is water proof and on really rainy days, I use my scooter skirt/blanket. I stay off the streets when it freezes and snows, but we don't get that many days of it here.

If I suit up for a leisure ride this time of year, I wear my electric coat liner and electric gloves. Toasty warm.

I too ride all year round, only taking car in snow and ice. Last year I missed three days for really icy snow weather. I travel to workplaces as well as for fun, and hate it when I need to use the car. Then when Spring comes, I think about rideouts and stuff...

I've always ridden all year round and didn't have a car until my 40’s so I've done plenty of winters relying on just two wheels to get me to work and play. So I don't hate it at all having the choice of a car,  I've had my share of riding in winter conditions, going to work in ice and snow, the pain of circulation returning to frozen fingers in my early days, the occasional off on icy roads and boiling inside a bulky winter suit after the exertion of picking myself and the bike back up, the broken fairings and screens, the constant battle against road salt corrosion, and all the hassle of everyday winter riding.

Now I'm selective about when I ride during the winter, I'll go out for a decent ride and allow enough time for a good cleaning session back at home. I've seen too many alloy casings go from silver to furry grey on our salty roads.

furry  

Meldrew wrote:

Now I'm selective about when I ride during the winter, I'll go out for a decent ride and allow enough time for a good cleaning session back at home. I've seen too many alloy casings go from silver to furry grey on our salty roads.

You'll need an even longer cleaning session riding on the roads to your house at the moment. The scooter was covered in crap after my last visit, the builders want to get their finger out and get the top dressing on the roads.

I was out on Saturday Brubaker, Meldrew knows my Haunts, i just clean the windscreen and my lights and mirrors and rear number plate, mostly . I was at Southport for my Wednesday run today. Iam loving this weather, nobody on the roads but me. Only me at Southport, and in the summer you can't find a place to park, still not cold enough for my heated gear yet. Gets dark about 3.30pm so Her indoors gets a bit anxious if I'm still out. 

Looks like I took my last ride for the season last Sunday. Bob and I rode in the Toys For Tots Ride with 12 other scoots from Scoot Jockeys Chicago. Dry and Mid forties. Nice ride. They said there was 20,000 bikes in the parade. Rode down Western Ave in Chicago for about 15 miles then went to brunch with some of the group. This was my first TFTR. Bob has done it several times. The U.S. Marines have been sponsoring this charity ride here since 1978.

We are looking at some pretty cold weather starting tomorrow. If we get a really nice day with no snow, ice or tons of salt on the road and I am not working I will probably go for a ride. It has been known to happen here.

Texas looks like they are in for some nasty weather tomorrow. Stay safe.

Cathy, don't put your heated gear away yet. We (Chicago) may get a couple of sunny (maybe not warm) that we can still ride. I have to get my money's worth out of the heated gear I bought