Riding in winter
Helmet
If you need more warmth in the helmet, buy a thermal balaclava.
If you live in the UK, fogging / misting up is often a problem in some weather conditions.
I have never found an anti fog spray or a permanent anti fog visor coating that
works well enough.
It looks like the helmet manufactures have also realised this, so in the UK
most new helmets have the Pinlock anti fog pins installed in the visor.
This means you can buy the Pinlock antifog insert and put it on the inside of
the visor, the reviews of this product are very good (search internet).
Since the insert reduces the vision through the visor a bit, its very useful
that it can be removed easily when the weather is not likely to cause fogging.
If you do not have a visor with Pinlock pins already installed, you can buy
an anti fog insert that sticks to the inside of the visor.
Since its stuck on, you can not take it off and put it back on again, you could
buy a 2nd visor to sort this problem.
Or you may be able to buy a Pinlock kit to drill and stick the Pinlock pins to
your existing visor (or get them / a shop to do it).
I have not had a chance to try an anti fog insert yet, but after reading the reviews on the internet, thats how I would try to stop fogging / misting up.
Boots
Buy a thick insulated pair and make them one size to big for your feet.
Put two pairs of thick thermal socks on so the boot fits,
the next trick is to stop the cold wind getting through the boots, over boots (waterproofs).
Trousers
Wear thin thermal trousers, then put a pair of normal thick jeans over the top,
the jeans will need to be one size larger than you normally wear due to the thermal trousers underneath.
You can also put waterproofs over the top to reduce the wind chill.
Coat
Leather is still the warmest on a motorbike. The only trick is to stop the cold wind getting through the main zip.
You could put a large map or bubble wrap inside the coat, if nothing will fit, put waterproofs over the top of the coat.
Or you could fit a Screen
Hands
You can wear winter motorcycle gloves that are big enough to put thermal under gloves inside, you could also try over gloves to try to stop the wind chill.
The thicker the glove and the more layers you have under or over it the harder it will be to control the bike.
See my Pathan Evo 3 Finger Glove Review
Heated grips need power from the engine,
the Honda CG125 is a small engine and may struggle to cope with the electrical demands (battery may struggle to recharge).
All of the above will not ultimately fix the cold problem since its the wind
chill thats the problem.
Air Temperature
Wind Speed
Wind Chill
(bike speed with no wind)
3c
30mph
-4c (thats 7c lower)
3c
50mph
-6c (thats 9c lower)
No matter how many layers you put on your hands, it only slows down the wind
chill (it will eventually get through all the layers and freeze your fingers).
The solution is to deflect the wind away from your hands and that requires
plastic that attaches to the bike.
The plastic will deflect the wind away and is also a very good insulator, the
air gap between the plastic and your hands is also a good insulator.
It is also slightly more aerodynamic than your hands (very slightly)
and will not get in the way of the bike controls or your hands.
It will reduce how wet your gloves get in the rain, since its the wind that normally pushes
the water in to the glove.
The plastic is often called Handguards or Hand Protectors.
I have read about people who have made their own out of plastic milk bottles.
Some Handguards attach to the clutch and brake levers (where the nut and bolt
goes through, may need a longer bolt).
Some Handguards attach to the ends of the handlebar, others to the main part of
the handlebar (not the ends).
Acerbis MX Uniko Handguard (not the vented version) costs around £20 to £25 for a pair and includes the mounting / fitting kit unlike some handguards.
These were the only Handguards I could find (there are other handguards on
the market) at any of my local motorcycle shops.
Only a special off road motorcycle shop had them in stock since they are normally fitted
to off road bikes.
They are not ideal but are much, much better than nothing (I can often ride in
winter with my summer gloves because of them),
I covered the air slits with black tape on the inside.
The Handguards attach to the handlebars. I fitted them to the front disc brake Honda
CG125.
The right hand one was easy and went straight on (I did have to loosen the brake
lever / mirror part where it attaches to the handlebar and then tighten it up
again).
But the left one can not go in the normal place because the indicator switch is
in the way, so I had to put it on the other side of the clutch / left mirror.
The problem is the clutch on this model of Honda CG125 has 2 electrical wires
sticking out that stops the handguard handlebar bracket from fitting.
So I filed down the plastic handguard bracket (removed black part in diagram
above) to fit (I actually used an electric
grinding wheel, plastic is very soft and easy).
I unplugged the 2 electrical wires and had to loosen the clutch / mirror part
where it attaches to the handlebar in order to get it to fit.
Then I was able to tighten it up again and put the 2 electrical wires back on.
It was easy to get the clutch, brake and mirrors back in to the original
position since I used a ruler to find where they went on the handlebars.
I also looked in the mirrors to make sure they were not pointing up or down.
In summer the handguards can easily be removed without removing the handlebar
part since there is a nut and bolt as you can see in the picture above.
The handguards are not very high so I had to adjust them so they protected my
fingers.
I found the best way to find were the wind was hitting was to ride in cold wind
with no gloves on.
I found my left and right hand fingers were all protected from the wind, even my
left hand little finger that visually was not protected by the handguard.
You can easily obtain Handlebar muffs at most motorcycle shops and loads of
people report they really work well.
But they do have several disadvantages compared to the Handguards.
Some people have reported that cheap badly designed ones can let the wind push
them against the brake lever slightly resulting in a warped brake disc.
Silencer / Exhaust
Do not put oil or grease on the silencer, it will burn off and leave a stain. In winter you must keep cleaning it.
The silencer constantly likes to rust, even in summer.
Clean the rust off with Autosol (car shops, it's metal polish that claims not to scratch, the toothpaste tube type version is best, not the liquid bottle version).
If Autosol does not get all the rust off, try again with more Autosol but rub more and harder, keep doing this over and over until its all gone.
There is one thing you can put on the silencer. I recommend Mer Car polish, its normally sold in most shops for waxing car paint.
But it can also be used on chrome or stainless steal silencers and can stand the heat when the bike is used.
Mer Car polish is expensive but you use hardly any on a motorcycle so the
smallest bottle will last almost forever.
I put 2 coats on, its substantially improved the rusting problem, there is no sign of the polish,
the silencer is just protected more and shining as much or better than before.
When the polish eventually wears off the silencer, it will no longer be smooth to touch, simply put another coat or two of Mer Car polish on again.
If you notice the silencer rusting in a few places its because the polish has worn off totally, use Autosol (see above) to remove rust and put Mer Car polish back on.
Autosol will also remove Mer Car polish, so you must put Mer Car polish back on again.
If you are confused about how both Autosol and Mer Car polish both claim to polish and protect afterwards, I have found,
Autosol removes rust very well but is useless at protecting metal from rusting afterwards,
Mer Car polish is useless at removing rust but is very good at protecting metal from rusting.
Rest of the Bike
Clean the bike before the salt is put on the roads, and before it's to cold for your fingers to work on the bike.
When the bikes clean, you need to protect it from the salt on the roads.
You need some form of grease to stick to the cold exposed (not painted) metal parts.
You could use Vaseline or motor bearing grease (car shops) or anything really.
Smear it on the wheel rims and the spokes, the spokes are the most difficult and important since they are not chromed.
Put the grease on the chrome forks, but not the part that goes up and down the rubber suspension part (you must clean that part all the time in winter).
Grease the chrome Honda badge on the forks and the chrome headlight ring.
Grease the back brake pedal (not the part your foot touches), gear shift, handle bars and all the nuts and bolts you can find on the bike.
Grease the outside bottom part of the rear suspension (chrome part).
The chrome inside the rear suspension can be treated with engine oil, using a cotton bud or anything to reach inside
(again do not treat the bit that goes up and down the rubber suspension seal, you do not need to clean it since its protected by the front of the bike).
You do not want the grease and oil on the bike in spring or summer, the insects will stick to it.
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