Bike Is Kitted & Ready For Winter

[Deaks]

One of the things I love about about my Baby-Vara is that it just keeps going & gets me where I want to be, no matter what the conditions. Even if it does it all a lot slower than everyone else.

However it's getting old, ten years old in Feb, 45k on the clock so I lavished some love on it before Winter sets in.

Firstly, new heated grips. I've finally ditched Oxford Hot Grips & fitted a set made by Datatool. They're called Therma Grips, & they have some really top notch features; the controller is actually integrated into the left-hand grip, you just slide it up for warmth, down for less. There's a little LED on the right hand grip to let you know they're powered.

Unlike Oxfords, no matter what they claim, the Datatools do actually shut off when the engine is off. I've used 2008, 2009 & 2012 editions of Oxfords & they never shut off when the engine is off unless you properly wire them into the ignition, the Datatools work perfectly just wired to the battery.

The other thing worth noting is something a lot harder to quantify. My old Oxfords, while lovely & warm when on, tended to cool down very quickly. The Datatool's seem to really hold onto their warmth.

Finally, & perhaps one of the most important points: Oxford supply a one year guarantee with the Hot Grips, the Datatools have a TWO year guarantee. The actualy grips of my Oxfords are excellent, but the controller does need replacing pretty much every year, so to be guaranteed at least two years service is great.

Given that the Datatool Therma Grips reatail for ?65-?70, roughly equivalent of Oxford Hot Grips, I have to say it'll take a something special to move me back at this price.

The next one is a fender extension. I've been eyeing this up since I bought the bike in early 2009, but ?17-20 for a bit of plastic & 4 screws seemed excessive. However, in the interest of protecting the exhaust, particularly as I'm the only person in the world who has fitted the Ermax belly pan over the Honda one. It makes a huge difference to the mudguard length, far more than it looks so I'm really happy with it, despite the price of it.

Lastly, I've upgraded from handguards to handle bar muffs for this year, specifically Oxford Bone Dry muffs.. Handgurads make a massive difference, but they don't keep enough weather off my hands & an extra layer for water, wind & cold to get through before reaching my hands is worth at least trying.

So far, I'm not 100% happy as I haven't been able to get them seated properly, the clutch side muff especially keeps falling away, leaving some of my wrist exposed. It's not unsafe at all, but it certainly is distracting at times, although simply pulling it back up at traffic lights solves the issue.
The opening for you hand can be enlarged & I think that I haven't got that right yet.

Beyond that, they have performed wonderfully in actually protecting my hands, I've arrived at work at the end of my 30mile commute with my jacket, trousers, boots & helmet dripping water fast enough to fill a bucket, my gloves (Brand new ones, see below) were bone dry & that was after the bike sat out overnight with no cover, so in that regard, the muffs are excellent.

Finally, I decided to splash out on some decent winter gloves. I got caught out last year buying gloves that were rather cheap, & you always get what you pay for...

Based off a Visor Down review of sub ?60 gloves, I was looking for the joint top pick, Rev'It Nepal. However, it seems they had been superseded by the Scarab. Given that the design/style is the same & the RRP price point is the same, I was pretty confident & I have been rewarded. For ?54, they are excellent value, link below.

http://www.visordown.com/product-features/tested-sub-60-all-weather-gloves/22259.html

The bike will get a full clean, before the exhaust is painted with Very High Temperature paint, ?7 odd for 250ml from Halfords, again, something I'd recommend given Honda's affection for galvanised mild steel...

Along with a fresh oil & filter change, the Avon Roadriders currently fitted are about 9 months old, so hopefully the old beast is set to survive the worst Winter can throw at us.

[LazyRider]

Have you considered a bike apron?   In days of yore,  when postmen used to leave canvas post sacks on top of pillar boxes, is was common practice for all weather commuter bikers to borrow the sacks to put across their laps to keep their lower halves dry.    When the sack became soggy, they would swap them for a dryer one from another pillar box.   A modern equivalent could easily be made from any piece of heavy waterproof material, with perhaps a Velcro fitting round the waist.

With wet weather gear being what it was at the time, we also used to put a wad of newspapers on our chest, under our outer coats, not only to add warmth but also to soak up the water that crept through the front of the coat.  This was in the time of flat caps and goggles ? long before windscreens!

[numptyspence]

Goos job luck after the girl,  and she will look after you

Just stay warm dry and upright