Street Legal Dirt Bike for Winter?

[NitroguN]

I'm near to closing a deal on a Street Legal 1997 Honda XR400 in excellent condition. I live in New Jersey. Winters aren't too harsh. I'd say we get snow up here maybe 5 times in one whole winter. I won't be riding it during wintery weather/icy conditions.

Nevertheless it is extremely rare to see motorcycles in the winter up here let alone a dirt bike. How would an XR400 handle in the cold weather? I would mostly be using it on the street to go to friends' house, errands such as grocery store, bank, and other town errands.

Taking into consideration winter safety such as winter riding apparel, would it be a good or sane idea to "locally" ride a street legal dirt bike in the winter? Thanks all.

 

[fatcat216]

I live in Wisconsin in a 3 college town.

People ride bicycles and mopeds year round here***, something you never saw until a couple years ago. Once a few nutjobs started doing it, it was wide open. Two wheels were everywhere, with every generation.

I'd say our typical climate change winters (the five years prior to this last one) saw temps mostly between 0-20 and occasionally 15-35, with the really cold stuff being a couple of two week stretches.

If you aren't going to ride on snow and ice, I say go for it with out too many reservations. You'll have to understand that your tires aren't going to grip the road the same. They won't have heat generated suppleness. You could go down a lot easier, so be wary of that. In addition, the pavement itself will have different winter characteristics, and silt and stuff.

For me, the biggest problem is staying warm. I came to motorcycles after a lifetime of endurance sports- I'm used to generating my own heat. It's simply a question of the right gear. People ski and do all sorts of stuff at high speeds in the cold. The gear is out there. Buy what you need and enjoy your ride. Be a pioneer! :cool:

***[This winter sucked big time with 12 feet of snow and four months of 20 below zero weather.... aside from THIS MOST RECENT Winter.....people do that here. Enduros too.]

 

[fatcat216]

NitroguN one more thing. I think your other thread covers a lot of the other general question on dual sports and commuting pretty well.

I thought the motojoes would also give you tips on winter MAINTENANCE in regards to year round riding. If you search the topic "winter riding", I think you'll find at least 3 or 4 threads on this subject started just in the last year. There are probably better tips than I can provide here. Here are a couple little things:

Jetting & Oil Viscosity- if the temps get cold enough/ different enough in range from your summer riding (may not be true for you. Don't know Jersey.)

Use Stabil. Depending on how often you are REALLY going to ride the bike in the winter, use STABIL or something like that to keep your jets from getting clogged by old gas. You may find yourself riding less than you think. It's a good idea to have it in there as a precaution.

Air Filter- Even if you aren't going to ride in crappy snow, be aware that the roads are dirtier, and special attention your air filter is a good idea, too.