Winter riding?

Johnny5 · Post by **Johnny5** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 11:01 am

So I live outside of Chicago and was wondering if anyone is keeping it real and riding through the seasons.

We've had quite a bit of snow so far, and it's been very cold. But when it warms up to 30 deg F I was considering riding. However I'm a little reserved about the idea. What about salt? black ice? traction with cold tires?

How about you Michigan guys

Oh yeah! One more thing, my blue demon was ridden by Crazy Z, a friend of mine, over the summer and got really good at the wheelies.
So he enrolled in a "Scooter jump competition" in the south side and hit 4 feet of air! And it still runs!

Kenny_McCormic · Post by **Kenny_McCormic** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 11:11 am

Dont ride in anything slick, dry roads only. Watch your jetting, cold air will lean it out and cause a meltdown.

Dac · Post by **Dac** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 2:58 pm

BALLS TO THE WALL! ! ! ! !
All out or not at all.

stay off dry roads, stay on ice. Black ice if you can find it.

Dac · Post by **Dac** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 2:59 pm

Kenny_McCormic wrote:Dont ride in anything slick, dry roads only. Watch your jetting, cold air will lean it out and cause a meltdown.

Cold air will lean it out, but its to d*** cold out to overheat.

it evens it self out.

po89mm · Post by **po89mm** » Sun Dec 14, 2008 1:45 am

im too much of a * to ride during the winter. I HATE cold weather.

Dac · Post by **Dac** » Sun Dec 14, 2008 2:01 am

po89mm wrote:im too much of a * to ride during the winter. I HATE cold weather.

Gloves make a huge difference.

like, an ungodly difference.

ALOW1 · Post by **ALOW1** » Sun Dec 14, 2008 2:10 am

I rode back and forth to work one winter about 9 blocks and never had any problems. Like others have said just watch out for the ice.

nysnowborder · Post by **nysnowborder** » Sun Dec 14, 2008 2:50 am

screw watching out for ice ride with feet down on the ice and yes dont ride without glove under 45 degrees bad idea and icy roads good idea

87 elite s ye ha

burnt_toast · Post by **burnt_toast** » Sun Dec 14, 2008 12:21 pm

Dac wrote:
Kenny_McCormic wrote:Dont ride in anything slick, dry roads only. Watch your jetting, cold air will lean it out and cause a meltdown.
Cold air will lean it out, but its to d*** cold out to overheat.

it evens it self out.

yup exactly, on AC 2t you're throwing much cooler temp air at the engine

Johnny5 · Post by **Johnny5** » Mon Dec 15, 2008 12:21 pm

Leanin' out huh?
That might be what's happening to me. It bogs down at like 25mph quite badly like it's getting no gas. Weird. I'd think it wouldn't run that differently.

Arnadanoob · Post by **Arnadanoob** » Mon Dec 15, 2008 3:25 pm

The bogging you're feeling "like it's running out of gas" is due to over abundance of air. When it's that cold, the air density rises significantly to the point where it's running too lean.

Johnny5 · Post by **Johnny5** » Mon Dec 15, 2008 9:33 pm

That sucks. I'm not sure if I'm going to re-jet just for a few winter rides.
Maybe I'll try limiting the air flow like putting a loose towel in the airbox or something.

Wheelman-111 · Post by **Wheelman-111** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:34 am

Greetings:

Sorry, I just don't buy the winter lean thing. Denser air is being sucked through the venturi, to be sure. However that will have the effect of increasing the pressure gradient at the fuel inlets as well. Fluid dynamics are hard to predict, but the net result should be a higher fuel draw at least partially compensating for the more abundant oxygen.

I suspect your boggy running is more likely the result of carb icing or an engine that simply can't reach nominal operating temperature.

Consider raising your needle before you swap jets. If that fails to improve things maybe that towel should go over the cooling shroud....

But watch your engine temperatures carefully.

I once owned a first-generation Mazda GLC. Little 1300 4 engine with a thin-walled aluminum block. Driving at highway speeds in -35 degree weather, the engine practically stopped a few times until I discovered that covering 3/4 of the grille with cardboard solved the problem. Trucks & school buses up North have zippered grill covers to achieve the same ends.

keithw · Post by **keithw** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 3:58 pm

I was working on the Pal and have both a head temp and exhaust temp gauge on it. The weather cooled off a bit and it just would not run right. The problem turned out to the the cylinder was not getting up to temp. After about a mile the head and exhaust temp would slowly come up and then it would take off.

For cold weather riding try a little duct tape to block off part of the cooling intake on the engine cover. It shouldn't take long to figure out how much to block off.

keithw

Kenny_McCormic · Post by **Kenny_McCormic** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 4:40 pm

What you want is a warm jug and a freezing cold head for best performance.

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