Yesterday afternoon while riding home, the bike was running really smooth after balancing the carb by ear Thursday evening. Then when turning into our subdivision road, it started running rough and hesitating coming up the hill. How frustrating. After arriving home, I dropped the carb bowls as had been the drill but no water. Hmmm, put them back on and tried to start the bike again to see if it was still running rough. The engine wouldn't start when normally it starts up almost immediately. Checked for spark, good. Decided to check valve clearances as hard starting is one of the symptoms of tight valves. They were all on the tight side (maybe by a few thousandths) but that wasn't it. Then I noticed that there was no gas in the inline filters. I turned both petcocks on and no gas. Turned them to reserve and gas started flowing again. Started the engine and it ran nice and smooth. Looked at the trip odometer and verified that I had run out of gas.
This morning, I went into town to get gas and it was -22°F at the temperature sign at the entrance to the university. It would have been a good photo but I was running late for a breakfast meeting. I ended up riding part of the way with the visor open due to ice formation on the inside. This is with a Pinlock shield in place. Another friend and rider had mentioned that he had an extra winter helmet. It is a Ski-Doo modular with a face mask that funnels your breath out the sides of the helmet. Both
Dom and
ChrisL have posted reviews of the more recent version of this helmet. As well as the great recommendation from DavidR here in Fairbanks who has ridden snow machines using these helmets for full days without fogging or icing.
I've heard that it is not generally a good idea to purchase a used helmet since you don't know how it's history but I trust DavidR when he tells me that it has never been dropped or abused. It is a tight fit when compared to the Nolan especially with the face mask installed but it would only be used for the really cold days. I think I will have a hard time getting used to having something covering my nose and mouth for a long time. This one has a dual layer shield but there is an electric, heated version available. It is the older version of the helmet but I he sold it for a fraction what they cost new…
Monday Afternoon Update - The helmet works great! Not even a hint of moisture on the visor even with it being completely closed right off the bat. Usually, I need to keep the visor cracked open until I'm at almost highway speeds. The chin guard is a bit difficult to get down with the face mask in place and feels a bit cluster phobic but it is oh so much warmer. The ride in this morning was at -22°F and normally just the short commute would be sufficient to have the lower part of the visor iced up. Today, none at all even with the longer route.
Don't you hate it when you run out of gas ... kind of like finding out the computer doesn't work because it was unplugged!
ReplyDeleteAnd now you have a 'snow' helmet ... the 'exhaust' system should be something that is optional on a motorcycle helmet, it's a little chilly leaving the visor up.
I was pretty surprised that I went through a tank of gas in such a short time. Less than a week but there was a lot of running around.
DeleteI wasn't really planning on getting a "snow" helmet but after talking to Dom, ChrisL and David here in Fairbanks, I thought I should give it a try. The visor frosting is really a problem on colder days. By colder I'm talking about well below 0°F.
My skidoo does really well in the cold stuff, yes it's tight and uncomfortable at times, my nose is too flat for the mask so I had to "supplement" the seal there. Sometimes, it'll for up regardless but that's more a rarity than not. Trick is to create your "micro-climate" before you go out and maintain it. I have to open the visor to take pics so will ride for a bit with an inch wide opening to stabilze things once I start moving again. Fwiw, I tend to only use the breath mask below 10F....the helmet tends to stay clear above that...tends to.
ReplyDeleteThen there's the "Cold Avenger mask" I reviewed awhile back, works pretty good with regular helmets, assuming there's room between rider's face and chin portion of helmet. I don't use the paper liners for the mask btw. You will accumulate moisture in the mask though, be prepared for water to drip out of the air vents when you remove the helmet.....I think you'll like it.
I picked up one of the "Cold Avenger" masks but it didn't fit too well in my helmet. This Ski-Doo model seems like it should work. Though it is starting to get too warm...
DeleteI've often wondered how the heated snowmobile visors work while riding bikes in the winter. I don't know anyone that has tried it though.
ReplyDeleteA few riders around here use the nose/mouth cover helmet inserts in the winter. Brad has one too. I can't handle something covering my face that close - a helmet is bad enough.
Hope it works and you don't have the ice issue.
This one doesn't have a heated visor though there was one made for it. I thought that a heated visor would work but I'm told that this model with the face mask works pretty well. I don't know how I'm going to like something covering my face and that is one of the reasons why I went with modular helmets in the first place.
DeleteLooks a bit alien but it looks like it could do the trick.
ReplyDeleteLooks a little odd, feels even odder but it it is so nice not to have the visor fog or ice up.I'm not surprised at how well it works based on reports from Dom and ChrisL and was very happy that I was able to pick one up for a very reasonable price.
DeleteWhatever style you prefer, the most significant thing to keep in mind about any motorcycle helmets is that they are intended for protection. Having a DOT certificated motorcycle helmets will not only prevent you from breaking the law, but can also help prevent you from breaking your skull.
ReplyDelete