Had a chance to test the Slingshot - and my cold weather gear - early this morning. I rode from Elkins to Huntsville and back on highway 74 - about an hour round trip at average speed of 55mph; left before dawn at 6:00 am, returned about 7:10 as sun was coming up. Some of you Eureka Springs veterans may know the route, winding 2-lane road, mild hills, almost never straight for more than half a mile or so. Phone said 17F, Slingshot hovered between 18-19F, but when I stopped to take a photo, by the time I fumbled with my phone, temp on thermometer rose to 20F, engine heat, I guess! Wanted to give a detailed report on my cold weather gear and Ruby's performance in the frosty weather.
Because we have relatively high humidity here, even in the fall, when the temperature drops precipitously like this, we get a heavy layer of frost. Driving the slingshot in this sort of weather takes extra care. I found the valleys and shaded spots had quite a bit of frost sheen on the road, but for the most part the pre-dawn traffic had eliminated the frost where the tires go, and front grip was okay once the tires warmed a bit. Back tire was another story! Frost on the crown of the road frequently made steering skittish, rear tire wanted to slide off the crown one way or the other into the tire groove. I never felt out of control, but I didn't push things on the curves or hills either. Overall, I felt safe enough as long as I didn't push the speed limit and payed close attention to road conditions. I could see perfectly, and driving into the sunrise, I had an excellent view of where the road was frosty - but I wouldn't want to try doing this in the dark at all.
I have no electric or warmed gear at all. No reflection on those of you who ride with heated gear, but growing up in southern Wisconsin and snowmobiling on the Chain 'o Lakes and Fox river in sub-zero temps, well - I just didn't feel I needed any of that. For cold gear I had a regular pair of jeans, wool blend undershirt, lined flannel shirt, wool socks and boots. Wore my Schmidt quilted bib-overalls and ScotteVest Quest jacket with liner, thin balaclava, GMax full-face helmet, scarf, Carhartt max gloves.
Basically warm & comfortable the whole way. Took the time to walk the dogs for 20 min before to get the blood flowing, get used to the chill before mounting up. Head, neck, torso, arms, thighs - warm and comfy the whole way. No issues there. Did feel some cold air coming up the pantlegs, next time I'll snap the zipper seals shut on the overall legs and do the old snowmobiler's trick and tie a string around the ankles to seal out the cold. GMax helmet was fine, kept the face shield down -15but cracked just a bit until I got up to about 45 mph, then sealed it completely shut - no fogging issues at all, the helmet ventilates well and my vision was never obscured.
The Carhartt gloves were the only fail. Fingers cold and stiff after about 20 minutes - especially left hand. Razor windscreen on the SLR doesn't protect the left hand/shoulder from wind very well - suspect some Baker air wings and ski mittens are in my future! Mittens are much warmer than gloves because your fingers are together and not separated.
All told, I had a blast and am ready to keep riding in chilly weather. Winter in the Ozarks can be a wild affair with temps swinging from low 50's to -15 F. But apart from rain & snow, I am pretty sure my Ruby is a 10-11 month a year vehicle. Yesterday (about 40 F) a woman driving a beat up Ford Fiesta stuck her head out at a stoplight; "Aren't you freezing!!!"
"Aren't you bored to tears driving that thing!?" I replied, laughing maniacally as the light changed and I roared off.
Cold is no barrier to driving your slingshot - just pay attention to road conditions! Remember: There is no such thing as bad weather - just bad gear!
