Winter Scooting 101

For those who can’t bear to put away their scooters when Old Man Winter rears his most unwelcome head, here are some tips and tricks I’ve learned over 28 years of riding motorcycles through all seasons. As it turns out, riding scooters in below freezing temperatures presents more challenges than riding my full size bikes – but I’ve found a setup that is healthy for both rider and machine, and you can easily adapt my recommendations for your own needs as required.

The Rider

First and foremost, riders need to stay warm in order to avoid loss of fine motor skills, hypothermia, frostbite, and death. The ambient temperature outside is going to feel significantly colder to the rider as she starts moving, as shown:

On a full size motorcycle, the solution is simple: Plug in electrically heated gear to the bike’s 12 VDC system (almost always via a dedicated cable connected directly to the bike’s battery,) and keep on going. On scooters, however, the charging systems are meager, and often lack the capacity to power a full 12 VDC heated gear suite. Here is a handy chart I snagged from Modern Vespa as it applies to my 2007 Vespa GTS250ie:

This tells us that 95 watts is the upper limit to run accessories on an older GTS like mine. Some scooters may have more capacity, and some less. The general rule to follow is: Run as much 12 VDC heated gear as you can safely get away with given your scooter’s capacity, and supplement the rest (if necessary) with battery powered heated gear. The gear you run on the bike’s 12 VDC system is generally a higher wattage and thus (in general) gets warmer faster, plus you don’t have to worry about batteries dying in the middle of a ride as with battery powered gear – and that’s why it’s preferrable. Let’s use my GTS’s 95 watt limit as an example of how to build a heated outfit that works within scooter constraints.

As a baseline rule, a typical 12 VDC jacket liner as used on full sized motorcycles is going to consume 65-100 watts, depending on the brand and type. Likewise, a typical set of 12 VDC heated gloves is going to require 40-50 watts to run on high continuously. The problem of trying to run these items on a scooter with a 95 watt limit becomes obvious, so the right gear in this situation makes all the difference!

My winter scooting setup consists of Warm and Safe’s 12 VDC Heat Layer Shirt (HLS,) which is worn in lieu of a shirt. Unlike the traditional heated jacket liners which are worn over a rider’s shirt, the HLS is much closer to the rider’s skin, and thus warms the rider up much faster, while using only half of the consumption (~48 watts.) The HLS is constructed of a black stretch fabric with both wicking and anti-bacterial properties, and has active heating in the chest, arms, neck, upper back, and lower back. I wear it directly over my long john base layer, as shown:

In our hypothetical 95 watt ceiling, the HLS consumes 48 watts – meaning I’ve still got approximately 47 watts left to play with, and the HLS has integrated coaxial cables inside pockets on the cuffs as shown below, which allow the rider to power 12 VDC heated gloves directly from the HLS:

This is all standardized coaxial wiring, so you can plug in nearly any 12 VDC motorcycle heated glove you can find, from any brand. I have had great luck with Warm And Safe’s “Ultimate Touring” series gloves. They get super warm and are very well insulated. Here’s my set, still going strong after ~8 years in service:

To control the 12 VDC heated gear, a rider has several options. The most basic is to simply plug the input line from the gear into the harness installed direct to the battery. This means the gear is either connected and operating at full power, or disconnected and thus off. A step up from that is an inline on/off switch installed as part of the wiring harness itself, allowing the rider to switch between full power and off, without disconnecting the power line. Finally, we have Heat-Trollers, which essentially operate like a light dimmer switch and allow the rider to finely tailor the amount of heat the 12 VDC garments produce. Such Heat-Trollers are available as either portable units the rider can wear or temporarily install on the bike, or as permanently mounted to the bike. Plenty of choices – choose that which fits your budget and requirements!

With my torso and hands warm, I’ve hit the limit of what my Vespa can handle via its 12 VDC charging system. Any other heated gear while riding this scooter is going to have to rely on battery power. Luckily, the market has absolutely exploded with battery powered heated gear in the past few years. You can buy heated socks, pant liners, jacket liners, gloves, and even balaclavas to stay toasty warm from head to toe! In fact, both the W&S HLS and gloves described above are also available in battery-powered versions.

When it comes to battery powered gear, the industry has for the most part consolidated on 7.4 VDC Li-Po battery cells. For example, here is a set of Winna gloves I recently tested for On The Level magazine, and you can see the glove’s standard 2.75” x 0.5” x 2” 2.7Ah Li-Po battery cell resting on the left glove shown here:

Buying some spare batteries to carry along with you eliminates the fear of freezing because a battery died before the ride was over – obviously a good idea. They’re usually $30-50 per pair for a typical spare set of glove batteries. Batteries for jacket or pant liners tend to be larger, and for balaclavas smaller. The general rule to follow for spare batteries is: Buy the batteries with the highest Ah rating that fit in your garment. For example, the stock factory battery cell shown above in the Winna gloves is rated for 2.7Ah, meaning it can power a ~2.7 amp load for approximately 1 hour. I was able to find spare Li-Po batteries on Amazon that were rated for 3.5Ah, which still fit in the Winna glove pouch. As such, I was able to increase my glove run time by over 30% vs. the stock batteries, extending the time I could ride before having to swap cells out.

A true winter rider can and should supplement the basics of torso and gloves with whatever else she needs to feel comfortable. Personally, I’m fine riding for hours in single-digit temps with just my torso and hands in heated gear, long john base layers, a quality insulated Gore-Tex motorcycle riding suit as my exterior shell, a standard balaclava, and a thick set of wool socks inside my Gore-Tex ADV riding boots.

A final word to the wise while wearing heated gear: In the ecstasy of warmth such gear provides, it is entirely possible for the rider to forget that she is moving along at high speeds in below freezing temps, with all of the requisite dangers that entails. Winter riding adds another layer of danger to being on the road. There’s standard ice you can see, there’s black ice you can’t see, there’s salt and gravel everywhere, and there are other clueless drivers making all of their usual mistakes with less traction available. So, I keep my heated gear on settings where I’m still (just barely) cold – slightly uncomfortable, in fact – so as not to lull myself into pushing too hard in conditions where I may suddenly lose traction or have to evade someone else who loses his own traction. The danger level in winter is undoubtedly higher, and one must stay keenly aware of his surroundings!

The Machine

In addition to powering your 12 VDC heated gear, there are many accessories you can add to your scooter to make winter riding more comfortable. For example, a variety of windshields are available for my Vespa, some of which are the size of barn doors. Such gargantuan shields may do wonders in keeping the cold wind blast off of the rider’s chest – and also negatively affect handling characteristics, fuel economy, etc. Be aware of such tradeoffs. Likewise, at least for Vespas like mine, there are heated accessories such as grips and seats which may also be installed – though as discussed earlier, the charging system’s capacity for such farkles is often limited on scooters. My GTS wouldn’t have the capacity to run grips and / or a seat plus my 12 VDC heated gear. There are also “grip muffs” that one can install on the handlebars to keep hands insulated, like this:

There’s even a “leg cover,” which is a sort of apron that the rider can wear to shield her entire lower body from the elements while on the road, like this:

When it comes to accessories, the sky’s the limit! This is indeed a very personalized subject, with many variables such as how much cold a rider can tolerate, and the actual conditions in which he rides. Winter in Chicago is entirely different than “winter” in San Diego. Experiment, and see what works for you!

As your scoot struggles mightily to move you through the world in the freezing tundra, dutifully giving you whatever spare juice it has to power your heated accessories, let’s not forget that it has needs, too. Chief among them is avoiding corrosion – especially when it comes to steel-bodied Vespas! It won’t take much exposure to salt to make your gleaming Vespa transform into a rusty jalopy! Where I live in NJ, washing the salt and winter grime off of the scoot  myself is not an option, because my hoses are frozen solid all winter long. So, I spray ACF-50 anti-corrosion lubricant on the entire underside of the Vespa and its trim pieces, carefully avoiding any contact with disc brakes for obvious reasons. (I learned about ACF-50 from my British riding friends, and if anyone knows about riding in miserable conditions, it’s the Brits!) ACF-50 works wonders to keep the effects of salt and grime at bay during winter riding, applying a thin protective layer to whatever it comes into contact with.

To supplement the ACF-50, I made a deal with my local auto detail shop, and he now washes my scoot down with warm water every other week to ensure that the salt and gunk don’t get a chance to do any real damage. It’s a small cost to pay for keeping my precious Vespa pretty for another 20 years.

And let’s not forget the basic mechanicals! The last thing you need on a winter ride is to get stranded by the side of the road as the sun sets and the temps drop even further. Make sure everything is maintained by the book! Keep the engine and gear oil fresh, lubricate everything that requires it, and top off tire pressure before riding winter in earnest. (Cold air is denser, meaning your tires lose a few PSI as the temperatures drop.)

Most sane riders put their scooters away in the winter. But there are a few of us hardcore Polar Bears still out there, unable or unwilling to quit. For us die-hards, there’s no option but to keep on rolling, no matter how cold it gets! Outfitted with the proper setup as described above, there’s no excuse to park the scoot!