Zero Below Zero — I’m Ready, I’m Ready... - Kyle's First Ride - Reposted

Zero Below Zero — I’m Ready, I’m Ready... - Kyle's First Ride - Reposted

We ran a story last month about Aerostich's wild plan to test the Zero FX in freezing Duluth, Minnesota. With their permission, we will be sharing the blogged thoughts of their select group of testers. Stay warm and enjoy!

01/19/16

Today was the day, it was my turn to ride the Zero FX home after work. The afternoon seemed to crawl by as the anticipation built, and for some reason an image of Spongebob Squarepants running around while giddily chanting ‘I’m ready! I’m ready’ kept running through my head. Maybe it was just my excitement to finally get a chance to throw a leg over the Zero for a cold, quiet ride through my snowy surroundings in the late afternoon sunshine. Or it could have something to do with my hi-viz Roadcrafter suit conjuring up a vague likeness to the yellow sea-dweller. Likely a little of both, but then it hit me...I was not ready, not yet.

Sure, my Roadcrafter Classic had been hanging up here at the top of the stairs of the third floor Aerostich offices, waiting for this opportunity, for the past week. Along with it, my Nolan N103 Helmet, Warmbib, silk scarf and Insulated Elkskin Gauntlet Gloves were stacked and waiting to be put to the test. But with temps reading 14ºF and falling, one more piece of kit would be desirable to make it a more comfortable ride home. Sixteen years ago I quit denying the fact that my hair was thinning, and fully embraced my baldness by regularly shaving my head. It means I never need to worry about helmet hair, but it also means I have no insulation on my noggin.

A quick trip down to the first floor retail space to purchase a new Power Dry Balaclava (#1040) had me feeling confident that I was now as ready as I was going to be to tackle this new winter commuting adventure.

Mind you, 14ºF is not the coldest temp I’ve ridden my motorcycle in (a few years ago I vowed to ride at least one day every month of the year and the first February day with dry roads was a balmy -12ºF), and many years ago I rode snowmobiles in temps as low as -40ºF. It’s pretty easy to dress for the cold, just takes a little more time and fore thought. And layers.

The time had come to head for home, so after donning my Roadcrafter and Warmbib, adjusting the balaclava, wrapping the scarf around my neck and securing the helmet chin strap, I was ready to ride. Cautiously I twisted the throttle, moving first along the sidewalk and then slowly over the snowbank to get get to dry road. Any trepidation quickly melted away once moving on the street, and it quickly felt like ‘just’ a normal commute home. Other than the snow all around, the occasional puzzled look of a driver or how cold my fingers were starting to feel after getting about half way home.

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It appeared in the excitement to leave, I had forgotten to turn on the handwarmers and neglected to plug in the Warmbib. The handwarmers were an easy fix, with the flick of a switch they were switched on. Maybe it was the adrenalin, but even with the wind-chill factor of flowing with 45-50MPH traffic, I did not feel a need for that extra heat from the electric layer on my chest.

The main road was dry and the lack of engine noise was certainly noticeable from a rider perspective, accentuating the tire noise on the pavement and the sounds of the cars on the road around me. Overall the ride was not dissimilar to my ‘08 Kawasaki Versys, other than the sound, and catching myself reaching for the non-existent clutch a few times. Sure didn’t miss rowing through the gears at traffic lights! Getting closer to home and into more residential streets meant more patchy snow, sand and icy spots on the roads, but the Zero nimbly maneuvered around or went easily over them.

There were no noticeable traction issues until I made the turn into my snowpack covered driveway. Leaning slightly to make the small uphill climb up the driveway did cause the rear wheel to break free and spin, sliding the rear of the bike quickly to the left. I adjusted by backing off the throttle and putting down my right foot to steady and upright the bike, then slowly twisted the throttle again to easily make the rest of the 30 ft journey to park outside of my garage door.

What a great feeling it was to ride home, in January! I arrive home feeling energized and alert, with a big smile on my face. After a few photos to document the ride distance (5miles) and current outdoor temp (8ºF), it was time to plug in the power cords and tuck the Zero in to spend the night outside under the eaves of my garage. Looking forward to the next ride...

There is a 1 minute time-lapse video at the end of this post.

Back to Work – 01/20/16

Woke up this morning and peeked out the front door to see a fresh light dusting of powdery snow on the ground. The Zero had spent the night parked outside of my garage door, tucked just far enough under the overhanging eave to be spared anything more than a few flakes of this newly fallen snow coming to rest on it’s exposed seat and controls. After getting dressed in my riding gear, I headed out to the bike, unplugged the charging cords and plugged the cord for my Warmbib. Rode down the snowpacked driveway and navigated the turn onto the street. At the end of the block was a group of 3 teenagers, waiting for the school bus to pick them up. I watched them from the corner of my eye as I quietly rolled by, only the sound of the tires on the mixed snow, ice and pavement beneath them making any noise, but none of them even glanced up as I passed by. Guess an electric motorcycle in the winter isn’t considered cool by the kids these days... Oh, well, I’m smiling inside my helmet.

I could feel the warmth from the Warmbib heating my core and the heat from the grips was starting to penetrate the palms of my Elkskin Gauntlets. Once I got on the several mile stretch of highway and got up to speed however, I sure started feeling the cold seep into my fingers. Everything was warm and comfortable, except my fingers...might need to try layering with some Triple Digit Glove Covers to block the wind tomorrow or maybe try my snowmobile gloves next.

The rest of the ride downhill was business as usual. Arrived at Aerostich, plugged in the charger and headed in to start the workday (and warm up my fingers). A few fellow associates asked about the ride in and I was more than happy to relive the morning commute by telling them all about it.

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