DAMN Riders - No rules, Just ride!

I'm new to the dirt bike/DS thing. I was planning to head out to Granville early Sat to help but they are calling for rain in very cold temps. The one thing I've learned all these years riding on the road is that cold + getting wet = MISERABLE. I'm realizing today that I'm totally ill-prepared to handle simultaneous cold and wet on an off-road ride. All my dirt gear has been focused towards avoiding heat stoke in the summer weather. So for something like the expected Granville conditions or a DS ride in the middle of January, how do you folks typ gear up? Is there a substitute that works 'well enough' vs dedicated motorcycle gear.

Jacket: I can cover. I could use my RevIt Sand on-road gear or lots of under layers + a tough waterproof mil-surplus waterproof shell I have. So far so good.
Pants: Normally wear an ITB pant on the dirt bike. I guess I can choke the calves of the boots up enough to fit and pull my RevIt road pants over the boots
Gloves: Yeah I can probably find something waterproof around here but not sure it will be warm enough. Ski gloves?
Boots: smooth bottom MX boots are going to be suicidal walking in the snow. The trials boots have decent soles but thin and likely too cold. Not sure I can get a really thick pair of socks on in either of them. Wear work boots??
Helmet: This is where I think I'm toast. Don't want to wear the $$$ road helmet knowing I *WILL* crash and tear it up but can't wear my max ventilated summer time dirt bike helmet w/ goggles either. I would think there is really no other option than to break down and get a cheap-o street/ADV helmet w/ a proper visor and vents that can be shut?

I'm into hiking and mountain biking and have a lot of performance wool & synthetic insulation I can layer on. I can easily do those in the cold or the wet, but never in both. Whats the necessary stuff to stay warm and dry while riding off road when the weather conditions are anything but?

When I ride proper off road, the main concern is visibility. Double pane goggles help a lot in this aspect. My riding gear is the same as in 90 degree weather.
If you expect some connecting roads, you can take a light windproof jacket to not freeze.

Waterproofing is not a big deal as I am wet from my sweat anyways

My cold weather gear isn't all that different from my summer offroad gear.

I will tend to put a warm "long john" type shirt on as my base layer instead of a warm weather short sleeve underarmor shirt.
Instead of my normal offroad gloves, I have a pair of Aerostich elkskin ropers.
And if its really cold I also have a neckwarmer.

I'm cold for the first 10-15 minutes then I generally start sweating. Usually the neckwarmer is removed at some point and stuffed into a pocket.

I've started playing around wearing safety glasses instead of goggles sometimes. They still can fog but will clear much quicker.

I have a raincoat I can put on over my gear if its raining. Or sometimes I just get wet.

I rode in the snow on one Shen500 ride and froze everything freezable. I bought some Klim ADV style gear after that for DS rides. I love my Badlands jacket!

Ditto to above. I'll add...I carry extra gloves and wear ski socks. Also, yes to wool and synthetics.

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Insulated cover-all’s, they don’t look cool but you won’t get wet or muddy.

I catch myself out riding in some DAMN cold weather from time to time. In temps from 100 to high-40s I'llI wear a wicking synthetic base layer top and bottom and a Klim Badlands jacket and pants. If it's colder, I'll add a Warm N Safe electric mid-layer jacket and gloves and wear a merino wool bottom under the Badlands pants. That's one of the reasons why I just bought the WR250R - a 350W stator. All that and the Sidi Adventure Rain boots and when it rains, I'm just watching my friends jump around to get into rain suits while I just zip a few vent zippers. That Klim stuff is spendy but it's held up for several seasons of long ADV rides and more than a couple energetic dirt naps.

I'm now wondering though, for the day trip trail rides I'll be doing more often, if some MX style gear wouldn't be more comfortable and cooler when I'm working up a sweat?

I'm another one who dresses the same in winter as in summer when doing trail rides and would just pack some warm gloves and a jacket for getting on the road if dual sporting. I did a dirt road ride last year with a bunch of highway at the start. For that ride I wore my aerostich 1 piece suit and had my electric jacket/gloves cranked while on the highway.

Only change from my summer to winter gear is wearing my DAMN Jersey and a t shit underneath. Maybe another jersey if it is super cold. I have a pair of sidi crossfire boots with the lugged enduro soles if it is going to be muddy or I'm doing trail work.


I did just pick up some 100% gloves to try out that are insulated on the backside only to cut the wind.


It was 6 degrees at the hangover race last year and my hands were the only part that was cold cold.

I bought some battery heated gloves (on sale) for crazy cold days. The only thing is they're also thick so I'm not sure I can actually work the controls on the bike...