who rides in the snow and how?

[digitron]

who rides in the snow and how? just wondering if anyone does this and just what things you did to the bike.

[BlueSamurai22]

Originally posted by digitron
who rides in the snow and how? just wondering if anyone does this and just what things you did to the bike.

This guy does:

http://groups.msn.com/burnedsdrzpage/snowriding.msnw

[UK Rob KLR650]

I ride in most weathers, not worried to be honest mate. Only thing i make sure of is keeping warm.

[SHarris650]

I used to ride in the spring snow in Big Bear California (about 6000 to 9000 feet) on my 1972 Honda SL125 when I was a kid. I haven't taken the killer out though... yet.

It's sort of like sand, but much colder Ice is not your friend. I found lower tire pressure helped, just as it does in sand. The Honda was air cooled, so no advice for the water cooler, but it should be ok as long as the coolant is good.

Riding trails in the snow can be fun, but REALLY dangerous. Sometimes the trail was not too clear and it was easy to go into a ditch, or worse a deep ravine. Luck for me this never happend.

Just like sand, you can't go slow or you'll bog down, but you don't want to go too fast either.

My 1/2 cent advice is to practice a little in a small known area with no nasty surprises under the drifts (like 20 foot drop offs). Once you get used to the feel, it's open season.

Spiked tires work for ice, but I don't know how leagal they are for the road. When I road in the spring, the roads were clear, but about 50% of the trails still had about 4 to 12 inches of snow. Not too hairy, but fun.

Hope this helps a little.

[Steve Zip]

Well I rode up my snow covered driveway on Sunday, does that count?

I have Dunlap 606s on so I thought it would not be a problem but I did fishtail if I was too agressive with the throttle. My driveway is about 15o feet and the snow was about 6 inches with ice on the bottom.

I think snowmobiles are a better choice

[Judjonzz]

What kind of riding do you mean? Aired down knobbies work great on a well-packed snowmobile trail. Too bad it's illegal in Wisconsin, but it's always a kick to see the look on the 'bilers' faces when they see you on the trail on a bike. I have done a lot of ranch work in 3-6" of spring snow. Again, knobbies are best. In general, a dirt bike is pretty well equipped to deal with snow as long as its not deep enough to bog you down. For street riding, a couple of rows of ice screws in the outer knobs will help you out on the icy patches without making the tires too slippery for pavement.
I think that small east euro 2-strokes make great winter bikes because they are both light, and cheesy enough that you don't worry too much about the effects of salt.

[ZRod]

Thanks, you guys just brought back fond memories of a day during a past life with the old XT 500, when it was my only transportation for a couple years.
I was in the AirForce, stationed at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma.
It snowed a foot or two in January, I think.
I decided not to catch a ride with a buddy, and take the scooter.
What a blast!......Kinda scarey!
All I had to do was a mile or so of snow rutted street stuff and then short cut through a field to the 3d herd shop.
As I approached the open field, I encountered a 4WD pickup trying to pull a econocage out of a ditch.
They were both spinning away and not going anywhere.
It was obvious, It Wasn't Happenin!
I don't think they even saw me in the blizzard.
I pulled behind the little cage and set the front wheel of my little tractor, (XT), against the bumper, and let the clutch out.
The non Dot tire dug down through the snow to the dirt and started lurching like it was going to buck me off.
HHHHHHAAAAAAARRRRRR!
Suddenly the 4WD truck was able to get the little car moving and promptly pulled it out of the ditch!
I continued through the field and it's 2foot drifts.
I was boned all day, and if that wasn't enough for the day.......
When I arrived back to the barracks parkin lot after work, one of my buddies had backed out of his parkin spot and spun some little ice trenches in the snow as he was trying to go.
I nudged up behind him and pushed him out too!
He didn't see me either and I got a big thumbs up, after he felt the push, out his window of his cage, as he took off!
Too cool, what a day for the ole dual sport!
Rod, thinkin about the bike that made him decide on the KLR!
Thanks for the memories!

[digitron]

Thanks all for the info and stories.

"What kind of riding?" well mostly packed snow streets. Just a quick trip to the hardware store or something.



come on tax return...i need you.

[Judjonzz]

For that kind of riding, I'd say get a pair of K270s (cheap) and as I said, run a couple rows of 1/2" ice screws in the outer rows of knobs. On the K270, you can run the screws into the sipes on the knobs, and they won't tear tthe tire up too badly when you pull them out again. In Death Moans, you will probably be seeing pavement within a day or two after a snow, so I wouldn't run screws into any center knobs.

So is Bobby Tucci's Latin King really any good, or is it overrated?

[digitron]

Death Moans, lol, never heard that before. you must be from here.
hit it right on the head.

As far as the Latin King, Ive never been there, i hear its decent though.

My eating out consists of mostly Drive thru and trying to keep under $15. Latin King...as 5 star as that sounds...is a bit out of my usual normal spending range. Im going to have to go now though.

Thanks all for the info.

Shane