Riding

  • March 5, 2012 9:09 PM PST

    My name is Tracy. I have been riding for a year. I believe that I am still new. I know that it's possible to ride motorcycles in the snow. How can I do so without being unsafe and scared out of my chaps?

  • March 5, 2012 10:11 PM PST
    Leave the bike in the garage and take the cage.
    • 1855 posts
    March 5, 2012 11:21 PM PST
    jlhOils wrote...
    Leave the bike in the garage and take the cage.

    • 2072 posts
    March 5, 2012 11:28 PM PST
    One question comes to mind....... WHY ???? As stated above, park the bike !!!
  • March 5, 2012 11:44 PM PST
    really? let us know how it turns out. Me, well I was pretty accustomed to breating so I moved south for year round riding. have a great one! "T"
    • 79 posts
    March 6, 2012 2:39 AM PST
    jlhOils wrote...
    Leave the bike in the garage and take the cage.


    • Moderator
    • 16797 posts
    March 6, 2012 4:22 AM PST
    Ice is the big problem.
    Back in the day when bikes were built for rough terrain and they didn't plow the roads nobody thought any different of riding, then again their life expectancy wasn't as long as it is now. :-)
  • March 6, 2012 5:16 AM PST
    I have fun out in the snow etc...lol...


    If the tyre pressure is supposed to be 40, I lower it to 14 front and 18 rear, technique is to keep the bike as upright as possible and slide your backside off the saddle and hang yourself low off the side...lol...turn real slow by holding the back brake gently enough just to check forward motion a bit, and slipping the clutch gently to keep it moving, it dont work too well with Harley but with smaller or lighter bikes its fun...they slip and slide as you try to go forward in a straight line but hey-that is part of the fun...


    NOT TO BE TRIED IN TRAFFIC!!!!!

    NOT TO BE TRIED ON PUBLIC ROADS!!!!!


    Best to be tried on private ground ..... Oh and Also.....If You Even THINK of Using The Front Brake At All You WILL be OFF!!!!!


    Our roads here in London, England are cleared and salted daily through bad weather, this usually takes all the ice away, you will see hundreds upon hundreds riding here even with the bad weather, but usually between the hours of 10am and 4pm after the air has warmed a bit and before the air cools down again...


    ICE IS DANGEROUS for motocycle tyres, but hey, if you lower the pressure so it has a huge footprint on the road its fun to go play...lol...We do it all the time here in winter when the snow is fresh is best...once the snow has been packed down by a few tyres then its not so much fun.....and remember.....


    If you are being followed by a car or truck or ANY cage.....If YOU come off, the person in the vehicle behind is going to slam their brakes on and will skid right into you-no chance of them stopping...lol...so unless you have somewhere to play safe then LEAVE IT IN THE GARAGE!!!!!

    DONT try and use it like a normal weather day, you will be so disapointed!!!
    • 3006 posts
    March 7, 2012 3:37 PM PST
    Interesting post,if you have ever tried it ? or are you seriously considering this? From personal experience it can be done,yet not while its snowing never tried myself.I do know from experience hitting ice is one seriously risky scene & I wouldnt advise anyone to try it unless they were properly equipped for it with light offroad motorcycle, studded tires,proper air pressure and of course the right protection always.If your refering to riding a cruiser class bike it probably cant be done..lol..tho I have heard a few tall tales from fellow riders over the years !
  • March 7, 2012 9:13 PM PST
      Riding in the snow. I would be scared out of my chaps.
    • 658 posts
    March 7, 2012 9:32 PM PST
    I used to ride in the snow on my dirt bike around the neighborhood when I was a kid. But, then I was a kid and didn't know I could get hurt. Not a good idea. That's what cages are for.
    Medic
    • 846 posts
    March 8, 2012 7:56 AM PST
    I know how it is and this year with our weather swings it made me want to consider taking it out of storage for a ride. But I hold off. There's the ice and the snow but also the cages don't expect bikes on the road (at least in the Northeast) and there not looking of us (if they ever are). There is other thing to consider depending on how you feel about your bike. like salt on the road. Since the wheels on my bike have open cuts of aluminum showing, the salt just pits the heck out of any open Aluminum. It does a number on the frame too. Bikes unlike cages don't take salt into the equation when they make the doodas. Our last snow (8 In and is melting as I write) they plowed once then salted the daylight out of the roads. To the point there is still a ply of it at the end of my driveway. Plus you can see the glaze of it on the roads which doesn't help traction either. So I just wait it out (I know it tough) till there's no snow and at least two good rain storms to wash the salt away before I consider bring the bike back out.
  • March 12, 2012 3:07 AM PDT
    Feel ya', Chaz. I'm seeing more and more bikes out there which gives me the fever too. I'm just too scared to brave the sand and salt. I think April is my month.
    • 580 posts
    March 13, 2012 11:32 AM PDT
    We.ve been lucky here this winter - very little snow and no salt around for weeks. Weather has picked up quite nicely so now we're able to get out and about and this weekend I do believe there were almost more bikes on the roads in the Yorkshire Dales than cars lol. I only rode in the snow once - for one of my bike tests (didn't pass first time) and would never want to do that again in a hurry - so if there's snow and a lot of salt around then Ethel stays in hibernation
  • March 13, 2012 12:39 PM PDT

    I just love it when the snow is fresh down...lol...but then ... I am a crazy B****rd anyway, lol, ...


    SALT :  THats what WD-40 is for right? when prepping bike for winter I spray the whole of the lower frame and lower areas and wheel rims(NOT Tyres!!!) with WD-40 ... what this does is lay down a protective coating that stops the salt from penetrating ... just dont spray the tyres is all...lol...after a good run out a quick wipe with a soft cloth and re-spray of WD and its ready for the next time...Spring comes around and its a wash off anyway, no damage, no salt and no risk of it from riding in Winter.....Try it, You may just like it.....but read the post I added earlier in this message thread first ok?  Tyres want to be almost flat to ride on snow....its all good experience and all good fun.....