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about the winter.... about the winter....
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Travellers' Advisories, Safety and Security on the Road Recent News, political or military events, which may affect trip plans or routes. Personal and vehicle security, tips and questions.
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  #1  
Old 26 Sep 2007
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about the winter....
Hello
I live in Portugal and the winter were it´s very smooth,but I need to know the winter in other country's . Because I need to learn ride a motorcycle in the snow and ice road's , It´s possible or it's impossible ride a bike in this type of conditions?
thanks
Rui
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  #2  
Old 26 Sep 2007
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Winter riding
What a horrible thought- winter and snow.
This topic has been covered here before. Best advice for snow riding is to avoid it if at all possible.Not fun, dangerous and cold ,cold ,cold .
Be happy you live in Portugal in an area with mild winter and no snow! Save the travels to other parts of the globe for seasons when those parts are snow free.
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  #3  
Old 26 Sep 2007
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It is quite possible to ride in snow and ice, It is also much more risky. It helps if you have a bike that has a low centre of gravity, pulls happily in gear at tickover at walking pace. and lastly, you should be able to reach the ground easily so you can support the bike without it leaning at much of an angle. Otherwise you will end up doing the splits as your foot slides on the ice. Your foot can support a load on ice, but not push against it much.

Having said that you should try to not touch the ground, I suggest you pactice on very wet ( marshy) grass or mud roads. failing that a dry field of green grass.

learn to slide it, do figure of eights fast and very slow ( below walking pace)
learn proper use of front and rear brake, and cadence braking. On hard packed snow and ice, do as much control using only the throttle as possible,

singles are best, then twins, basically the less cylinders the better.
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  #4  
Old 26 Sep 2007
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If you can, avoid riding in ice and snow.

On black ice, it is impossible to ride without spikes in your tires. (sliding is possible but I don't call that riding)

In snow it can be done but there are many dangers like;
- snow is very slippery.
- you can not see what is under the snow.
- car drivers often have limited vision (foggy windows, snow on the windows etc.) but drive much to fast anyway.

I have made trips of 400 km in snow a long time ago but would I do it again ? No, not if I can avoid it.
There is one exception, a sidecar (or trike) Driving in the snow with a bike with a sidecar is fun !

Make sure that you are dressed for the cold. When your body is to cold, your reactions will be like when you drank to much.
Make frequent stops to get warm again and to eat and drink something.
Make sure your bike and you are in good condition.
Wear protective clothing. The chance that you fall is much bigger. This should not not always be a big problem if you are prepared and don't go to fast.
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  #5  
Old 26 Sep 2007
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No problem. Buy spikes to screw into your cross-type tire. Not too long, though, or else it'll be difficult to ride the bike on hard asphalt.

These are great (the small one):



You can unscrew them from the tire and re-use them later.

Make sure you have enough cranking power in your battery when its cold. Lube your wires with anti-freeze stuff. Protect vulnerable metal parts from corrosion by spraying them with anti-corrosion stuff, smearing on some used engine oil, grease or similar.

Warm clothes goes without saying. Buy double layer visor to prevent icing. Mount handgrip heaters. A wind shield is a must. Practice on lose gravel before entering the snow.

Here are some two wheeled examples from Norway:










And - above all: Have fun!
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  #6  
Old 27 Sep 2007
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Spikes on public roads may be legal in Norway, but not in the Netherlands.
We don't have that much ice and it will damage the roads to much (they say, I have no experience with it).
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  #7  
Old 27 Sep 2007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jkrijt View Post
Spikes on public roads may be legal in Norway, but not in the Netherlands.
We don't have that much ice and it will damage the roads to much (they say, I have no experience with it).
It's legal in all Nordic countries. Cars using spiked tires are wearing out the asphalt rapidly. I doubt bikes are contributing to that to the same extent. However, Norwegian authorities are trying to get car owners to use non-spiked winter tires, both to cut cost of road maintenance but also to reduce the amount of asphalt dust suspended in the air due to the spiked tires. On a two wheeler, though, you really have no option.
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  #8  
Old 27 Sep 2007
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As mentioned before, the smaller and lighter the bike the better, same goes with the fewer cylinders the better. better off oil/air cooled for the really cold trips. full on motorcross tyres work well in deep snow, but on scandanavian roads, which are well ploughed, you are better off with an road enduro type tyre with more, smaller knobbles.
Black ice is only suited to studded tyres, but, the cold white ice roads are useable on road bias tyres, the softer the compound the better. there is a reasonable amount of friction available, so i was quite happy at 30mph, and did 1800 miles on snow/ice without crashing once. i did however have a couple of 180 degree spins and some "memorable" front end slides.

the main thing to remember is that the front brake is redundant!
http://www.scarabis.com/Photos/AndyScand07/1240032.jpg
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