It's that time. Who is putting their bikes away?

[Campaman]

Bike stays on the road all year round, already had the ACF50 applied, only really used on the nicer days during the winter.

Went out for a ride on Sunday, once the frost had thawed around 11am, still watch out for shady areas though as there can still be ice in them.

Common sense for winter riding, as already said, keep it smooth, watch your braking, and keep an eye out ahead.

I wont go out in snow, ice or extreme fog or cold.

[bennyboy1]

bike not been out for 3 weeks,, heavy rain and frost past few weeks,, getting too old for that, ( becoming a woossie ) but going out this saturday 8th for the toy run at dumfries hospital

It is on every year come rain,hail or shine

A good cause and also will get to give the battery a wee boost.

[Preload]

Heh, I don't really have a lot of expenses so I can afford to splash out on my bike . What are these pump action types you speak of?

Click on the link but shop around to get the best price.

http://www.ruggedroads.co.uk/shop/article_10032/ACF-50---1-Quart-Bottle-With-Refillable-Pump-Action-Spray-Bottle.html?shop_param=cid%3D45%26aid%3D10032%26

[DkD]

Tried it last week. Got 12 feet before the back slid on some black ice in the dark.

Stock tyres and shite lights on the YBR, so I went home, changed my underwear and took the crappy train into work.

Brave souls who ride in the winter - stay safe & cautious.

Will take the bike out at weekends for a little spin but life's too short for those kind of risks personally.

[wild foamy]

The fireblade wont start, so f*ck it i'll stick to driving from now until summer methink

[kenDAWG]

putting my bike off the road is like having my legs cut off, i dont have a car license so im hitching lifts into work...

my mates are off green laining on the quads this weekend but im sticking to the warmth buy the fire with plenty of brown ale

ken

[Cynic]

I conquered the 7am roads today! Sad to say it wasn't much of a challenge, but the time will come . I'm actually rather excited to try riding on snow. I know I'm not invisible and will probably come off a few times - hopefully not at the worst of times like while being tailgated. To be honest, I'm more worried about doing damage to someone else when coming off. Also, I guess the cost of repairing - if there are damages - won't be as much compared to some of the bikes you guys ride. So I think I understand the need for riders putting them away until Spring apart from the obvious fact of harming yourself.

Am I correct in saying that it's not impossible to go over ice - either straight or a slight lean - as long as you are super smooth with your throttle and balance?

If it makes you more at ease as far as ice is cocerned. On more than one occation i have ridden to work. Freezing cold. Pull up in car park and nearly fall on my arse as i get off because you can barely stand because its iced up.

Makes me wonder how the tyres do it,reasuring though....

[j0hn]

Yea I've experienced that myself. I've got a set of Pirelli MT75s on mine and I was wondering the other day, how would a set of road legal off-road tyres (the likes of Michelin AC10, which obviously won't fit on my bike) compare to them?

[wild foamy]

the only experiance ive had with road-legal offroad tyres is the ones that were on my DT50, and tbh they did a pretty decent job of cutting through the crap on the roads

[j0hn]

Well I've managed to track down three road-legal off-road rear tyres for my XT.

• XT-644 Army Special
• MT 21 RALLYCROSS
• Mitas C02

Finding a 17" front tyre however is proving to be difficult and near impossible since the de facto standard for front off-road rim size is 21".

[Cynic]

I would say a proper on off road tyre would be better. On sice etc its more to do with the material the tyre is made from. Confusingly good wet/cold tyres have more silicome in them.

Propper knoblies are designed for mechanical grip and will put less rubber down and TBH feel fkin horrible.

Proper trail tyres are what i would offer. I have yet to better Bridgestone's trail wing. I have used everything from road rubber to full mud tyres (have had the bike 25yrs) and they are a pretty good average. Last well and give grip most times. Have ridden the Ridgeway on em more than once. And more than enough winters.

[shambles1980]

technically mine has been putaway for ages. but im using these winter months to make it road worthy. next year it will be being put away in the winter.
i dont like heavy rain and huge winds.

[Grouch]

Fffs, you'll all be wearing pinny's and cleaning your kitchens next.

[bennyboy1]

but nev

Fffs, you'll all be wearing pinny's and cleaning your kitchens next.

maybe do the hoovering

but never clean the kitchen sink

THAT IS WHERE BIKE AND CAR PARTS ARE WASHED

and I only wear a pinny when the wife is not in

but that is a completely different story

[oldbikerehab]

Proper trail tyres are what i would offer. I have yet to better Bridgestone's trail wing.

I'll second the trail wing. I have a set on my DT and when I've been caught in some heavy downpours I've been able to fully lean the bike with no trouble on wet city streets in a rush to get home. I've tried them in sand, mud, gravel, and grass - all good. As far as a 50/50 trail/street, I've no complaints.

As for putting the bike up for the winter, nope. I won't use it to commute but I can't wait for the first snow so I can fire it up in the alleys around the neighborhood and do doughnuts in the empty lot near my house.

[clarke]

V-Strom forum seems to rate Anakee 2s over Battlewings (replacement of trailwing?)

[NEV]

My XT600 has Trailwing-41 90/90 21 54S front, Dunlop Trailmax 65T 130/80 17 rear, good all round on/off tyre set up I've found.

[Grouch]

My XT600 has Trailwing-41 90/90 21 54S front, Dunlop Trailmax 65T 130/80 17 rear, good all round on/off tyre set up I've found.

Hows your XT 600 handling in the minus conditions? An XT 600 is next on my list, is it up to the job?

[Will Munsey]

I rode in the fresh snow we had last year. I didn't come off but thats cause I was careful. Same goes for these sub-zero morning. As long as you're careful and keep an eye on the weather and temps the night before so you can make a some sort of assessment of what the roads will be like in the morning.

Just be careful, we all know theres no grip on ice so no need to ride like the suns out

[mike1949]

I rode in the fresh snow we had last year. I didn't come off but thats cause I was careful. Same goes for these sub-zero morning. As long as you're careful and keep an eye on the weather and temps the night before so you can make a some sort of assessment of what the roads will be like in the morning.

Just be careful, we all know theres no grip on ice so no need to ride like the suns out

I couldn't have put it any better Will.

Things I look out the night before on local weather is.

1. Temperature, 0deg C is ok, below that I walk up the street to look at the corner because if's that's ok then the main roads will be
2. Cloudy sky is even better, acts like a blanket
3. Wind is very good as it stops the frost from settling

Then, leave a bit early because while I'm being very cautious some twat will get right up your arse