Claude wrote;
I have run close pattern trials tires in winter and they did pretty good. Thye seem to be hard to find now though. I have to admit that they do squirm a lot and it takes some getting used to.
As far as the studs go i have heard many say that when you do the rear it is also a good idea to do the front to be abel to get half decent steering etc.
From my experience going up a steep hill can be the main hassle with steering especially if there is a tight left turn that needs to be made.
What is your esperience with this ?
Claude,
I think you are right about putting studs on the front. I had a Pirelli on the front that didn't have enough tread depth to put studs in it. I learned to adapt by controling direction with the throttle or rear brake, especialy the left turns. I would initiate the turn with the handlebars and as the front would wash out, I would either gas it or hit the rear brake and break the rear tire loose. When the rear broke loose, the front would grab and I was back in control. Kinda western, but fun, unless you are in traffic.
I now have a more substantial front tire and will try studs there as well.
I spend too much time on pavement to use straight knobbies. My Honda GL650 is a touring bike after all and I am missusing it horribly on all these dirt roads as it is.
Oh, I don't do steep hills in the winter.
Go to a Metezler 880 in the front, and you will get 15 to 20 K out of it. I just got 17.7K on a 2004 R1200C Montauk. The rear tire lasted 13.7K with a lot of tread left. Replaced it with a car tire and other than picking up a screw, flat tire, having it plugged, and all things looking fine, I am off to the races, so to speak. The Metezler is a great tire if they have one to fit your ride.
Uber
Originally written by Jim Van der Veen on 10/21/2006 8:13 PM
Go to a Metezler 880 in the front, and you will get 15 to 20 K out of it. I just got 17.7K on a 2004 R1200C Montauk. The rear tire lasted 13.7K with a lot of tread left. Replaced it with a car tire and other than picking up a screw, flat tire, having it plugged, and all things looking fine, I am off to the races, so to speak. The Metezler is a great tire if they have one to fit your ride.
Uber
I already have an Avon MKII triple duty on the front, with 20,000 miles on it still like new [almost]
Karl, keep in mind that running studs on pavement here in Wisconsin will get you a ticket and a real healthy fine.
mark wrote:
Claude,
I think you are right about putting studs on the front. I had a Pirelli on the front that didn't have enough tread depth to put studs in it. I learned to adapt by controling direction with the throttle or rear brake, especialy the left turns. I would initiate the turn with the handlebars and as the front would wash out, I would either gas it or hit the rear brake and break the rear tire loose. When the rear broke loose, the front would grab and I was back in control. Kinda western, but fun, unless you are in traffic.
I now have a more substantial front tire and will try studs there as well.
I spend too much time on pavement to use straight knobbies. My Honda GL650 is a touring bike after all and I am missusing it horribly on all these dirt roads as it is.
Oh, I don't do steep hills in the winter.
==============================================================
Ditto on the rear brake or gassing it technique. Works pretty good and is a lot of fun. Like you said though this technique is not always possible to do if in traffic or whatever. I have found that shifting weight forward or here and there can be benficial under many conditions. I like fresh snow riding as it is predictable within reason. Slush, roads that are partially covered, ice etc can be pretty scary at times though.
Riding under winter conditions can be fun but it can also be very dangerous. Not only just from our personal standpoint as far as control goes either. The 'other guy' is a huge factor in the winter. We, as targets, are still going to get the short end of the stick when playing bumper cars and the chances of that happening in winter conditions is greater.
It is usually back roads for me and as little traffic as possible in the winter. Hmmm... I like that in summer too.
Originally written by SidecarMike on 10/22/2006 9:39 AM
Karl, keep in mind that running studs on pavement here in Wisconsin will get you a ticket and a real healthy fine.
Mike, that was someone else suggesting studs. I have never run them.
As I mentioned earlier, I have had good cold weather results with the Avon AM-24 Gripster rear tire.
Large enough angled blocks to run smooth and quiet. Large enough voids for good traction. The compound is soft enough for good cold-temp grip, but I seem to be getting at least 5,000-8,000 miles out of a tire depending on my mix of riding weather/temps. It DOES go away faster in the warmer weather than the cold... It is rated as a 60/40 on/off road use.
I used to run 50/50 enduro tires on an old Yamaha 400 Special that I rode around in the winter.
For the rig I am looking at the Metzler Tourance or Bridgestone TrailWing for the front tire. Avon also makes a front tire (AM43) which looks quite a bit like the Metzler. I am looking for something with good traction for sloppy conditions but smooth running, and hopefully some good wear.
Anyone have any experience with any of those tires?
Originally written by Mark in Idaho on 10/18/2006 7:01 PM
I learned to adapt by controling direction with the throttle or rear brake, especialy the left turns. I would initiate the turn with the handlebars and as the front would wash out, I would either gas it or hit the rear brake and break the rear tire loose. When the rear broke loose, the front would grab and I was back in control. Kinda western, but fun, unless you are in traffic.
Oh, I don't do steep hills in the winter.
I used to do that with the street treads I used to run in the winter, usually the venerable old ME88 when it was still readily available. The Avon AM24 Gripster is a completely different animal. The first time I tried that wit the Gripster, I was really suprised because that tire is hard to get to slip at all.
I used to live on the bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in Iowa and had a LONG steep hill with a switchback in it to get up to my driveway and a tight 90-degree turn at the bottom. Not my favorite thing to negotiate when it was slick, but was able to climb it with up to 4-6 inches of snow on it by standing on the pegs and leaning forward to put weight over the front wheel to let it bite.
The real trick is not letting your rear wheel start spinning too much or you will lose momentum, then it is a long coast backwards to the bottom to try again....
Just enough power to keep you moving, not enough to spin it hard... Might have been nice to have those studs in hindsight... 😉
hey ,all, can someone start a new thread with the proper subject heading? I was originally asking advise about the size of my /5 bike tire.
Thanks....
Originally written by Bob in Wis on 10/23/2006 1:32 AM
hey ,all, can someone start a new thread with the proper subject heading? I was originally asking advise about the size of my /5 bike tire.
Thanks....
But my /7 uses the same size tires too... 😉
3.25-19 front (100/90-19)
4.00-18 rear (110/90-18)
yeah, I know karl.
last week I bought a rear lester wheel for my bike, and it had an almost new 120/90 tubelsess metz tire on it. the BMW shop I bought it from insisted that it will fit, so I tried it on. and..yes it did fit! with a special spacer that was already in the bearing stack, to make more room on the driveshaft side. It came off a /6 bike.
no problems at all.
what I was talking about is I started a thread asking if the 120/90 tire would fit, and it has escalated to knobby tires with studs [illrgal here in WI], and winter driving. great advice in the posts but not about my original subject. :o)
C-mon Bob,
Haven't you ever Hijacked a post?
Lonnie loling
yeah,
it's happened...
but the new posts need a new heading so viewers know the contents.
