Winter riding - Ice on your ass

Gimpymoo

Gimpymoo

Gimpymoo

Soldato
Joined
31 May 2005
Posts
15,640
Location
Nottingham
Only started riding a motorbike in June after doing my CBT.

Passed my MOD 2 a few weeks ago and after having my trusty 125 stolen then broken, the decision to get a "bigger bike" was expedited by a few weeks

Am used to riding in all weathers upto now and I am confident when riding but am careful, definitely not scraping pegs on floors going round corners.

I know some put their bike away when Ice is about but I plan on staying on the road through winter.

Any tips from winter riders on making it through the coming months? My experience thus far tells me to plan ahead as much as possible to avoid sudden reactions and keep aware of the situation around me and look at the roads for Ice, diesel etc and take caution on turns/roundabouts.

Does a bigger, ergo heavier bike help balance to some degree being planted on the road or is it just more heft to fall on your ass

Many thanks.
 
Last edited:
Like you say keep everything smooth in terms of brakes/throttle plan ahead as much as possible use your engine braking. Watch other road users like a hawk even more than normal so you can avoid needing to slam on the anchors (I cracked a rib going down 10m from my house because a little van tried to nip out from behind a parked bigger van on my side of the road and I had to drop anchor).

Get some warm/heated gear, nothing distracts you more than being freezing cold but also if you get the heated stuff remember that while you're lovely and warm it's still going to be cold and slippery on the roads. Being toasty can definitely lull you into forgetting you need to ride to the conditions in my experience.

If you ride on a mixture of roads be aware that even if you've just ridden 20 miles with no issues you may still come a cropper on black ice 30 seconds before you reach your destination if you've come off main roads (I arrived in the office after scraping myself and bike up to everyone going "Oh yeah this road is terrible in winter...they didn't think to warn me beforehand :cry: )

Basically it can be done and while I've dropped it a couple of times on ice I've luckily never had a major accident even when doing 100mile round trips into the office down the A5 in settling snow, it's just not very pleasant which is why I stopped riding year round when I passed my car test.
 
Gimpymoo said:
Does a bigger, ergo heavier bike help balance to some degree being planted on the road or is it just more heft to fall on your ass
Click to expand...
Nope.
I had a big, heavy bike with all the weight very low down... It still slid like a ************, especially in smoothly tarmacked places like Tesco car park.

Keep it slow, keep it steady.
Look at where car tyres have worn away the ice and use that to your advantage.
Remember you may have to use your brakes differently, depending on conditions and your particular bike.

Plenty of articles packed with advice, though:

Top tips for riding a motorbike in ice and snow

riding a motorcycle in ice and snow might not be advisable, but sometimes there isn't another option. Here's how to ride a bike in winter conditions safely
www.visordown.com www.visordown.com
 
When the ambient temperature is below 3C and it has been colder overnight, you really must risk assess the need to ride, or at the very least the route you take. If you are exclusively riding on roads that are high priority for treatment then the risk is obviously reduced significantly. If you plan to go cross country at all, you must be aware of microclimates and their potential to kill you. E.g. the sun may have risen and burned off all of the frost/ice to leave largely dry roads which inspire confidence, but 10 yards of shaded road surface on a corner behind some trees or hedges could still be lethal. Is it really worth it?

You will hear lots of machismo when it comes to winter riding, but there comes a point where even the most skilled and advanced riders make the call that it isn’t worth it, and that point is usually much sooner than an inexperienced rider will judge it.

If you do decide to go, smooth stability is key. Harsh machine inputs will place excess demand on the tyres which will already be compromised. If you do lose traction whilst upright, do not touch the brakes or chop the throttle. Keep the bike exactly as it is until you regain traction. Then pull over and have a word with yourself about whether or not you made the right decision. If you lose traction on ice whilst putting any lateral load on the tyres, you won’t realise it until you are skidding along the road or under the wheels of the oncoming van.

Lots of people go out there oblivious and get away with it, but its a fine line to toe.
 
Last edited:
Thank you both for the advice above, very much appreciated.

I know this will make me sound like a petulant teenager but I know the first time I see snow now having my licence, I am going to want to ride in it.

Stupid I know but got to do it.
 
Last edited:
With knobbly tyres you can ride in virgin snow. On any other tyres on compacted snow, you should budget for a new brake/clutch lever, new indicator, and some fairing repairs.

Riding through the cleared tracks of slush where you have direct contact with the road surface can be okay too, but you need to make the call to stop or turn around if you lose that contact.
 
One more thing - Winter is when the roads get salted. This will utterly *COVER* your bike and your riding kit, along with another extra heavy dose of all the road crap that has built up over the past year.
The salt will destroy your bike in very short order, so wash it down thoroughly every day you ride.
The road crap is just ******* horrid filth, and again needs washing off.

The worst is riding in wet conditions after there's been salt and slush, as the tyre spray off passing vehicles (you passing them or them passing you, including oncoming traffic) can result in all this **** spraying right up inside your helmet and into your eyes.
 
I can only echo what others have said - riding in frost/icy conditions can be done, but really shouldn't. You can follow tyre tracks to stay off the frost but if that front tyre loses traction, there's really very little that can be done about it in those conditions.

The road salt will also mean you're washing the bike after every ride, or rust starts to form within a day or two. Brakes will need stripping and servicing, linkages cleaning and regreasing etc.

Don't be a hero. There's a reason why a lot of bikers stop riding in the depths of winter, and it's not because they want to.
 
Last edited:
I ride in freezing temps, but only if it’s dry.

My commute is 98% dual carriageway, so it’s usually fine.

If it’s damp/wet I do not go out if it’s below 2c. I’ve got an outside thermometer that I can see from the kitchen window
 
When I was 16 I used to deliver pizzas in a town in Holland.

It would get as cold as -14°c.

I faceplanted more times than I can remember, sometimes multiples times in the same evening. Tips were awesome though, put on the little sympathy shiver at the door and people tended to loosen up a bit, 100 euros a night was achievable (only one or two nights a week mind).
 
If you have access to a car, then use that.
I get the need for experience of riding in those conditions, but it ain't fun, at all, and if you can avoid it, then do.
Back in the 80's all I had was my FS1E to get to work and in the winter it was woeful.
The carb would freeze up at any given time, usually at full revs, which meant a spill no matter what I did, I could pull the clutch which would mean it'd blow up, or let it wheel spin until I was in a ditch or up a tree.
Fun times indeed :D
 
I ride all year round & have done for decades, the only time i don't ride is when it's snowing or going to snow, as wrestling with a Bandit 1250 in the snow is not my idea of fun!, one thing i have come to appreciate over the years is the liberal application of ACF50, goes a long way to keep corrosion to a minimum, which is saying some thing coming from a Bandit owner cos the damn things corrode at the slightest sniff of moisture or road salt.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom