Winter Riding Motorcycle harassment

Status
Not open for further replies.
Forum Sponsor
Somewhat related - I think it's critical that all riders take their bikes on dirt roads and questionable surfaces and learn how they respond when it's not panic situation.

Even tonight - despite some trepidations about slick mud and worn tires I took the Burgman on muddy part of Winston Churchhill above the the escarpment, looked really slippy - turned out was not too bad - did not get to play much - guy was behind me in a truck.

Still was a good bit of practice.

I find this time of year the riding skills dissipate too quickly and cold and wet = careful riding.
 
SkyRider said:
wut about unforeseen circumstances? again im not stopping you from riding thru winter. are you gonna ride thru winter?
Click to expand...

My bike is already winterized and parked in the back of the garage until march. My bike is not the right bike to challenge freezing rain and snow covered roads.
 
ItIsWhatItIs said:
My bike is already winterized and parked in the back of the garage until march. My bike is not the right bike to challenge freezing rain and snow covered roads.
Click to expand...

so what was point of starting this thread? lol

you argued that riding in the winter is safe and doable, and yet you won't do it.
 
mmmnaked said:
LOL at bikes outbraking cars
Click to expand...

mmmnaked said:
I dont care what bike you ride, you ain't stoppin faster than a car.

.
Click to expand...

mmmnaked said:
A 10 year old used Honda... and it still matches the bike tit for tat.
Click to expand...

I guess you should start caring, cos some bikes do stop faster than a car.

If you noticed, in dry braking, the bike outdid the car both times. I cant be bothered looking, but whats the stopping distance between the 2000 Accord, and the late model F150. Im thinking the Honda would still stop faster.

Therefore there would be no rear ending.

On top of all that. There are plenty of 10 year old Hondas, Toyotas, etc on the road today. Not every one drives a 2011 model car.

This bike also only has one disc, instead of the usual double disc in the front, so that braking distance is quite impressive, and it ain't no sportsbike.

.
 
Last edited:
I already posted comparison stopping distances between some bikes and cars.

Add to that the level of 'skill' necessary to stop a car and a bike and the answer is pretty clear.

Just as there are older cars out there, there are tons of bikes without ABS! The point is that one shouldnt think he can stop a bike faster just because it's lighter. That's a fallacy. ESPECIALLY when it comes to wet or icy conditions like the OP was talking about.
 
Don't forget the braking tests are done under controlled situations. I'd like to see a motorcyclist panic stop in the distances that are being quoted. I'm pretty certain a car driver panic stopping could come close to the published distances.
 
ItIsWhatItIs you only keep mentioning braking as your argument for it being safe to ride. But your original post was about winter riding in general. So what about simply cornering, or hitting ice on a lean? if you are on a bike on an on ramp to a highway and hit a bit of ice 99.9% chance you are sliding off the road on your arse.. in a car you have 4 wheels, the car can twist and turn and slide all sorts of ways on ice, but you will stay upright, on a bike, not so.. you are going down.

In the vid i posted earlier in the thread the guy was on a side road but it was smooth, he wasn't even turning or on an angle, yet he hit a bit of ice and the bike lost traction and he went down. THAT is the problem of winter riding. ICE, not braking distance. Unless it's a sunny day in winter and the roads are FOR SURE dry it's not safe to ride. It doesn't matter how good your brakes are if you are on the highway sliding 100 feet into the path of a tractor trailer on your butt because you hit a tiny patch of ice. That's the real danger. Brakes have nothing to do with it.
 
ItIsWhatItIs said:
First off

To insure a car costs 2 to 5 times more. Fuel consumptions of a car is to 2 to 4 times as much. No emissions and plates are almost half for a bike. Cost of buying a car is 2 to 4 times more than a bike. Bikes saves money over a car.

Second - My cbr125 will outbrake any car. I have put that to the test many times. I can't say for other bikes but laws of physics apply. 2 less wheels and 1/4 to a fraction of the weight of a car.

I just did a quick search on the goldwing, The cadillac of motorcycles? gets 40 to 45 mpg. Most econo boxs will brag about that kind of fuel economy. Get any SS bike and you are still getting the fuel economy econo boxs brag about. I started this thread referencing the movie and saying the right bike. My cbr is not not the right bike for riding in freezing rain and snowing conditions.
Click to expand...

If everyone rode bikes in the winter you better believe there will be body and bike damage and insurance rates will make todays rates look like chicken feed. Full coverage on my wing is about 2/3 of my service van.

Bikes don't depreciate as much as cars but start driving them in winter slush and that will change. Same thing if they go high mileage. A bike is cheaper to buy but it's no Swiss army knife of transportation like a cage or minivan so if you are like the average person you might be forced to pay for taxis and car rentals from time to time.

Work out your gas mileage on a cargo / mile basis and bikes don't look good.

Maintenence on a bike sucks compared to a car. It's far more critical and aftermarket parts iffy.

A set of tires for my van runs about the same as a set for my bike and last 100Km.

If you look at bike costs over a long period of time they don't work out as cheap transportation for the masses. If you have a certain niche lifestyle then maybe. When I rode bike only all winter my GF had a car and we used it for dates after I took TTC to her place and then home.
 
Last edited:
Before I got a car or motorcycle, I rode my mountain bike year round. Amazing how easily you can fall on your ***, even at 5km/h, when there's even a bit of snow on the ground.
 
Lot of chattering - not much riding.....get out there :D

Was 17 on Friday on the way up to the Shed and 13 both Sat and Sun.
 
SkyRider said:
apparently bikes can go down on ice with the slightest lean, no braking required. this vid seems to demonstrate. the rider also seems to be going too fast given the road conditions.

http://bikerpunks.com/mediaviewer/3409/riding-icy-roads-ends-with-a-hard-crash.html
Click to expand...

The rider in that video crashed because of a combination of road condition + riding on the painted yellow line.

Also, I rode all winter on a 1984 Honda NQ50 in '09, and in '10 on a 1982 Honda V45 Sabre (dry days only). With the NQ50, I went out no matter the weather. On the Sabre my rule was if my street is plowed and there was no rain the night before I went out, only ended riding up to -20c. If it snowed while I was out I just kept going. Only time I dropped it was with 2-4 inches of slush on the ground with more coming down, at 2-5km/h. For anyone interested in the tire combo that got me through the winter it was a Dunlop D404 front, Bridgestone Spitfire S11 rear. These tires have TONNES of tread depth compared to sport tires which is probably what saved me from crashing.
 
Johnny5 said:
ItIsWhatItIs you only keep mentioning braking as your argument for it being safe to ride. But your original post was about winter riding in general. So what about simply cornering, or hitting ice on a lean? if you are on a bike on an on ramp to a highway and hit a bit of ice 99.9% chance you are sliding off the road on your arse.. in a car you have 4 wheels, the car can twist and turn and slide all sorts of ways on ice, but you will stay upright, on a bike, not so.. you are going down.

In the vid i posted earlier in the thread the guy was on a side road but it was smooth, he wasn't even turning or on an angle, yet he hit a bit of ice and the bike lost traction and he went down. THAT is the problem of winter riding. ICE, not braking distance. Unless it's a sunny day in winter and the roads are FOR SURE dry it's not safe to ride. It doesn't matter how good your brakes are if you are on the highway sliding 100 feet into the path of a tractor trailer on your butt because you hit a tiny patch of ice. That's the real danger. Brakes have nothing to do with it.
Click to expand...

The thread detractors are the ones goining about brakes, not me. I interjected about my braking experience and **** storm 101 errupted. As for your vid I have to question the motives of the filmer. When cornering you slightly lean and the bike turns. You don't jerk the handlebars like the guy in the video. On questionable roads, slow down on corners. On straight road keep your line straight and you will glide over patches of ice if there are any. The right bike and the right riding approach is what's required to get through winter riding.
 
Baggsy said:
Article from MCN January 2006
10 best 60-0 times are included
http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/technical/JAN06Pindx4.pdf

Here's a street survival article from motorcycle cruiser on effective street braking

http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/streetsurvival/0608_crup_effective_braking/index.html

An article on the tasks involved in intensive braking from Promocycle Quebec
http://www.fmq.qc.ca/pdf/amorce-freinage_eng.pdf
Click to expand...

IIRC No bikes on the road in Quebec during snow tire season.
 
mmmnaked said:
I already posted comparison stopping distances between some bikes and cars.

Add to that the level of 'skill' necessary to stop a car and a bike and the answer is pretty clear.

Just as there are older cars out there, there are tons of bikes without ABS! The point is that one shouldnt think he can stop a bike faster just because it's lighter. That's a fallacy. ESPECIALLY when it comes to wet or icy conditions like the OP was talking about.
Click to expand...

The point is you made a blanket statement that you "dont care what you ride, you aint outstopping a car." A few other "bright" ones on this thread made a similar statement.

It's been proven that some bikes can stop faster than some cars.

.
 
ItIsWhatItIs said:
The thread detractors are the ones goining about brakes, not me. I interjected about my braking experience and **** storm 101 errupted. As for your vid I have to question the motives of the filmer. When cornering you slightly lean and the bike turns. You don't jerk the handlebars like the guy in the video. On questionable roads, slow down on corners. On straight road keep your line straight and you will glide over patches of ice if there are any. The right bike and the right riding approach is what's required to get through winter riding.
Click to expand...

For a guy whose bike is packed away in storage, you seem to know a whole lot about winter riding :lol:
Forum Sponsor
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom