Went over to Peterborough to Lang's Pioneer Village to take a picture then went exploring backroads north of Lake Simcoe looking for old schoolhouses. 250 km, temperature pretty steady at the -1 to -3 range.
Went over to Peterborough to Lang's Pioneer Village to take a picture then went exploring backroads north of Lake Simcoe looking for old schoolhouses. 250 km, temperature pretty steady at the -1 to -3 range.
Last year when i rode most of the winter i just avoided riding on days below +5 and especially not if it was 0 or lower overnight with rain/snow. Had only one situation mid corner where the tail went for a bit of a walk.
Sent a few more prayers to the Traction Control gods following that.
Whatever you do if you find yourself on shear ice then don't do anything rash like give up, bike will do well if you balance in a straight line until you reach traction :| hopefully you reach traction before needing to change direction, same goes for man hole covers or steel plates, those are wicked slippery with a little snow or ice on them, road depressions such as wheel tracks in asphalt where it has seen heavy truck traffic can be like riding in a trough, best plan might be to ride everything like it might be ice and pick your lines carefully. Streetcar tracks are awful! although streetcars do use onboard sanders so that can sometimes be useful.
Or put studs on your tires and you will be wishing there was way more ice to ride on and absolutely no dry concrete or steel anywhere.
Every year the dreaded "black ice" topic comes up.
Black ice requires a rather specific set of conditions to form. If it was as common as many seem to think it is every day you'd see countless cars losing control and getting in accidents on a daily basis this time of year. Clearly, that's no the case.
Good old fashioned ice (the sort you can easily see) is a more realistic daily risk this time of year vs black ice.
Every year the dreaded "black ice" topic comes up.
Black ice requires a rather specific set of conditions to form. If it was as common as many seem to think it is every day you'd see countless cars losing control and getting in accidents on a daily basis this time of year. Clearly, that's no the case.
Good old fashioned ice (the sort you can easily see) is a more realistic daily risk this time of year vs black ice.
Trials and Private Pilot beat me to it and I agre with them 100% (except for studs. I hear they are lousy on pavement )
To elaborate on black ice forming the usual conditions are cold temperatures overnight then increasing temperature above freezing in the morning. The moisture in the relative warm air condenses on the cold pavement and coats it with a fine layer of ice. It is most likely to form a few degrees above freezing.
Another thing you have to watch for is sunny days after it snows. The sun can melt some of the snow on the side of the road. The meltwater runs onto the road and later freezes. This can cause icy patches.
Winterization checklist:
Fill tank; check
Charge battery; check
Install heated grips; check
Install bar end guards to keep bar mitts from applying the clutch; check
Buy new jacket from Re Gear; check
Reinstall memory foam seat cushion; check
Reinstall handlebar mitts; check
Test ride; awesome
Things to do
Maybe snowmobile boots
Maybe snowmobile helmet
Maybe work an overtime shift to pay for all this crap
Every year the dreaded "black ice" topic comes up.
Black ice requires a rather specific set of conditions to form. If it was as common as many seem to think it is every day you'd see countless cars losing control and getting in accidents on a daily basis this time of year. Clearly, that's no the case.
Good old fashioned ice (the sort you can easily see) is a more realistic daily risk this time of year vs black ice.
In the north edge of the GTA harbors some of the best black ice conditions anywhere and this is the prime season. It's uncommon for black ice to blanket a road, even here. More common is small patches of black ice in dips, depressions, and on parts of bridges. A car will happily pass over a mattress side depression in the road that is black iced -- not so easy for a bike. 1/2 my driveway black iced today - I took an embarrassing clown fall walking in from my car tonight.
If it's 4 degrees or below, ice doesn't melt. It doesn't have to be black ice to slide you into oblivion, especially if you're on an overpowered bike. Check the AWD vs FWD thread, even cars aren't completely safe.
I have a new seat. (Actually my stock seat remanufactured by Russell). I had to go out and try it out so at 9 this evening out I went. Just for about half and hour/40 km. It was nice and with it being -14 I really enjoyed that I added the heated seat option.
Taking my battery tender/heated gear cable to the dealer today to have it installed when they put the battery back in the bike.I gotta have a bit of warmer weather without icy roads when i get the new to me bike home somewhere in the next couple weeks.
Rode down yonge st this morning - 4c. Only biker out there lol. Dry roads but very comfy ride. Probably packing up the season next week. Salt is a pain in the *** apparently for bikes.
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depends on how good of a rider you are
