Snow/extreme weather riding tips

[spadge]

Snow is forecast for parts of the country later this week and i was wondering if anyone has any helpful advice or tips for riding in the snow.
Obviously i would prefer not to ride but its my only means of transport to work (would be 3 buses and a tram otherwise!). Although if it's heavy snow then a very early start and public transport it will have to be!

Many thanks
p.s. i ride a Kwak GPZ 500s incase this makes any difference to the advice.

[veeeffarr]

Don't grab handfuls of throttle and then blame it on black ice when you come off.

HTH

T

You don't WANT to ride your bike? I had one of the best rides this year this morning in the snow, the scenery was awesome

[spadge]

Toby R don't get me wrong i love riding but thought would prob get someone thinking they were really clever by saying - don't ride. know what you mean about the nice scenery though - when it snowed a few weeks back the view on the ride to work was awesome.

[iooi]

Set off early, to make sure you miss the rush of stuck or sliding cars.
Be very carefull and try to avoid moving in and out of car tracks as you can end up on compacted and very slippy stuff that you cannot get out of...
Try to use engine breaking at ALL times and totally avoid the front brake,

And most important.....

By far the biggest danger is anything with 4 wheels as most of the drivers have no sense of just what they can and can't do in snow.

If that twat in a car wants to come past let him......

You can wave at him later when he's upside down in a ditch or some other place.....
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Just because my bike was A DIVVY, does not mean i am......

[thefallenange...]

[angryjonny]

Smooth and gentle movements on the throttle and brakes. Smooth gearchanges. Use as high a gear as possible. Don't give it any reason to lock or spin a wheel. Keep your distance from other vehicles - *really* keep your distance. You don't want to have to make any sudden speed/direction changes.

[tsmith]

don't touch the front brake - use engine braking

leave huge gaps (8 or 9 seconds)

try and keep the bike as upright as possible, no crazy lean angles

watch out for 4x4 drivers who think 4 wheel drive means snow and ice doesn't affect them

just take it slow and steady and be smooth and gentle with the throttle


alternatively......take a sickie and stay at home in front of the fire

[timjim]

ive had my bandit for 10 years this year and have ridden it all year long all that time..if youre unsure or nervous about riding in poor weather.....GOOD!It should make you more aware.
Give yourself plenty of travel time,ensure your bike is in good condition,tyres are correct pressures,lights are clean.Make sure your visor is clear also.(i wear clear sunglassses under my visor so that i can open it if it mists up and still protect my eyes).Also wear something bright(hi vis )..Make sure you have plenty of distance from the car in front and as mentioned before avoid harsh braking and slow down on the approach to bends and accelerate on the exit of them.Take care.Tim

[spadge]

Lots of good advice. cheers guys. a sickie does sound tempting but got to suck up to boss at mo as need next friday off to go to london for start of brother's stag doo. safe riding

[Ariel Badger]

Avoid taking LSD and riding in snow storms.
____________________
Bikers make great organ donors, get 115 on your licence today.

[Sephiroth]

[freestyler_onli]

Here's my extreme weather riding tip:

Don't.

[G]

A bit late, but:
Riding to work today I kept noticing I was getting really tense - if you start sliding, this will just make it worse; so keep your body relaxed.

Where there's been lots of traffic, I was getting decent grip on the slush, but had to move to some more powdery sections when it came to bits that had re-frozen to ice (a couple of people from my work had abandoned their cars; just outside work).

[veeeffarr]

Meh, I just rode like normal.

Was fine.

People underestimate tyres and overestimate the throttle

[G]

I managed several significant slides testing to see how much grip I had.

Actually had to get off the bike and walk it over to the soft snow on the icy bit coming up to work.

[sunbear]

Yeah on my way to work this morning I saw some fella pushing his Deauville along the path. I think he under-estimated how bad the weather actually was . It hasnt stopped snowing all day for a single minute here . I didnt risk it this morning......so I got the missus to bring me to work
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Bikes had : BMW F650, suzuki tr50, gt125, SV400, GSXR600 SRAD. Honda CBR900RRP, CBR600FX, CBR1000F, VT600, Transalp 600, mtx125, nsr125r, CB500T, Yamaha fy50, tzr125, tdr125, XV535, Diversion 600, Fazer 600, TDM850 MK1 & MK2, Majesty 400, XV 1100. Cagiva mito evolution, Aprilia rs125, Piaggio x9 125. DNA 125 . Suzuki Bandit 600, GZ125 Marauder, RF600 , RF900RS2, Kawasaki ZZR400, ZX6R Ninja, ZZR600 . Ducati 750 Sport . Triumph Tiger 955i. CURRENT : 2004 Kawasaki Z750 and LOVIN IT !

[Kal]

I slowed it right down. Kept the bike as upright as possible and on the refrozen sections crawled along with both feet skimming the roadway.

I think thats how I got through in years before but I honestly can't remember.

There was no joy in my ride this evening and there will be no joy in my ride home tomorrow. The sooner the weather clears the better.
____________________
Kal...
I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It Ya Like To (HOON IT!).
1984 GB250 Clubman,1983 CB250N Superdream, 1999 GPZ500S

[ColdInsomnia]

Main roads that have been gritted and see a lot of traffic should be relatively safe in the snow - as long as you ride very carefully and keep your distance.

Don't be afraid to ride around at 20mph in 30 zones if you feel it's not safe to ride any faster. Most car drivers I've found are understanding of motorcyclists in the snow and will give you plenty of room, half of them are probably shitting bricks themselves.

There may be a few drivers who dislike your extra-safe attitude but fuck 'em, what can they do? Just ignore them and they'll get bored of doing whatever they're doing (riding an inch up your ass, flashing headlights, throwing yellow snowballs)

As said, keep it in high gear with low revs. Accelerate very slowly and use the brakes as little as possible - use engine braking preferably but use the rear brake if needed. Use the front brake ONLY in emergencies and ONLY when the bike is upright.

Go around corners VERY conservatively, keep the bike upright as far as gravity allows.

Keep one eye on traffic and another on the road directly in front of you. I've often been riding along and suddenly a lump of snow will be in the middle of the road (Snowballs thrown by kids, snowmen that have wandered away from their front gardens and stuff).

If you come to a snow-covered side-road power walk. That means both feet on the ground, and straddle the bike slowly along the road if the snow is that bad. I had to do this yesterday to get to my girlfriends house, powerwalked the bike through a good inch or two of snow and didn't have a problem.
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Yamaha YB100 | Yamaha TZR125 | Yamaha XJ600S | Suzuki GSF600
"Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it."
John Lennon

[veeeffarr]

[Ariel Badger]

Had yesterday off as all schools in Brum were closed (got today off as well!) and decided to take my 1939 trials machine in for its MOT ( it was a week overdue). Even on knobblies and using engine breaking I had a few slides. Got home and needed to go to the supermarket, I walked.
____________________
Bikers make great organ donors, get 115 on your licence today.

[spadge]

Well i survived the snow tonight but apart from riding tips what is the best thing to do for visibility/seeing. i tried everything. visor down but it meant i had to constantly wipe it. visor up and i got painful eyes from the snow. tried half open. even tried riding with visor open and sunvisor down to protect eyes when it was light enough but what does everyone else find the best way?

[Dalemac]