Studded Motorcycle Tyres

[Alex A]

Seeing as this ice and snow could last another couple of weeks... and I (we) need to get about.


Do studded sportsbike tyres like these exist commercially?


https://www.twowheelforum.com/attachment.php?s=176928e704107e8ee004752a8dd28b50&attachmentid=1548&d=1102332169

Perhaps not quite so extremely spiked - more like studded winter car tyres used in Scandanavia. Something that would grip on compacted snow and black ice, but also work as well as a winter tyre on slush/wet roads.

If so, where? How much? And before you say it, all I can find on google is the odd studded motorcross tyre.
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Current: Ducati Panigale R / Ducati Streetfighter S / Suzuki GSX-R1000 L5

[t121anf]

google isn't being helpful i'm afraid, seems they are widely available for pushbikes though

[Dr. DaveJPS]

if i remember correctly i read an interview with a guy who does ice speedway and he said he made his own spiked tires, as he couldn't buy them.

so i guess it's a case of DIY.
(thought i no doubt will be proved wrong)

EDIT;then again there is always this.... https://www.lifetimerepairkits.com/Tire_Grip_Winter_Traction_Aid_kit.html
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"intelligent inattention is preferable to unintelligent tinkering"
www.davejps.com

[stinkwheel]

MV snow claws

Or screw a load of self-tappers through an old tyre from the inside and fit it using a tube.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Alex A]

I spotted those snow claws - pretty damn expensive, and I think they'd be something of a hazard once you hit cleared tarmac, and if you took them off then you'd still have a problem with black ice. The profile also looks too shallow for a front sportsbike tyre, and from the looks of it they're intended for the back wheel only (all the pictures show only the back wheel), so again wouldn't aid front end grip, only rear wheel traction.

DIY in the form of self tappers or similar may be the only realistic option, but a lot of effort, which is why I was wondering if something was available off the shelf as it is with cars.
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Current: Ducati Panigale R / Ducati Streetfighter S / Suzuki GSX-R1000 L5

[Mystery]

yeah theres very little around for sports bikes, i had a look around for some yesterday but i think countrys like sweeden or something that use them might be able to sell you something, or make your own but i wouldn't have a clue how to.
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Carbon knuckles assure you maximum protect against debris and unfortunate accidents or if someone cuts you off, their side mirror.Mopeds are like chubby chicks.. they are really fun to ride until you're friends catch you on one

[doggone]

I thought them not too pricey - they could be used on different bikes over many years since it would be rare to need them more than a couple of times a year.
Trouble is you would likely not have them with you if caught out trying to get home in a sudden snowstorm!

[Alex A]

[Devils Advocate]

If someone could invent something to fill this gap in the market,... something portable that could be attached quickly when the situation arose,...they`d make a bloody fortune if they got it patented.

I cant see how it`d be that difficult either to be honest considering the amount of advanced materials available in this day and age.
I`m fairly sure a studded/spiked rubber compound sleeve could be devised to fit over a bike tyre....with minimal use of brain power....

If anyone wants to have a crack at it and do all the leg work, i`d come in as a silent partner/investor without any hesitation.
Actually, i`ve got a cracking design in my head already that would work brilliantly once the teething problems were sorted out.

[robocog]

https://www.roofbox.co.uk/car-snow-socks/

(their main site is down)

Might be worth emailing them to see if they are willling to make some "test samples" to fit bikes?

[abs]

Check out https://www.supatracks.com/best-grip-screw-in-ice-studs.html

https://www.supatracks.com/images/best_grip_tyre_studs.gif

[Alex A]

Interesting. I've e-mailed them to ask about suitability for road and sports bike tyres (whether they're shallow enough not to break the canvas etc).

Looks like you can get a range of sizes (in terms of width/depth):

https://www.aerodist.com/skin/frontend/default/modern/images/studs/studcompare.jpg

I suppose the other question is whether they would significantly affect grip on a stretch of clear tarmac?
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Current: Ducati Panigale R / Ducati Streetfighter S / Suzuki GSX-R1000 L5

[G]

I'd be willing to bet they would be a) illegal for damaging the tarmac, b) quite seriously affect grip on a sports bike on tarmac and c) need an innertube with some kind of protection.

These tyres are available in dirt bike sizes:
https://www.trelleborgtyres.co.uk/product_details_36.htm

Metal studs it seems are very questionable legaly for use on non-snowy/icey roads, so the market's never been big.
Anything you need to take on/off is going to be a fair bit of hassle - if I had snow chains I might be able to get my car off my road, but then I'd have to take them off 40 meters further down, which is far too much hassle!

Ideally you want magnetically retractable spikes .

[Alex A]

Magnetically retractable spikes might be a bit of an ask!

From some basic reading up it seems that metal studs are only legally permissible on snowy/icy roads which explains a lack of any significant commercial distribution in the UK.

Having said that, I'd be extremely surprised if the police had any interest in penalising a driver/rider for having spiked tyres on a gritted road where snow/ice remains on side roads which you also have to travel. In fact, I'd be surprised if the average officer would know the law if he spotted you with studded tyres on a clear road.

It wouldn't take all that long with conditions like this to make the cost worthwhile. If the roads remain like this for 2-3 weeks, it could cost £150+ total for my daily 30 mile each way commute on public transport. The repair cost of binning a faired bike through lack of grip on standard tyres would likely be much higher still.

Sticking some of those studs onto part worn tyres would cost less than both alternatives, save commuting time, and be reusable if necessary.

Re. grip: Some of those smaller studs should not sit very proud of the tyre and leave plenty of scope for grip. Punctures may be an issue, but on their website they have the more shallow screw studs fitted to scooter and shallow tread enduro/SM tyres.
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Current: Ducati Panigale R / Ducati Streetfighter S / Suzuki GSX-R1000 L5

[vt6]

Not a clue however the vid of the chap above looks v.good fun!

https://www.bikerpunks.com/mediaviewer/2387/crazy-ice-racing-on-a-streetbike.html

[Jayy]

Wonder what it would be like with one of these...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzgbmr-sc6A&feature=related

Would nobblies be better for these conditions? Where could you get some tyres like that from?

Also, if anyone can help me out, looking for some nobbly tyres for the aprilia sx125 2008 model

[Jayy]

Front tyre size 110/70-17
Rear tyre size 150/60-17

Apparently they're the sizes for the tyres. I need the wheel and the tyre so can just swap them easily without fucking about.

Also, if you get those sizes, will they fit any bike? or is there like only certain wheels that will fit the cross bar thing thats goes through the middle?

[G]

Having a look at their PDF, it seems that some need a minimum of 5mm tread depth and possibly some just 3mm.
So should fit to brand new sports bike sized tyres ok - think you get about 5mm in a new front. Presumably be rather more iffy in a worn front, however.

I have found trail tyres on my KTM has been better than my GSXR1000 with an almost-bald rear.
The front is at fairly low pressure and my rear is 0psi basically and I haven't bothered pumping it up because it seems to work.
On ice it's still very skittish; in the snow they work better, but still do have to be pretty careful.

Wheels a generally specific to a model or a few models.
There's the spindle dimater, the spacers each side and the positioning of the disc(s). Often it is actually possible to bodge wheels from one bike onto another however.

Were it me, I'd look for some proper trail size wheels; 90/90-21, 110-140/70(or so)-18. The thinner and bigger front will cut through stuff better and keep better stability, similar for the rear.
Obviously you may have to adjust mudguards etc.

You can probably get wheels in those sizes - as you see, someone's bodged them on to an R1 and done quite well with it!

Not sure on specifics for the tyres, but your options are very limited. You may need to put a smaller rear tyre on the front to get one the right size, then a similar bigger rear on the rear.

It's possible you may need to add tubes to them. Also, without rimlocks you won't be able to run at decently low pressures really (I've got a special dirt bike tubless system that lets me run stupidly low pressures which you couldn't normally.)

[njd27]

[duplicate post]

[njd27]

There was this bit in Bike magazine a while back:

https://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww43/jimukrm/ukrm/spikes.jpg

[Kickstart]

[G]

[G]

Got to work on them, with the punctured tyre (re-inflated before leaving, slimed last night but not helping) slowly deflating.

Got down my snow-covered-icey road still with a reasonable amount of sliding, but definitely a bit more grip from the rear compared to a flat rear but no studs and a lot more compared to an inflated rear with no studs.
Getting on to the main road, first problem I’ve found is the manical laughter - wheelying down a slushy road with cars still being cautious, stuck in a queue going the other way definitely amused me .

So, it does actually seem to aid grip on normal tarmac in marginal conditions too – though I managed similar levels of rear-wheel grip in slightly less bad conditions in the past with no studs but the flat rear tyre.
Definitely gave me a lot more confidence for filtering past traffic on snowy bits.
I do worry that they may offer perhaps a bit too much confidence – as if you get a decently icy bit below snow, you’re still going to have limited grip.
As before, in deeper snow, while the rear doesn’t always grip straight away, if you dig down a bit, the studs do seem to grip where you’d have had more problems elsewise. I suspect letting a decent chunk of air back out of the rear would make it pretty reasonable in such conditions – though probably offering some grip before the studs come into play.
Having to ride the clutch on the KTM a lot in the deeper snow – highish gearing and a fairly high idle doesn’t really help.

[G]

A few pictures, as requested elsewhere:

https://gees.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p155317548-4.jpg
https://gees.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p79776037-4.jpg
https://gees.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p12305489-4.jpg
https://gees.zenfolio.com/img/v7/p493860137-4.jpg

If you want big pictures for some reason, they can be got here: https://gees.zenfolio.com/p736497730