winter tyres?

[pbassred]

I know its summer in the northern hemisphere but I'm thinking ahead. Are winter tyres a thing? They should be but I can't find much reference to them.

[redeem ouzzer]

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Be a REAL MAN!

[ThunderGuts]

No idea for motorcycles, but I use them on my car Nov-Apr and they're superb. Common misconception they're "snow/ice" tyres; they do perform an order of magnitude better in such conditions, but they also perform better than normal rubber whenever the temperature is below 7 degrees, so I can see a potential application for the year-around motorcyclist, even if said person avoids the frozen stuff . . . assuming such tyres exist for bikes!
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TG.

[kgm]

Not really. Michelin pilot road 4, road 5 or the Metzeller Roadtec 01 will do what you need though.

[Riejufixing]

[MCN]

[pbassred]

[owl]

[kramdra]

[RhynoCZ]

Iirc, Michelin did make ''winter'' tyres for scooters some time ago. A quick google search says they still do.
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[Riejufixing]

[stinkwheel]

Best bet for cold performance and grip in the wet is a good silicone compound.


So PR4/ road5 then.
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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.

[chris-red]

[Easy-X]

This is not Canada I only recall twice in as many decades of going "fcuk that for a game of soldiers" with regards to frozen roads in London. TBH you'd have more to worry about from salt corrosion than the tyres.

London also tends to be a few degrees warmer than elsewhere from the "brick heat effect" of all the buildings being giant storage heaters
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Royal Enfield Continental GT 535, Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[kgm]

On the car I use vredestein quatracs which are all season tyres. They are more suited to the UK climate IMO when it's mostly cold and wet than a lot of pure winters. They are also great in the snow, which is handy when I'm having to drive in the Highlands. Personally I reckon they make a big difference in the winter on my car but I run Michelin pilot sport 4s in the summer and, whilst great summer tyres, aren't the best in the winter.

Both the PR4 and Roadtec 01 have served me well in winter, although there's still plenty life in the Roadtecs so I can't speak for them when more worn. I'll be trying the road 5 next probably although now I've bought a crf250L I'll no doubt be using they as my winter commuter. I'm interested to see how bad the knobbies are going to be!

[ADSrox0r]

I live out in proper rural farming country and commute into the city every day all year so I do run into a lot of ice on the roads. Pretty much none of them get gritted out where we are so it's proper brown trousers till you get out on to the main roads.

I've used a mixture of Battlax and Pilot Roads (and a few other horrendous unmentionables...don't EVER use Tourance tyres in winter!) and I usually come back to the T30/T31 for winter. Just taken off a set of Road 5, didn't like them tbh.

All said and done though, there isn't a tyre made (without ice spikes) that will do a goddamned thing if you hit a patch of ice. It's much more about HOW you ride in winter, not WHAT you ride.
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Current bikes: '08 VFR 800 VTEC(yo) , '07 ZZR1400 Winter hack: '95 Aprilia 650 Pegaso Currently lusting after: RC30

[MCN]

[owl]

[MCN]

[BusterGonads]

[sickpup]

I get the idea that most people commenting dont actually know what conditions winter tyres are actually for. There are for any conditions be it snow , rain, sun when the ambient temperature is below 7 degrees.

A PR5 is not a winter tyre, it doesn't have a high natural rubber content which allows it to stay soft at low temperatures. The same applies to race type tyres.

Some of my riders have used the Sava winter tyres on super scooters and they all highly rate them saying you can feel the extra grip in the rolling resistance.

[ADSrox0r]

Don't get me wrong, I'm by no means saying that mixed compound sport touring tyres are 'winter tyres'. If I was a better man I'd fit something more suitable in winter, I just don't have it in me (or my pocket) to swap out every season. My experience has been that these tyres are reasonably reliable in awful conditions, not downright unsafe.
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Current bikes: '08 VFR 800 VTEC(yo) , '07 ZZR1400 Winter hack: '95 Aprilia 650 Pegaso Currently lusting after: RC30

[Courier265]

[kramdra]

[Easy-X]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ5hV-ESBd0
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Royal Enfield Continental GT 535, Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter