Too late for a ninja 250 downtown. It smashed real good.
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January riders??.....
- Thread starter MacDoc
- Start date
Sabex
Well-known member
How bad? Got any news links?
Sabex
Well-known member
For some like myself, the bike is their only vehicle. I knew full well when I chose to get a bike over a cage that winters would be tough, that there would be days that I won't want to ride because of the cold, and days that it would be stupid to ride because of the roads. I'm not going to take it out for a joy ride or anything this time of year, but when I need it to get back and forth to work or to see my daughter and theres no snow/ice on the road I'll be riding. When the roads are **** like they have been the past two days, then I'll suck it up and make the hour walk to work.
I'm glad to hear that you ride within your limits. The cold is nothing to many of you January riders. Not that I don't respect you guys as it is for riding January, but info respect you more when you have the guts I suck it up and say this isn't a good day.
There are people that say the same thing about Anyone riding a bike anytime.
Bottom line is if you aren't comfy with riding don't ride and accept that others may have a different comfort level.
..Tom
RedDogDarren
Well-known member
What does comfort level have to do with zero traction and reduced concentration from being cold? Unless you meant being comfortable with a high chance of crashing.
Sabex
Well-known member
I think some people just don't know the dangers/consequences so they go out in the middle of winter, crash and then learn not to.
Personally, I know the dangers but still choose to do it. Why? I really don't know, I just do. However, if it's too bad out I just won't ride. I make sure to check radar and weather patterns along my whole route to gauge whether I'm able to go or not (unfortunately weather can be quite unpredictable at times and dump slush all over you out of nowhere.)
And then there are others who have no other vehicle (also my situation, but I don't have anywhere I /NEED/ to be.) and don't have the cash for public transit.
There's a HUGE difference between riding a bike when there is NO snow and riding a bike with snow at -10*C.
Another problem is, sometimes people do NOT know their comfort level, they might see someone doing something and automatically think they are also capable of it. Its human nature. After watching some Stunners doing 12 O Clock wheelie, sometimes I feel I can do the same. The fact of the matter is, if your bike is a sport bike & comes with sport tires, it was designed for Summer-like conditions. If you ride a dual-sport, your tires might fend better in the cold. I feel sorry for the guy crashing his Ninja, but I hope he wisen up.
When it's below 10*C, I'm gonna call it a season, I wouldn't risk crashing my bike or injuring myself. Besides, when the good weather comes, you'll be without a bike if you crash it.
Like all things in life there is an element of risk. Riding in winter in my opinion becomes a matter of, as mentioned earlier checking the weather network for the hourly forecast, limit your trips to very short distances, ride on roads you know, dress appropriately in enough layers that still allows movement and reducing risk of hypothermia. Just took the battery out of the bike a couple of days ago and will likley be out next week on select days. Not intending to pack the bike up this winter. We will see how it pans out.
That really is a poor arguemnt. Taken to a rediculous extreme is leads to arguments like this: "Someone might see you riding your bike on a summer day and think they can do the same and crash and kill themself. So let's all stop riding so that no one can make that mistake." Lets face it: there is risk in everything we do and we need to take responsibility and manage that risk. If soemone is an adult we have to understnad that soemone may have a different tolerance for risk than us. Doesn't mean they are stupid.
I don't doubt the person riding and crashing the Ninja made a mistake in being out. Does that mean he is stupid? Do we know why he crashed? if the exact same thing happened in the summer would we call him stupid? (I hear of many crashes in riding season; are they all stupid?)
..Tom
Comfort level with what you are doing, with the level of risk you are taking.
It's not a given that you will have reduced concentration from being cold when riding in cold weather. Snowmobilers go out in very cold weather with no issue. It's all a matter of gear. If you don't have the gear for it then don't go out.
Funny there are poeple that say there is zero traction in the rain and won't ride in the rain. Do you advocate not riding in the rain as well?
..Tom
conundrum
Well-known member
More than your own gear, I'd say it comes down to the physics of the situation and conditions -- Maybe if you were experienced and had a bike designed and/or set up for winter conditions, but to go out on a SS running summer rubber is just ridiculous considering the tires are simply not designed for the current conditions.I'd think/say the same thing about cars as well, as I recall watching an idiot get a C5 vette stuck last year running summer rubber. It took 4 guys to get him out, and he got stuck 20ft further down the road again as he went backwards into a ditch, tires spinning. Note this doesn't count days were the temps go back up into the positives...I'm talking more about the people still out at -10 or -15C with no alterations to their bike compared to riding at 10-30C.To me though, the risks are just not worth it -- to me or to the bike (salt & corrosion, etc), but that's my own personal opinion, much like how I'm ATGATT, and some other people are out there riding in shorts & t-shirts (and would even forgo a helmet if the law allowed).
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RedDogDarren
Well-known member
For a lot of the riders I have seen I advocate giving up anything but public transport.
This is your second post I've seen where you are adding statements out of thin air to support your point. Do you advocate riding in tornadoes if you are comfortable with it?
And with high silica content tires can have good rain traction. The colder the rubber is on a motorcycle tire the harder it is and coupled with no ability to warm on cold pavement the loss in traction is very high, this is a proven fact. No motorcycle tire is formulated to the same spec of rubber that a winter car tire is manufactured to, this is also a fact.
Also it is fact that when your core temperature drops there is a marked loss in concentration and your body will not respond as quickly or fluidly as when it is warm. Dressing for the conditions is different than being cold and since I have been doing 80 kph next to Lake Ontario when it's been -30 without windchill in the middle of winter MANY times I may have some knowledge on the subject.
Adding a left field supposition to a persons post does not a valid point make.
Funny you should mention that. While I don't advocate riding into a Tornado, I did go looking for one a while back. As a result I did ride into the storm that had the Vaughn Tornado back in 2009. I wrote about it here:
http://www.stromtrooper.com/canadian-troopers/44070-tornado-riding.html#post453232
I don't know what you mean by "adding statements out of thin air."
I am a big supporter of winter tires in winter and I really don’t think that most people should ride their bikes in winter. I just take exception with calling people “idiots” for doing so. A post was made that someone dropped their bike in -10 weather and snowing and therefore is an idiot. Without knowing what was behind the incident it really does no one justice to call them an idot.
I don’t understand your comment about “left field supposition.”
I never questioned the effects of hypothermia, only that they don’t automatically apply to the rider that crashed his bike at -10. I am very familiar with the subject of Hypothermia and its effects on the human body and mind. I also know that hypothermia is possible at temperatures much above freezing . You can get hypothermia at temperatures of +10 quite easily if you don’t dress accordingly. And that of course is the key: dress accordingly. Temperatures of -10 do not automatically mean you will suffer from hypothermia.
I’m curious how you were doing 80kph in temperatures of -30. Was that on a bike? When was that? (It’s pretty rare to have temperatures that cold near Lake Ontario.)
..Tom
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