I bought meself ped today, as during winter they are fairly cheap. Only problem with it was the fact, I had to drive it back home - at the moment I do not have access to any kind of trailer. On summertime this really isn't an issue; the trip isn't that long as the town I picked it up from was merely 50 kilometers away, but during winter.. No, it's not mainroad, but indeed it's winter at Finland ..DAMN! The ped does 65km/h tops (about 40mph), but when the wind blew hard, I could feel it was moving 10-20 centimeters SIDEWAYS on the ice, sliding to the edges of the road, like it had suicidal thoughts and its only mission was seeking a tree to hit. To make things worse, the front tire is nearly slick (wish I had cam right now, because it's not nearly slick, it IS slick), which really provokes the sliding and makes every move ON the scooter, or to STEER the scooter a daring event of courage. This naturally makes me wonder: Do you drive at winter and if you do, what exactly does it take you to get through ice and snow..? (yeayea, I too get through Ice and its driver with lorry - is this the only joke or do we have more? arc.
ino you get alot of black ice round here in the winter, dangerous stuff try to always warm your tyres up as best you can and give yourself longer than needed. that way u havnt gota rush and you can concetrate on the road ahead
our winter is totally different to yours. but if it snows, i take the day off to go out and have some fun :w00t:
we can't really comment as the majority of the forum members are from the UK, our winters are very mild, we get a few good frosts a year and a light covering of snow if wer'e lucky. personally i ride in all weathers, when it's icy, i let a bit of air out of my tyres and just take it easy. Last winter my derbi was suffering from carb freezing, first thing you know is the throttle freezing open. scary thought. but back to your problem, i would get some knobbly (ish) tyres and run low pressure and just take it steady. adopt a speedway approach through corners.
Good all round scooter condition, things like correct throttle adjustment, engine mount bushes, brakes working smothely not grabby or sticking on and tire condition ie correct pressures and tread depth. As stevo said keep warm, relaxed, concentrate on the front end and don't be hurried by other road users. Saying all that I dropped my runner about three weeks ago at 20mph in a car park just cos I wasn't really paying attention to the road surface (gravel and leaves) It was my first off for about seventeen years, so it pays to stay alert even in wide open or familiar areas/roads.
Yeah our winters are mild now, but they were defo more severe even only twenty years ago (well up in sunny Scotland anyway). I only had a bike license back then and went through three hellish winters on a tuned ypvs350. I remember having to get off and walk it over snow drifts in 1st gear, luckily it was qute a light bike.
I envy you guys, here the winter weather really shows what you are made of, dare you to drive. The weather at picture above lasts about 4-5 months, though, here too during the 90's winters have gotten more mild. I suppose we don't get as much loving from the Gulf stream as you guys do, which is why our weather is so poor: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... s_1943.jpg Think I'll grab pair of M/S tires (trekker style), as I do wish to drive the damn thing during the winter. Steeper the turn, slower the pace. We start to get black ice at autumn and roads are practically sheeted with ice during winter, so it's not really bad idea to consider even spikes.
Yeah I ride in winter, but british winter where I live we might get snow maybe 2 or 3 days a year and it'll rarely last more than a day or so! it's just bloody cold to ride that's the only difference here!
Not far from me But yea, our winters are nothing like that, and as said before stay warm and comfy or it is all to easy to drop your concentration and thats when you will have an accident :w00t: .
yeah i ride all through the winter on my scooter!! But not sure i would go out if the snow was like in your picture :tdwn: we get a few sharp frosts...but not much in the way of real winter weather these days in England....mind you we dont get much in the way of summer weather either :w00t:
I ride in any weather raining, ice, sunny anything I live in the suburbs of swansea so it pays to get quick, cheap and reliable transport if it rains or something just take it on the chin and cover your exhaust in two stroke oil - smear it all over, and clean your bike at the end of the week ice is a feckin bastard tho fuck.... the amount of times ive nearly come off this winter...omg im now starting to wise up ans stop caning it everywhere of the clock, Im braking alot earlier than normal and i stick my foot out round corners and smooth car parks (watch them), black ice is the worst Id rather be punched in the face than come off on that going fast over it, daedly deadly stuff...... :msn1: i have to be careful especially atm cos ive got a front wheel tyre on my back wheel, it was an offer i couldnt resist (£5 for it brand new)and my back tyre was getting a bit bald (even though i dont skid) so I put it on but because the profile is lower dipping into an apex is much harder now and stiffer, I cant lean too much of an angle otherwise im off
