winter riding...any adjustments?

[Guest]

well since i normaly dont go out of town i think im gonna ride my bike year round...with some short highway driving

do these bikes need any adjustment for super cold missouri winters?

and ive still been debating on pods...if i do decide to run them does cold weather effect anything?

[mighty13d]

I have been to Missouri... Still not sure what you mean by ''super cold'' though. You must mean 'mild.' Unless it gets -20 or lower, it's not ''super cold.''

Anyway, you will have to have a decent battery to flip the engine over as well as not really sticky sport tires (the ones on my bandit are extended performance sport touring tires and they get really hard and slippery around freezing. 40 degrees and above they are fine though) because those won't perform well. you'll have to make sure you run your tires a while to warm them up or else you could lowside if you push it at all. I will leave the gear up to you since by your signature pic, you are really gear conscious... Otherwise, the bike should be fine.

If you go with pods, you will need to rejet the carbs, but I doubt that the denser air from being cold will force you to rejet them.

[7981GS]

5W-40 synthetic oil and about 6 pounds less air in the tires and you are good to go...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEjbD-_AsZM

Eric

[tkent02]

I like riding in winter weather, but it's harder.

No matter what you do with air pressure and tires, you will have less traction than you do in warmer temperatures. Enough traction to ride safely usually, but not as much as you are used to. Duel sport semi-knobby type tires seem to grip through sand and gravel much better than street tires. They won't help much with compact snow and ice.

Cars won't see you, this will be ten times worse than in summer.

It's hard to see ice sometimes, especially in broken sun riding in trees.

Frost in shady spots in the mornings, a little stream of water over a road can freeze in the evening, a few other places you won't think about until after you find them. All hard to see.

If you get too cold you will do stupid things, or at least not pay attention enough. Lots of gear, and better yet electric gear, as it's hard to ride safely with too much bulky stuff on.

Some places you will have to ride much slower and concentrate much harder than the cars would, like a road with snow except in the tire tracks for instance, or one with a lot of sand everywhere. The drivers of these cars will not respect this need for you to go slow. This means you will have a car all up inside your ass hole as you try to concentrate on this road.

Just go easy, it is much more challenging than riding in summer.

[gs850cafe]

I have been to Missouri... Still not sure what you mean by ''super cold'' though. You must mean 'mild.' Unless it gets -20 or lower, it's not ''super cold.''

Anyway, you will have to have a decent battery to flip the engine over as well as not really sticky sport tires (the ones on my bandit are extended performance sport touring tires and they get really hard and slippery around freezing. 40 degrees and above they are fine though) because those won't perform well. you'll have to make sure you run your tires a while to warm them up or else you could lowside if you push it at all. I will leave the gear up to you since by your signature pic, you are really gear conscious... Otherwise, the bike should be fine.

If you go with pods, you will need to rejet the carbs, but I doubt that the denser air from being cold will force you to rejet them.

i figured a good batt would be needed...ive got a shink tour master tire currently...any recomends for a winter tire thats fairly cheap as far as brands..yea i dont ride in gear to often..unless i plan on pushing it in corners, long highway rides or if its chilly...its just been to hot to wear much then whats on my sig pic...last few weeks has been over 100 with no rain

id only ride on clear days also...and of course ill get the jet kit if i decide to

[Buffalo Bill]

Winter tires? HA!

There's no such thing as winter tires for a GS.

If you want to try riding on snow, you better only try that on a dirt bike with knobby tires.

A bike with street tires on snow, will have no grip at all, you'll crash at any speed. If you can get it out of the driveway.