went for a ride in the snow...

[brentn]

Boy did it suck.

Went out to my favorite riding spot which was shut down so I rode around the fence cause there was no way I was going home. There were 1000 quad trails and I was sticking to the fire roads trying to get a feel for my new bike in the snow. On my yz250 it was easier to ride this type of snow, but my 450 was not having ANY of it. I was washing out like crazy, my top speed was 2nd gear at engine idle speed... I shit you not.

Any faster and either the rear would break loose and the front would wash out, or the front would come to a 1" bump in the hard packed snow and wash out.

After 20 minutes I had enough, I spent more time gearing up than riding.

Went out and decided to get some sheet metal screws for my bike like I was going to do last year but never did. I did some reading before I left and found that they are just terrible for holding up and the metal is not hardened and will wear quickly. They also said that once they round off, they are more slippery than running just a bare tire, so I looked for some real ice tire studs.

I called my dealership and asked what they had and they told me they stocked some gold ice tire screws that worked very well. Told me that the odd few fall out here and there, but they usually last a season or two with the customers they had using them. I bought a pack of 1000, hopefully they will offer much better tracking so I can enjoy myself.

I'm not expecting hard packed dirt traction with these studs, if I could I would have bought the real deal studded tires for 200-300$ a pop. My budget agreed to 70$ for 1000 screws and a little do it yourself labor.

I drilled in 4 now with my cordless to see if they could easily back out, was wondering if I should use some glue or poxy on the threads. After drilling the four they are in the tire nice and solid and are quite hard to back out, so I'm going to skip the glue on this one.

Going to finish this job tomorrow and hopefully I can have a bike that can at least ride the fire roads for a nice cruise and the odd trails that aren't too full of snow for some fun.

It seemed like such a waste to just sit all winter not riding, I'm losing my mind staring at my bike not being able to ride it. I've already done my maint for the year and I don't have any major work to do over the winter, as the bike only has 20 hours on it.

Hopefully these work out, I'll have a ride report here by sunday me thinks. I want other people who feel discouraged about winter to see that for 70$ you can have a wicked time for the whole season, that is if these things actually hold up.

[YamaLink]

Good job on attempting and you will definitely like the 450 with those screws. Like it more than the two stroke?? Please give us the follow-up report!

[grayracer513]

The trouble with any more than about 8 inches of snow (depending on how dry or packed it is) is that the tires won't go down into it far enough to find real dirt and get a bite on it. Ice is a different story, of course, and the studs will help with that, but I don't think they'll do much good in the snow. Then there's the whole matter of concealed rocks and what not. An undersized rear tire with a "soft terrain" tread layout helps. If there's 6 inches or less, it's a lot of fun, though.

[Family Man]

What about a sand/paddle tire in deep snow?

[Polar_Bus]

I ride my bikes year round, i've had my YZF out on the glare ice, hard crusty ice/snow, and some powder. You can effectively ride a studded bike up to about 5-6" of soft snow, but after that the front end just wallows too much and it's very hard to maintain precise steering, especially if the snow is wet and "sticky". However if you can ride on hardpacked snow trail that snowmobiles have previously ridden on and packed down, then it's a blast, and your front tire will track way better.

[brentn]

Took the bike out for a spin around my block, the snow is very hard packed on the road here and has not been cleared, just packed down from all the people driving.

Traction was amazing, it was like riding in the hard packed dirt, was really really impressed. Going to take it out on monday it looks like, sat and sun are going to be a bit too cold, around -10. Monday is supposed to be +6

[Polar_Bus]

Took the bike out for a spin around my block, the snow is very hard packed on the road here and has not been cleared, just packed down from all the people driving.

Traction was amazing, it was like riding in the hard packed dirt, was really really impressed. Going to take it out on monday it looks like, sat and sun are going to be a bit too cold, around -10. Monday is supposed to be +6

Wow, that's COLD, you may need to block off one radiator with a piece of cardboard so the engine can get up to temp...

[brentn]

Yea it's too cold for me, just not enjoyable. I ride in the mountains so if I get up there it'll probably be even colder as the temp I listed was for my city away from the mountains.

When I was slipping and sliding around the bike was plenty hot and reached operating temp and above the other day when it was 0. With traction now, yes I might have to block off a radiator....

I'll bring the tuner and check mid way through my ride and see what the coolant temp is, does anyone know what optimum coolant temp is for proper combustion?

[HRC]

Guys!......Guys !!!!

You need a real studded tire ! Like Swedish produced Trelleborg. Then you can really start to enjoy your winter-riding !

http://www.dirtrider.com/gear/141_0612_trelleborg_winter_friction_studded_tires/photo_03.html

Here is a video from last winter ,on my little test track:

I´ve got some new Trelleborgs mounted on my YZ450F now. Will go out for my first ride tomorrow ! ?

[Polar_Bus]

Guys!......Guys !!!!

You need a real studded tire ! Like Swedish produced Trelleborg. Then you can really start to enjoy your winter-riding !

http://www.dirtrider.com/gear/141_0612_trelleborg_winter_friction_studded_tires/photo_03.html

Here is a video from last winter ,on my little test track:

I´ve got some new Trelleborgs mounted on my YZ450F now. Will go out for my first ride tomorrow ! ?

Ive used Trell's as well. They are great as long as you are on GLARE ice, once you get a few inches of ice chip dust (like through the corners of a oval track) Trells loose some traction. Gold Screws IMO work a bit better overall and seem to dig better into ice chip dust on the surface.

[Polar_Bus]

Yea it's too cold for me, just not enjoyable. I ride in the mountains so if I get up there it'll probably be even colder as the temp I listed was for my city away from the mountains.

When I was slipping and sliding around the bike was plenty hot and reached operating temp and above the other day when it was 0. With traction now, yes I might have to block off a radiator....

I'll bring the tuner and check mid way through my ride and see what the coolant temp is, does anyone know what optimum coolant temp is for proper combustion?

I believe you want to be around 130-140F. What concerns me in the real cold is a sudden thermal cold shock from a hot engine then a rapid cool down. MX bikes don't have a thermostat to consistantly regulate the engine temps. So a presumed bad situation is running hard at slow speeds in the woods, then immediately getting out on the lake and doing 80mph. When temps dip down into the low teens is when I generally block off 1 rad. Keep in mind I am also out on the lake at speeds between 40-80 mph, so in the woods or like you commented with lots of wheelspin and slower speeds, your YZF might be running hotter from less forced cold air.

[grayracer513]

I believe you want to be around 130-140F.

That would be a minimum. 160-180 is probably closer to ideal.

[brentn]

Guys!......Guys !!!!

You need a real studded tire ! Like Swedish produced Trelleborg. Then you can really start to enjoy your winter-riding !

http://www.dirtrider.com/gear/141_0612_trelleborg_winter_friction_studded_tires/photo_03.html

Here is a video from last winter ,on my little test track:

I´ve got some new Trelleborgs mounted on my YZ450F now. Will go out for my first ride tomorrow !

Buy them for me, ship them to my house and then I can find out how good they really are!

I would have gone this route, but the screws were all I could afford right now..

I believe you want to be around 130-140F. What concerns me in the real cold is a sudden thermal cold shock from a hot engine then a rapid cool down. MX bikes don't have a thermostat to consistantly regulate the engine temps. So a presumed bad situation is running hard at slow speeds in the woods, then immediately getting out on the lake and doing 80mph. When temps dip down into the low teens is when I generally block off 1 rad. Keep in mind I am also out on the lake at speeds between 40-80 mph, so in the woods or like you commented with lots of wheelspin and slower speeds, your YZF might be running hotter from less forced cold air.

That would be a minimum. 160-180 is probably closer to ideal.

Thanks!

?

[Slick_Nick]

Follow up! I still havent done mine, I've been in Arizona for the past few weeks and snow hadnt crossed my mind!

[brentn]

Lost about 8 in the rear riding a fire road, some patches of the road were dirt packed instead of snow and I was just giving her hell. Rear wheel was spinning out a bit so I'm sure that's how I lost them.

May take the bike out tomorrow, -3 here, going to try out the this trail tech vapor I got for xmas as well!

[Slick_Nick]

Oooooo those vapors are sweet units! Where you gonna go? There's like a foot of snow everywhere lol

[brentn]

mcclain, there's a real nice service road that has quite a few twists and turns.

Not really dirt biking, but at least I can ride.

The trails are packed down from the quads, might take it off the road next time, depends how cold it is.

[beezer]

Carbide studs are the way to go. Tires can last years. Sheet metal screws will last about 1/2 half a ride.

[brentn]

They're not sheet metal screws, they're forged. So far mine have lasted two rides!

I wish I could afford some nice ice tires, but for 40$ you can still have some fun if you stick to just snow packed terrain.

[beezer]

Yep 40 bucks is alot less than the 375 I spent. They are glorified sheet metal screws but if they work if there isn't alot of rocks. Crazy glue on the threads keeps them in the tire longer.

Any riding is better than the couch. Winter sucks.