Anybody running studded tires ?

I drilled and studded a set of Karoo Ts for my V-strom this winter





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDrRieJK3aQ

[maviczap]

They aren't allowed over here, as far as I'm aware. Nor are snow chains

be careful with the plod - whilst not illegal, you can be prosecuted for damaging the road if the conditions are not suitable for studdeds - ie snow or ice

We never get any snow here, so it's not really worth it!

Originally Posted by madness

We never get any snow here, so it's not really worth it!

its not the snow where they help, knobbies are quite enuf , its ice where they help

this is my fisrt season on them, and I am quite impressed, front tire stays planted well, throttle on my DL1000 is still a bit touchy though with the rear wheel

in my short video, I had no problem controlling the bike at speeds up to 50 mph

Where you been hiding Randy? Nice to know you are still around.

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by simesb

be careful with the plod - whilst not illegal, you can be prosecuted for damaging the road if the conditions are not suitable for studdeds - ie snow or ice

He's in the colonies, probably different rules.

[Stu]

Originally Posted by RandyO

in my short video, I had no problem controlling the bike

Are you sure? you seemed to be confused about which side of the road to be on

at speeds up to 50 mph

Speed limit was 30

Originally Posted by maviczap

They aren't allowed over here, as far as I'm aware. Nor are snow chains

Are you sure? what's the law?

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

He's in the colonies, probably different rules.

yup, varies quite a bit from state to state, where I live in New Hampshire, studds are unregulated, I can run them anytime, several states only let you run them from October or November to March, April or May and some states outlaw them altogether, Canadian Provinces vary similarly, in Quebec, they recently passed a law requireing winter tires during the winter months, subject to steep fines

I did a fair amount of reserch before I studded my tires, most peopl tend to put too many studs in, I limited my studs to the center knobs and left the outer knobs unstudded, I don't plan on leaning much on ice even with studds but when I ride on bare pavement and do lean, I want rubber to pavement

the only thing I had to get used to was when leaning in a curve on paveement, the transiton from studded knobs to unstudded knobs, squirley for a moment, kinda like riding the twisties with a real squared off set of tires

many of the roads I ride are gravel, so in the winter they become mostly packed now & ice with grit, they are still pretty slippery, and sometime not much if any grit except hills

here's a summer video of the same road as the other video I posted, on my winter run, my average speed was about 40mph with a top speed of 55mph, in the summer run on freshly graded loose gravel, I was averaging maybe 45 but could get to a top speed of 80, its real tricky getting maximum acceleration without loosing traction, on gravel, you can afford to loos a little traction, but on ice, as soon as you do, the rear comes right around, studds make the braking & slowing down much easier, but you still can't be hamfisted about it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fzw7Hw9KGJc

[Red Herring]

Studded tyres are illegal in the UK. Chains are certainly allowed, however you might have some clearance issues on a bike....

The biggest issue with riding in the conditions we are experiencing at the moment isn't the snow, it's the ridges and ruts that form when the treated road re-freezes, and even studs won't help you then.