dual sport rides 650 friendly

[Jud]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "fw189uhu" wrote:

> > Anybody used them? Can you recommend a quality brand/source? > > I already know the advice about leaving the bike at home if the ground is white, so I'm hoping to get specific info from guys who've used them or have friends who use them. > > The Staudacher chains look interesting, but it will be a PITA to order via fax from Germany and pay with a European money transfer. > > TIA. > > Digger >

[Jud]

I haven't seen the Staudacher chains, nor have I ever tried to use tire chains on a motorcycle. However, I have run quite a few Elephant rides, and have seen a wide variety of traction-increasing devices for motorcycles. In addition, I have run a KLR through a couple of Minnesota winters, not daily, but at least once in every month of the year. At the Elephant Ride, I have seen a few examples of home-made tire chains; to be more precise, these appeared to be chains adapted from automotive tire chains. I have never noticed that anybody running tire chains had any more or less success than the guys who wrapped their tires with polyvinyl rope, or fitted cordura spats that contained the studs, or ran ice screws into their knobs, or than the guys who simply did the ride on bald street tires. To be sure, the guys who trailered their KTMs out from Denver and ran knobbies full of hardened ice screws ran the pass faster, but if there was enough snow to stop a guy on an MZ with rock-hard Pneumants, then the KTMs weren't going to get up the pass either. I think the guys with chains made it up as often as anybody else, but in the process they seemed to spend a lot of time by the side of the road re-attaching dislodged chains, or dislodging jammed chains or otherwise dealing with some kind of chain trouble. I think the old hillclimbers had better luck with their tire chains, but they only had to work for about eleven seconds at a time. Judging by the amount of time guys spent fiddling with their chains, perhaps a quicker route if you are looking for temporary traction might be a cordless drill and a pocket full of Gold Screws. There was a guy who did just that: rode his Transalp from San Francisco in February and spent half an hour before the ride running a couple hundred screws into his road tires.

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "fw189uhu" wrote: > > Anybody used them? Can you recommend a quality brand/source? > > I already know the advice about leaving the bike at home if the ground is white, so I'm hoping to get specific info from guys who've used them or have friends who use them. > > The Staudacher chains look interesting, but it will be a PITA to order via fax from Germany and pay with a European money transfer. > > TIA. > > Digger >

[RobertWichert]

Well, for emergencies, I have ridden on snow on knobbies. You can dig a REALLY nice ditch and you don't need a kickstand. It can be done. Robert Wichert P.Eng. LEED AP +1 916 966 9060 FAX +1 916 966 9068 ===============================================

On 12/12/2011 7:00 AM, fw189uhu wrote: > > Thanks. I'm pretty well aware of all the safety issues; this is for > emergency-only use and not for "normal" riding (although not many > would use the word "normal" and "snow riding" in the same sentence!). > > Digger > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Tengai Mark Van Horn]

Silly ice noobs.... anyone who knows a few of us old-timers on this list know that you can ride all winter, and there are several of us northerners who have. Just gotta develop the right system. I went 5 winters straight on my daily 15-mile commute with my KLR. Mark At 2:40 PM +0000 12/12/11, skypilot110 wrote: ... You can not make bikes be safe on icy roads. Anybody that tells you otherwise just wants to see if you can do it because they havent really tried. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[marknavy13]

Just wanted to pass on this site http://usdualsports.blogspot.com/ to everyone found it, and it looks like a good Dual Sport site if you like to ride.