Riding in icy conditions

[guzzisti91]

Hello all,
This is my last post for at least 12 months - i sold my nevada back in april due to a slipping clutch. I was also trying to get a job as a snowboard instructor & was too lazy to make chains for my beloved nevada.
Anyways, i intend to buy another Guzzi in Germany & take it to the slopes in Italy. Any tips? How are conditions there, & how do guzzis handle in such icy conditions?
All i found elsewhere was "don't ride in winter", but i may not have a choice & i'm not one to let cold weather hold me back
Any first hand experience would be greatly appreciated

 

[Raven]

There is no bike made that handles well in icy conditions other than a motocross/enduro bike with ice racing studs. I would never take my Guzzi out in the ice or snow. I live at a ski resort in Quebec. I make a sand trail down the middle of my driveway and allow the heat of the sun to melt the ice and snow so I can get out to the street in late March. Here in Quebec it's actually illegal to ride between December 15th and March 15th unless you can find snow tires that fit your bike (they don't exist).
My advice would be to find a cheap AWD car to use as a ski bum mobile.

 

[guzzisti91]

Here in Quebec it's actually illegal to ride between December 15th and March 15th unless you can find snow tires that fit your bike (they don't exist).
My advice would be to find a cheap AWD car to use as a ski bum mobile.

That got me thinking about the laws in Germany. I did see a bmw riding toward me in baden-wuertemburg in dec 2017, but i'm getting mixed reports of their laws in regards to this, so i've contacted the authorities there for an answer straight from the horse's mouth.
As for wanting to use a bike, i have my reasons; Australia drives on the left, & driving in Europe was terrifying for this reason. A bike will help me adapt, & if the Italians really are as crazy as they tell me, i can actually bail in a crash rather than be trapped inside for hours.
As with awd, i despise subaru & audi. So unless i can get parts for a crv there, fwd works fine, thank you very much

 

[guzzisti91]

Having done more research, & contacting German & Austrian authorities on the matter, i can conclude that this is doable. I am yet to recieve word from the Austrians, but the German authorities told me that their strict winter tyre laws do not extend to motorcycles. The Italian laws are about as lax as they are here in australia, but the Swiss are, to my astonishment, even more relaxed! This means that if i can handle the bike, i can use it. Guzzis, i find, have a low centre of gravity, but progress may be painfully slow for such a large journey, but it is legal & doable if you are heading to Italy from Germany or vice-versa

 

[john zibell]

Here is another issue for you. Motorcycle tires are formulated to operate at higher temperatures than car tires. The glass point is a term for when a tire doesn't provide adequate traction. The glass point for motorcycle tires is about 27 degrees Fahrenheit or or -3 Celsius. So even on a dry road, traction is very limited at low temperatures. Exceeding available traction will result in gravity winning.

 

[SMTCapeCod]

Rubber formulation will be key. There are winter rated motorcycle tires, manufactured in Turkey. Anli or something similar. They have additional siping which is good and I'd expect the compound to be more cold biased. There is a YouTube of a shop in Canada testing them in cold/light sleet.
(Edit: Here ya go: )
You could consider Ural with sidecar for a little extra contact patch. Or Yamaha Riken, haha.