riding on studded tires

[RandyO]

finally got my winter itres studded and mounted on my V-strom

about 15 miles of riding so far, this is the first time I've ever ridden with studded tires on a bike

on the pavment, handling is weird, a whole new riding experience, it will take getting used to

straight line is stable and predictable, even the slightest cornering is a little wobbly, I didn't put studs on the outer knobs, when leaning into a corner, transition from the studded portion of the profile to the unstudded portion of the profile is freaky, but I was correct in leaving the outer knobs unstudded, I still have my extreme dry pavment cornering traction

I put about 3 miles on a gravel road that was frozen and icy, the bike felt planted, I was able to ride at a pace equal to or faster than normal car traffic

on the gravel roads, I'm really going to like the studs, on pavement..... we'll see

[DuncanMoto]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9000/4.6.0.297 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102 UP.Link/6.3.1.20.06.3.1.20.0)

What tires are you running?

[RandyO]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9000/4.6.0.297 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102 UP.Link/6.3.1.20.06.3.1.20.0)

What tires are you running?

Karoo Ts, this is my 3rd set, but first time I've studded them

Karoo Ts have a harder (sport touring compound)and shorter knobs than regular Karoos or TKCs

[markbvt]

I'm trying the studded tire experiment this winter too. Picked mine up on Saturday from a guy on ADVrider who ran them last year and didn't need them anymore. Studs are still in great shape. They're much knobbier tires though, Pirelli Scorpion Pro barely-DOT knobbies, so I expect dry pavement handling to be pretty sketchy. I'll spoon them on this weekend or next.

--mark

[DuncanMoto]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9000/4.6.0.297 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102 UP.Link/6.3.1.20.06.3.1.20.0)

Can you guys throw up some photos?
I'm thinking I want to stud some tires for the KLX

[richw]

Be careful please

Braking must be way off

Cages and trucks are sliding all over spinning and crossing lanes
It ain't just you

[toocrazy2yoo]

Studded tires..Wonder how they'd work on a Concours14?

[RandyO]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9000/4.6.0.297 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102 UP.Link/6.3.1.20.06.3.1.20.0)

Can you guys throw up some photos?
I'm thinking I want to stud some tires for the KLX

[DuncanMoto]

That looks like it would be very effective.
Thanks for the photos.

[beet]

the war wagon

[gregp]

Not to be the bearer of bad news, but I see shattered plastic in your future. I had a set of car-studded knobs for my dirt bike (street legal KLX250) a couple of years ago, and I couldn't even tell they were studded at all! On frozen, baren ground, they may have helped a little bit, but if there was even 1/4" of snow, forget it. On the pavement, when those studded tires let go (especially the front), they go fast! In my case, usually there was no saving it.
Be careful! V-Strom's are lovely bikes, and I'd hate to hear of one getting busted up, nevermind your body!

[SSearchVT]

Randy - Why did you decide to leave the side knobs open? I would think you would want something when you leaned over. Maybe every other knob...

[Nikon]

i really wanted to be able to give this a try too but i dont have the money to do it this tear. i was drastically warned about taking it on dry pavement w studs.... i dont have enough dirt around here so i'll be curious to hear your report later

[markbvt]

V-Strom's are lovely bikes

I think that may be the first time I've ever seen those words strung together in that fashion.

Personally I think Stroms are boring and uninspired looking... but the more miles I put on mine, the more I love riding it. It's a great bike, I just think Suzuki should give the Stroms a bodywork makeover. While they're at it, they should build an Adventure version with spoked wheels, upgraded suspension, etc.

--mark

[breakdirt916]

interesting results...curious to see how it goes going forward

is this bike for commuting?

[RandyO]

Randy - Why did you decide to leave the side knobs open? I would think you would want something when you leaned over. Maybe every other knob...

I won't be leaning that much on ice, before I studded the tires, I researched the subject well, most people tend to put too many studs in

Just got back from about 175 miles of riding today, getting used to the studs, they have settled into the holes now (some of the studs didn't insert 100%)

now that the studs are settled in, its not as funky

turn in is different, after you countersteer into a curve, you have to muscle the bars into the turn the studs really wanna make the tire grip and stand up straight (on pavement)

riding snow covered and icy gravel roads is awesome, very similar to summer gravel road riding

loss of traction is not as bad as I expected on pavement, I did get on the front brake hard once, felt like I could lift the rear wheel if I wanted

my road was covered with black ice tonite, felt some slippage coming up the steep hill

the worse thing that happened tonite... on the Everett Turnpike, traffic was conjested, as I slowed down, and downshifted, then again.... wtf, my shifter fell off, I didn't even stop, slipped the clutch a lot, traffic was barely moving and I was stuck in 4th gear

At the toll booth I pulled over to take a look, my shifter was dangling by the linkage, luckily the design, the shifter is held to the bolt with a snap ring so I didn't loose the bolt, I put it back together finger tight and continued on

[RandyO]

interesting results...curious to see how it goes going forward

is this bike for commuting?

my commute is a 75 foot walk to my barn

I ride in winter for the fun of it, cold air = free horsepower

I average 5000-6000 miles between November and March, this year may be more, I'm planning a sub freezing Saddlsore 1000

[Danz19899]

i've got to say man your one crazy mofo, good luck with the studs, i hit black ice in my car today and slid 50ft at 1mph across a bridges . . . didn't hit nothing just glad i have 4 wheels at that point. . . but my tires are also bald as shit so that couldn't help

[markbvt]

Spooned the studded knobbies onto my XR650L yesterday. I only rode it up and down the street (and through my yard), but was surprised to find that dry-pavement traction was actually pretty good. My only worry commuting with these tires on dry pavement will be wearing down the studs.

Riding through the snow in my yard, the tires had good traction too.

--mark

[richw]

There's a road 2 lane in Suffield rt 110

56 cars crashed on black ice at the beginning of the storm

56

The Blues Brothers

[RandyO]

Spooned the studded knobbies onto my XR650L yesterday. I only rode it up and down the street (and through my yard), but was surprised to find that dry-pavement traction was actually pretty good. My only worry commuting with these tires on dry pavement will be wearing down the studs.

Riding through the snow in my yard, the tires had good traction too.

--mark

I discovered I have more than adequate emergency stopping today, a mini-van pulled out in front of me, I stopped about 5 feet short

[markbvt]

Finally have some pics of the studded tires mounted on the XRL.





They work fine on dry pavement with the bike upright but get a little squirrelly when cornering -- which I expect is due as much to the knobbies as to the studs. I'm actually really looking forward to trying them on a snowy dirt road, but it hasn't snowed enough here yet to leave more than an inch on the ground.

--mark

[Nikon]

Randy - what was your total cost and how many studs did you end up runnin?

[RandyO]

Randy - what was your total cost and how many studs did you end up runnin?

I got about 160 studs in each tire, I shared in the labor, a fellow on the Rounders forum just bought a stud gun, I gave him a buck to cover studs & somthing to help defray his investment in the gun, it takes about 2 hours to drill and stud a tire

[RandyO]

studded tires mounted on the XRL.


They work fine on dry pavement with the bike upright but get a little squirrelly when cornering -- which I expect is due as much to the knobbies as to the studs. I'm actually really looking forward to trying them on a snowy dirt road, but it hasn't snowed enough here yet to leave more than an inch on the ground.

--mark

with mine, the squirrellyness is all from the studs, I've run the Karoo Ts for 2 winters unstudded, the knobs on the Karoo Ts are harder, and larger, unstudded on pavment, they perform like a sport touring tire

and because I didn't stud the outer knobs, I get most of mine when transitioning at about a 10°-15° lean