Ice riding

[01xj]

Looking for some input on ice riding. Thinking about giving it a shot this year depending on what the financial commitment is like. I guess I'd just like to know the basics, what equipment is needed. Is the fun factor worth it? Off the top of my head I'm thinking....

New set of tires
wheel liners
Ice studs
Covers for moving bike
I've seen some special covers over wheels (Assuming to keep flying studs going in a safe direction)

I'm in northern CT near the mass line. What would the legality be of riding on mass lakes and ponds? Anything special to do to the carby for super cold weather?
Appreciate any input

[ducatirdr]

I have a feeling we will be getting a lot of snow this year to make up for last year. Better add a quad and a plow to that list.

I too would like to join in this year. I need to get a 450 and join in that fun.

[Rada]

Yeah. It's fun. Real Fucking Fun... I love ice...

You don't need a 450 to have a good time. Any bike with good studs will be fun. I had a ball on a 20 year old 250 2 stroke.

Shoot. A KLX 250 is a ball. Lot's of good riding in NH. Just need a OHV sticker.

[nhbubba]

Tires - duh. Basically there are three main types of screws that I know most people run; AMA legal, "Canadian", and the Marcel Fournier. There are some local to New England that don't post on NESR that screw around (see, see what I did there) with some even more crazy ass screw setups. I recommend "canadian" for rec use. They deal with chipped up/shit ice better than AMAs, but aren't cheater screws like the Marcels. Someone suggested Marcels up front and Canadians on the rear would be a pretty titties setup. I'm inclined to believe that.

There is also friction studs for woods use. These aren't nearly as good as the real ice screws.

Liners are usually sold with the tires as they must be in place when the screw is seated. The screw goes through the tire into the liner and sometimes even through that. Several of us have had to re-set screws on brand new tires to keep them from poking through the liner and ruining tubes. Optionally you could cut an old tube to make a 2nd liner between the liner and the tube. This will make what is already a ~60-lbs tire/wheel combo even heavier.

You can obviously buy all this crap and build your own. But no thanks. It looks like a lot of work and there is an art of sorts to screw orientation, angle, etc.

Covers help bigtime. Amazing how fast screws get fubar'ed by pavement, rocks, etc. Most are made from old fire hoses.

Spare wheels are pretty key too. Mounting ice tires is the biggest pain in the ass you have ever experience. The screws are sharp, making handling the tire a nightmare. And the special rubber most builders use (at least on the rear) is super stiff. You are never going to want to take these tires off. Ever.

You don't need guards, except to race. I don't run guards. Although I feel kinda guilty about this. I'm not aware of anyone that builds guards for my machine and haven't dug deep enough to find a universal fit setup that would work. I kinda think I should run guards though. Things could go from awesome day to not easily.

Rejet carb'ed machines for cold, dry air. I have 2 jet setups I run on the KTM two hunny; winter/ice, and the rest of the year.
If you are running a 2-stroke with an adjustable power-valve, I'd set it for the most aggressive "hit" you can get. MOAR POWAH.

Speaking of power, you don't need a 450 MXer to play. Roland does this on his ~30 HP dual sport. You see minis (ie CRF150F's) all the time. In the rec circles, bring whatcha gut and have fun. Bigger, higher power machines also wreck tires, cause screws to back out more easily.

That said, watching a 450 wheelie down a straight, burry the front into a corner, rail, then loft the front again while still leaned over and down the back straight again is pretty darn cool. My 200 won't do that. I'm playing more of a momentum game.

In NH you need a fish and game "boat sticker" to play. F&G treats it just like a snow machine or boat. I don't know about elsewhere.
VT doesn't seem to care. Although my bike has a plate too, maybe that helps my cause.

[carsick]

<-- I probably daydreamed about ice riding five times today. I have three bikes and three sets of tires on wheels. I generally bring a friend or two along and grab spectators to indoctrinate. Last Feb I was tearing the shit out of a little pond and a couple showed up to skate. No smooth ice left, but I got the guy to ride for ten minutes, his wife laughing the whole time.
Get some tires and wraps, find some ice where people won't bitch, and proceed to have fun. The tire guards are there mostly to keep you studly during a mishap. Try to not have the loudest bike in the world, and be friendly when the inevitable curious people show up to witness your unnatural behavior. I would think your season would be pretty short, as it's only 2-3 months up here in Northern VT. Make sure you've got solid ice, don't try to get out too early or late in the season and become a news item.
A plow quad would be handy, we were quite lucky with the clear ice last year. Much like riding street, track, or dirt, it takes a few tries to get the hang of it. If you like it (you have to if you're asking about it) you'll get more stuff as you go, like bar mitts, the aforementioned spare wheels, and friends with water frontage. In VT, you legally need registration & insurance to be on public water, just like a snowmobile/ATV.

[Paul_E_D]

IIIIIICEEEEEE!!!! I can't wait. But first, some flattrack.

[cdovego]

Step 1, buy house on water.

Step 2, buy 450 with studded tires.

Step 3, wait patiently for ice to form.

[union]

Ice riding is a good time. Your best bet is to find a set of tires for sale. Real ice tires take time to build and there seems to be a bit of an art to it. Changing ice tires sucks too. A lot of us have a second set of wheels just for ice riding. Each time Ive changed tires I've ended up bleeding a bit. That is your biggest expense.

You can get away without ice tire fenders unless you're looking to go racing. Some series may require them. For us weekend pond hooligans we don't run those. Certainly not a bad idea to do it though.

You don't need a 450. I had plenty of fun on my Crf 250. When we go there is a huge mix of bikes. We aren't racing. Just going around and around. Sometimes we get a road style course too.

On my bike I just fattened up the main a bit.

Shameless sales pitch. I do have a complete set of ice tires mounted on honda crf wheels. If you have a honda you need need to swap wheels.

[nhbubba]

I present a collection of people not on 450's having enormous fun.





Zero fucks given.

[01xj]

Thanks for the info guys. I'm on a DR650. I'm scouring for a second set of wheels so I can mount them once and just leave them. A set of knobbies plus the studs and inner liners shouldn't be too bad of an expense. The rest of the cold weather gear I can cobble together. I did watch a video by Koldkutter on how to install the studs. Doesn't really look complicated just a huge time suck. I'm not looking to race at all. Just tool around on some local ponds once they are good and frozen, maybe hit some farm trails I can access from my house. I don't see myself getting up any further than mass. Dragging a pregnant woman along to stand on the side of a frozen lake probably isn't real high up on her list of couples activities.

[Paul_E_D]

Most fun I've had on ice is on Kerry's 150...

[cdovego]

I feel it necessary to clarify a 450 is not the only solution.

My lord you guys are passive as fuck.

[Paul_E_D]

I feel it necessary to clarify a 450 is not the only solution.

My lord you guys are passive as fuck.

No need. We are just sharing the stoke!

[Mr. Kurtz]

Adam, you're welcome to try out my CR250R if you can make it up one time when we go. Typically though, it'll be in NH. Grab one of the other northern CT dudes who keeps saying they wanna try it(*cough* Mo *cough*), carpool up, rip some laps, see if you like it.

Note that studs(trails, snow) and screws(lakes, ice) are two different animals. Screws will get dull fast on anything but ice(rocks, roots, etc) and studs are not intended to work on ice very well.

[Paul_E_D]

The 250 feels like a beast... but HP+ice=stupid fun.

[01xj]

Thanks Kurtz I was hoping you would weigh in. I guess just ice would be where I would start out. Just got a pm about wheels on ADVrider at a good price.

[nhbubba]

The 450 thing transcends this website. I ran into a bit of a "why bother with anything else" attitude when talking ice from someone recently. It kind of baffled me. Sent me on the warpath. (Again.) Not trying to offend anyone. Just remind all that the barrier to entry is basically tires and time. It'd kill me if I found out someone stayed home because they thought what they had wasn't worthy.

Fun >>> bragging rights

[loudbeard]

I can have a lot of fun ice riding in my front wheel drive sedan with snow tires.

[Paul_E_D]

I can have a lot of fun ice riding in my front wheel drive sedan with snow tires.

You're a better man than I.

[cdovego]

I can have a lot of fun ice riding in my front wheel drive sedan with snow tires.

A chevette would do the job just fine.

[R7]

Four wheels = double the traction ;-) Can't wait to rip up some ice again this winter on the YFZ450R..just have to find a way from the house, down to the pond without destroying the ice tires.

[tls25rs]

Four wheels = double the traction ;-) Can't wait to rip up some ice again this winter on the YFZ450R..just have to find a way from the house, down to the pond without destroying the ice tires.

Build a small storage shed next to the pond. Bring the quad down there before changing out the tires, change the tires there and store in new storage shed.

[cdovego]

Watched my buddy move bikes around with one of these the other day, worked a lot better than I expected. Does that work?

[RandyO]

Four wheels = double the traction ;-) Can't wait to rip up some ice again this winter on the YFZ450R..just have to find a way from the house, down to the pond without destroying the ice tires.

downhill all the way ? you could ice up a trail that would double as a bobsled run

[ducatirdr]

OK If I wanted to get wheels for my KTM 350EXC what would you recommend?