Winter rider

[sypderrobinson134]

So everyone I love my spyder no question about it, however I've recently debated selling my car and just riding the bike year round. I live in central Missouri and the winters can get pretty Nasty. Is this a smart decision or no? I'd love some imput.


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[Eagle1]

I would be concerned about many things: 1. Coolant rating for cold weather, 2. Cranking amps on the battery, 3. Tire traction and handling, 4. snow getting into the engine compartment, 5. Ignition, switches and compartments freezing and above all :yikes: 6. Enough layers of long Johns.

[Bob Denman]

;) Think of it this way...
If the Spyder is a finely-honed and sharpened knife... :thumbup:
What will yo do if Mother Nature serves you up a gunfight? :shocked:

[ARtraveler]

I have tried :spyder2: on snow. My results were bad enough that I would not recommend it. Any resistance, and the rear wheel spins. Hills, or inclines, a joke.

There have been some that have tried studded snow tires. My dealer included.

You can go, but you cannot stop very well on ice. Its like hydroplaning on greased water.

From a safety point of view--its you vs. the cars, trucks, Suv's, etc. If the ice is bad enough to put you out of control, think what an out of control cage vehicle may do to you.

When we get snow here in Alaska, the black ice rears its ugly head. The drivers in the four wheel drives take their invincibility pills, and the game is on. In the stretch of Highway between Wasilla/Anchorage, you may see 50 or more of these vehicles on their sides or upside down in the median or ditch. This happens so frequently that we refer to them as "ditch divers." Some are killed. Personally, I choose not to have me and my :spyder2: added to this lethal mix.

There are some others on this site that drive the :ani29: in the winter. They have their opinions and I respect that.

I park my :spyder2: when the first snow and ice comes to my road (usually first or second week of October), and rev it back up when the ice melts off the asphalt (Late March/early April).


It's your call. Drive safe.

[oldguyinTX]

Read your Owner's Manual. It will tell you to not ride in the snow. I personally don't mind the cold - I just layer up. Last winter I rode in 25 degree weather, but when the snow & ice came, the RT was winterized & put away with a battery tender hooked up. Don't take a chance on injuring yourself or others.

[Bob Denman]

You could always send a PM to SethO... he rides year-round! :2thumbs:
He can give you some pretty good advice about how he does it!

[Chupaca]

how bad your winter weather is. Cold, freezing cold, rainy you can deal with. Snow, ice, sleet and hail not so much. Even if the snow is mild what they put on the streets to deal with it is not good for your roadster. You could just rent a car on those bad days...:roflblack:

[Deanna777]

Read your Owner's Manual. It will tell you to not ride in the snow. I personally don't mind the cold - I just layer up. Last winter I rode in 25 degree weather, but when the snow & ice came, the RT was winterized & put away with a battery tender hooked up. Don't take a chance on injuring yourself or others.:agree: Before the snow/and ice come I would put up the :spyder2: for the winter, and start riding in the spring. Deanna777

[Oldmanzues]

I have ridden in a couple inch of snow, the ride did not start that way on PGR Missions. I do not think it is a good idea. the cold can be overcome with proper gear, by the way, I do not use electics, down 10 20 or aso to start out, with warming up.
My main concer is the salt and/beet juice. The salt making for interesting traction concerns and corroads everything is sight. The beet juice is a rain to remove from what you can see. I hate to think what you can not see.
A friend of mine on two wheels, single, rides his about the same I do on the Spyder (and used to on my ST1100). He has a old "junker" of a car for bad weather and says if he needs to take a trip, rent one (as above).
Oldmanzues

[bmccaffrey]

Will keep it simple. DON'T DO IT. NOT REASONABLE OR PRUDENT. :lecturef_smilie:

[CMA Cowboy]

Living about 45 miles from you I'd say the winters in central MO are to unpredictable to rely on the Spyder alone. I try to ride as much as possible through the winter also but if it is below freezing, snow or ice on the road the bike stays in the garage. Life is not worth the risk

[H.L.Spyder Guy]

Living in Minnesota, I try to ride as much as possible, and yes that means riding in winter. It's not so much the cold that's a problem, it's the snow and ice. I do not venture out if there is any snow or ice on the road. Sorry but the Spyder is useless under those conditions. Since I've been running a car tire on the rear, I've noticed that even when the temps are just under 40 F, it takes a while to warm up the rear tire to get decent traction even when the roads are dry. I run a 0w-40w synthetic oil, and make sure the coolant is good for -40 F. When it snows I take the truck, when it really snows, I take the snowmobile!! (Sorry BRP it's a Yamaha)

As far as this past winter went, I was only able to ride about a week out of each month. To each his own, but I would recommend keeping the car handy! GOOD LUCK AND STAY SAFE!

[jerpinoy]

:agree: safety comes first. Even a:ani29: with front wheel drive and studded tires I will opt not to drive.

[PistonBlown]

Ride my RS all year round - it's currently mid-winter here (last weekend it was the shortest day). Plenty of cold frosty/icy nights (lowest -10c/14f so not that extreme) but tend to only get a day or two of snow each year. As someone has mentioned the back tyre takes quite while to warm up which can make it slippery on corners on cold mornings.

Not ridden it on snow but I suspect the back wheel would keep loosing traction and then nanny would kick in and cut power - had this before on a metal ferry deck that was covered in spilt diesel.

Rains certainly not a problem - the Spyder is very happy in rain and is certainly a lot more fun and faster than a bike in those conditions. The RS's plastic does a surprisingly good job of keeping the worse off.

I've not had any issues with cold, the Spyder keeps you reasonably snug and of course the 'hot right foot' issues people moan about in the summer become an advantage:-). Mind you I've got some cold weather gear from working in Antarctica that I wear so that helps.

If you get desperate get your self a Hagglund:-)

[Deanna777]

I have ridden in a couple inch of snow, the ride did not start that way on PGR Missions. I do not think it is a good idea. the cold can be overcome with proper gear, by the way, I do not use electics, down 10 20 or aso to start out, with warming up.
My main concer is the salt and/beet juice. The salt making for interesting traction concerns and corroads everything is sight. The beet juice is a rain to remove from what you can see. I hate to think what you can not see.
A friend of mine on two wheels, single, rides his about the same I do on the Spyder (and used to on my ST1100). He has a old "junker" of a car for bad weather and says if he needs to take a trip, rent one (as above).
OldmanzuesHere in Vermont the road crews use a liquid brine on the roads + salt. Deanna777

[bullant12]

90624 The day I took that picture, it took me almost 3 hours to get from Springfield to Seymour, MO (40 miles) in a snowstorm that started when I left Springfield. I was fishtailing all over the place going 10 MPH, fastest going 30 MPH in 1st gear. The counter steering was the rule of the road and it simply was not a good idea to hit the road... should have stayed and waited it off with good friends instead of being stuck in a small town with nothing to do but watch TV.

My advice... keep the car! You never know when you need it.

[Supernam]

So everyone I love my spyder no question about it, however I've recently debated selling my car and just riding the bike year round. I live in central Missouri and the winters can get pretty Nasty. Is this a smart decision or no? I'd love some imput.


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It's definitely not a "smart" decision, but that does not mean it is not doable. I know some people who ride their 2 wheel motorcycles all year round in some pretty nasty weather. If you believe the rewards are greater than the risk involved I would do it.

I rode my 2 wheeler 11 out of the 12 months last year here in Toronto whenever the roads were not covered in snow, everyone thought I was crazy and I agreed with them but to me it was worth it for the experience. I wouldn't do it on 2 wheels again but now I have my Spyder which I actually call my "winter bike".

If you sell car, you can always take a bus for the really bad weather days. If finances are not a problem don't even consider selling the car.