My First Time in the Snow!! :-)

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BrettB

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Location
Molalla, OR
Took this picture right after I got off the bike at work this morning...

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(edited to add pic after creating Flickr account)

Actually the snow/visor issue was my worst problem by far this morning. Close the visor enough that snow didn't blow in and (since I was following cars where everybody was crawling along in first gear) it would stick to the visor, and even with wiping it off, the cold of the snow vs the warmth on my side of the visor made fogging really bad. Very little air flow when going that slow. Or open the visor more and let snow hit you in the face/eyes and try to blink fast enough to be able to keep seeing.

For the record, if I would have known, I wouldn't have ridden. But when I left the house it was just starting to snow, and the news forecast I listened to said a) it wouldn't be much, B) it would turn to rain quickly. So I rode. Didn't bother me when the sides of the road turned white as the lanes were still just wet. When it got to where the lanes were white too, well I was more then a little nervous. But you know, I am REALLY impressed with how well the bike handled it. Of course I was extremely cautious. But I watched a front wheel drive car that was barely be able to proceed from having stopped on the Shute Rd overpass over 26 (they were coming south on Shute, I was stopped to turn left from the hwy 26 exit), spinning tires, pausing, spinning tires again, about four times before they were actually able to go. When it was my turn, I didn't even slip a bit. Overall, on the 45 mile ride in, I slipped the rear end a total of 3 times, and never more then a couple of feet and all easily correctable with good balance and throttle/clutch control.

I am not about to change my rule which I broke this morning about never riding in this stuff, but I'm amazed that the bike can handle it even when I make the wrong choice.

-Brett

 
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I've enjoyed riding in the snow, but on a much lighter bike with knobbies.

I bet ya got some attention!

:clapping:

 
Hardy Har Har tew Ya mate New England weather at it's best (on the left side)!! :angry:

 
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Looks like it should be gone in time for your ride home tonight. It's already up to 40 here in Vancouver.

And you're correct, the FJR does just fine (mostly) in the snow. This is from fall last year, coming off Cabbage Hill near Pendleton.

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Brett you are the man. If there was even a hint of snow in the forecast I would not consider riding. First I do not think my skills are that good. Years past when I lived in NJ I worked in Red Bank and there was a guy who rode his Gold Wing every day regardless of weather. I saw him numerous times riding in several inches of snow. It would just not be my game. I never saw him fall and he turned the corner everytime I saw him.

 
What, I only see the tire tracks in the snow, where are boot sized tracks of the dual outriggers?

And people go far and even pay to go skiiing!

 
I rode in 4 inches of snow in Oklahoma City in 1980. Twern't nuthin. The Okie drivers were funny to watch as they tried to drive in snow...being from Chicago I laughed alot.

 
I'd like to know how ya got the snow chains on that critter! :glare: I've been trying to figure that out all winter. :angry:

 
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Silly boy, chains are for cages and buses. Bikes use THESE. But they're a ***** on dry pavement! :lol:
OK, that's pretty cool for extreme riding - but I HATE studs on the cages, especially when dumb *sses are allowed to run them for 6 months and totally ruin the roads with deep ruts that kill my two-wheel ride fun.

 
I didn't own a car till I was 21, rode year round in as much as 9 inches. Much smaller bike than the FJR. Also had a SC500 Yamaha with studs in the knobbies. They weren't screw ins though.

 
"For the record, if I would have known, I wouldn't have ridden."

Try this.

It's all I ever use, I use a VHF weather radio to monitor their 162Mhz broadcasts also.

I just ignore the radio and TV forecasts, I find them to be somewhat misleading most of the time.

Sometimes it's a percentage weighting game (with their % estimation on any given WX event) with the break point at ~40% where you have to decide whether to ride or not where snow is concerned.

Very rarely is the NWS very far off the mark, at least in my area.

 
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I rode in 4 inches of snow in Oklahoma City in 1980. Twern't nuthin. The Okie drivers were funny to watch as they tried to drive in snow...being from Chicago I laughed alot.
This past August, heading back to KC from California on my FJR, I was at about 10,000 feet on I-70 west of Denver, and damned if it did not snow and sleet. Probably an inch or two on the pavement, pretty wet stuff but blowing around too. There was nowhere to go but forward and I figured it would ease up as I descended into and east of Denver. It did, but I'd be lying if I said it did not unnerve me. I just eased up on the throttle, stayed in my lane, didn't jerk it around and went easy on the brakes. It was beautiful I must admit, but all in all I would rather not ride in the snow. It was 123 degrees in Death Valley the day before so I am not sure which is really more hazardous. Glad you got home safely....

 
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I rode thru a heavy snowstorm in June on Alaska State 1, somewhere near Tahneta Pass, riding my Shark's mouth CannedTuna. Not a real problem until I caught up to some motorhomes. The snow was wet and the spray was so bad I couldn't get close enough to pass and see at the same time. And the snow built up in rows about 4-6 inches tall between the wheel tracks so it was a thrill, to say the least, to cross over them if I did get the oppertunity to pass.

Hope you made it home safely (sounds like it) and don't believe the forcasters all the time!

 
No way . . . . kudos for you for having the guts and skills to do it. I wouldn't trust myself and wouldn't want to eat the costs of learning a hard lesson.

 
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