Winter tires, do they exist?

[happy]

Hello friends,

I have been asking around, but no one here seems to have heard of winter-rubbers for motorcycles.
They ride through winter with summer tires, it seems.

I do not mean those sub-zero Alaska type with spikes and all (or Swedish winters, Chris).

I mean those pliable rubbers under -20C like those for automobile tires.

Any one care to comment?

 

[JDE]

I am thankful to live where this is a non-issue. One set of tires year-round for driving/riding. I have never had to switch due to weather.

 

[Beemerphile]

My unscientific wild guess: 1) The average motorcyclist does not ride in conditions requiring winter tires. 2) The ones that do are not numerous enough to constitute a viable market for specialty tires.

 

[Rocker66]

Here in the UK we never experiance that level of cold

 

[SilverPelican]

Here, the police will not ride their bikes if the temperature gets below 38 F so I choose to do the same.

 

[SuperMek]

We got them!
Our delivery bikes drive all year around no matter what conditions we got. But they use the off-road style kind of bikes with larger 19" wheels that are easier to get these winter tires. I tried to get some more off-road style standard tires to my X, but failed. The only normal semi-slicks is all what is offered to us sad bikers...

 

[duk2n]

I tried to get some more off-road style standard tires to my X, but failed

If you're serious about this, Michelin does the T63 for 17":

Lot of guys here mount that tyre in their big trails, it is a good compromise for on-off

 

[SuperMek]

If you're serious about this, Michelin does the T63 for 17"

Perfect José, Gracias! I will ask my local dealer, who earlier told me that anything in this way is un-obtainable to the X, if these is not possible for us to get.

EDIT:
Request is sent to my local dealer!

 

[duk2n]

Have a look as well at Siracs:

and Anakees:

Not as off-road as the T63, but they have more 17" size options, so you can select one more thinner for the front

I would say the only thing to be worried about is that T63 and Sirac need tubes. Anakee can be mounted without tube

 

[Beemerphile]

If you're serious about this, Michelin does the T63 for 17":

I do not know if the sizes are uniform in all markets, but we cannot get any 17 inch tires in the T63 other than a 130/80 rear fitment. There are no 17 inch fronts. The best off-road capable tire for the US is the TKC80 by Continental which is only recently available in 120/70-17 front. There is no exact rear fitment for the NC. The closest would be a 150/70-17 which may fit. If it does not work, I have found the front to be the more important of the two. Possibly a TKC80 front used with a Pirelli MT60R on the rear.

 

[happy]

Wow, these pictures sure gave me a big smile!


I love those knobbies and water-cut profiles!
Much better than the originals we got on the X.

Being trained to be a thrifty kind of guy (by my dear mum), I cannot see myself changing out brand new tires for those much-desired ones. I recently looked at my instruments, my NCX has only 4300km on it.... oh dear oh dear....give me a reason to change tires....

 

[duk2n]

These are the 17" sizes that the Michelin spanish site shows:

-For T63: 130/80 65S

-For Sirac: 110/90 60P, 120/90 64T, 130/80 65T

-For Anakee-2: 120/90 64S, 130/80 65H, 140/80 69H, 150/70 69V

All of them are rear tires.

The closest could be a Sirac 110/90 for the front, and an Anakee-2 150/70 for the rear. But both of them would be higher than stock

 

[mike5100]

errm... in the UK tyres for winter are for 7 degrees and cooler air temps. Most people in the UK don't realise this, and assume they are for snow and ice - which they work superbly on. But most of a UK autumn winter and Spring is around 7 degrees or less, so I put them on my car in November and take them off in April.
I have sort of assumed that because bike tyres last only about a third as long as car tyres, they must be made of softer rubber anyway, and that this provides the necessary grip at low temperatures.... but I may be wrong.
Mike

 

[SuperMek]

Mike, you are absolutely right!

 

[happy]

Winter tires stay pliable (soft) at lower temperatures. Running them at higher temperatures are rumoured (logically true) that they wear out faster in Summer time.
Normal summer tires will freeze solid at around 0-4 deg celsius, rendering them useless in stopping situation.

Then there are all-season tires.

I am not sure there is enough demand from "crazy" winter motorcyclists to generate that demand for motorcycle winter tires.
Only a handful of tire-makers make them, I am guessing.

 

[Big Tom]

On my GL1800 I run a Michelin Primacy Alpin ZP. This is an automobile run flat winter tire.



http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee230/odinjunior1/CarTire003.jpg

Hello friends,

I have been asking around, but no one here seems to have heard of winter-rubbers for motorcycles.
They ride through winter with summer tires, it seems.

I do not mean those sub-zero Alaska type with spikes and all (or Swedish winters, Chris).

I mean those pliable rubbers under -20C like those for automobile tires.

Any one care to comment?

 

[Daboo]

If you're interested in studded tires (not spiked) there's a couple threads with pictures on the Rounder's forum. Here's a link to one. 2011 Studs - Rounders Bulletin Board

If you want a good chuckle, read the home page and see where you fall in at. It's a great forum with excellent info on extending your riding season way past when most folks would've quit.

Chris

 

[Blackrider]

Winter tires stay pliable (soft) at lower temperatures. Running them at higher temperatures are rumoured (logically true) that they wear out faster in Summer time.
Normal summer tires will freeze solid at around 0-4 deg celsius, rendering them useless in stopping situation.

Then there are all-season tires.

I am not sure there is enough demand from "crazy" winter motorcyclists to generate that demand for motorcycle winter tires.
Only a handful of tire-makers make them, I am guessing.

I have ridden my NC700x in 25-35 F weather quite a few times. Did not notice any problems.