WINTER Riding Tip

Here's a tip you never hear about for winter riding!!!

1. Everyone tells you to dress accordingly, layers, heated
         gear etc.  Yep that's true.

2. Be aware of your surroundings, corners and hills cause    
    run off, water has a tendency in winter to turn solid, 
    solid water is slippery, it's called ice.

3.Ice isn't the only thing which will  
       put your ass on the ground, your bike in the dirt, and 
       your arm in a sling with a broken collar bone, 
       (Clavicle), that stuff they put on the roads to give you 
       grip, they call it sand, it will put you down fast and 
       hard if you don't watch for it.

4. They put something in the sand called salt, 
       salt corrodes metal, was the bike 
       down thoroughly when you get to where you are going 
        (or back from where you've been).

5.  Remember, in the winter it is cold, moving through the 
        cold air on a motorcycle makes it colder. 
        Exposed skin can be damaged by wind and cold, it's     
        called frostbite, frostbite hurts, frostbite changes the
        color of flesh to black, the black parts often have to 
        be cut off. Not cool. But this hearkens back to the 
        first thing on the list dress accordingly.

And now the thing nobody seems to remember.

6.  More and more bikes are water cooled now, you know 

           the ones, they are usually ridden by the guy who in 

           summer, when you are stuck in traffic, brags to you 

           about how his bike doesn't overheat. Well,they may 

           not overheat, but they do damn well freeze up. 

           Make sure to tell your bud, and yourself,if your

           sled is water cooled, to make sure the bike is 

           Winterized, It's called antifreeze. Engines don't like 

           it when their coolant water freezes, the engine 

           will express this to you when it's water jacket splits 

           open.

 You know how you fix a frozen engine? It's called buying a new one.  But there is a bright side to a freeze damaged engine, it finally gives you the one part you are always wishing when you wish you had a motorcycle engine lamp in your dude cave.

If you make it through Winter OK, stop back in teh Spring and we will discuss how ice and snow melt, over flowing lakes and streams and causing run off.

Run off can wash debris onto the road, it can also wash the dirt out from under a road, and it can wash everything away where there was a road.