If you are in a region that gets all four of the seasons, you are likely counting down the days to the coming snow-thaw.
As such, this article might be coming to you a little late for this season, but for next winter you should consider mounting some winter traction tires to your motorcycle. Yes, such things exist.
To be fair, I too was unaware that you could get a motorcycle tire that met the criteria from the DOT, in order for it to carry the “mountain/snowflake” symbol, but apparently Turkish tire-maker Anlas has such tires in its line-up.
That’s right, for regions of the world that require special tires during the snowy months, there is a tire out there to keep you riding all-season.
We have to thank our friends to the North at Canada Moto Guide, who tipped us off to Anlas’ tires, in their story that talks about the effects of Quebec’s winter tire only rules, and how they affect motorcyclists during the snowy season. Certain regions in Europe require winter tires as well.
Catering to these markets, Anlas has three tires for winter conditions, which fit a variety of applications and wheel sizes.
For street bike riders, you have the “mountain/snowflake” approved Anlas Winter Grip Plus, which fits front wheels that are both 19″ and 17″ in diameter and rear wheels that are only 17″. Shown above and on the left, it looks like a normal street tire with tiny ice treads added.
For more extreme weather though, might we suggest the Anlas Winter Grip 2 (shown on the right), which is siped like a wet-weather race tire, with winter grooves then added for added ice traction. These will be harder to fit to large street bikes, and seemed to be geared more towards bikes with smaller wheel sizes.
Until I try a pair for myself, I have my doubts about how well the Anlas tires actually perform in the real world, mountain/snowflake rating or not. But, there can be no doubt that these tires should side-step any issues you would have with Johnny Law come winter time.
It looks like buying options can only be found abroad, but if someone knows a dealer in the United States, be sure to post it in the comments.
Source: Canada Moto Guide
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