Norwegian motorcycle police during the arrival of the Nobel Peace Price dignitaries, in Oslo, December 9th. Temperature well below freezing. Lots of salt on the streets. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9LhXuiRsAgQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> I could hear the tires were studded. Cool job, if I may use that term. [TaSK]
Hey TaSK, Yeah man...cool job...kinda like my morning paper route when I was a kid in northern Illinois in winter time. My bicycle had no studs in the tires though. I wore extra thick clothing in winter to provide protection during falls on ice and hard pack snow. The money was good though. The "paper boy" job is non-existent these days...went the same route as the milkman job.
Good for those guys. That is pretty intense i can't even imagine trying to do that. Not saying i wouldn't try anyway just never seen a company advertise winter/studded motorcycle tires
I'm sure Norway is a beautiful place to ride, and riding on ice with studded tires on a motorcycle must provide for some real excitement, but please, someone tell me, what function is served by police use of motorcycles in Winter? They can't possibly be more maneuverable than a car in those conditions.....and the probability of landing on one's ass seems pretty high, so why bother? This reminds me of horse mounted police in NYC, I mean get those guys a Segway. I can see us nuts here doing this for fun, but who pays for bike repairs when one of these guys dumps his bike? The Grinch.
Who pays for repairs when a police officer drops his bike? Isn't the police a public service where you live? Du police officers patrol in their private vehicles where you live? Or did I completely misunderstand the question? Anyway, I saw them again today. Obvioulsy, if you live in a modern high-quality society where you can get around downtown without a car, and where it is natural that public spaces are pedestrian-only, a motorcycle will far out-manouver a car at any time. Remember - over Here, a crowded public place means a piazza, not a mall. Ten centimeters of snow fell overnight. They are still out patroling as normal. I would not think a 250 kg 12GS would be ideal in these condition, but they are well funded and could get whatever they found suitable. 12GS it is. One can just imagine the level of training that need to be sunk into these riders to make sure that they meet all legal requirtements for "proper training to perform their duties in a safe and responsible manner". [TaSK]
Because they're so damn heavy that you'll hurt yourself in the attempt to right the fallen whale on a slippery surface. -And think of all that expensive paint and chrome, both at risk in the inevitable tip-overs. On the upside... think of all the tales you'd have about the epic ride when you really had to "lay 'er down". They're also available stateside. http://www.koldkutter.com/catalog/index.php
Actually, they sell studs here in the States, too. I've ridden a Yamaha 450 motcrosser on studded tires on frozen lakes. And frankly, the traction is better than on pavement. Years ago, I had studded snow tires on a car. The problem there was that you lost traction when you were on dry pavement.
I remember seeing cops on Harleys with sidecars in in the dead of winter in Montreal and Quebec City.
Dude that must have been a long time ago... What year was this? Now you can't ride a motor cycle between december 15 and March 15 because you must have approved winter tires on all vehicles between those dates. Why... cause our socilalist overlord says so!
Yeah, I crossed from Vermont into Quebec last week and at the first stop people were saying "You are lucky the police didn't see you". But based on what I read that night after googling, I am exempt from that law because I am not a Quebec resident. I am still curious whether they would actually pull me over and lecture me. The border guards didn't say anything, other than something about being crazy to ride in 20F.
?? Picture two cops on horses chasing down a mugger, or two on Segways doing the same. The Segways would be pretty hilarious to watch, but not good for much else.
At least it appears that in Norway the Cops/Officials are a heck of a lot smarter then here in the US. LOOK, HI-VIZ Jackets on a guy who is riding his motorcycle pretty much ALL DAY. I will NEVER understand why the CHP here in CA promotes the Safety Rider courses, but they ride with their tan uniforms sleeveless in the summer (NO Protection at all), their dark blue hardly noticceable Jackets in the winter, and NO Full Face Helmet. UNREAL to me. Give those guys the proper HI-VIZ Gear INCLUDING a FULL FACE Helmet
