[Westieterrier]

Thanks for all these great responses Gentlemen. After some research I came upon this American company making all kinds of tire chains with U.S. steel. It's the Peewag Division of Glacier Chains (more well known), and they have a "Heavy Equipment" line that does custom chains with mini-cleats (see below). I'm going to call them tomorrow to see what they would charge for our size tires: 180/80/14 and 130/80/18. The sizes apparently have ranges, so I should be able to get two of the same-sized chains for both tires. Peerless Co. here in Oregon also makes chains through its subsidiary Security Chain Company, many apparently made with US steel here as well. I will call them too.

Let me ask this question again, do tire chains also help in deep mud or any other terrain outside of snow and ice? Maybe this will cure the Death Wing issues, Lol!

I will report my results:

 

[imlost]

If your objective is to use these chains on Portland streets, my advice is to stay home. The main reason, is that it's really dangerous to travel around, even in a 4x4. When it snows there, it's often accompanied by super cold winds out of the Columbia River gorge, which produces ice. People don't factor in enough time to stop, or don't realize how much inertia their vehicles have when on ice. It's a complete shitshow there when the weather gets bad. On one rural street last winter, I counted 49 abandoned vehicles in a 1/2 mile stretch. Not only were the vehicles immediately abandoned when they started to lose traction, most of them were completely blocking the lanes they were on - to the point that the traffic was almost completely blocked.

My other concern, is that even if you gain traction with chains on the rear tire, it's unlikely that the front tire is going to track where you want it to go. There's just not enough weight up front to get the front end to bite, and I believe it's just going to wash out constantly. It would be really bad if that happened in an intersection, or if you were going down a hill and the bike went down.

Now, if your objective is to try this offroad with no traffic around you, I think it will be fun, and you'll probably have some limited success, as long as the snow isn't too deep. I'd probably wear some riding boots and some armor, for the moments when you lose it. I'm sure it will be worth some serious laughs, at the very least.

Be careful to check the clearance between your tires and the forks & swingarm if you order those chains. It would be a bummer if you ordered them and discovered this afterward.

 

[MaddMaverick]

Thanks for all these great responses Gentlemen. After some research I came upon this American company making all kinds of tire chains with U.S. steel. It's the Peewag Division of Glacier Chains (more well known), and they have a "Heavy Equipment" line that does custom chains with mini-cleats (see below). I'm going to call them tomorrow to see what they would charge for our size tires: 180/80/14 and 130/80/18. The sizes apparently have ranges, so I should be able to get two of the same-sized chains for both tires. Peerless Co. here in Oregon also makes chains through its subsidiary Security Chain Company, many apparently made with US steel here as well. I will call them too.

Let me ask this question again, do tire chains also help in deep mud or any other terrain outside of snow and ice? Maybe this will cure the Death Wing issues, Lol!

I will report my results:

View attachment 211800 View attachment 211801

Yes chains help everywhere but on hard surfaces. They run them on the log skidder all year round. Are you going with the spiked version of those chains or the cleated ones?
The idea of chains on a motorcycle really freaks me out. I've had to use chains enough to see what happens when they self destruct and the damage they do to a vehicle (OTR trucker, logging, oil field trucking). I wouldn't want one spinning less than a foot from my testicles... Or anywhere near me without a bunch of metal between me and it.
But i guess on a bike you won't be going fast enough to do major damage if they come loose.
Highly recommend just making up a second set of tires for winter play if you live somewhere it's actually cold and gets real amounts of snow and ice. Especially if you want to ride on ice. Nothing beats a properly studded and cleated tire on ice. When the winters are cold enough here we mount them up and go race on the lake. The traction of metal screws and cleats on ice is insane. Balls to the wall, wide open dragging the pegs a little, rooster tails of ice 30 feet high. It's just awesome. Can't do that with a chain...

 

[Westieterrier]

Yes chains help everywhere but on hard surfaces. They run them on the log skidder all year round. Are you going with the spiked version of those chains or the cleated ones?
The idea of chains on a motorcycle really freaks me out. I've had to use chains enough to see what happens when they self destruct and the damage they do to a vehicle (OTR trucker, logging, oil field trucking). I wouldn't want one spinning less than a foot from my testicles... Or anywhere near me without a bunch of metal between me and it.
But i guess on a bike you won't be going fast enough to do major damage if they come loose.
Highly recommend just making up a second set of tires for winter play if you live somewhere it's actually cold and gets real amounts of snow and ice. Especially if you want to ride on ice. Nothing beats a properly studded and cleated tire on ice. When the winters are cold enough here we mount them up and go race on the lake. The traction of metal screws and cleats on ice is insane. Balls to the wall, wide open dragging the pegs a little, rooster tails of ice 30 feet high. It's just awesome. Can't do that with a chain...

I was thinking cleated. This is very helpful Maverick. Maybe creating a set of studded tires/rims just for snow and ice is a good idea. How long does it take to swap out the front and rear wheels once one has done it a few times? Maybe it's a good use for a retired death wing? I was hoping to ride short distances on icy streets and longer distances on the trail with the traction devices. Nothing really over 20 mph. P

 

[MaddMaverick]

If you've got a decent bike jack and your familiar with the process maybe fifteen minutes? The cleats we bolt in between the knobbies are for snowmobile belts. You can find different sizes and styles of them. Then we put the ice screws on the knobbies themselves. I've been getting the Kold Kutter brand off of Amazon. Seem to hold up decent enough for being less expensive than others.

 

[Fred]

Don' need no stinkin' chains!
Left the cable chains hanging off the rack for this morning's ride just in case I got stuck with the stock tires.
I have never actually put these cable chains on. A gift from Adam-in-Nevada, he had used them successfully trail riding before he sold his TW.

No worries though until things got fairly steep in last night's rapidly melting snowfall. Once on level ground 2 inches of powder is fun to play on at a cautious pace.

This TW is a real strong runner, hard to imagine I let it sit parked for 8 months or more while I played on the ATV tired Betty Boop TW/XT/TTR mix-n-match bike.

 

[MaddMaverick]

??? What PSI gets you a track that flat?
2? 0?

 

[Fred]

10 psi when last checked perhaps a year ago.
Never have run higher than 12 psi except a few times where length of anticipated ride necessitated higher fuel mileage and thus higher tire pressures. Trail Wings do get very squirrely when aired down to less than 6 psi.
From the other photos one can see that both tires appear significantly inflated.

 

[MaddMaverick]

I run 12 and mine isn't that flat of a track is why I'm wondering. Wonder which one of us needs a new gauge lol.

 

[Fred]

Thanks for the heads-up MaddMaverick. I checked rear tire pressure and it was an indicated 6psi.
Guess some air has escaped in the last year or so.
Can't argue with the hooked up traction & performance last few days since I am more used to riding the Terracross ATV tire TW.

 

[Westieterrier]

Don' need no stinkin' chains!
Left the cable chains hanging off the rack for this morning's ride just in case I got stuck with the stock tires.
I have never actually put these cable chains on. A gift from Adam-in-Nevada, he had used them successfully trail riding before he sold his TW.
View attachment 211870

No worries though until things got fairly steep in last night's rapidly melting snowfall. Once on level ground 2 inches of powder is fun to play on at a cautious pace.
View attachment 211871

This TW is a real strong runner, hard to imagine I let it sit parked for 8 months or more while I played on the ATV tired Betty Boop TW/XT/TTR mix-n-match bike.

View attachment 211872

Hey Fred, thanks for the pics and info. Are these chains made for a motorcycle or the the TW's tire size of 180/80/14? Do you recall what kind of terrain, depth, and ice content Adam used these successfully on? I'd love to know how well they work. Thanks man! P

 

[MaddMaverick]

Thx Fred, i might split your difference and try 8 next good snow.

 

[Fred]

Heck, can't claim to know what is best, just a variety of conditions that have pleased me.
As far as chains for the TW goes my typical snow conditions typically are not the icy or very firm snowpack or pavement where chains have proven value. The aggressive tread of ATV tires seem adequate to generate thrust to play in loose fresh or melting snow up to 4 inches or so of depth. Late season rotten snow is a game breaker with the TW breaking through and sinking.
Anyways I am just a lightweight when it comes to deep snow. Here is someone else's video with a studded TW perhaps more suited to the snowy street conditions. Title says "over a foot" but I see only about 10 inches max, still impressive!

 

[Ski Pro 3]

I wonder if the air temperature caused the tire pressure to be less. What I mean to say is, if you last checked the tire pressure when it was 70 degrees out and now it's 20 degrees out, the pressure is likely a lot less now then back then.

 

[Fred]

Sure, gauge pressure changes with change in air temperatures. I likely last set at 70 degrees or so and now 50 degrees in garage so a little pv=nrt comes into play.
However in my case likely dealing with old pressure gauge that has been bouncing around for years packed away with on-board air compressor.. .not making any assumptions of inaccuracy.

Anyways sorry no ride experience with Adam & his chains. We typically ride through enough variety of snow conditions that putting on & off chains never was proposed....we just rode hoping to not get stuck miles from home.
He had youth & the stock TrailWing going for him while I had the Duro Power Grip ATV tire that made me look good.

 

[Fred]

Enough of this...gotta go pack for a trip south hopefully out of this white stuff. Will try sneaking into the high country around Bishop or possibly Mt. Witney. Road is also supposedly open to the Bristlecone National Forest . Just have to worry about ice on pavement.

 

[MaddMaverick]

I keep sending Kenda love letters begging them to make a K270 to fit the rear of these.

powersports.kendatire.com/en-us/contact-us/

 

[Fred]

Howdy Westieterrier:
Sorry for delay on information. This is the bag that the aforementioned tire chains came in. I cannot guarantee this is bag chains were purchased in however. Seems reasonable though, lots of length adjustability in these cable chains. Cannot attest also as to whether they may adversely affect the TW's rim cosmetics.
Good luck! This thread has been nice in that it at least gave me a chance to review a bunch of old snow riding videos.

 

[Westieterrier]

Thanks Fred for the helpful info and the videos! P

 

[MaddMaverick]

@Westieterrier did you ever get a price from Pewag? I'm gonna take a guess around 300$ from the look of those.