We may joke about Harley-Davidson riders not taking their bikes out unless conditions are the same as required for a NASCAR race—warm, dry, and pavement only. We know that's not entirely true, either. There are plenty of serious all-weather riders who ride Harleys. This video, however, is seriously next level: Harleys with spiked tires on ice.
It's not uncommon to throw spiked tires on a lightweight dirt bike and go ripping around a frozen lake. Tearing around and even ripping donuts on an 800-pound Road Glide is a completely different story. A little dirt bike is easy to control on a slippery surface. If things start to get out of hand a quick throttle adjustment or dab of a foot is usually enough to put you back on track. A Harley, even the Sportster that's the lightweight of this bunch, has a ton more power to keep under control. You might be able to dab a foot on a Sportster, but don't even try it on a big old Road Glide unless you want to break something.
There's not a whole lot going on in this video. There are some drag races, high-speed runs, and a bit of very impressive Road Glide drifting going on. Seriously, whether you're a Harley fan or not, you have to admit that takes a fair amount of skill to accomplish without crashing. These big old chrome machines look absolutely majestic out there, thrashing on the ice while my much more capable bikes are holed up for the winter.
Kudos to these guys. While we recommend not riding in winter, we have to hand it to them. I've driven ice time trials in cars, including a Miata with the top down (of course), but doing this on a motorcycle is a whole other ball game. Doing it on a Harley is epic.
